Popcorn!!

**conradd** · #1 05-21-2002, 05:23 PM

Yesterday, our ED sent out a request to employees to use the downstairs break room when making microwave popcorn. Evidently, the aroma bothered a few people who have offices near the upstairs break room. This unleashed a torrent of e-mail regarding the capability of the downstairs microwave to successfully pop popcorn, and the inconvenience of having to travel downstairs for a snack.

The result was two new microwaves - one downstairs, one upstairs - and a hope from the ED that popcorn would not be a bargaining issue in the next biennium.

Signs have also been posted in all upstairs break areas (I am not making this up):

Quote:

If what you are about to do will cause an odor that may not be appreciated by others, please do it in the downstairs shared break room.

This made me curious. What are the rules on eating/drinking/preparing food at your office? I have my own french coffee press that I use each morning and there is a coffee grinder on premises (people here take their coffee very seriously) but I rarely eat at my desk. There's no rule against it, I just don't like eating while working.

What do you do?

**Joubert**[$] · #2 05-21-2002, 05:27 PM

I always eat in my office --- and I'm only two down from the kitchen. That's when I catch up on EA and othe personal stuff during the day.

The overly buttered microwave popcorn is bad, but burned microwave popcorn is intolerable. Luckily, we're on the 5th floor and have a balcony nearby, but the odor does linger.

We allow food and drink throughout the workplace after unsuccessfully trying to ban it from the boardroom after some klutz named Joubert once flipped an entire plate of pasta and red sauce onto the carpet.

**pluckyduck** · #3 05-21-2002, 05:34 PM

We had a fish incident last month. Some idiot cooked fish in the microwave. It literally stank up the entire building, as in gagging stink.

The following email went out:

From: XXXXX XXXXX
To: Entire Firm
Re: WHO OWNS THE FISH?

Attached is a little brain teaser (WHO OWNS THE FISH) that was supposedly created by Albert Einstein. See if you can figure it out. And speaking of figuring things out. I figured out that if you cook fish in the microwave it stinks up the whole place. FISH PRODUCTS ARE BANNED FROM THE MICROWAVE AND TOASTER OVEN. If you must have hot seafood please go down the street to Barnacle Bens....

Phil.....
------

Andrea
who pops popcorn in the microwave

**lynnzop**[$] · #4 05-21-2002, 05:48 PM

You guys are joking, right?

I guess that's one thing that's good about working in a big corporation...they really can't ban food. Although we did have Inspector Gadget and his sidekick (I'm not kidding, you should see these two) running around talking covertly into their walkee-talkees one day trying to figure out who burned the popcorn over the weekend.

No food bans at my company. You can stink up the place all you want...

Lynn
who makes popcorn for breakfast just to make others mad

**taurusmoon** · #5 05-21-2002, 05:59 PM

I used to have an office directly outside the kitchen.

I was one of the Popcorn Nazis. You should have read some of the signs I posted.

Sara

Redlass · #6 05-21-2002, 06:07 PM

Food at work? Goodness, I think I eat more meals at my desk than I do at home. Breakfast and lunch are both at my desk and dinner three times a week. The upstairs microwave is right outside my office (it was just installed about two weeks ago). In fact, you could say I'm rather spoiled. You step out of my office and the water cooler is two steps to my left, the microwave two steps to my right and the bathroom four steps forward.

I like the smell of popcorn, though.

**soxfan**[$] · #7 05-21-2002, 06:09 PM

This became an issue at our office a couple of weeks ago. Supposedly it had been an unwritten policy not to make microwave popcorn, but it had been ignored. Accordingly, a memo was posted in the kitchenette stating that, as this was a client/business environment, the preparation of microwave popcorn was not permitted.

A day or so later, another memo appeared on the board, labeled "Food preparation addendum". It listed a number of foods that were "specifically banned from being prepared in xxxxxx kitchenettes" because of their strong smell. Besides popcorn, the following items were listed: liver and onions, reheated fish, pad thai, omelets of any kind, and shrimp.

A couple of days after that, another memo was posted. This one, a FAQ, addressed the issue of how to determine if your food was too smelly. The memo suggested a 10-second smell test (involving the food in question and a paper bag), as well as a book released by Houghton Mifflin for those who still were uncertain after said test.

I knew the third memo was a joke as soon as I read it. What I didn't realize was that the second was one too, though the pad thai should have tipped me off.

Ailsa
who doesn't eat at her desk in any case

mnehr · #8 05-21-2002, 06:09 PM

This is very funny timing as this is the first thread I saw as I sat down to my desk with a big bag of popcorn and hot tea...
Basically my rule is that for those who are on the phone with a client/customers there is no eating at your desk unless you are on break or off-line time.
We also have a rule about using only closed containers at your desk (to prevent those thousand dollar spillages into CPUs)..

I don't think anyone has ever complained about the smell of food like popcorn (other than when people burn it..)

Because of where my office is situated, I try to be polite and close my door if I make popcorn; not because I think it will offend anyone, but I don't want their stomachs growling..

mnehr · #9 05-21-2002, 06:13 PM

An outsourced call center client we just took on fits the description of 'popcorn nazi' to the extreme.
Not only do they not allow ANY food, they do not have coffee, and the only water is a water fountain.. but you are not allowed to have cups at your desk..

Some of my folks became very appreciative when we visited their center last week...

**slick4591**[$] · #10 05-21-2002, 06:29 PM

Before I moved to this building I was banned from bringing anything I smoked to the office. A few minutes after heating it everyone was coming around to see what I had brought. They finally told me the only way I could bring anything else was to bring a lot of it.

The burned popcorn has been a problem in our new location. We have only one rule now. Sandy is not allowed to pop any unless she is surpervised. Looks like she would learn after three bags.

**Joubert**[$] · #11 05-21-2002, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mnehr
An outsourced call center client we just took on fits the description of 'popcorn nazi' to the extreme.
Not only do they not allow ANY food, they do not have coffee, and the only water is a water fountain.. but you are not allowed to have cups at your desk..

Some of my folks became very appreciative when we visited their center last week...

Matthew, some centers I know have done really good work with spillproof containers. The pressure just got to be too much for them not to do something. These had an inner and outer closing mechanism, which was a bit of a bear, but beat not having coffee all day long.

**pluckyduck** · #12 05-21-2002, 08:17 PM

Burned popcorn is handled by social pressure.

People stand in the kitchen and yell loudly:

WHO BURNED THE POPCORN?

Contingent is usually led by me.

Unburned popcorn is handled socially as well:

Who made popcorn??? Do you have any more???

Also usually led by me.

Andrea

**pluckyduck** · #13 05-21-2002, 08:19 PM

P.S.

As far as eating at the desk goes, the office dogs (after hours only) always stop to see me first. They snarf around under my desk and eat all the crumbs.

**Joubert**[$] · #14 05-21-2002, 08:52 PM

The whole popcorn thing has me thinking of what I told my HR person I wanted to do soon.

Buy a popcorn cart.

Yup, just like the movies or at a car dealership. There's something homey about that smell, as opposed to the microwave stuff. Besides, I think it's one of the cheapest benefits I could ever put in place. And it's the kind of perk that cause people to say, "Hey, you know what -- we even have a free popcorn cart..."

**pluckyduck** · #15 05-21-2002, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by joubert
The whole popcorn thing has me thinking of what I told my HR person I wanted to do soon.

Buy a popcorn cart.

Yup, just like the movies or at a car dealership. There's something homey about that smell, as opposed to the microwave stuff. Besides, I think it's one of the cheapest benefits I could ever put in place. And it's the kind of perk that cause people to say, "Hey, you know what -- we even have a free popcorn cart..."

You know, we could probably do that in our new building.

Where do you buy a popcorn cart? (I'm serious. We're getting a fancy fish tank and a fish service, why not a popcorn cart? We eat a lot.)

Andrea
who notes that cooking the fish in the microwave will be banned

**amykhar** · #16 05-21-2002, 09:53 PM

But will they be allowed to cook the fish in the popcorn cart?

kurt_messick · #17 05-21-2002, 09:56 PM

Hire me to run the cart!

**slick4591**[$] · #18 05-21-2002, 10:08 PM

http://www.custombars.net/popcorn.htm

**Joubert**[$] · #19 05-21-2002, 10:10 PM

Not my department -- I just told 'em.

But I googled the issue since every car dealer in the country has one and found this restaurant supply company had exactly what I wanted.

Joubert's Popcorn Machine

quasar · #20 05-21-2002, 10:19 PM

Wow those suckers are expensive!

Janice

**pluckyduck** · #21 05-21-2002, 11:06 PM

$559 is not much to spend.....

Our controller, of course, will

, that's his job.

(BTW, loving a controller is really hard to do, but ours makes it easy. He writes really funny emails that reference fish, Barnacle Bills and Albert Einstein. )

My only question is who cleans it out?

Andrea

**Joubert**[$] · #22 05-22-2002, 12:29 AM

We have an office assistant who sets up lunches, cleans the coffee pots, etc. She does.