Who makes the coffee at your office?--Vent

[chamonix]

You should stop being in charge of the coffee--because that's what you are doing--being seen as being in charge of it by making the first pot, and by buying the supplies, nagging about the $, etc.

Unless you feel it IS in your job description to do this, I would simply send out a memo or mention it at a meeting that it is no longer yours, you could even go so far as to design a system for who is responsible on which day or week to make the coffee, buy supplies, etc, and then put up a note on the pot informing them that since you don't even drink coffee, it would be best if they took care of it themselves. Then WALK AWAY. They will handle it or start going down to the cafeteria. Either way, your problem is solved. It was nice of you to take this on, but if you are sick of it, then pass it on to one of the actual coffee drinkers.

 

[pearlieq]

Are you the admin? And/or is coffee making part of your job duties (officially or unofficially)? If so, that does sound annoying, but c'est la vie!

If not, and you're just doing it to be "nice", stop! Someone will figure out how to make coffee themselves. If people ask, just say you decided to leave the job to the coffee-drinkers, since you don't partake yourself. And get rid of the responsibility for the coffee fund as well! Who needs that headache?

 

[Maleficent13]

Bottom line, Amy, is it just doesn't pay to be nice anymore, apparently. You must learn to be more selfish, and not care anything about your coworkers. Shame on you for not knowing this and expecting others to actually be nice as well!!

 

[disneymom3]

That would be your mommy, not your secretary.

Uhh, no. Not even her!

We have comercial coffee makers at all our break stations, the kind that use a hot water line to make the coffee. You just dump the pre-messured coffee grounds into a filter, put it in the machine and press a button. Voila, hot bad tasting coffee! Most people are pretty good at starting a fresh pot when the take the last of it. I'm not sure who cleans the pots out, though. I don't drink the free coffee, I but a cup of the gormet stuff from the cafeteria. I'd rather pay $1 for a cup of GOOD coffee than drink bad coffee for free!

Ain't that the truth. And that second bolded line is just begging to be a tag!

Amy--the telling me to take the pot home and wash it would have pushed me over the edge too! I would have had a hard time being polite in response to that!

 

[FlyingBelle]

I am a coffee drinker, when I transferred to a job in another area of the company, I was promptly shown where the coffee maker was and the photo instructions of how to make it.

If I'm the 1st one in, I start the pots, if not - who ever the next COFFEE DRINKER comes in makes it. I certainly wouldn't expect a non-coffee drinker to make MY coffee!

Rule is, if you empty it, you fill it up!

Common courtesy folks!

 

[NMAmy]

Bottom line, Amy, is it just doesn't pay to be nice anymore, apparently. You must learn to be more selfish, and not care anything about your coworkers. Shame on you for not knowing this and expecting others to actually be nice as well!!

I think you're right, as always, Mal!

I fell into this because the person who had the job before me (and was apparently a coffee drinker) took it on. It's not part of my job description which is why I'm able to just take folks back and say, "Here is the coffee. Here are the filters. Now head on out and get some water." I like to empower our faculty.

I don't mind doing the things I do but I am very assertive and have made it perfectly clear that it won't be going any further. I just wanted to vent a bit.

And hello out there to all my weird non-coffee drinking friends!

 

[NMAmy]

Amy--the telling me to take the pot home and wash it would have pushed me over the edge too! I would have had a hard time being polite in response to that!

I don't think I was very polite at that time. The person who said this is on thin ice with me anyway.

You know, you guys reminded me of something that happened when I first started here. We send birthday cards out to everyone in the department. My boss thought that that cost too much and we should just have a cake once a month to celebrate. Oh, and Amy, it would be much cheaper if you just made a cake at home. WTH??? I looked at her with my mouth agape and finally said, "You want me to make 12 birthday cakes A YEAR on my own time and out of my own pocket?" Ummm....no, not gonna happen. She hasn't brought THAT up again.

 

[FlyingBelle]

Oh, and Amy, it would be much cheaper if you just made a cake at home. WTH??? I looked at her with my mouth agape and finally said, "You want me to make 12 birthday cakes A YEAR on my own time and out of my own pocket?" Ummm....no, not gonna happen. She hasn't brought THAT up again.

You gotta be kidding me? That's crazy talk! Let me guess, you work for a large corporation too, right? Sounds like something my old department would try to pull.

 

[diznygirl]

We have comercial coffee makers at all our break stations, the kind that use a hot water line to make the coffee.

I worked in one office that had one of those - and I added the water anyway! OOPS! So then there was a big mess on the counter, no coffee, and strangelly enough I was no longer asked to make the coffee....

I swear I didn't do it on purpose!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I would simply send out a memo or mention it at a meeting that it is no longer yours, you could even go so far as to design a system for who is responsible on which day or week to make the coffee, buy supplies, etc, and then put up a note on the pot informing them that since you don't even drink coffee, it would be best if they took care of it themselves. Then WALK AWAY. They will handle it or start going down to the cafeteria. Either way, your problem is solved. It was nice of you to take this on, but if you are sick of it, then pass it on to one of the actual coffee drinkers.

A coworker of mine made the coffee & she doesn't drink it, but her husband does and worked here. When he retired, she told everyone she wouldn't be doing the coffee anymore, and they'd have to find a new person. I think they found another female (who also doesn't drink coffee)

If it is a burden more of a nice gesture, then it is time to turn over the task to someone else. I think the OP is legit in her feelings. I would have felt the same way.

 

[RealMickeysGirl]

I used to share an office with a guy who had his own coffee pot because he didn't like the way the main coffee pot coffee tasted. Don't get me wrong - I think fresh brewed coffee in the morning smells great but coffee that has been warming in the pot since 8:30 smells pretty nasty by 4. I got to the point where I didn't like the smell of coffee at all - and I used to drink coffee before my reflux got bad.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Ewwww that burnt coffee smell is just awful. BLECH.

 

[mrsstats]

I don't drink coffee. Tea for me. But I am first in the office. For about my 1st year there I didnt make the coffee. I then offered to do so but warned them my family wont drink coffee I make. I have been making it for the past year with no complaints only compliments. I dont mind making it and we never make a 2nd pot.

 

[njcarita]

My husband and I can't function without my coffee-- he's my coffeemate

 

[Aidensmom]

There are only a handful of coffee drinkers in my office (including me), and most of them are "on the road" the majority of the time. I am the one who makes the first pot every morning, and usually ends up making the refill pots, when the others leave a half ounce in the bottom of the pot.

 

[DisneyfeverTN]

We have a commercial coffee machine at work. The first person that feels like having coffee in the morning gets it started. Then people just make more pots when they want more. I would never expect a person that does not drink coffee to start a pot. We don't automatically make another pot when one is empty though, because it might be wasted. We just make it as needed. I have to have a cup of coffee in the morning to wake me up!
I think that you might want to just stop making the first pot of the day. That should solve the problem.

 

[OceanAnnie]

You know, you guys reminded me of something that happened when I first started here. We send birthday cards out to everyone in the department. My boss thought that that cost too much and we should just have a cake once a month to celebrate. Oh, and Amy, it would be much cheaper if you just made a cake at home. WTH??? I looked at her with my mouth agape and finally said, "You want me to make 12 birthday cakes A YEAR on my own time and out of my own pocket?" Ummm....no, not gonna happen. She hasn't brought THAT up again.

OMG! That took such nerve. It was nice of you to break it down for her. That was a great response. That would've touched a nerve for me and I'd have probably blurted out, it would be cheaper for me if you made the cakes! It would have been a knee jerk reaction for me.(Your response was much better.)

 

[arminnie]

We have comercial coffee makers at all our break stations, the kind that use a hot water line to make the coffee. You just dump the pre-messured coffee grounds into a filter, put it in the machine and press a button. Voila, hot bad tasting coffee! Most people are pretty good at starting a fresh pot when the take the last of it. I'm not sure who cleans the pots out, though. I don't drink the free coffee, I but a cup of the gourmet stuff from the cafeteria. I'd rather pay $1 for a cup of GOOD coffee than drink bad coffee for free!

When I worked for EDS (Ross Perot's old company) AKA the evil empire - only decaf coffee was provided as caffeine was considered to be a drug.

When I worked for Visa we the commercial coffee makers and even the top brass made coffee. Of course about 90% of the Visa top managers were women, but everybody made coffee (except me who drank tea).

Over the years (and I started working in the 60s when life was very different), I sometimes got requests to make coffee. As I had no clue how to make coffee no one ever asked twice.

 

[arminnie]

I have to have a cup of coffee in the morning to wake me up!

I wish coffee would wake me up. I got up the other morning - drank 2 cups of extremely strong New Orleans coffee and promptly fell back asleep for two more hours. (thank goodness I'm retired)

 

[lucas]

I don't drink it and I don't make it. I seriously don't even get the whole coffee thing. The office wouldn't want me to make it cause I don't even know how! At home, Dh makes his own and I couldn't tell you how he does it.