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A certain VP I know once remarked that at one of his previous startup employers, he advised the upper management against providing employees with free coffee in
by sethg 17y ago
A certain VP I know once remarked that at one of his previous startup employers, he advised the upper management against providing employees with free coffee in the first place, because savvy employees know that losing the free coffee is a leading indicator for layoffs.
He said this at the engineering staff meeting following our day of carnage at which a third of the company was laid off. We also lost the free soda.
- blackguardx 17y agoAt the last company that I worked for, they didn't remove the free coffee but they took away the free napkins, sugar, creamer, coffee cups, etc. I was laid off two months later. The coffee also got better right before the layoffs. In an effort to save money, they looked for a cheaper coffee source than the crappy business supply company they had been using. They managed to stumble upon a deal at a local coffee roaster to get cheaper coffee. It was pretty good when made correctly. One of the worst things than can happen at a company is for someone who doesn't like "strong coffee" to be the first one into the office in the morning. Not putting enough coffee grounds in the filter basket makes coffee taste bitter and horrible. If you want weak coffee, add water to a strong cup. Someone eventually had to put up signs giving this same advice.