What's the best company perk that you get, and do you still appreciate it?

heartychat on 21/05/2015 - 15:18
Last edited 23/05/2015 - 11:41

At my first job, we had a free soft drink machine (one of our main clients was Coca Cola and I think they arranged and stocked it for us). This seemed like heaven to me, and so I remember indulging in three cans a day for at least two weeks. After that, I dropped down to only one can a day and didn't really think about it again.

Another time, I did a project at a cigarette manufacturing company, and each month you could take all the cigarettes you wanted to, as long as it was for your own personal usage. I didn't even smoke, but that didn't stop me from trying.

Education & Work

Comments

  • Mr BoMBAStiG on 21/05/2015 - 15:21
    +16

    If you work at a cinema, you will usually be able to watch as many free movies as you like. This is so that when a customer asks what movie is good or what a movie is about, you can provide an informed answer.

    Note: this doesn't apply for times like Friday and Saturday nights or when a cinema is sold out. This is during the quiet times (weekdays) when 90% of the cinemas are empty.

    • heartychat on 21/05/2015 - 15:23

      That's pretty sweet. Have you worked for one? Did you also get to see any pre-releases too? I wouldn't mind working for the iMax cinemas!

      • Mr BoMBAStiG on 21/05/2015 - 15:31
        +11

        I have in the past. Before the switch to digital projection we were required to splice the film reels together a few days before the release date. Fight Club explains this quite well however we would join all the parts together into one massive reel so that there was no need for a manual switch. It was then a requirement to test the film build to ensure all the parts were put together in the right order. This was usually done after the last session had finished for the night at about 12am. So yes, plenty of pre-releases!

    • Hikey on 21/05/2015 - 16:19
      +4

      I worked as a projectionist before it was digital. You had to watch all the movies from time to time to make sure that the copies were good.

    • neil on 22/05/2015 - 16:40
      +2

      I used to work at a cinema. Free movies aren't that great as you would have to go back into work to watch them.

      Free popcorn + soft drink was the best though. There are some interesting combos you can make with popcorn like popcorn + nacho "cheese".

    • oscarthesausagedog on 23/05/2015 - 00:13
      +1

      Yes and Village staff's family members get 50c movies. 50c!

      • blackfalcon53 on 23/05/2015 - 11:16
        +2

        Nah it's all changed. Now you get 4 free tickets a month if your casual and 8 if your PT/FT, but on the plus you can use them anytime now :)

        But that said if you go to your own site you just walk in no one is gonna ask you for your ticket :P

  • scrimshaw on 21/05/2015 - 15:25
    +6

    I used to work for a gelato store, and was the sole person making the gelatos. I also called the shots as to how the gelatos were flavoured.
    The boss didn't mind me eating as much gelato as I wanted.

    Though of course my expanding waistline stopped me from eating as much as i wanted :0

  • Magpye on 21/05/2015 - 15:29
    +63

    The boss's wife.

    • heartychat on 21/05/2015 - 15:31
      +2

      I hope you are/were the boss!

      • [Deactivated] on 21/05/2015 - 15:57
        +12

        Hardly a perk then, is it?

        • bajillionaire on 25/05/2015 - 14:53
          +2

          Wait until you get married.

    • swiggity swag on 21/05/2015 - 20:15
      +6

      Did you get to eat it?

    • PVA on 21/05/2015 - 20:16
      +6

      except she was 80 years old .

      • tyler.durden on 24/05/2015 - 08:37
        +1

        at least she can take out her false teeth…

  • Mikinoz on 21/05/2015 - 15:30
    +15

    Free weekly massages, no happy endings before anyone asks. Was a real estate company.

    • silverrat23 on 21/05/2015 - 19:27
      +24

      Are there any sad endings?

    • hahaboy on 21/05/2015 - 20:18

      what was the reasoning behind that? stress release or just a genuine perk in your firm? is it common in real estate?

      • Mikinoz on 21/05/2015 - 20:37

        I have no idea why, but it was open to anyone in the company. It was ahead office thing so not sure its common.

      • scrimshaw on 21/05/2015 - 23:48
        +1

        it's also a perk with Macquarie Telecom if you work with them as a techie/engy/CSP, apparently they have free coffees from the coffee shop downstairs and fortnightly visits from the masseuse.

      • [Deactivated] on 22/05/2015 - 15:57

        Corporate massages - know someone working in insurance claims who gets them, jealous.

        • ankor on 23/05/2015 - 21:06

          bah, at the insurer I worked for in the past we all had to pay :S

  • tomleonhart on 21/05/2015 - 15:32
    +11

    10% airfare with the catch of flying stand by. But i love every minute of it.

    • heartychat on 21/05/2015 - 15:34

      Wow. Where have you been on this sweet perk? Can you take anyone with you?

      • tomleonhart on 21/05/2015 - 15:38

        qantas employee. you can take one person with you.

        • heartychat on 21/05/2015 - 15:39

          Your friends and family must always be saying 'Pick me, pick me, pick me!'

        • tomleonhart on 21/05/2015 - 15:40
          +2

          @heartychat: reserved for the wife. You can only nominate a different person for every 6 months.

        • ahly92 on 21/05/2015 - 21:11
          +2

          what type of employee. Does that count also with call center employees?
          Also, is that only for strict fares, like economy? or can you go first class!
          what does "flying stand by" mean?

        • Pizdets on 21/05/2015 - 23:18
          +1

          @ahly92: probably same as virginblue. It counted for everyone (even call centre). It was limited to economy only. Standby meant that if all the seats were booked you would be bumped to next flight. But generally people missed flights so that meant you got a seat 99% of the time.

        • tomleonhart on 22/05/2015 - 02:18

          @ahly92: Qantas has too many EBAs I can't speak for all of them. Depend on your pay grade you can go first or business. I can fly business domestically but have to wait 7 years to fly business internationally.
          Flying standby means you turn up at the airport and hope that there are spare seat/s on the plane. If not you won't get on the flight. That's why it's recommended to buy multiple tickets on multiple routes to get to your destination. Unused tickets will be refunded and buying ticket 2 hours before the flight or 1 month before don't make any difference in price.

        • jellykingdom on 22/05/2015 - 09:13
          +1

          @ahly92:

          I know someone who works at the call centre and gets super cheap flights

        • nikey2k27 on 23/05/2015 - 07:13

          @tomleonhart: i miss this part of date my ex my boss old job used to on monday where did you go on weekend?

        • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 25/05/2015 - 17:18
          +4

          @nikey2k27: Was that english?

    • illumination on 22/05/2015 - 10:26
      +3

      Hello colleague!
      I find saying "10%" is misleading.
      If you had to pay full price you probably wouldn't pick Qantas, so you'd fly a different airline to get to your destination for a cheaper price.
      e.g. SYD-SIN a normal commercial fare might be $500ish one-way. Our fares are $190, which is really much closer to 60% off than 90% off.
      You'd pick Scoot instead for $280ish one-way, which is now only a 33% saving. You are however arguably getting a different product.

      In fact, during LCC sales of AirAsia/Scoot, the prices are probably about 10% higher than our standby tickets to KL/SIN on MH or BA/QF. Again, arguably a different product, but given that we're on Ozbargain I'm assuming it is definitely something you would happily pick.

      For business class it's a bit different (larger percentage discount, relative to the commercial fare), given that a Business Class one-way SYD-SIN would go for about $1500-1800 one-way, and we get them for $280ish. That's much closer to 90% off (85%ish).

      However, if you were to price the flexibility (e.g. being able to refund, buy tickets last minute with no concern about price fluctuations), this would change the equation completely.

      • Sira on 22/05/2015 - 12:29
        +1

        " You are however arguably getting a different product. "

        Correct! This completely nullifies the whole comment.

        You could potentially expect on a Qantas flight:

        More leg room
        Newer planes
        A meal provided on your journey
        Possibly nuts/beverages/even alcohol which you would normally pay for
        A better safety record than any airline can boast

        I could go on but I'm hoping you're getting the picture.

        To go off and compare oranges and apples and then say that there could be a price difference is completely foolish!

        • illumination on 22/05/2015 - 12:41
          +4

          More leg room

          Correct

          Newer planes

          Incorrect (depends which airline, Scoot B787s are newer than all of QF aircraft). And some people see an aircraft as a metal tube that transport you from one place to another, rather than a B787 instead of A330.

          Meal

          The approximate fares I was using was factoring in costs for baggage/meals to make the product "as similar as possible" in terms of all other aspects

          Nuts/beverages/alcohol

          Doesn't sound like an Ozbargain thing to do (as opposed to bringing it yourself)

          A better safety record

          Can't argue with that one and can't disagree that people purchase tickets based on safety records, but from the point of view of "I simply want to get to my destination", you probably wouldn't be booking a flight if you thought you'd be getting into a crash on it.

          I am comparing it as, this is a product where you are getting a seat to get from A to B.
          Much like comparing cars. Imagine trying to sell someone who just wants to get from A to B either a Toyota or a Mercedes. How exactly are you going to convince them that they are different products? They don't care about the name/badge, exterior maybe a little bit, and the 5" screen which doubles as a GPS and media device. Even if they cared, they wouldn't pay an extra $25000 for it.
          If you're the type of person who views it as "I want to get from A to B for the cheapest price possible", then you're not really getting a largely different product because the things that are supposedly "superior" in someone else's eyes may not be superior to you. In other words, the extra bells and whistles offer very little value to you.

      • tomleonhart on 22/05/2015 - 13:31
        +5

        Hey :)

        Should do a QF tight arse meet up lol

        • phwahh on 23/05/2015 - 23:31

          Can JQ come too?

      • nikey2k27 on 23/05/2015 - 07:18

        we only pay faxed tax part of airfare we went business class he had work for aireline for 20 plus years. i know new rule 10%

    • oscarthesausagedog on 23/05/2015 - 00:19
      +2

      Qantas cattle class staff rate MEL - LHR. $300 return or $500 return biz class.
      Bali $90 return.

  • sempro on 21/05/2015 - 15:34
    +5

    flex days off

    • opt on 22/05/2015 - 19:36
      +1

      flextime is probably the next best thing to working from home ;)

  • Vieira4 on 21/05/2015 - 15:44
    +31

    My employer let's me work from home. I have not been to the office since late 2006.

    • maxx on 21/05/2015 - 17:05

      Same here. Working from home since 2013.

      • PVA on 21/05/2015 - 20:18
        +9

        must get lonely.

        i try once a week, wouldnt want it every day.

        • driew on 22/05/2015 - 17:51
          +4

          It's good to be able to work from home as needed but I would rather be in the office as it's easier to get things done when you talk to someone face to face and I find myself more productive at work not to mention the social interaction.

        • nikey2k27 on 23/05/2015 - 07:21
          +1

          @driew: why would you need work social interaction you get that out side of work. I work abit in the from home it good life. no travel into the city at peck times.

        • thisispete on 23/05/2015 - 11:55
          +4

          It does get lonely.

          I just started a job where I was under the impression I'd have an office to go to 70% of the time (shared services office). But it turned out that is down to maybe 2-3 days per month.

          Nothing to do really with having social interaction outside of work, its during the day just being to work with someone and have a chat to fill the day in. Plus, not really leaving the house all day then finishing work and going "home" gets a bit full on. Feel kinda trapped.

          I try to get out and go have a coffee for an hour or so every few days to get out.

      • ziggy1312 on 23/05/2015 - 16:39
        +6

        Have you got past the wanking stage

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co_DNpTMKXk

      • kangaroo on 24/05/2015 - 00:20

        Same here, since 2010.

    • scrimshaw on 21/05/2015 - 18:39
      +4

      Envious. You guys work in IT?

      • Cyphar on 22/05/2015 - 10:00
        +6

        IT guy here - Aside from oncall, I've never worked from home!

    • Praeto on 23/05/2015 - 18:12

      Same here. Used to travel about internationally about 40% of my time, and work from home the other 60%.. Now the travelling is far less frequent (by choice), and I'm at home full time. I'll work here until they make me redundant or I die, as long as they don't make me go to the office!

    • superm86 on 23/05/2015 - 21:51

      Saves travelling expenses too..

    • Taita on 25/05/2015 - 20:04

      Hubby worked from home for years in IT. Was OK for him and got a bit lonely but the family HATED it! We have a dedicated home office but try keeping a baby quite during oconference calls. Plus he ended up working longer hours. And also, friends always thought that as he was 'home', he is available to chat on the phone/pick up some groceries/ pick up stuff before the store closes, take long lunches/etc.

  • djones145 on 21/05/2015 - 15:49
    +13

    airline ones are awesome
    father in law works at hilton and gets hilton hotel rooms for 50 bucks, including breakie, thats pretty good

    work for an insurance company and i get 25% off my insurance, which aint bad

    • poppit88 on 24/05/2015 - 23:19

      Hmmn, would your father in law consider adopting me…….

      • djones145 on 25/05/2015 - 07:14

        It's a awesome deal, he can book two rooms at a time, it does mean I have to go on holidays with the father and mother in law…. But to have 50 buck hotels in Europe for with breakie at hilton, I'll suck it up!

  • enforcer on 21/05/2015 - 15:59
    +9

    I work in horticulture research and we get free fruit/veg on random occasions.
    When avocados are $2 or $3 each in the supermarket, it's hard not to appreciate it.

  • GaelicAU on 21/05/2015 - 17:12
    +1

    Massage.
    Work from home.
    Receive $xx per month to spend on the products & services we sell. $xx goes up depnding on how long you have been with the company.

    EDIT: We sell ADSL, NBN, Mobile Phones etc.

    • PVA on 21/05/2015 - 20:19
      +9

      it's not telstra then.

    • moojuice on 25/05/2015 - 21:27

      Sounds like the life, where do you work if you don't mind me asking?

  • RandomNinja on 21/05/2015 - 17:16
    +8

    My entire career seems to be based on where some of the best perks are lol

    When I worked at Coke, they had 8 free vending machines offering almost the full range (no energy or alcoholic drinks of course). Each day, the two Mt Franklin machines always ran out first, followed by the juice machine. It was also nice to try the new flavours before they hit the market.

    While at MS, I got a free X360 and first party games as well as whatever MS software/hardware you wanted. Same again at Logitech with their gear!

    Current job I get half day Fridays, finish at 12pm but we have to work an extra hour Mon-Thu which seems more than fair! Also get frequent freebies of product as well as licensed products and movie previews based on our brands.

    • [Deactivated] on 21/05/2015 - 21:20
      +3

      May be a silly question here, but when you worked at Coke, why wouldn't they stock their energy drinks (Mother, Samurai etc) for you guys? The slightly higher cost price (which would still be low as it is their own product) would be offset by the higher energy content for the employees?

      • smpantsonfire on 21/05/2015 - 21:24
        +22

        Probably because they know that stuff is so bad for you!

      • Viderzo on 22/05/2015 - 09:03
        +18

        I used to work for coke also. Because onsite consumption are not limited we have people who drank 10-15 cans/bottles a day easily. It is fine if it were just sodas/juices/water but not a good idea if it was Mother. had to call ambulance once because some idiot drank 10 cans of mother. Afterwards it was banned onsite.

        • FutureTech on 22/05/2015 - 10:18
          +2

          I wonder if the poor idiot got workers compensation

        • ilikeradiohead on 22/05/2015 - 10:27

          I thought mother just had more sugar and caffeine than coke? Wouldn't you need an ambulance for 15 cans of coke haha. I had 2 cans of coke zero the other day at work and felt awful. How do people drink so much haha.

        • Viderzo on 22/05/2015 - 10:43

          @maolin95: don't think so, he was ok the next day though

        • Viderzo on 22/05/2015 - 10:44
          +2

          @ilikeradiohead: all those ginseng and high content of caffeine will do wonder to you body if you drink an extreme amount. Everything in moderation. I am pretty sure you can die from drinking TOO much water also haha

        • RandomNinja on 22/05/2015 - 13:44
          +2

          Pretty much what Viderzo said. Also bad PR if your own staff OD on it and get hospitalised!

        • voldemart on 23/05/2015 - 21:42
          +1

          MOTHER of God…

        • tdw on 23/05/2015 - 22:01
          +1

          i'd be inclined to just grab all the Coke Rewards labels and leave the drinks untouched :p

        • Viderzo on 25/05/2015 - 12:52
          +1

          @tdw: you can't use them if you are working for CCA or if you have families working there. Proving it is difficult though but why risk your job for a couple of dollars of reward

        • tdw on 25/05/2015 - 13:03

          @Viderzo: i've so far claimed about $500+ in woolworths/coles myer gift cards ;)

        • Cluster on 26/05/2015 - 11:46

          10 to 15 bottles/cans a day? Maybe Coke can next introduce discounted or '2 for 1' diabetes and cancer treatment for those workers.

      • DrStinge on 23/05/2015 - 09:44

        It actually costs just the same, they can just get away with marketing energy drinks at a higher price. The cost price itself is based off the bottle / can material. Fun fact: it costs more for the aluminium can than the coke itself.

        • [Deactivated] on 23/05/2015 - 20:13

          I'm curious, what is the cost price for the different sizes then (excluding overheads)? Surely the drink itself must have a cost, even if it is a low $ amount per KL?

        • DrStinge on 23/05/2015 - 21:25
          +1

          @BoneyMalone:

          Sorry I can't add to much more here - my father used to work for them. Going back 15 years (unsure now), the can cost around 5 cents - the the liquid was even cheaper. Most of the remainder costs are in marketing and distribution.

          There's some quite amazing videos on the factories online
          http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/ultimate-factories/vid…

        • [Deactivated] on 23/05/2015 - 22:57

          @DrStinge:

          Not a problem, I understand. Thanks for the link, will take a look.

  • [Deactivated] on 21/05/2015 - 17:57
    +4

    I used to work for a shell franchise. We got free coke, almost out of date food, and other perks associated with sponsoring 'events'. All the free stuff in the world didn't make up for the fact that I didnt get on with the boss, so I left.

  • Islund on 21/05/2015 - 18:23
    +19

    I used to work for a scientific supply company - was not in sales nor in management but got the opportunity to travel to two separate trade shows in Germany and even spend a week around sightseeing.

    Something I would never have been able to afford.

    Then we got new financial controller who did not like the way I looked and she puts a stop to it.

    A couple of years later she contracted lupus and had to leave the company.

    Who says there is not a god?

    • robbyjones on 21/05/2015 - 22:03

      That's just mean.

    • johnno07 on 22/05/2015 - 00:04
      +7

      It's not lupus. It's NEVER lupus.

    • dd721411 on 22/05/2015 - 01:22
      -6

      I agree with you in the first part of your story. That's a cool job.

      The second part, not at all. Don't you really have any sympathy for her when she suffered from illness and had to quit the job?

      • Islund on 22/05/2015 - 11:05
        +8

        Like I said there is a god (karma at the very least).

        She did not like the way I looked - not the archetypical Sutherland Shire type and lobbied the Owner of the company intensely to limit my perks and benefits.

        At the 1st work Christmas party we had she got a mug in Kris Kringle from the warehouse supervisor that said " 0 to bitch in seconds ".

        In her warped logic she thought it was from me and her hatred of me just grew worse from then on.

    • nikey2k27 on 23/05/2015 - 07:28
      +1

      right on man some boss can be asshole. i had one that was total asshole i was so happy day she left then even happy day company sack her.

  • lisss on 21/05/2015 - 18:48
    +2

    We get coffees bought for us from the cafe next door every morning. I actually do still appreciate it every morning - it's an extra $3.50 in my pocket which I would definitely spend if it wasn't bought for me. Works out to $840 a year in free coffees. We also have a coffee machine but it doesn't compare to the proper stuff from a cafe imo.

    • cuteseal on 22/05/2015 - 11:49
      +1

      Since the start of the year, we've had an in-house barista - so free coffees everyday between the hours of 8-4.
      Pity the coffee shop next door though - they used to have a monopoly on coffee as we are in an industrial park.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/05/2015 - 12:38
      +1

      What line of work?

  • scotty on 21/05/2015 - 19:03
    +5

    At previous company - free coke from vending machines, fruit basket for the office, sometimes sandwich lunch.

    • hashtagbargain on 21/05/2015 - 22:05

      which company??

      • scotty on 22/05/2015 - 08:01
        +14

        An ASX200 software company. They certainly understand that coke in = code out :)

        • johnno07 on 22/05/2015 - 12:05
          +4

          Work ProduceWork(int coke) {
          Work todaysWork = new Work();
          return todaysWork * coke;
          }

          ?

        • scotty on 23/05/2015 - 20:20
          +2

          @johnno07: It's more like

          workProduced = hourWorked * (log cokeDrank)

          i.e. work produced not linearly related to amount of coke drank. Each can you drink becomes less and less effective.

        • quanticism on 24/05/2015 - 01:36
          +2

          They should have experimented with free alcohol.

          Then then it would be like

          workProduced = hourWorked * 4*exp(-(BAC/0.129)^2)+10*exp(-(160*(BAC-0.138))^2)

          Graph
          xkcd

        • Unrvl on 24/05/2015 - 14:03

          @johnno07:
          fixed

          Work ProduceWork(int coke) {
          if(coke >= 20)
          return null;
          Work todaysWork = new Work();
          return todaysWork * coke;
          }

        • congo on 24/05/2015 - 17:29

          Have been drinking Coke for years now, its killing my health :-(

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