Thursday, October 14, 2004

Goodbye Cans, Hello Dispenser

(Imagine this post with a low-priority designation :-)

I was across campus recently having lunch and I saw it: a fountain drink dispenser!

The time has come! Goodbye canned drinks!

And while I waited and waited for my grilled burger (those poor understaffed grill guys were bustin'-A), not a single person grabbed an orange cup to get themselves some ice and soda. I noticed that cans matching the dispenser choices (Coke, Diet Coke, etc) were no longer available. So I had my first canned Vanilla Coke in a long-long time.

Everyone else just grabbed cans for their lunch-time drink, too. Now perhaps it's because the fountain is new and folks just aren't used to them yet, but given that the fountain drinks only cover some of the wondrous canned selection we have now, I imagine most folks will just find new canned drinks and eschew the dispenser. Plus, I've got to admit I'm not the most dexterous person in the world, and balancing my work, my lunch, and a orange cup all at once is just a mix for sticky-floor disaster.

Fountain drink dispensers of course don't mix up the same goodness of the badness in the can. They are cantankerous and prone to bad calibration (oh, the temptation to adjust the mix) and messy problems. So I think we're preparing to blow more money to install and maintain a bad idea that, pivoted one way, looks brilliant and has a high profile We're Doing Something to Save Microsoft Money! Where will that person be when things go wrong?

So just how far are we towards that $1,000,000,000 goal we have this year? Knock off 5% of the staff. Keep the cans.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW! Sounds like time is slowly ticking away towards layoffs.

The message has been writting on the wall for a long time now ... You can read it now ... or read it later ... regardless it will say the same thing.

Polish up you resumes kids!

Anonymous said...

If you're referring to the Bldg 40 cafeteria, then that's always been true -- they've only ever had a fountain drink dispenser near the grill. So not a new thing.

-- Mike

Anonymous said...

Soon, the remaining cans will go into a free vending machine.

Conveniently these machines have (currently disabled) coin slots - for the next round of efficacy where a token amount will be charged to offset the cost or to reduce the consumption. Better yet each employee will receive say five tokens a week for free soda and then they can pay for each can beyond their free allotment...so the company can stand on the high ground of still providing free soda. With the vending machines the selection will be greatly curtailed.

We got the soda dispensers in the cafeteria here in Charlotte a year ago. In July, out went the coolers on the floors and in came the vending machines.

Enjoy your Vanilla Coke while you can - here in Charlotte, it's gone.

Anonymous said...

I'd love to have dispensers. If you want to bring your own glass, you can get a bigger portion. I also think that fountain drinks taste better than canned drinks.

Anonymous said...

Soda fountains have been around campus for years. Btw, who the fuck drinks all those flavors of talking rain???

Anonymous said...

Oh please, get over it.

We have the same stuff in our restaurant here in Texas (LC campus) and you know what - the world still turns! We survived it!

I would not be opposed to even paying part of the price for the drinks. Because you know what? I still have great benefits. You will remember too, next time something serious health-related happens in your family.

Anonymous said...

Don't forget the cafeteria closures. Which never made any sense to me because you'd imagine any ms cafeteria could at least break even? Seriously, how fucking hard is it? Most people I know that drive off campus for food do so because they loathe the food, not because they want something different. And meanwhile, the company clock ticks away..