Why do I need to buy coffee from my office coffee machine provider?

You may be thinking of getting a commercial bean to cup coffee machine for the office, or you might just want to upgrade your current coffee experience at work, but what kind of coffee machine and coffee beans are right for you? With so many options from whether you should rent, free loan or purchase your machine along with a wide range of various makes and models of machines, it may be hard to decide what you need.

If you’ve done your research into office coffee machines already, you’ll probably have come across the fact that many office coffee machine companies will encourage you to purchase your coffee beans and consumables regularly from them. Whilst this option may not work for every customer, we explain why this is standard practice in the industry and the benefits it brings to many customers.

Why do we need to buy our coffee from you?

We get asked this a lot ourselves and for us and many other office coffee machine providers, it comes down to three key things to consider. Beans, machine and service. Sure, you can buy an office coffee machine outright but when you do, you’ll probably find you’re only covered by a warranty and no service plan. We’ve talked above about the machine you will be choosing, and below we talk about the different contracts you can select to use. However, a machine alone is not enough to give you the coffee experience everyone in your office will want, so it is important to have the beans and service as well.

Talking of service, we all understand of course that it doesn’t come for free. It’s true that some machines have a warranty, although even this will be short-lived, and may not cover commercial use. You’ll also need to consider whether that warranty will give you the speed and responsiveness you need in your office. And so this is the reason that many of us apply the full experience of beans, machines and service.

Put simply the profit made from the machine and beans supports the work of the team, both internal and external who give you the great service you’d expect. This service isn’t just when things go wrong, it also provides you with the knowledge and expertise to answer questions, adjust for different tastes, and give everyone in your office the coffee experience they’ve come to expect.

Renting and free loan

There are different contract styles and depending on which you choose will affect whether you buy your coffee from the same supplier. Most customers prefer to either rent their commercial office coffee machines so they have the peace of mind that comes from a service plan, or they may choose to take a machine on free loan. Renting your office coffee machine means no CapEx so if you’re on a budget, you won’t have to fork out a significant cost upfront.

A free loan also offers an affordable and convenient option where you’ll get your machine on loan for free as long as you commit to an agreed quota of coffee on a regular basis. You can enjoy never running out of coffee and you’re still covered by your service plan. Free-loan will mean you have no running costs and make it really easy to budget for.

Purchasing your machine outright is beneficial for some companies, but again, it’s important to be clear on warranties and service. One of the benefits of purchasing your machine is that you’re free to make choices as to how and when you upgrade because you’re not tied into any contractual obligation.

You can read more about the differences between purchase, rent and free loan in our blog.

Are the coffee beans I need to purchase good quality?

As a general rule, the coffee beans provided by most office coffee companies should be at a good standard that will work well in most commercial bean to cup machines. Very little coffee sold in the UK is of significantly inferior quality, and will therefore not break your coffee machine. However some companies do work hard to adjust machine settings to compliment the coffees that they are providing.

Remember, you can have the best office coffee machine on the market, but if you’re using poor quality coffee beans, the outcome will result in a bad tasting coffee. On the other hand, you could have the best, most premium quality beans, but used in a machine that’s not up to the job – or set up wrong and is not extracting correctly, will result in the same. Similarly, if you have no service plan and the customer service you receive is poor or even non-existent, any issues you have may remain unresolved or slow to fix.

FreshGround’s range of coffee beans and special blends is of premium quality. Every coffee has been carefully selected by our in house coffee experts who are Speciality Coffee Association trained – in fact, EVERY member of our team is SCA trained. FreshGround’s machines are set to work so they’re compatible with the beans that our customers choose so you’ll get the perfect cup of coffee, every time.

So in conclusion, if you want a genuinely great coffee experience, it pays to have a provider that is passionate about delivering a great combination of beans, machines and service. And of course, none of this comes free of charge, so just as your staff will rightly demand a great experience, we make sure we can have the resource on hand to provide the service that completes the coffee experience you want.

Contact us for information

Ultimately, getting your coffee supplies from your office coffee machine company may come at a small premium if you compare to getting it from a wholesale store or supermarket. However, the costs of service plans which come as standard are factored into pricing structures, and there are other business overheads to consider. When you weigh up the benefits of purchasing your coffee from your office coffee machine supplier, in the long run, it’s likely a wise investment and more convenient. However, if you have any questions, our team are here to help. Just get in touch with us and we can discuss your individual requirements.