Last morning Ron called me up and said, “I want to buy a water cooler for my office immediately, but can’t decide which one to buy. Could you help me out in buying one?”

This is not the first time that I have received such a call. Many of my friends and ex-colleagues seek my advice in buying home as well as office appliances. Among them, water dispenser is a special mention as nowadays, it has become one of the most essential office appliances. A water cooler is simply not a water dispensing machine but an appliance that provides your employees access to the healthiest drink within the office premises. Therefore, buying a water machine is not a piece of cake. You have to consider several aspects before you decide to buy one. Let’s now look at some of the essential points which must be considering so that your water cooler purchase is an informed decision.

Type of Water Coolers

There are different types of water dispensers. Some are bottled, some are bottle-less or mains fed water coolers. You need to identify the type of water cooler that you need for your office. If there is no tap water connection to your office, then you do not have any option but to buy a bottled water cooler. However, if there is a dedicated tap water connection, then you do have the option to choose between the two types of water coolers. If you go for a mains fed water cooler, you might also need to have a filtration system installed to get the best result from your water cooler.

Place of Installation

Place of installation of the water cooler depends on the number of employees in your organization. Typically, a water cooler should be located at a place which is easily accessible by all the employees of the organisation. However, if there are more employees, you might need to consider having multiple installation spaces and purchasing several water coolers. Though water coolers do not take up much of your office space, you do need to check the availability beforehand to make the buying process an easy one.

Aesthetic and Appealing

Since water coolers are long term purchases, you must consider buying a water cooler that matches the aesthetics of your organization as well as their appearance gelling with your office décor.

Maintenance and Service

As a purchaser of a water machine you must search for the best deal in terms of maintenance and service on your purchase. Since, water coolers are handled by numerous people in a day for umpteen numbers of times, it is possible that it would require regular maintenance and checks or repair. Therefore, you must look for a water cooler dealer that provides the best warranty and after sales service.

So, now you know what needs to be considered before you buy an office water dispenser. There might by some other features that you think could be considered too while buying the water cooler. Do care to share such ideas.

Syed Afzal Hussain is an Instructional Designer as well as an avid cinema buff and part time blogger. He loves to write his mind out and his thoughts mostly germinate when he shares and discusses with his colleagues over a glass of sparkling cool water near the office water coolers or water machines.