26 August 2008
Rumour: Google food might soon cease to be $0.00
Photo by antaresjhw
Have you ever eaten at Google? On one trip to the Dublin Googleplex I enjoyed one of the many perks that Googlers get everyday - free food. I’m pretty sure that free food always tastes better than paid food, but even so, this food was great.
But according to Valleywag, Googlers could soon be losing one of the perks that makes working for Google such a great thing.
There’s no such thing as a free dinner. A worker at Google tells us the company is taking evening meals off the menu: “Google has drastically cut back their budget on the culinary program. How is it affecting campus? No more dinner. No more tea trolley. No more snack attack in the afternoon.”
Apparently, these changes will be announced on Monday. If true, I think its a terribly bad move for a few reasons.
First, there’s all the bad PR. Second, having free food is just smart. I bet employees come into work earlier, take less time for lunch, leave later and have chats about work over meals - making them far more productive with free food than without.
The only downside is overweight employees. When I travelled to Dublin, our host told us that nearly all people joining the company put on weight in their first year. But, its not surprising when the menu contains novelty food such as the Krispy Kreme Cheeseburger.
Perhaps overweight employees is what has driven G to take such drastic action (if true). Or perhaps its economic concerrns. Whatever the reason, I doubt many Googlers will be happy about it. What do you think? Are healthier and hungrier employess better than heavier and happier ones?
UPDATE: Valleywag hears today from a former Google chef that dinner’s only cancelled at “cafes frequented by nontechnical employees.”
p.s I’m participating in ProBlogger’s ‘Group Writing Project’ with this post. Check out the other entries, enter yourself (you could win stuff) or vote for me!
11 Comments currently posted.
Bryan says:
Dave Shaw says:
Yeah when I visited there was some healthy stuff. Lots of fruit if I remember correctly. Also lots of chocolate though - I particularly remember the fridges full of free Ben and Jerry’s!
Sandy Naidu says:
Free food is always good (well in my opinion at least). My first job was in a factory and they had highly subsidized food - not free but very very cheap. And the food was delicious. Lunch breaks were my favorite time of the day.
Andrea says:
GOOD title! I had no idea what you could possibly be getting at until I got here, which is of course the point, and then I thought, “duh, what else could it have been?”
You rose to the challenge!
Dave Shaw says:
Thanks Andrea, I’m glad it caught your eye!
Loring Parks says:
Ok so it’s worth a trip to the Googleplex just to try a Krispy Kreme Cheeseburger! lol
Good post.
Dave Shaw says:
If you can get in, its always worth a trip to ANY Googleplex. Especially Googleplex Zurich - http://bloggle.org.uk/2008/03/13/through-the-keyhole-at-googleplex-zurich/
David says:
Hi - from one Dave to another, found you via ProBlogger! It seems even multi-billion corporations are cutting budgets during this global economic “crisis”. By the way, those Krispy Kreme burgers look disgusting!
Dave Shaw says:
Definately disguisting…any guesses at how many calories they would contain?
ProBlogger Killer Title Project | AffiliateDragon.com says:
[...] Rumour: Google Food Might Soon Cease to be $0.00 Dave reports rumours abound Google’s Dublin office is to slash its culinary budget, meaning staff who had previously enjoyed free food may not have that perk for much longer. [...]
Ed Hardy bags says:
i like this
Working at someplace with free food would be bad for me. LOL! I have heard, though, that they have a big selection with good healthy choices too.