Kurse of the Keurig - it causes blindness

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Aussie Innkeeper

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Location
Mount Joy, PA
We have a Keurig in our parlor. Don't get me wrong, I love the thing!! There is no more convenient way to make a nice cup of coffee or tea. However, what is it with guests?! I explain to each guest that I will have a POT of coffee out for them by 8am each morning. I explain where the pot will be placed. I also explain that if they'd like something hot and the pot is not out there, to please help themselves to the Keurig.
It never fails...in the morning about 8:20, with the pot sitting right in front of them, they make a cup using the Keurig!! UGH! When I point out that there's a whole pot of coffee right there (and the pot even says 'coffee' on it), it's "Oh, I didn't see that."
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Hey they use our HOT WATER KETTLE for a coffee pot every day too, and I specifically show them the ENTIRE COFFEE AREA - CUPS, COFFEE POT< CREAMER, it is all right there with a LIGHT ON THE TABLE...they walk past it.
Get a little note and when you put the COFFEE OUT stick it over the keurig.
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If it weren't for things like this.......doing business would not be so exciting.
Embrace the sillyness.....enjoy the idiots....for it could be a whole lot worse
 
I love my Keurig but this drives me crazy as well. I had a guest here for a week. Every morning I would put a carafe of coffee on her table and she would use the Keurig instead. After 3 days I got wise and stopped making her coffee. At the same time I had a family of 3 here. They went through 9 pods in 4 hours! Tried every flavor. I'm happy I have it but sometimes I just roll my eyes.
 
Yes, I put instant coffees out in the evening unless someone requests an evening pot. They drink the crap out of it in the evening, and some people use it at breakfast, even with a great big pot of coffee right next to it. I don't get it either.
 
I love my Keurig but this drives me crazy as well. I had a guest here for a week. Every morning I would put a carafe of coffee on her table and she would use the Keurig instead. After 3 days I got wise and stopped making her coffee. At the same time I had a family of 3 here. They went through 9 pods in 4 hours! Tried every flavor. I'm happy I have it but sometimes I just roll my eyes..
I think maybe they like the novelty of the Keurig or similar. Something they probably don't have at home so want to Play with it :-0
 
I guess I could tolerate the behavior a little better if those darn K-cups didn't cost me about 50 cents each. I don't want to be a cheap-skate. You really can't beat the convenience of the thing, but it sure isn't the most economical way to make coffee. I could see the novelty of making one cup, but several??? Do guests think the stuff just magically appears?
 
This may seem tacky.......something I would explore.
Removing the cups from the area during morning......put them back out mid afternoon or check in time.... ?
 
If I were there I would use your machine. It is too close to an espresso machine for me to want to drink a drip coffee pot/carafe you put out. I would think it was neat, I would also probably mess up a few cups trying to learn how to make it. Then I would get DH and show him and by now we have used 10 pods. We are staying with your for three days...
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Just thinking about the cost...
10 x .50c = 5.00 x 3 days = $15.00
Two couples like us = $30.00
 
We have two: one on the breakfast service area and one in guest kitchenette/TV area. They are great: Keurig convenience lets me serve flavored coffee, decaf, etc and 24/7. Hot water for hot chocolate.
Only a bit more expensive: Price with discounts = 0.45 USD per cup. I bulk brew premium grind from bean coffee at about 0.20 per cup. Left over coffee I can't serve (strong, I'll drink myself, but not decaf). And toward the end of service, if the carafe is empty, I won't rebrew, just let them top off with Keurig. If I had only brewed coffee I'd predict about 1/3 of brewed coffee would be wasted, so per cup cost is closer to 0.27. Average extra cost per guest is under a dollar per day.
And indeed, some people just want to play. In morning, I put carafe of fresh brew in front of Keurig, slide Keurig waaaay back on counter, and still I'll have nearly everybody used the Keurig. They are happy, wtf. What I like is the software engineer type who peels off the foil and dumps the grind into the machine and then complains about the grit. Smile.
 
Has anyone found a good hot chocolate brand for the Keurig? Every one I've tried comes out pretty weak.
 
Aussie - why don't you just remove the machine and/or the pods during hours you brew coffee, once the carafe is removed, place the machine and pods back out.
I do not use these machines as I use local specialty blends which guests request.
 
We put the Keurig AWAY at brekkie. It's out until the brewed coffee is put out and then it goes in the cupboard. A couple of guests have groused about the 'good' coffee not being available (without even tasting the brewed stuff) and we tell them the line would be out the door to make 20 individual cups of coffee at 8 AM and then out the door again when everyone went for the 2nd & 3rd.
 
I'm guessing they like the Keurig over the pot of coffee for a few reasons. First, they know the Keurig is just brewed. They don't really know how old the coffee in the pot is. Also, they can pick their own strength of coffee (in terms of roast - light, medium, bold, extra bold), assuming you have such a variety (as well as organics). Then, they can pick the strength of the brew from espresso to travel mug lightness. Also, the different flavors are a treat and they are on vacation, so they treat themselves, and I get that. I have a Keurig and that's the only way we make coffee and tea, whether its just us or a boatload of guests, except for the Cuban coffee - that stil has to be made in the espresso machine and the wet sugar whipped by hand. All of my ice tea is also made in the Keurig. No, it's not the most efficient way, but I have no waste, either.
As for hot cocoa - unless you go to the Cafe Escape version, which is the high end of the cocoa and such, all of the other hot cocoa is crap. I've had all four flavors and I do like those. I do not like the reguar cocoa from any of the brands. Then again, there's nothing like that hot cocoa I make in a pot on the stove with a qulality cocoa and milk and cream. Sometimes I make white hot chocolate.
 
I'm guessing they like the Keurig over the pot of coffee for a few reasons. First, they know the Keurig is just brewed. They don't really know how old the coffee in the pot is. Also, they can pick their own strength of coffee (in terms of roast - light, medium, bold, extra bold), assuming you have such a variety (as well as organics). Then, they can pick the strength of the brew from espresso to travel mug lightness. Also, the different flavors are a treat and they are on vacation, so they treat themselves, and I get that. I have a Keurig and that's the only way we make coffee and tea, whether its just us or a boatload of guests, except for the Cuban coffee - that stil has to be made in the espresso machine and the wet sugar whipped by hand. All of my ice tea is also made in the Keurig. No, it's not the most efficient way, but I have no waste, either.
As for hot cocoa - unless you go to the Cafe Escape version, which is the high end of the cocoa and such, all of the other hot cocoa is crap. I've had all four flavors and I do like those. I do not like the reguar cocoa from any of the brands. Then again, there's nothing like that hot cocoa I make in a pot on the stove with a qulality cocoa and milk and cream. Sometimes I make white hot chocolate..
We have 2 flavors...regular and decaf. It was meant, in our case, just to give the guests the opportunity to have a cup of coffee late at night. But, like One Day is always saying- we have to weigh the cost of 20 guests having 3 cups of k-cup coffee at brekkie each morning and us making 4-5 pots of coffee at $.75/pot vs $.50/cup.
 
It went to storage. What a pain that thing was! Easier to just make them a pot than to try to explain.
 
Confession...while at a country Inn recently we went to continental breakfast and I looked RIGHT PAST the cream/sugar, etc. for coffee. I was all cranky about it 'til DH gently pointed out that it was right in front of my face.
We are all idiots when traveling...out of our comfort zones and not sure about anything...especially before that first morning cup of coffee. Made me realize I need to lighten up on people.
 
Interesting that when we went to close up last night and turn out the lights, there were guests sitting in the living room with a pile of the k-cups in front of them. When Gomez went to pick up this morning, all the k-cups were back in bowl we keep them in. Were they planning to take them home until they got caught?
I could see taking one to try it, but all of them?
 
The Keurig is something of a novelty. And, I agree that if you have a nice selection of coffees for it (including decaf) that I would probably use it. It's a known quantity vs. what you might be brewing. :) If you don't want guests to use it whenever it's out, put it away. Then be prepared to answer the questions when it isn't out all the time.
We had a Tassimo single cup coffee maker in our guest service area upstairs near the guest rooms with a varied selection of coffee, hot chocolate, latte, and a couple of teas. I put out fresh ground and brewed organic free trade coffee by 7 AM every morning in the dining room. We had a tea box with lots of teas and a hot water kettle also in the dining room. It was the guests' choice if they wanted to come downstairs or use the Tassimo.
I had a couple of guests that really went to town with the Tassimo all day long. Others never touched it. It all probably evened out just like many of the other little extras that we had here.
I have had really bad brewed coffee at B&Bs, just like I've had really bad coffee at hotels. Give me something that I know will be good and I'll choose that every time.
 
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