Leo Voisine
Member
- Messages
- 5,729
- Location
- East Freeetown, Massachusetts
I had a job once - yeah I know.
Anyway - Like I said I like the coffee fresh.
I was a design engineer at the time - on the board, with pencil. I was always there - never left. In the area there were 3-4 empty desks - that were not going to be occupied.
I asked the boss if it would be OK, if I brought in my own coffee maker and made my own coffee for myself. He said it was OK.
So - I did.
I like Dunkin Donuts coffee - so that is what I made - 1/2 pot. Bottled water - decent coffee maker, not great.
Well, there was one other guy in the office that asked me if I would care to let him have a cup - so I said OK, and he gave me 50 cents. I really didn't want it - but he insisted - and asked if I minded if he would have a cup every morning for 50 cents a cup - I said OK. So I started to make a full pot every morning.
So - word got out - and I made 5 full pots every morning - I offered tea (5-6 varieties), cup of soup, crackers, and even have special FREE days from time to time. I needed to buy new coffee makers, styrofoam cups, plastic spoons, sugar packets, and Coffee Mate.
Money was on the honor system. Can on the desk - you put money in and make your own change. I never allowed a lot of money to ever be in that can. It was always locked up in my desk.
Nobody had any idea that I was making money. I had FREE fresh coffee always - and free lunch every day. I was not trying to make money - so I just wanted the FRESH coffee - and I had FREE coffee days lots of times - but everybody just loved my coffee and kept coming. I had the entire office, even the boss. Nobody complained.
Many people told me I should charge more money, but I said no. There was another guy on the shop floor that had one of those 50? cup coffee makers - but he made Chock full of nuts coffee - real strong and bitter, He charged twice as much for the coffee.
One of the customer service reps told me one time I didn't know what I was doing. Ohhh I said - what should I do? So he showed me his Giant Dunkins Donut styrofoam cup and told me he pays $2.00 every morning - I should charge that much and if I didn't I was loosing money. I told him I would fill his cup every day for $1.00 - He got mad at me and said he would - just to prove his point. At the time - it was costing me about 25-30 cents to fill his cup.
Nobody else made the coffee - me only. I was busy. No confrontation - I made the coffee - only me - all day every day pot after pot after pot. I had my coffee made and in my cup and made sure by boss had a fresh cup - then made another pot ready for the office people as soon as they got in.
Funny - I bought soooo much coffee at dunkin donuts that my car smelled like coffee all the time.
I used to bring in supplies early early in the morning so nobody would see just how much stuff I was luggin in. Bottled water is heavy. Might look a little suspicious - but they knew.
One time I was on vacation and the engineering secretary filled in for me. She didn't measure - just dumped coffee in the filter and filled with water - WOW, did I hear about that when I got back from vacation.
Sooo - after a while I found a new job at Winchester. The coffee desk was FULL of all sorts of stuff - FULL. Cups, spoons, cup o soup, tea(many varieties), hot water maker, coffee maker, sugar, coffee mate (big cans) - etc etc etc. I could NOT take all that stuff with me. The secretary knew I was making money and got free lunch once a week or so and had all the FRESH coffee I could possibly drink and I brought home a bag of Dunkins coffee from time to time - so she asked me if I would sell her that little private coffee business. I sold it.
It was fun.
She never succeded at it - got her money back, yes, but eventually lost all her customers.
Leo
Anyway - Like I said I like the coffee fresh.
I was a design engineer at the time - on the board, with pencil. I was always there - never left. In the area there were 3-4 empty desks - that were not going to be occupied.
I asked the boss if it would be OK, if I brought in my own coffee maker and made my own coffee for myself. He said it was OK.
So - I did.
I like Dunkin Donuts coffee - so that is what I made - 1/2 pot. Bottled water - decent coffee maker, not great.
Well, there was one other guy in the office that asked me if I would care to let him have a cup - so I said OK, and he gave me 50 cents. I really didn't want it - but he insisted - and asked if I minded if he would have a cup every morning for 50 cents a cup - I said OK. So I started to make a full pot every morning.
So - word got out - and I made 5 full pots every morning - I offered tea (5-6 varieties), cup of soup, crackers, and even have special FREE days from time to time. I needed to buy new coffee makers, styrofoam cups, plastic spoons, sugar packets, and Coffee Mate.
Money was on the honor system. Can on the desk - you put money in and make your own change. I never allowed a lot of money to ever be in that can. It was always locked up in my desk.
Nobody had any idea that I was making money. I had FREE fresh coffee always - and free lunch every day. I was not trying to make money - so I just wanted the FRESH coffee - and I had FREE coffee days lots of times - but everybody just loved my coffee and kept coming. I had the entire office, even the boss. Nobody complained.
Many people told me I should charge more money, but I said no. There was another guy on the shop floor that had one of those 50? cup coffee makers - but he made Chock full of nuts coffee - real strong and bitter, He charged twice as much for the coffee.
One of the customer service reps told me one time I didn't know what I was doing. Ohhh I said - what should I do? So he showed me his Giant Dunkins Donut styrofoam cup and told me he pays $2.00 every morning - I should charge that much and if I didn't I was loosing money. I told him I would fill his cup every day for $1.00 - He got mad at me and said he would - just to prove his point. At the time - it was costing me about 25-30 cents to fill his cup.
Nobody else made the coffee - me only. I was busy. No confrontation - I made the coffee - only me - all day every day pot after pot after pot. I had my coffee made and in my cup and made sure by boss had a fresh cup - then made another pot ready for the office people as soon as they got in.
Funny - I bought soooo much coffee at dunkin donuts that my car smelled like coffee all the time.
I used to bring in supplies early early in the morning so nobody would see just how much stuff I was luggin in. Bottled water is heavy. Might look a little suspicious - but they knew.
One time I was on vacation and the engineering secretary filled in for me. She didn't measure - just dumped coffee in the filter and filled with water - WOW, did I hear about that when I got back from vacation.
Sooo - after a while I found a new job at Winchester. The coffee desk was FULL of all sorts of stuff - FULL. Cups, spoons, cup o soup, tea(many varieties), hot water maker, coffee maker, sugar, coffee mate (big cans) - etc etc etc. I could NOT take all that stuff with me. The secretary knew I was making money and got free lunch once a week or so and had all the FRESH coffee I could possibly drink and I brought home a bag of Dunkins coffee from time to time - so she asked me if I would sell her that little private coffee business. I sold it.
It was fun.
She never succeded at it - got her money back, yes, but eventually lost all her customers.
Leo