We measure customer performance by looking at the conversion rates. Did they buy? Where in the buyer’s journey did they leave? We measure team performance based on sets of metrics, such as quality of work, the quantity of work, efficiency, level of organization, etc.

How can little perks like a Coffee Tea & Water Cooler boost conversions and worker performance? Inside we look at beverages for workers and customers.

Situations Where Comfort Increases Customer mood and thereby Boost Conversions

In this scenario, we use the term “conversion” to imply a business meeting outcome rather than a store purchase.

Business meetings happen every day, all day, and often run late. Your next appointment may be earlier than scheduled or your current meeting might run late. Either way, someone has a bit of time to spend in the lobby or waiting room.

We all know the pain of waiting – Are we there yet? Providing access to beverages such as cold water, hot water for tea and coffee allows the guests to take a moment, organize their thoughts, and focus on business rather than on waiting. Self-served or initiated by a receptionist, the result is a friendlier, less stressed situation where business remains focused and waiting is an opportunity rather than a pain.

Maybe that conversation goes something like this:

Good morning Mr. Smith; Mr. Brown is running about 20-minutes behind schedule. Please have a seat in our waiting area. Can I offer you the password to our Wi-Fi? Would you like water, coffee, or tea while you waitI will come to get you as soon as Mr. Brown is ready.”

Those little courtesies take the edge off and give the client a small break. Beverages help us to relax, reorganize and find our balance while we wait. The psychological benefit is a positive one as the mind changes from the hurry-up-and-wait mode to a less anxious one.

Meeting a new person to conduct business may be stressful. You have to find the place, find a place to park, rush to get there on time or show up early. Then you have to wait. It’s going from one extreme to another, and that situation may cause people to become stressed and anxious. Waiting over a cup of tea or coffee can change that. A person with better focus helps improve the outcome of meetings, and that works to your advantage.

How Do Coffee / Tea & Water Cooler Improve Team Performance?

Businesses invest a lot in employee retention, training, ergonomics, team building, and more. Happy employees feel valued, cared for, and at home. Providing a water cooler with cold water, hot water, and options for tea or coffee machines can be very empowering, and it’s a pretty simple perk.

Settling in and getting to work on a big proposal is easier when you have a cup of your favourite tea or coffee at your desk. Sitting down in a team huddle to discuss progress, issues and ideas is more manageable when people are comfortable. A beverage of choice helps increase the comfort level.

Remember those team performance metrics? The comfort level of employees has an impact on how employees perform. Caffeinated coffee or tea can be a mechanism for improving focus. If you are settling in to read an eye-rolling, head-nodding document, then a cup of coffee or tea might be just the tool to help you get through all that reading. In an office or cubicle that is too warm or cold, a glass of cool water or a warm mug of coffee or tea helps your body adjust to the ambient temperature.

A beverage station allows employees to “self-medicate” without running down to the corner coffee shop. The empowering ability of beverages available in the office means that everyone has access to something that can help make their workday better. When employees are happy, they do more, accomplish more, and build better work relationships.

How Does a Commercial Coffee Machines Improve Team Performance?

Caffeinated coffee impacts the central nervous system by blocking specific neurotransmitter receptors that slow down brain functions. The excitability of consuming caffeinated tea or coffee keeps us awake, focused, and productive. Several studies show that coffee is good for improving long-term memories and recall. This is where commercial coffee machines comes to help your business. [1]

How Can a Cold Water Dispenser Help Improve Focus?

The human body is mostly composed of water. When we are dehydrated there is a physical impact to our physical and mental health. Dehydration increases anxiety and nervousness, irritability and can make us sleepy or slow. All those negatives are the exact opposite of what we expect in a star employee. Being able to refill a water bottle at work is a major component to staying hydrated. Water helps every system in our body to function at peak performance. That includes our mind, our emotional body and our physical body. [2]

The simple act of having access to cold water, hot water, coffee and tea positively impacts how business is done, whether you are talking about how to improve team performance or how to take the edge off anxious and irritating situations where visitors have to wait. Beverages are easy ways to improve how we approach work, the quality of the work, and they also improve how we react to situations and people around us. The positivity is just a sip away!

Can a water cooler improve the quality interaction between your staff and guests to your business? Can coffee or tea improve the performance of your team? Scientific research says yes to all of these questions. Adding a water cooler to your office is a simple way of making a big and positive impact on guests and employees. Learn more about beverage station options for business offices, retail locations, and waiting rooms.

The Benefits of  Water Cooler in stores

More and more retail stores are taking advantage of “comfort shopping.” By serving beverages to shoppers, retail stores encourage those shoppers to stay longer. The more time a shopper spends in a store, the more likely they are to purchase. Why do people go to stores? They are looking for something they cannot find online, and that something is a psychological connection – a feeling about a product. A nice cup of coffee or tea or a glass of cold water can be the distraction they need. These tricks are part of the psychology of shopping, and they help lead the way to conversions.

The process is about making the customer feel welcome. “May I offer you a cup of coffee?” That little sentence is a gateway that allows your sales team to make contact, start up a chat, and begin to deliver excellent customer service. The result is a consumer who is no longer a stranger. People who are shopping are more likely to buy something from people they know. “May I offer you a cup of coffee or tea” becomes a statement that makes the salesperson someone they know. [3]

Sources and Further Reading

[1] 4 Surprising Benefits of Coffee

[2] Improve Your Mood – Stay Hydrated!