HELP!! Deal with coffee sharing issue

colinwen

Throughout this issue in other forum as well.
Hope different group can give me different advice.
Story as below.

As a postgraduate student, I stay in the my office in uni most of the time.
After moving my office to a bigger area which share with my supervisor, other colleague and students, I brought my EM6910 and grinder to uni to enjoy the coffee through the whole day.

I am happy let others to use my machine if they know what they are doing.
Home roast bean save people a lot compared to buy coffee from the coffee shop in campus, I love others to chip in the bean I roast.
At beginning, people through few coins in the jar in the first 2-3 months.(I was asking 50c per double shot which is very close to my cost).

In the past one month, no one put any money at all, but the bean consumption increase after people realize the quality of my roast is far better than the shop in campus.

As a poor, no in come, live on scholarship student, I can not offer that lost every day.
I yet do not have time to chase people to put the money every time when people use the machine.
I am thinking to increase the request (50c up to 1 dollars?), but I worry its not fair for people really pay the money but the sneaky people wont pay anyway.

I believe there are huge number of members here have their machine in their office or working place.
I am looking for a solution not to damage the relationship in the office but not lost my profit either.

I feel its a lit culture background differentiate myself and others.
My asian/chinese background is more conservative, especially to my supervisor.(I did not care if my supervisor will pay or not anyway)
Maybe its better straight forward to others about the money issue?

Any advice and suggestion is appreciated.

Colin

Dry_bean.

Morning Colin, Take the machine home ( tell them it broke down) and buy your self a single person plunger, for your use only. Once they stopped contributing to the cookie jar the pattern was set, difficult to reverse without some ill feeling.

Rider

on 1323383725:

Morning Colin, Take the machine home ( tell them it broke down) and buy your self a single person plunger, for your use only. Once they stopped contributing to the cookie jar the pattern was set, difficult to reverse without some ill feeling.

Excellent advice Db.

shape_shifter

Completely agree with Db, the habit is there to use and not pay, it won't be broken and people won't pay when they get it for free and you've let them.  Take it home and enjoy your coffee.  I have an aeropress for work, I don't have to worry about anyone else wanting coffee and if they do I say sorry I only bought enough for one cup.

Brett H

on 1323383725:

Morning Colin, Take the machine home ( tell them it broke down) and buy your self a single person plunger, for your use only. Once they stopped contributing to the cookie jar the pattern was set, difficult to reverse without some ill feeling.

Frightening... My thoughts exactly as I was reading this.  Sad that human nature has spoiled the situation but this par for the course in every office/workplace.  There will always be those who want a free ride.  Perhaps they'll miss it so much that they'll all chip in for a semi-commercial set-up.  I have a single person plunger at work curently after the cleaning staff.. who shouldn't have needed to clean it... broke our large plunger.  My first thought was to run out and replace it but upon reflection I feel that it is some else's 'shout' for a while.  Feign a collar issue and take it home.

Koffee_Kosmo

Hi Colin I haven't worked in an office for over 15 years so things may have changed The reality is - in an office environment these share situations only work if the  machine and coffee is supplied by the company/employer? So I agree with the above posts that its hard yo reverse a set pattern You can still offer your supervisor a coffee as you can just as easily make a coffee for 2 people but take the machine away and the freeloaders can go to the shop on campus KK

Dry_bean.

on 1323387780:

You can still offer your supervisor a coffee as you can just as easily make a coffee for 2 people but take the machine away and the freeloaders can go to the shop on campus KK

At the risk of being perceived as a brown noser by your work mates. ::)

Muscles

Sorry but I am glad I am not the only one who is going through this.... My coffee affliction/addiction has spread and now everyone at work appreciates a decent cup over the local cafes. But like you, I found I was roasting and wearing the expense of the equipment and the beans. I will occasionally bring a bag of roasted in so the guinea pigs can comment but other than that it's Aeropress for me only. Take your machine home and let them go back to their old ways

FreshCoffee2

The first and clearest thing that came into my mind on this was..... a) what issue? Simple....take it home (and get a plunger for the office, and hide the coffee) and problem solved. Another useful alternative could be: b) hide the group handle AND label the machine prominently as "private property - ask first". In which case, take the cash up front upon handing over the group handle OR, keep a book with a page for each user, where they place an initial next to each time they borrow the group handle.  If you are not there, they dont use the machine (as in you are not there to hand over the group handle).  Running a book will cause you to chase them for the money each week (and also chase them for the group handle because odds are they will leave it with the machine instead of returning it to you each time. Double the price to $1.00 each, because everytime someone makes a cuppa, someone else will ask them to run one off for them at the same time.... On second thoughts dont run a book...no cash no group handle its so much easier. Failing that.....take it home. You are at work and dont have time to waste on this sort of BS from your work "mates", also if I was the boss I would be asking how much time you are spending doing this while you are on work time. No one is going to argue if you take it home, particularly those that have been abusing your hospitality. Rgdz, Attilio very first Crema site sponsor, and long time coffee workplace sociologist 

borat123

I like Attillio's advice.    'Pay for use of the group handle....'  :lamp: If they like your coffee, they should be happy enough to pay!  Change the sign to read 'Gourmet fresh roasted coffee, only $3.  See Colin.....'

colinwen

Thanks all, I did think about bring the machine back home, but that means I can only have one espresso with froth milk in my breakfast. I am more than happy to offer my supervisor free drink, as an oversea student, he spent lots time to sort out my research problem. Haven't mention he just bought a macbook pro for me this year. Being a brown noser... I did not worry too much, because obviously there are few stand in front of me. I only offer him a free drink, other really kiss his axx. I will say I just really appreciated what he did to me and I treat our lab as a family. Sadly, other student did not think this way and enjoy the free drinks... I believe they will feel regret very soon, since I will move on my journey next Feb (finish my study). But so far I think I manage keep the bean with me is the most practical resolution. Or I can sell home roast bean bag individually, instead of leave my bean container next to machine. Just like "Muscles", when I practise my roasting, I can not finish one batch that quick and looking forward others response (aka guinea pig). But now I do believe my roast combine with EM6910 is better than most of the coffee shop in campus (that's quite true, I dont know why "barista" in our campus always make the espresso base milk drink so watery). Of course, only compare to the campus one... People here did use the language mention how appreciate they enjoy the cheaper but better quality coffee here, but the action seems become slower. Funny part is my supervisor if I did not offer the coffee when I was busy, he always walk to the shop to get a coffee. I think he just not care about the money, and enjoy walking around the campus with a coffee in the hand. Thanks again for everyone's response, at least I know it does not only happen to me. And I am not miserly or petty. Colin

askthecoffeeguy

I agree withthe keeping your beans with you approach Something else you may want to consider is involving the other members of your lab in what you do by arranging to do some coffee training with them - which you facilitate And anyone who wants to use the machine needs to be trained by you! I regularly (well... once per year anyway!) go c amping with 100 plus mates and we take my Rancilio S27 single group commercial espresso machine and grinder, and a generator with us! I soon got jack of making coffee for 100 people so I started training folks on how to use the machine - and I placed a couple of HUGE signs around the machine saying, "This machine is for authorised use only - please do NOT touch this machine unless you have permission from the owner and have been shown how to!" And anyone I found touching the machine without permission I offered to instruct them properly on how to use - or esle I just kicked them off the machine I guess its about where your priorities lay Imagine if your machine were made of gold - would you let anyone use it then? No way! Well... this is a good thing to consider, and try saying the following words over and over to yourself: "Hey boof head, if you use my machine without splashing the cash I'm gunna pound you to the ground!" Now say that to the next person who touches your machine without permission and see what happens! p

colinwen

Thanks coffeeguy, Mine is EM6910, so not as fancy as yours, so I reel its not too bad for people operate it if they know what they are doing (or they thought they know). Personally, I don't think its difficult to operate EM6910, but difficult to make a good espresso with a proper amount, proper grinding size, and proper tamping. However, I am not the one drinking improper brewing coffee, so I am fine with that. ( and I dont think you can really damage the machine if you operate normally, right?) The only problem I have seen everyday is the cleaning things. People left the coffee ground everywhere on the bench, did not clean shower head or wipe the basket. Most terrible one is left the whole brewed coffee in the basket on the shower head!! That really happen in our school/research center next building, the rule of using machine is "clean the machine before you use, then left the rest to next"... What a terrible way. Having say that, I have been stopped by a staff on that building when I operate the machine during a workshop (of coures, before I brought my machine to uni). She told me if I have not used this machine before, don't touch it. I replied, I have a Em6910 at home, (she seems like did not know what I am talking). She gave me a "eye" anyway. Maybe she thought an Asian should not know how to use that machine.  (sorry.. a bit racist here). I would like to make my voice stronger to correct the wrong about people not paying, but as a non-English speaker, sometimes I feel its difficult to make sure if I express myself clearly without offending others. Well, always good to learn to cope with different culture tho. I believe I will learn some lesson this time.

askthecoffeeguy

any luck on the coffee sharing front?

colinwen

I just ask another colleague who consume the coffee as much as I did about any suggestion for make sure people pay their drink. He suggest as similar as most of the member here about keep the bean, he also gave me another 20 bucks to supply the bean and apologize he may consume more coffee than he put money in before. (I am pretty sure he did). Since its close to holiday season, no one really around university or lab. So even when I keep the bean does not make too much different. My action is going to keep the bean with me, and no leave next to the machine. If people ask me about my home roast bean, I will see I did not have much time to offer the bean for everyone. I will be fine if people go to buy the bean from local roaster. (Actually its truth that the 1 kg bean get consumed per week pretty much, and I dont have time to roast so many now). Once they paid the 200gram for 10 bucks from the local roaster, and even not a good one. They may start to regret the damage they have made. I will see what happen after this vocation.