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I have worked at three places where food was provided for free; breakfast lunch and, if required dinner. One place even had a free bar open after lunch; the other had boxes of fresh bagels delivered early each morning. Each lunch was a choice from 3-4 dishes plus starters and deserts in a clean and comfortable canteen (except the last one which was just microwavable crap from Costco). The first had a private dock on the Thames which was wonderful in the summer.
It's fairly unusual though, in my experience; most places offer tea, coffee and water and some have soft drinks. Nowhere else I have been provides snacks of any kind. To the best of my knowledge a business only has to provide fresh drinking water; everything else is a bonus though a smart company will provide stuff to keep you in the office.
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R. Giskard Reventlov wrote: To the best of my knowledge a business only has to provide fresh drinking water; everything else is a bonus though a smart company will provide stuff to keep you in the office.
We get water, which is the least they could seeing as how it is a water company.
No tea or coffee, and all the kettles were rounded up a couple of years ago by health and safety.
Used to get a basket of fruit in the office each day but that went last year as a cost saving.
Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.
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Such a short sighted policy. One of the reasons those business I worked for provided free food was because it only cost them about $2 a head to provide and they realized that people stayed in the office and did more work. For the sake of $2! Even going out to get coffee can take 10-20 minutes. Wasted time. Plus, wouldn't there be a tax deduction?
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I'm still surprised, really shouldn't be, how many people running businesses think that saving a little bit of cash is better than the happiness of the stuff.
Keep your staff happy and they will work harder, work longer, care more about the company and try to look after it.
Piss them off and they'll do the bare minimum they can get away with and spend the rest of their time working out how to get away with more.
Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.
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The free coffee provided by companies is so horrible that the equivalent candy bars would need to be 100% sugar to make things fair.
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McCarthy would have them throw out of your country with the free coffee for everyone communism thingy 
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Cost of Snickers = 50 * cup of coffee. How would this be fair and equal exactly?
Actually, in the UK at least, fewer employers provide free coffee than you think. Why would they provide something likely to increase the number of toilet breaks, effectively paying twice?
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Member 9082365 wrote: Cost of Snickers = 50 * cup of coffee.
A cup of coffee costs $0.01? Wow, that's cheap.
Member 9082365 wrote: How would this be fair and equal exactly?
Who said anything about being fair and equal? I want Snickers. Period.
Member 9082365 wrote: Why would they provide something likely to increase the number of toilet breaks,
Uh, it's my understanding coffee will give you the runs. Snickers certainly won't. Snickers satisfies.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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Who gives a rats ass about equality. A need is a need.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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RyanDev wrote: Is it too much to ask that the minority (non-coffee drinkers) be treated fairly and equally?
Do you receive compensation for you labour? That is fiar.
Be grateful for anything else, however minor. Do you have clean drinking water?
I work in a large city - they have treated water. I detest that taste. So, I filter it through ground coffee beans and drink that instead.
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Tim Carmichael wrote: Do you receive compensation for you labour?
I need a raise of 2 Snickers per day to be compensated fairly.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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RyanDev wrote: I don't drink coffee
Oh, I see, not a serious software developer, eh?
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Have you tried asking for your "share" of the coffee in cold hard cash?
Brent
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dbrenth wrote: Have you tried asking for your "share" of the coffee in cold hard cash?
No. But they won't buy back unused vacation time so I doubt they'll pay me for unused coffee.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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I've never had free coffee. My previous company was small (17 people), and we each chipped in $5 a week toward communal coffee. At the current company you either bring your own from home, or pay $2 a cup down in the cafeteria for coffee that looks and smells like reconstituted cat urine.
I bring mine from home in one of these[^]. It holds an entire pot of programming fluid.
Software Zen: delete this;
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At a previous job I worked at coffee, tea, lemonade and soda (and of course water) were provided for, then came budget cuts and lemonade and soda were cut...
Soda I understand, as it's relatively expensive, but lemonade is like less than $2,00 for a bottle that lasts one to two weeks.
That's one of the reasons I got dissatisfied and ultimately quit.
Yes, such a small thing can have such a huge impact.
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It's an acquired taste... Get your share!
As a business owner. Huge difference. Cost of POT of coffee = 1 snickers bar.
No company I know does this.
I would offer you a NoDoz (Caffiene Pill), but NOT even a 5hr energy, as those are expensive.
Finally, if it was a TINY office, and you were a KEY person, I would probably do something,
just to show you that you are appreciated. But I would have to be careful in a real business
setting!
And dang you. Now I want a Snickers! 
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Kirk 10389821 wrote: Cost of POT of coffee = 1 snickers bar.
Not quite, it appears.[^]
But I won't eat 5 snickers a day.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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Okay,
I buy BAGS of ground coffee.
2 scoops makes a pot.
Bag = $8.00
Pot = $1.00 or less!
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Kirk 10389821 wrote: I buy BAGS of ground coffee.
Cheapskate.  
Kirk 10389821 wrote: Pot = $1.00 or less!
And a snickers can be half that.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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One snickers.
Vs. 5-10 cups of coffee (a cup is no longer 6oz in the USA).
Most of us drink via mugs.
And hardly anyone drinks a whole pot every day. We used to do 3-5 pots with 8-10
people in the office.
Don't get me started on the $250 coffee machine
Well worth it in the end.
But once we start supplying snickers, we will get the coffee drinkers wanting TamTam or KitKat bars.
People complaining of Nut allergies. Some wanting cookies, etc.
To which I say. Bring what you would like to have or to share. I will bring the coffee, the creamer, the hot water, and the sweetener. Heck we even provide the mugs
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You make a good argument but you can't sway me. 
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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I don't drink it eihter. It would suffice a caffeine capsule dispenser
To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems - Homer Simpson
Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction - Francis Picabia
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Well, given that coffee is typically self-serve, and kept at a distance in the brew machine, while we can buy snacks ready-to-eat and store them in our office - well, I think that the cost analysis leads to something much better than Snickers.
Maybe a twenty minute nap in the afternoon?
Then again, maybe all that wasted time is part of the process - getting us geeks out of our offices to engage in tribal bonding. You know - bowing to the magic filter, apportioning out the bleeding grounds, etc., etc.
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bkebamc wrote: Maybe a twenty minute nap in the afternoon?
I second that! 
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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