The exam period is coming up, which means students are flocking to the UB to study. But they have to do without coffee, because most machines are empty by the end of the day.
The lack of coffee was an issue last year, too. Back then, it was explained as ‘teething problems’ due to the new coffee supplier, Maas. But nothing has changed over the past year, students at the UB say.
‘It happens regularly that the machine is empty, but the display doesn’t indicate anything. It just dispenses brown water’, says Karel van Duijl, who studies energy & environmental sciences. ‘I lost 80 cents on two different machines once because they were both empty. I don’t think they refill the machines at the end of the afternoon, so I’d have to drink expensive coffee all night if I want any.’
This also regularly happens to his fellow student Pieter van Benthem. ‘You can tell by all the empty cups next the machines. That’s when you know: it’s run out again.’ He’s gone for a cup of tea instead.
Out of cups
Computing science student Ola Dybvadskog gets an expensive cup of coffee from the Douwe Egberts machine. He’s studying on the third floor today, and the Maas machine is empty. The one on the fourth floor is, too. ‘It sucks that it’s not working, the same thing happened last week.’
Students say it’s mainly an issue during the exam period. The machines also run out of cups. ‘Now that it’s so busy, the expensive coffee cups run out really quickly. But they rarely bring out new ones’, says academic teacher education student Julia Janse.
The cleaning crew is understaffed. Coffee spills sometimes don’t get cleaned up for hours.
‘It’s a disaster. The machines are empty, there aren’t any cups. Other floors have run out, too. I completely lose focus. When they run out of coffee, I get upset’, says pharmacy student Fleur van Leusen. ‘I need coffee during exams, because I’m here all day’, adds movement sciences student Eva Kools.
More machines
UG spokesperson Thomas Vos acknowledges that the Maas machines are still having issues. Last year, the UB had six coffee machines, based on the previous supplier’s order. The university added four more machines this year. ‘But we weren’t able to install them until Wednesday’, says Vos.
When a machine is genuinely out of coffee and it detects that the desired product has not been delivered, he says, the machine automatically refunds the money to the card holder’s account. If this goes wrong, students can go the UB’s front desk and Maas will refund the money anyway, says Vos.
Clogged urinals
The coffee machines aren’t the only thing bothering students. Urinals get clogged easily, water taps are broken, or the cafeterias are gross, with garbage and coffee spills on the floor. ‘It’s often dirty around here, but we adapt. We just take our break in the hall, instead’, says Fleur.
According to Vos, the cleaning and maintenance budget was recently increased. ‘But right now, cleaning services are suffering from a lack of staff, which unfortunately leads to situations like these.’