This is a real HR Coffee Corner question --on coffee!

As the new person in HR, I was just given the responsibility for supplying and monitoring the coffeemakers.

A few caffeine-addicted people here have been using 2 and 3 bags of coffee in the filters instead of one.  Pretty potent.  Now I am getting complaint e-mails about this from people who want their coffee 1-bag normal.  I have sent out an email and put signs over the machines that only 1 bag should be used, but the problem continues. Any suggestions about what I can do short of installing a Nanny-cam or switching everyone to tea?

 As a newbie, I do want to keep within the budget assigned to the beverages, and these extra bags will push me over!

I also have the problem of people drinking glasses of the milk designated for the coffee, but that's another problem. 

We too had the coffee (and milk) problem.  What we did is get rid of the traditional coffee maker and purchased a Flavia beverage system (one that makes individual cups of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc.).  It has actually been more cost effective than the coffee maker/bag system and people are able to customize the strength of their coffee by choosing a stronger type of coffee.  It is also a lot less messy.

It's not perfect, but it did solve that particular issue.  Haven't figured out how to solve the milk problem, yet.

 Best of luck.

E.

We want our salespeople caffeinated.  We went to a beverage machine and nobody used it and they resented having their coffee taken away so we brought the coffee back.  It was a move made by a sourpuss sales manager who felt that people would sell more if they didn't spend "all their time" at the coffee machine.  Sales tanked under her regime and she is no longer with the Company.  It was a strikingly negative experience.  The coffee part, that is.  To be honest, it is true that the 1-bag coffee is pretty darn weak and I'm sympathetic to the multi baggers.  However, unless you have a tight budget for coffee, perhaps you can just make some labels or signs to hang on the handles of the pots so people can see what it is they're pouring.  If money is to tight for the multi-bag coffee usage, then make people go to you or someone other designated person to get their one bag of coffee per x unit of time.  If people want to bring their own to add, that should be ok (but then do make sure there's some way to label the pots).

I really don't think criminalizing it and disciplining people will be effective, especially if you don't have a camera over the coffee maker.

We solved the dairy problem: we don't supply it.  I have a small fridge in my office and I keep some 1/2 & 1/2 in it.  Cube farm people have super-pasteurized no-refrigeration necessary creamer thingies or they put theirs in the office refrigerator with their name on it.  The creamer thingies are real dairy, they just don't need to be in the 'fridge.  For those who don't want to figure out the whole logistics thing about moo-juice, well, they can use the powder.  Yuck.

I like the idea about having two pots--I can mark them "regular" and "strong."  This should cut increased use of bags--and resulting complaints about coffee being too strong or too weak--in half--well, if everyone can resist multibagging the "regular" or underbagging the "strong." 

I won't switch to powdered creamer; it's beyond yucky.

ninanewbie:

I won't switch to powdered creamer; it's beyond yucky.

You go, girl.  Stay strong.

Hey, at least your issue was one of coffee with "some" caffeine vs.  coffee with a lot more of it. Some knuckleheads at our company were spiking the decaf by mixing it with caffeinated coffee--in the designated decaf machine--without warning anyone with a sign! This is a potential health hazard for people with certain medical conditions.

We too have had the issue of the strong versus the not so strong coffee drinkers.  We settled our debate by doing exactly what someone else did.  We have one pot for the regular strength and one for high-tess as I like to refer to it.  We haven't had the milk issue but we buy half-and-half and not regular milk. 

I actually get our coffee from Dunkin Donuts.  It is delivered automatically at the interval you want (every week, every 2 weeks, every 3 weeks or every month) and it comes in pre-measured packages. We use one pack for the regular coffee drinkers and 1 1/2 - 2 packs for strong coffee drinkers. 

The funny thing about this is that I don't even like coffee and I am the one that solved our coffee struggle here.  I can't even stand the smell of the stuff...