What's in the Box?
Welcome to the first installment of a new series dedicated to suggestions we receive in our suggestion box. Thus the title: "What's in the Box?" We'll also respond to each suggestion, sort of like Ann Landers or the Ethicist, but not as cheeky or helpful. In case you have never seen the suggestion box, it's a small black locked box on top of a short square table in the cafe, next to the large round table and bookshelf. On the same table is the Lost & Found bin, which you may also not have noticed. At the time of this post, the suggestion box was being used as a pedestal for the pencil sharpener.
Attached to the box is a pen that does not work, and there's never any paper to write suggestions. We tried to keep a pad there, but it never seems to get used for suggestions and doesn't stay very long. Writers are pad stealers, not to point the finger. But on to what you came here for... suggestions!
Suggestion: Bathroom spray please.
Our bad for running out, and we wholeheartedly agree in the importance of bathroom spray being that our office is only about ten feet away from the bathroom. So, ask and you shall receive. Check the bathroom.
Suggestion: Pre-ground coffee PLEASE, PLEASE! & maybe a "normal" coffee maker!.
Ahh, the coffee situation. Before we saw this suggestion, we sensed much tension around the coffee system—grinding beans and brewing coffee. We blogged about it extensively hoping to abate the frustration, but our effort did not seem to work. And so we bought pre-ground coffee, before we even pulled this suggestion out of the box! How about that. Now, when we purchase coffee, half is pre-ground, half is whole beans. This way, members who prefer to start with whole beans still have the option. And members who were ready to throw the grinder out the window, can skip that step and move directly to brewing coffee.
And, ahh, the coffee maker. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the BUNN is here to stay for the near future, so we would recommend embracing it, learning how to use it, and consorting with other Paragraph members on best practices for a fine cup of coffee.
In the distant future, we're considering 1) hooking up the BUNN coffee maker directly to the water line so you can skip the step of pouring water and 2) replacing the BUNN with one that is not only hooked up to the water line but filters water before it is brewed, which makes a big difference in taste. The new machine we've got our eye on, however, is about 26 inches tall, and we've only got about 20 inches between the counter and the top cabinet, which means we'd have to expand our counter space or add a table without height restrictions. Not that we can't use more counter space, but it becomes a much more costly and consuming project, and therefore, not a project we'll tackle until members stage a coffee rebellion or we receive a bunch more hate mail about the BUNN. Because what if people start to like the BUNN and then we spend a lot of money to to replace it?
Suggestion: I think there should be more square dances.
We do too, it's just that there's no room to do-si-do in the cafe, and we also don't know any qualified callers.