Vending Solutions

Your McLean, VA break room has potential. It doesn’t have to be a place that employees avoid or use sporadically. Instead, employees should be able to find a relaxing space with vending machines that offers delicious lunch options.

While breakfast is referred to as the most important meal of the day, lunch plays a crucial role in making the afternoon a success. Unfortunately, the lunch break is disappearing.

But isn’t this dedication to one’s career or job good for business? No. In fact, the opposite may be true. Rather than focusing on eating, many employees feel they need to do something more meaningful. They also feel guilty for not always being available.

Even employees who are working from home because of COVID-19 need a break too. Spending too much time at a desk without taking a break can decrease productivity and hurt the bottom line.

Creativity and Community

Everyone, including McLean, VA employees, needs a change of scenery every now and then. Creative thinking and new ideas are more likely to occur after taking a break or moving to a new workspace. Going outside for a walk or sitting in the sun help solutions to form.

Studies also suggest that taking time off in the middle of the day, whether to eat, walk or take a coffee break with coworkers, creates a community culture within the workplace and happier, more productive employees.

Rejuvenate your Break Room

Although a walk outside can be beneficial, too much of a good thing can turn into a bad thing, especially when a short break becomes an extended time away from the office. To create a sense of community and a pleasant place to go when getting away from the office isn’t ideal, create a better break space.

• Offer quality coffee service (a high-value benefit at a lower cost) and healthy snacks and beverages. For a bonus, consider offering vending options for free or at a reduced cost.
• If possible, bring some of the outdoors inside with potted plants, oversized windows, or natural scenery wall murals.

Regardless of how you encourage your employees to get away from their desks, it’s essential that you do it. Whether it’s lunch out, a walk around the block, or a foosball tournament in your break room, your McLean, VA employees will appreciate it.

To learn more about updating your break room or adding office coffee service or vending machines, contact SunDun Office Refreshments at 800.466.2731. We look forward to hearing from you.

The break room can change a Gaithersburg, MD employee’s workplace experience. A well-designed break room that offers popular snacks and beverages is a place for relaxation, spontaneous interaction between colleagues, and creativity as well as a spot to grab a bite to eat or drink. Even though the impact of COVID-19 during the past several months has substantially decreased break room visits, vending machines still have an important role to play as employees return to work.

It’s clear that each Gaithersburg, MD employer will approach reopening their place of business differently and on a timetable that fits their unique organization.

Promoting CDC recommended guidelines for “healthy hygiene practices such as hand washing and employees wearing a cloth face covering, as feasible” as well as encouraging social distancing or staying at least 6 feet away from other individuals and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces daily are just a few new behaviors employers will likely be recommending.

Break rooms with vending machines are also a tool that Gaithersburg, MD employers can use to encourage social distancing and fewer person-to-person interactions among employees. For example,

• Vending machines offer cashless or touchless payment options including mobile payments and are great for grab-and-go situations.
• To use a vending machine, employees will touch the machine once; scan their smartphone or swipe a debit/card; and walk away.
• Vending machines are open 24/7, keeping employees onsite during their workday.
• Staying on-site instead of going off-site for a bite to eat or beverage helps employees avoid external and less controllable environments.

Employers should also consider the types of snacks and beverages that will be offered. Eating healthy is more important than ever. Healthier ingredients like fruits and vegetables provide the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that the human body needs to support the immune system. Bottled water and other healthy beverages keep everything in the body hydrated and moving more efficiently.

But it is also wise to offer traditional options that are “fun” or provide a mental boost such as chocolate and other snacks. Most Gaithersburg, MD employees have been under prolonged stress, and while eating healthy is important, a favorite snack or beverage can provide a bit of an emotional or mental pick-me-up. Offering a balance of traditional and healthy options will help employees find the products they need when they want them.

For more information about our safety practices or upgrading your refreshment menu or break room space to include vending machines, please contact SunDun Office Refreshments at 800.466.2731. We look forward to helping you bring your employees back to work.

Workstations, desks, and the break room are just a few of the physical spaces that businesses have to consider as they begin the process of reopening. In addition, Baltimore, MD employers are developing new procedures and accommodations to ensure employee safety amidst ongoing concerns about COVID-19. Decisions made regarding the break room should be an important part of the plan.

Last week, members of the refreshment services industry gathered virtually to send a heartfelt and reassuring message to everyone. Shot in isolation from each individual’s home or business, the message is an inspiring 2-minute video. The takeaway is clear: break room service providers everywhere are here to support companies as they transition toward a new work environment.

SunDun Office Refreshments is responding appropriately and following the state’s COVID-19 re-opening schedules and guidelines as well as adopting stricter health and safety procedures for our employees.

In addition to maintaining social distancing practices, our route drivers are washing their hands or changing into a new pair of gloves before each visit. They are also sanitizing all contact surfaces and high touch areas at the end of every service call. Their goal is to leave Baltimore, MD break rooms cleaner than when they arrived. Additionally, we have implemented social distancing policies in our offices and distribution centers and are closely monitoring our employees’ health.

Before COVID-19, break rooms were an important resource, but today, they have become an even more valuable benefit for Baltimore, MD employees. Vending machines provide a safer way for employees to access fresh foods, snacks, and beverages. Products available in vending machines are individually wrapped in secure packaging for a quick, grab-and-go experience. Vending machines also offer cashless payment options, limiting contact even further. 

Providing employees with plenty of fresh foods, snacks, and beverages in the break room not only encourages employees to stay on-site but also limits potential exposure to viruses that can occur during off-site trips. Let’s work together to keep everyone safe.

For more information about customizing a refreshment menu or our safety procedures, please contact us at 800.466.2731.

The break room is the perfect place at work to celebrate fall. If your McLean, VA employer hasn’t gotten into the fall spirit yet, October 26, 2019 is National Pumpkin Day. In addition to thinking about all the yummy things that can be made with pumpkins, fall is a great time to boost employee moral by encouraging McLean, VA employees to branch out while having fun and meet colleagues in other departments. 

The following are a few ideas to help everyone celebrate fall.

Host a pumpkin decorating or costume contest:  Everyone loves a bit of competition. With Halloween right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to host a costume or pumpkin decorating contest for your McLean, VA employees. Both ideas work for single-person teams and multi-person teams, but multi-person teams can increase teamwork and morale. 

Decorate the office: There are a lot of different ways to decorate the break room or office for fall. Place decorated pumpkins (see pumpkin decorating contest above) or gourd arrangements around the room. Add in potted flower arrangements such as garden mums and tall grasses to bring more of the outdoors in. 

Enjoy hot mulled apple cider: Create an aroma based on a popular fall fruit – apples. Enjoyed cold or warm, apple cider delivers a unique flavor combination that is usually only found during the fall months. For a delicious apple aroma throughout the office, heat mulled apple cider on low in a slow cooker in the break room. Provide cups that are meant for hot liquids and a variety of healthy fall snacks.

Offer fall flavored creamers: Pumpkin season brings out a desire for flavors that aren’t usually consumed year-round. Whether it’s cinnamon, ginger or nutmeg, there are a lot of fall flavored coffee creamers, such as pumpkin spice, gingerbread, cinnamon vanilla bean, that can brighten your McLean, VA’s employees’ day. Don’t forget to offer a selection of non-dairy fall coffee creamers for those employees who do not consume dairy.

Support your community: Whether it’s a 5k or something longer, give back to your local community by sponsoring an employee team. For those employees who can’t or don’t want to run the race, there are other ways to be involved. Gather a group of coworkers to cheer on the participants and to meet the runners at the finish line or encourage employees to sign up to help with registration or to work at a water station. 

Not sure if your McLean, VA break room is ready for all the pumpkins that will soon be arriving? SunDun Office Refreshments can help update your entire break room or customize your refreshment menu with sought-after snacks, beverages and coffee. For more information, please call SunDun Office Refreshments at 800.466.2731. 

Earlier this month, leaders in the Rockville, MD vending industry joined their counterparts nationwide in attending the annual NAMA show in Las Vegas. Their goal was to explore new trends, technology, and products to bring to their customers. The show is an annual tradition sponsored by the National Automatic Merchandising Association, a group representing the $25 billion convenience service industry in the United States. 

Advancements in vending machines, coffee service, micro-markets, and pantry services were on display. Attendees took advantage of the opportunity to learn about them and connect with other industry members. Some of the world’s most popular brands were represented. They were complimented by new showings from fledgling entrepreneurs. Over 100 new exhibitors joined the show this year, and overall the show welcomed over 360 exhibitors and 4,500 members.

A total of 125 new products premiered at the show, and it is clear that healthy snacks and beverages continue to be a key growth category. The show’s Better For You Pavilion featured a collection of healthier items, and healthy products as a whole occupied its largest space ever at the show. Visitors discovered new items that continue to increase the appeal of healthier food options. 

Advancements in technology were also on display at the show. New and easier ways of processing digital payments that keep pace with consumer’s desire for quick, cashless payment at vending machines and in micro-markets were presented. Innovative systems that optimize up-to-the-minute sales data, maximize delivery route efficiencies, and minimize out-of-stock occurrences were also revealed.

The NAMA Show also featured a large number of educational speakers who are experts in their fields. Speaker Neil Swindale discussed marketing strategies that will help vending providers thrive in our quickly evolving digital age. Neil is the owner of VendCentral, a top marketing agency for the vending industry, and an expert in customer lead generation and engagement. 

With the vending industry constantly changing, keeping up with the latest technology and best practices is a great way for SunDun Office Refreshments to ensure that we are up-to-date with what is going on and provide the best products and services to you, our clients. We offer complete vending solutions to businesses and organizations in Rockville, MD. Contact us at 800.466.2731 for more information and a free consultation.

Which break room benefit do your Columbia, MD employees value the most? The answer might surprise you. It depends on which generation the majority of your employees is from. As of 2017, the Pew Research Center determined that 35 percent of the U.S. labor force were Millennials followed by Generation X at 33 percent. To be a sought after perk in 2018, a break room has to offer what current and potential employees are looking for, and that means understanding what Columbia, MD Millennials want.

While the age difference between Millennials and Gen Xers may not be very far apart, many Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) came of age during the recession. For a variety reasons, the recession had a strong impact on Millennials and triggered the need to find value in what they purchase. Words that describe a product or brand that convey value to Millennials include “well-priced given the quality,” “reliable,” “high quality,” “trustworthy,” and “loyal to customers.” Next in line are words that indicate social responsibility like “fair-minded,” “ethical,” “moral,” and “transparent.”

Whether the product in question is a piece of clothing, a smartphone, or a snack or beverage purchased from a vending machine or micro-market, value matters. So, how does this generational shift impact your Columbia, MD break room? Unfortunately, there is no single answer for all break rooms. To figure out what matters in your break room, consider the following questions.

Who was your current break room designed for, and what did they value? What do your current employees value? Does that match what Millennials value?

Depending on the age of your organization, your current employees might be those who the space was designed for. But if that’s not the case, what do your current employees value? Are they looking for healthy snacks, beverages, or food that have a functional purpose? Does that snack need to be organic or be made with as few ingredients as possible?

The next step in this process is to compare those answers to what Columbia, MD Millennials are looking for in the break room. Based on the results of the Pew Research Center study, most Millennials will look for a welcoming, comfortable space that offers snacks, beverages, and food that are well-priced and made with high-quality ingredients by companies that are trustworthy, transparent, and care about their customers. And that sounds like something everyone would enjoy.

Take the first step toward a high-value break room by designing a customized menu full of delicious and healthy snacks, beverages, and meals. Consider increasing the value by offering the same options to your Columbia, MD employees at no cost via pantry service or by adding a cafe-style office coffee service. For more information about increasing the value of an important employee perk, contact SunDun Office Refreshments at 800.466.2731. We look forward to hearing from you.

The workplace including the office break room is changing. After the pendulum swung from everyone working at the office to a dramatic jump in remote employees, the pendulum is settling somewhere in the middle. McLean, VA companies are bringing their employees back to the office in hopes of fostering face-to-face collaboration, inspiring innovation, and increasing productivity. And thankfully, it isn’t back into cubeville or the dark, sparsely-decorated break room hidden somewhere at the back of the building. Companies are redesigning their environments to be open, communal areas with spaces designed to promote spontaneous work-related conversations and increase morale.

One area that is no longer left as an afterthought is the office break room. To learn more about what your McLean, VA employees need and want, try surveying them. They know what they want. A recent Staples survey found that “83 percent of employees say that a well-stocked break room results in happier employees, while 53 percent say that a well-stocked break room results in more productive employees.”

In 2018, there are a wide variety of options available including cafe-style coffee service and vending machines.

Vending Machines

• Provide brand name snacks and beverages including traditional, healthy, organic, and sustainable options
• Include easy payment methods such as cash, credit/debit and mobile
• Built with environmentally-friendly technologies to decrease the carbon footprint  

Cafe-Style Coffee Service

• Creates a gourmet coffee-house experience without leaving the office
• Includes a variety of teas and specially sourced coffee beans and locally roasted coffees creating a unique coffee experience
• Uses different brewing systems including single-cup brewers, traditional brewers, and commercial brewers

Which options will your employees prefer? Think of SunDun Office Refreshments as a partner that can help with your McLean, VA vending needs through the services that we offer. To learn more about vending machine options or cafe-style coffee service, contact us at 800.466.2731. We look forward to collaborating with you.

In Gulfport, Mississippi, high school students in the National Technical Honor Society built a vending machine that, from a distance, appears to be a normal vending machine. After taking a closer look, however, it is clear that this vending machine is unique and special. It is an older vending machine that has been turned into a solar-powered vending machine that dispenses free personal hygiene products to the homeless in the community.

While researching project ideas for a device that blended STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) research with a community need, the students realized that there was a gap between when shelters and soup kitchens were open, and when homeless individuals needed help. To fill that need, they took an item that had a specific purpose, was no longer being used, and melded it into something new to meet a current need. Their approach is not new and can be adopted by anyone including Baltimore, MD organizations that need to change up their office break room to provide important benefits for their employees.

The older office break room or office kitchen, as it was known, is usually an unloved space located in an out-of-the-way location. Often it included poor lighting, a basic table and chairs, minimal amenities, and a traditional vending machine. Employees, especially Millennials, are looking for something different and have changed the way office break rooms are viewed. They are now seen as an important space that should inspire creativity and productivity, provide a spot to relax and interact with coworkers, and enjoy a meal or healthy snack.

To encourage your Baltimore, MD employees to stay on site to enjoy that meal or snack, consider offering free vend or specialty coffee service as a benefit in your office break room. Below are a few important points to know about each option.

Free Vend

• Employees pay part of none of the cost for beverages, snacks, or meals while they are at work
• Free Vend’s perceived value by employees is higher than the actual cost to the employer
• Employees are less likely to leave the office for a meal or break, which can increase overall productivity

Specialty Coffee Service

• Many specialty coffee services use sourced coffee beans and locally roasted coffees creating a unique coffee experience
• In addition to specialty hot coffees, many vendors now offer cold brew coffees as well
• Encourages employees to enjoy a well-made cup of joe without leaving the office

Have you considered adding one of these great benefits to your Baltimore, MD office break room? We’d love to help you determine which one fits your needs best. If you already offer specialty coffee service or free-vend and are looking to change-up your offerings, we can help you with that too. Contact SunDun Office Refreshments at 800.466.2731 to learn more.

How are your New Year’s resolutions going? Were you able to reflect on the past, create new goals, and make a few positive changes since January 1?

According to activepause.com:

• 40-45% of American adults make resolutions each year.
• the top 3 resolutions are eating better, losing weight and quitting smoking.
• only 46% of all the resolutions made will be kept after 6 months.

Health.us.news.com also states that 80% of New Year’s resolutions will fail.

The bottom line—change is hard. If it weren’t so difficult, more people would keep their resolutions, and maybe more businesses would still be, well…in business. Take Blockbuster for example.

Blockbuster was created in 1985, and for a while, it had a monopoly on the video renting business. In 2000, Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix, flew to Blockbuster headquarters to meet with Blockbuster CEO John Antioco to propose a partnership with the multi-million-dollar company. Hastings wanted Netflix to run Blockbuster’s brand online and in exchange, wanted Netflix to be advertised in Blockbuster’s brick-and-mortar stores.

Antioco and his team turned down the deal. After all, they were the leaders of their industry.

In 2004, Antioco realized his mistake. Seeing Netflix as a competitor, he tried to compete with them. Antioco removed late fees and invested heavily in Blockbuster’s online platform. But in 2005, he was fired. His replacement, only seeing the $200 million dollars the company lost when Antioco banished them, reinstated the late fees.

In 2010, Blockbuster went bankrupt. As of February 2017, Netflix was worth over $61 billion.

A few lessons we could learn from Blockbuster are:

1. Be open to new ideas
2. Invest time, money, etc. in exploring those new ideas
3. Maintain a healthy online presence

SunDun Office Refreshments isn’t afraid to change with the needs of our Washington D.C. customers. We offer multiple ways to purchase items including credit/debit cards and mobile payment options; a variety of services including office coffee service; and a large selection of products including healthy snacks and beverages.

Contact SunDun Office Refreshments at 800.466.2731 to learn more about the options available.