Cafitesse from Douwe Egberts is being tested at the faculty of BBT. A number of the one-metre-high machines is set up in the building on the Capitool and provides the BBT-employees with a choice of eight sorts of coffee. The test started 1 September and will run until the end of December. But, according to head UT-Catering Bart Dirne, the users are so enthusiastic that the experiment can be already be considered a success.
One of the reasons to position Cafitesse is the intention of the Facility Department to ban making coffee in staff offices. Dirne: 'The facility managers from the buildings tell us about an increase in unsafe situations. All these coffee makers in the rooms are not being serviced, consequently they break down and blow fuses in the buildings. We want to prevent that, but that does require a good alternative.'
The alternative is the Cafitesse. UT-Catering rents the machines from Douwe Egberts and takes care of upkeep and maintenance itself. The coffee price per cup is charged on to the service department, unit or faculty where the coffee machine is operational. Whether the employer then charges his employee for the coffee that is consumed is up to the employer. The use of the new machines will reduce the present price per cup (31 eurocent) by approximately 25 percent.
Dirne: 'If we are going to offer this concept to other faculties and service departments after 1 January - and it does look that way - we have a very attractive and competitive offer. Even for those making their own coffee. Do not forget that besides the dangers there are also a lot of hidden costs involved in making your own coffee: all those secretaries then do not have to go out and buy coffee . . .'
