Thirsty Thursday Eve - Beer Cart Thursday
It has occurred to me that despite participating in the beer cart for nearly two years now, I have yet to describe that in the most obvious place: Thirsty Thursday Eve at Words on Wednesday.
Oh, the beer cart. During the phone interview that landed me here, the manager was explaining the benefits and mentioned how on Thursdays, they push around a stadium cart and everybody grabs a beer from it. That sounded awesome. My understanding was that you grab a beer from the cart, then you take it home to enjoy after work.
Imagine my surprise when, instead of giving us a beer to take home, we got a beer to open and drink right there in the office. I was excited about the prospect of trying new drinks on someone else’s dime. I had no idea we would be drinking the beverage as soon as we picked it up. I’ve worked in offices where the Christmas Eve breakfast always involved someone sneaking in a bottle of alcohol and sharing it with a few coworkers. Never would I have guessed that it would be so readily accepted across the entire company like this.
While the novelty of the beer cart eventually wore off, it never really became commonplace or just blended in with the other list of job benefits. To this day, everyone looks forward to Thursday, and we get some very amusing looks from job candidates who hear about that perk. This wouldn’t be out of place in some Silicon Valley startups, but it seems much more unusual against the backdrop of east coast professionalism.
Although we still call it a cart, that’s become a bit of a misnomer. It started as a stadium cart full of ice and beer that someone would push around to each department. When the company only had a few dozen people, that made sense. Now that the company is substantially larger, and spans three floors in a building, it isn’t quite as feasible to push a cart around to everyone. By the time the cart reaches the last department, it would probably be nearly time to leave.
Instead, the “cart” now is just a full size industrial fridge like you would see in a grocery store, lined top to bottom in a various assortment of alcoholic (and some non-alcoholic) beverages. The top tends to be filled with more craft options like the latest IPA from some small-town microbrewery that you’ve never heard of. Through the middle, there are a lot of canned cocktails that are much more my speed. Below that, there are quite a few options in the “generic lite beer” category, for people who just can’t get enough of their standard drink of choice. Finally, the very bottom has premium options for people who choose not to drink alcohol: yoo-hoo, red bull, sparkling ice, and various other similar drinks. We’re all about inclusion here.
For my very first beer cart, the actual cart was still in use. However, instead of pushing it around, they just left it in the break room and emailed everyone to come and grab something. Since then, it’s been exclusively the fridge (which has a padlock on it so people don’t try any funny business).
And it’s more than just the alcohol (which is really cool in and of itself). Right when word gets around that the fridge is open, nearly everyone in the company comes to the break room and lines up. It’s a welcome break from the day to day operations, and people get to chat with other coworkers that they might not always see. Some of us gather around the ping pong table and watch or participate in a few games for the department tournament. We socialize and talk business with people outside our normal circle. Everyone from the newest junior hire in whatever department, all the way up to the CEO, all gather in the break area and catch up. It’s nice to get a break from whatever you’re working on, but it also facilitates the sort of cross-departmental communication that so many companies struggle with. Sure, it sounds like a frat house (and sometimes looks that way as well), but there’s genuine company benefit to the beer cart.
I’m not saying that the beer cart is the best employment perk ever, or that it would keep me with the company through everything, but it is a really cool perk and I would genuinely miss it should I go elsewhere. Even if we were fully remote, I would still come in on Thursdays just to capture that unique beer cart Thursday culture.
Oh, the beer cart. During the phone interview that landed me here, the manager was explaining the benefits and mentioned how on Thursdays, they push around a stadium cart and everybody grabs a beer from it. That sounded awesome. My understanding was that you grab a beer from the cart, then you take it home to enjoy after work.
Imagine my surprise when, instead of giving us a beer to take home, we got a beer to open and drink right there in the office. I was excited about the prospect of trying new drinks on someone else’s dime. I had no idea we would be drinking the beverage as soon as we picked it up. I’ve worked in offices where the Christmas Eve breakfast always involved someone sneaking in a bottle of alcohol and sharing it with a few coworkers. Never would I have guessed that it would be so readily accepted across the entire company like this.
While the novelty of the beer cart eventually wore off, it never really became commonplace or just blended in with the other list of job benefits. To this day, everyone looks forward to Thursday, and we get some very amusing looks from job candidates who hear about that perk. This wouldn’t be out of place in some Silicon Valley startups, but it seems much more unusual against the backdrop of east coast professionalism.
Although we still call it a cart, that’s become a bit of a misnomer. It started as a stadium cart full of ice and beer that someone would push around to each department. When the company only had a few dozen people, that made sense. Now that the company is substantially larger, and spans three floors in a building, it isn’t quite as feasible to push a cart around to everyone. By the time the cart reaches the last department, it would probably be nearly time to leave.
Instead, the “cart” now is just a full size industrial fridge like you would see in a grocery store, lined top to bottom in a various assortment of alcoholic (and some non-alcoholic) beverages. The top tends to be filled with more craft options like the latest IPA from some small-town microbrewery that you’ve never heard of. Through the middle, there are a lot of canned cocktails that are much more my speed. Below that, there are quite a few options in the “generic lite beer” category, for people who just can’t get enough of their standard drink of choice. Finally, the very bottom has premium options for people who choose not to drink alcohol: yoo-hoo, red bull, sparkling ice, and various other similar drinks. We’re all about inclusion here.
For my very first beer cart, the actual cart was still in use. However, instead of pushing it around, they just left it in the break room and emailed everyone to come and grab something. Since then, it’s been exclusively the fridge (which has a padlock on it so people don’t try any funny business).
And it’s more than just the alcohol (which is really cool in and of itself). Right when word gets around that the fridge is open, nearly everyone in the company comes to the break room and lines up. It’s a welcome break from the day to day operations, and people get to chat with other coworkers that they might not always see. Some of us gather around the ping pong table and watch or participate in a few games for the department tournament. We socialize and talk business with people outside our normal circle. Everyone from the newest junior hire in whatever department, all the way up to the CEO, all gather in the break area and catch up. It’s nice to get a break from whatever you’re working on, but it also facilitates the sort of cross-departmental communication that so many companies struggle with. Sure, it sounds like a frat house (and sometimes looks that way as well), but there’s genuine company benefit to the beer cart.
I’m not saying that the beer cart is the best employment perk ever, or that it would keep me with the company through everything, but it is a really cool perk and I would genuinely miss it should I go elsewhere. Even if we were fully remote, I would still come in on Thursdays just to capture that unique beer cart Thursday culture.
Comments
Post a Comment