When you’re looking for an office drinks supplier, you’ll be weighing up lots of factors. As experienced suppliers ourselves, these are the top 10 qualities we would look for:
- Transparency – Is your supplier clear from the start about the terms of the contract you’re signing? With many contracts running for three to five years, make sure your supplier’s claims stack up from day one.
- Fairness – Have you checked the small print? Sadly, some suppliers give the industry a bad name with contracts that include punitive terms when it comes to extending or cancelling your agreement. If the contract looks unfair, you do have a choice – look elsewhere!
- Honesty – You need to be able to build your business relationship on trust. Are you dealing with people who act with integrity? Ask yourself if they’re more interested in their sale or the needs of your business. There’s no substitute for a face-to-face meeting when you’re deciding if this is someone you can do business with.
- Insight – Has the supplier shown an interest in your company’s culture, organisational set-up and expectations? Have they impressed you by coming up with genuinely useful solutions?
- In-house engineers – Does the supplier employ their own engineers? You need to be sure there are people on hand with the knowledge and experience to service and repair the machine you’ve selected.
- Fast breakdown response times – There’s nothing worse than a machine that’s out of action for days on end. That’s why, at Roast & Ground, we recommend signing up for a breakdown or maintenance contract. But do check the contract to make sure your supplier responds quickly to breakdowns.
- Great customer service – Once you’ve signed on the dotted line, are you sure you will still be dealing with friendly and professional staff, willing to go the extra mile?
- Flexible ordering – You are likely to buy your drinks supplies from your machine supplier, so you need to be assured about orders and deliveries. Can you order online, or only by phone? How quickly do they deliver? A good supplier should be able to offer next-day delivery.
- Freshly roasted coffee – For good quality coffee, you need fresh beans, freshly roasted. Can your chosen supplier offer a good range of high quality products?
- Good value – Last but not least, you’ll be looking at price. Does your supplier offer good value for money for the high quality products they supply?
For more tips on choosing a supplier, check out our eGuide:
