Employee makes a custom sign saying 'Do Not Make Coffee, It Tastes Awful,' is reprimanded about professionalism

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Apr 11, 2026 9:00 PM EDT

Are you allowed to complain about the free stuff at work?

One of the perks of an office job is the free coffee. Most places have it because it's pretty cheap to provide and it keeps your employees on a nice caffeine buzz, which tends to make them more productive. But just because it's free doesn't mean it's good. These are different ideas. But are you entitled to good coffee? Are you entitled to anything? You might hope that the free coffee would be worth drinking, but if you have a high standard for your cup of joe, then you might want to look elsewhere, like making your own coffee at home or buying it on the way to work. These are the things we have to do to keep ourselves afloat in the modern workplace. Speaking of keeping ourselves afloat, jokes are another way to do that. If you can't be a little lighthearted and unserious about your job, then you won't be able to stay there for long. If you can't joke around with your coworkers to some degree, then you might start to feel stifled and not cared for. But making jokes at work is a delicate balance. You don't want to offend anyone, and you don't want to do something that might get you called into HR. So it's sometimes better just to err on the side of caution and keep some things to yourself. Especially if they're snarky. 

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  • Made a custom sign and put it up on the office coffee machine... might've cost me my job.

    arcellik DO NOT MAKE COFFEE IT TASTES AWFUL
    via Knozart
  • Our office coffee is genuinely awful. I've been telling management for months that we should switch to better beans... I even offered options that are just a bit more expensive, but it kept getting brushed off. So today, I designed a custom sign, printed it, and put it up on the coffee machine. Coworkers thought it was funny, a few even took pictures. Then someone from management saw it, took it down, and reported it.
    via Knozart
  • Now I've gotten an email about "professionalism in the workplace." Apparently the only thing less welcome than bad coffee is pointing it out. Didn't think this would be the thing that might get me fired.
    via Knozart

  • Snarky rarely plays well in the workplace, but sometimes you need to push the limit to realize that. You have a bone to pick or a chip on your shoulder, and you want to find your way around that in a fun and simple way. But you have to be careful about coming across as ungrateful. That's what happened here, to this worker who had a lot to say about the free coffee in his workplace. Keep reading to see what happened and to find out if the stir that it created in the workplace was actually worthwhile. Then let us know what you think about it in the comments.

  • Commenters gave their takes on this.

    Naritai You're probably not going to get fired, that email is likely the end of it. But mgmt probably now thinks you're an ungrateful prat, which may come back to bite you in the future. You'll have to work to overcome that (mis) conception of you to get back in their good graces
    via Naritai
  • LOW_FR3QU3N... An email about "professionalism in the workplace" hardly means you're fired. But if they do fire you for something like this, you were already on thin ice to begin with
    via L0W_FR3QU3NCIES
  • Odd_Dragonfru... Could the machine just need a deep clean?
    via Odd_Dragonfruit_2662
  • chain_letter Workplace advice, if you're gonna be annoying, it needs. to be advancing your interests in a substantial way. That means promotions, better projects, raises
    via chain_letter
  • An employee facepalms at work
    via Lala Azizli

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • You decided to spend some of your social capital on something you have the option to ignore entirely. Apparently don't have the ability though. Pick your battles better.
    via chain_letter
  • Extreme_Disco... Perhaps you should do another sign along the lines of "do not make jokes... Management are awful". That is if you're going to be fired, nothing to lose by doing another sign.
    via Extreme_Discount6823
  • Big-Pass-3349 I'm the nail that sticks out and it hurts when I get hammered down
    via Big-Pass-3349
  • Safe_Bed_1534 Bro if you really didn't like the coffee that much you know you could get your own coffee, seems a little passive aggressive.
    via Safe_Bed_1534
  • Soleks2000 So you're the annoying person at work
    via Soleks2000
  • VividFiddlesticks I got into trouble a few times at my last employer for similar bulls One was a memo I sent out to a very limited group. It was another update on an ongoing issue and at the end of the memo I made a joke that the IT department (which I was in) were in dire need of donuts.
    via VividFiddlesticks
  • I was told that jokes were inappropriate for official memos. Another time I got busted putting googly eyes on the shredder. Also got into trouble for putting fake "voice command" stickers on the printer. Nobody even saw me do that one, they just knew it was me.
    via VividFiddlesticks
  • I never got an official write up though, so I never stopped. The upper-ups might have sniffed at it but my coworkers were amused and that was the point.
    via VividFiddlesticks
  • И So you did the stupid thing and won stupid prizes? Most people don't actually care if the coffee is good or bad, they just care it's coffee. You might care about bean quality, but it's obvious everyone else doesn't. It's perfectly fine to
    via w
  • bring your beans, french press, grinder, etc, and have a coffee club. I've known people that do that and it is great for them. It's not OK to do what you did, even as a joke.
    via w
  • HTowns_Finest... It's free coffee bro. If you don't like it, bring your own. That's what adults do.
    via HTowns_FinestJBird
  • Iceyn1pples My Service Desk team once pranked the whole company on April fools with an email and signs at all Departmental Printer saying we recently enabled the voice module and provided sample voice commands to use.
    via Iceyn1pples
  • Watching people talk to the printer very carefully was an excellent result. The "prank" was approved by the CIO.
    via Iceyn1pples
  • Visible-Meetin... It's not a shocker they don't want to work with passive aggressive children
    via Visible-Meeting-8977
  • SouthernDrama.. Well, do you think this was a professional thing to do in the workplace? Seems more like a college prank
    via SouthernDrama4895
  • 3catsonetrenc... Genuinely.. why even do this? I get that you did it for a laugh but this feels so risky just to make a stupid joke lol.
    via 3catsonetrenchcoat
  • Logical_Froyo_... This the worst kind of being a diva at work to get fired. For a public coffee machine. Even if you win, you will lose. SMH.
    via Logical_Froyo_7212

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boss workplace-stories job Professional At Work work working office pranks coffee prank workplace
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