First, Rick Polito of the Marin Independent Journal. He writes a daily roundup of TV programming, in a hilarious half-truthy, half-jokey way. I love one of yesterday's, where he announced "Kitchen Gadgets of the Future" on the Food Network:
A look at new technology for the kitchen, including a breadmaker with legs that can walk itself out to the yard sale when you inevitably figure out that you're not using it.
Next, Olivia Wu of the San Francisco Chronicle. In today's food section, she writes up the food service at the Google campus in Mountain View. Free meals for employees. Three a day. Five cafeterias, with nine more to open by fall. Handmade Chinese sausages, just for an example. Fresh mozzarella. Locally sourced, organic ingredients. Look, I don't really want to work at Google. I just want to eat there.
Bravo to Google (and nice job, Ms. Wu).
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12 comments:
What a great perk at Google. Think they are hiring bloggers? I'll bet the IRS will make Google put the cost of the free meals on the employees paycheck so they can get their share. They did it when I worked at a local hotel.
I saw that one of the local stations, KPIX I think, is showing a tour of of the Google headquarters this evening to show off the employee perks.
And I am sure that Greg is right about the meal thing. When I worked in the college cafeteria, they deducted a set amount per hour for meals. Then again the amount was pretty nominal.
Oops. The story on KPIX was yesterday. Google
I never worked at Google but would have loved to. However, I did work at one company which provided catered dinners every evening for people who worked late, and bagels and fixings every morning for breakfast, and pizza lunch once a week. And there was no charge or tax. In the time when Google was starting, all the dot.coms provided perks like that. They had to, to get and keep the best people. The perks were ridiculous, but much appreciated says the woman who worked until nine or ten most nights.
Some of the ones in Silicon Alley had things like free dry cleaning and laundry services, picked and delivered, on site masseurs, and stuff like that. Man, it was amazing.
I worked for a dot.com that flew the whole company to Las Vegas for a long weekend at company expense, everything first class. They had offices across the US and in four other countries! A couple hundred employees. Everyone. Free. No taxes on it for the employees.
Those were the days, she says from her rocking chair. I'd still love to work for Google.
Actually, I'd love to work for Google. But my circumstances just now say that I don't have to work at all. Cool.
Thanks for finding two praise-worthy items in our local press. We need love, too! (And I'll bet we all eat cheese sandwiches....)
That is hilarious! Nice. I can think of a few things that could walk on outta my kitchen without ever being used :)
And the Google "campus" sounds incredible. I'd love to work there, though I'm afraid I don't know enough about computers :(
Nice to see them feeding their staff proper meals. Pity about denying Chinese people access to pro democracy sites though.
They give with one hand....
MG: I think Google is trying to help. They didn't turn over e-mails, like Yahoo did. I will continue to watch, and reserve judgment.
Free meals for employees? Damn, I am so in the wrong part of the country. (Heh. I bet they get health insurance too, lucky sods.)
Yeah, Yahoo. Ptooey and shame on them.
"a breadmaker with legs"
Awesome.
Mrs. D, according to the news report, not only do they have health insurance but they also have doctors onsite on the campus.
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