coffee cups in the office or not?

[emily_in_nc]

#2 - ugh, styrofoam cups in every coffee area. I work for a larger company, so fortunately it sounds like this is not the norm at smaller workplaces. I use my own mug as do most others, but there are some who use styrofoam day after day. There's just no excuse for that in my mind, and I have lost respect for at least one (VERY smart) co-worker who goes through several foam cups a day, every day.

[ClockworkOrange]

As with many things, here in the UK we are always way behind you guys in the US.

We only had a water dispenser about 2 years ago, now what really does annoy me is when somebody decides to wash the old cups and put them back..........that is just so unhygenic.

Back to original question, yes, coffee and tea cups are provided but they are disgusting, so I bring my own in and keep in a safe place, otherwise somebody else pinches it, now we are only about 12 in staff.

BUT WHAT DOES ANNOY ME....................why can't people rinse/wash their own cup, instead of just chucking it in the sink WITH contents of stale coffee or tea!

OK, rant over.

Clock

[uk elephant]

I've got my own mug at work too, as does everyone else. and there is a collection of random mugs for guests in the kitchen area. Luckily, we do have a small kitchen area where we can wash our mugs and most people do wash their own.

[limewave]

Our company provides Styrofoam cups. But I use my own travel mug. I also have a nalgene bottle I use for water.

Also, I use my own travel coffee mug when I go to the gas station or at Starbucks. I get a discount for having my own cup.

[JennK13]

Both - typically, staff uses their own mugs, and we have way more mugs in our kitchens than we have staff. At one point, when we were trying to be more "green" and cut our budget, the lady in charge of supplies refused to order styrofoam cups and told everyone to use the mugs. However, we are a government, and when we have guests here for meetings, you can't give them a mug with a brown stain ring in the bottom of the cup. We also have large scale gatherings with 20-50 people, where we'll put out the coffee pots and sleeves of cups for people to help themselves - it would be a lot of work and washing to put out that many mugs, and they are all different and don't match (not that looks should matter).

One last thing, we also started cutting down on bottled water, too. We bought pitchers for each of our 3 kitchens and matching glasses and use those for meetings as often as possible instead of bottled water. Staff also uses the glasses daily instead of the cups or bottles.

[tulip]

Ah, I work from home...so I get to make the rules. No styro or paper cups. Tea on demand!

[sfa]

It's entirely DIY in my office. There's a coffee pot, but if you want coffee, you bring the coffee from home AND the mug to put it in. We keep some on hand for meetings (and extra mugs) but it rarely gets used--we're more likely to move the meeting over to the cafe and get coffee there.

Sarah

[lph]

Bottled water is my personal gripe. I live in a country which is literally overflowing with masses and heaps and oodles of excellent, clean water. The oh-so-posh bottled water "Voss" is the same water that people in that small town a bit south of here wash their dishes in and flush their toilets with. The tap water in Oslo is maybe not quite that pristine, but still very good quality.

so WHY does my workplace - we work with river and water planning for crying out loud - insist on having these stupid water cooler thingies, that have been transported for miles? Just to get it a few degrees colder??

[Norse]

The company supplies paper cups but a lot of people, including me, have their own mugs. I keep a separate glass for the water cooler.

[Susan Otcenas]

We have a cupboard filled with mugs, glasses, plates, bowls, eating utensils, serving utensils, etc. I need to pick up some dessert-sized plates because most of our plates are dinner sized and having birthday cake on a dinner plate is odd. We almost never use anything disposable. We do have paper towels in the kitchen, but we also have cloth hand towels, which is what most people use. (Actually we have only cloth towels in the bathrooms, too. They get washed regularly; we have a washing machine.)

TE buys coffee from a local roaster (Nossa Familia) and flavored syrups for all to use. We have an espresso machine and a small coffee pot, though no one really uses the pot. Espresso all the way, baby! We used to buy milk, but ended up letting folks buy their own milks, because everyone seemed to want something different (almond, soy, non-fat, lowfat, etc.)

[pfunk12]

We have a deli in our building that uses paper disposable cups but I have seen many employees walk in with their mugs. We also have Keurig machines on each floor and everyone uses their own mugs.

[smilingcat]

We have a cupboard filled with mugs, glasses, plates, bowls, eating utensils, serving utensils, etc. I need to pick up some dessert-sized plates because most of our plates are dinner sized and having birthday cake on a dinner plate is odd. We almost never use anything disposable. We do have paper towels in the kitchen, but we also have cloth hand towels, which is what most people use. (Actually we have only cloth towels in the bathrooms, too. They get washed regularly; we have a washing machine.)

TE buys coffee from a local roaster (Nossa Familia) and flavored syrups for all to use. We have an espresso machine and a small coffee pot, though no one really uses the pot. Espresso all the way, baby! We used to buy milk, but ended up letting folks buy their own milks, because everyone seemed to want something different (almond, soy, non-fat, lowfat, etc.)

I want a job at TE I'm paying for my own relocation expense to Troutdale!! I could be a product tester and a reviewer! Troutdale to Hillsboro not too far to commute

My previous company was too cheap to have cups, plates or any such thing. However, they did provide coffee. We all had our own mugs, cups etc.

The new company which I just started on Monday ... not sure since I use my own mug so haven't checked. Quietly asking if I can commute on my bike.

[Bike Chick]

Everyone brings their own cup but we have sytrofoam in the cabinet for visitors. We don't have many visitors.

[Susan Otcenas]

Quietly asking if I can commute on my bike.

This is a thread hijack, but... why would you need to ask? Unless they are payin gyou for your travel time, seems to me you should be able to get to work any way you want.

[GLC1968]

I want a job at TE

You and me both...even if it would mean having Susan as a boss!

You should see TE's building - it's a dream place to work (never mind all the cool people!). They've got a huge bike storage room for commuters (inside!), showers, a great kitchen, beautiful building, plenty of parking...and really commuteable from the western suburbs of Portland (and probably from Portland itself, but I don't know those roads as well).

Too bad they aren't hiring EE's.