To wander around a San Francisco Bay Area tech office is to enter a fantasyland college dorm: a cornucopia of free-flowing food, drink, games, and interesting people. Physical perks include unlimited LaCroix, pool tables, wine on tap, and coffee. Lots and lots of free coffee.
Office coffee [for these privileged workers] can come in the form of a cold brew tap, self-service espresso bar, or even a fully outfitted cafe. A few startups employ baristas, some contract with local coffee companies, while others use a third-party management service. One such group, Bon Appรฉtit Management Company, is an award-winning supplier of office food and drink management. Managing 650-plus cafes in 31 states, their client roster is comprised of companies like Uber, Adobe, and Google.
Who are the baristas serving these tech employees? Whatโs it like to be a service worker for the tech community?
I met up with several local baristas to learn the inside scoop. Some only spoke on condition of anonymity, and many were subject to confidentiality agreements, so names have been changed throughout this article (and marked with an asterisk) and companies have been anonymized. I started out with these interviews thinking Iโd receive intel on the worst of working with tech employees. While there were negative experiences, Iโm humbled to say that I was proven wrong.
Olga Sobal, co-owner of Hedge Coffee (profiled elsewhere on Sprudge) is paid by local companies to pop-up for a few hours. The Bay Area has a different culture from the rest of the country, she says, pointing out the cold brew on tap that sheโs seen in the offices. โPeople really try to get into the coffee culture. More or less, people are pretty educated [about coffee].โ
All of Hedgeโs clients are tech companies, with about 75% of the bookings for event catering. Because the clients pay a flat fee for the service, with pricing based on factors like attendance count and coffee service type there is no point-of-sale transaction. During the few times that Hedge taught coffee education classes, Sobal found that โpeople were really engaged and asking questions. Like, โIf itโs a single origin, does it mean itโs from one farm or two farms?โโ
Brian* agrees. His customers are foodies and are โvery fascinatedโ by coffee. Brian used to be a barista at a standard cafe in the South Bay, but opted to become a barista at Bon Appรฉtit. He now works inside a South Bay tech company that houses two cafes and several cafeterias. His reason for the move is straightforward. โI just needed more money, because Silicon Valley is just expensive, and itโs hard to cut it as a barista. It was a logical move for me,โ he says.
The average rental price for a two-bedroom apartment in San Francisco is $4683. Itโs no surprise that a steady paycheck with full benefits can be enticing.
His work schedule matches the office workers he serves: nine-to-five work hours, weekends and holidays off. In addition, Bon Appรฉtit offers their full-time employees paid time off and full health benefits, which is a rare occurrence in the specialty coffee industry.
โI think the consistency in schedule is nice. Being compensated more, having the opportunity to do a lot more stuff,โ he says, describing the drink experimentations that his cafe is currently going through. โHaving the weekends off when a lot of my friends who are on a regular schedule also helps. The balance is an improvement for me.โ
Cafe operation varies from company to company. Sometimes, all the coffee is free. Other times, only the drip coffee is free and other drinks require partial payment (the companies subsidize a portion). This can make for a tricky customer interaction.
Karley Webb is currently employed as a barista by Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters, but works at GitHubโs office cafe, which is operated by Wrecking Ball. Before her current job, she worked inside a variety of tech offices. Talking about her past customers, Webb observes, โThe majority of them donโt have social skills. You ask them how theyโre doing and they just stare at you blankly. Or they just say โlatte,โ come back 10 minutes later, and their latte is done.” Webb continued: “At Square, I felt like a servant to them, more like a kitchen staff deal. The awkwardness is at a higher level.โ
Squareโs cafe is partially subsidized by the company: while the company covers some coffee costs, Square employees are still required to pay a portion of drink prices. What happens in an environment where employees donโt have to pay for their coffee? GitHub is one such office and Webb says, โEveryone is in a really good mood. If thereโs a long line, theyโre not just standing there, tapping their feet.โ
Webb enjoys her closed environment, saying that she feels more like a peer. โItโs actually great. I like the whole office hoursโMonday through Fridayโbecause I feel like thatโs really normal. Everything is the same, every single day. The same person comes, especially in an office setting. Theyโre my only customers.โ
While it can be nice to not worry about the cash transaction, Aaron* offers a different perspective. He used to work at a Bon Appรฉtit-managed office cafe, serving engineers and sales managers.
โIt kind of took away from that whole, Iโm-paying-you-so-I-have-the-power-in-this-relationship kind of dynamic. There was a little less of that.โ He adds, โThere were still people who thought they were better, thought they were more educated.โ
He recalls a specific conversation he overheard that made him aware of the socioeconomic gap between him and the customers he served. The customers were talking about โbuying their way to the front of a line to get, literally, a jet.โ He incredulously observes, โNot only were you in line to buy a plane in the first place, but you bought somebody elseโs place in line, because you didnโt want to wait.โ
This unconventional environment isnโt for everyone. Would any of my interview subjects recommend working in a tech office to their fellow baristas? ย Webb acknowledges her happiness with her current job, but points out that it might not be the best fit for new baristas.
She says, โItโs not like a regular cafe, youโre not hustling and bustling this huge line out the door, trying to move them and make money. The money is already made, these people are here, they just want some coffee and someone to talk to.โ
Aaron agrees with Webb and notes that youโre limited by the company youโre working inside. Financial security and schedule stability are big advantages, but youโre not always able to innovate or grow as a barista. He says, โThe money was good, but there are other circumstances at other cafes where you can make as much, or more money, with more interesting possibilities. And more opportunities for growth, learning, and continuing education.โ
Webb sums up the dichotomy of working as a barista in San Francisco. โIt kind of sucks, because I feel like Iโm a part of this whole thing thatโs happening in San Franciscoโtechies overtaking everythingโthatโs why everything is so expensive. But Iโm like, this is my job. Iโm in coffee, I just happen to work in a tech company.โ
Jenn Chenย (@TheJennChen)ย is a San Francisco-based coffee marketer, writer, and photographer. Read more Jenn Chen on Sprudge.ย