Post by HA on Sept 26, 2004 4:11:08 GMT -5
US troops reject Halliburton's 'lousy' coffee
Washington - Coffee supplier Dean Cycon was surprised when a Halliburton employee e-mailed him from Iraq, asking him to send American troops some of his beans to replace the military contractor's "lousy" coffee.
Cycon's Orange, Massachusetts-based company, Dean's Beans, answered the call, sending dozens of bags of its gourmet organic coffee to the caffeine-starved troops.
The 51-year-old entrepreneur's eight-employee company had already been receiving Internet orders from US soldiers in Iraq when a Halliburton employee sent Dean's Beans an e-mail two or three months ago, Cycon said.
The woman was running a Halliburton "welcome centre" for the troops, Cycon said.
'With all that money can't Halliburton serve good coffee to the troops?'
"She asked for donations of coffee because some of the Halliburton employees were also ordering coffee from us and they were sharing it with some of the Marines, in Fallujah of all places," Cycon said.
"I wrote back and said: 'Pardon me for asking, but don't you have a $6-billion no-bid contract and with all that money can't Halliburton serve good coffee to the troops?"
"And she said all that may be but the coffee's lousy and the troops love your coffee," he said.
The Texas-based oil services and general contracting giant said it can only pick its coffee from the army food supply catalog.
"Halliburton has no option for the brand, grind type or roast variety of the coffee it purchases," company spokesperson Cathy Gist said.
"Coffee served in military dining facilities is prepared according to military guidance and oversight," she said.
From iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=29&art_id=qw1096109100647U262
Washington - Coffee supplier Dean Cycon was surprised when a Halliburton employee e-mailed him from Iraq, asking him to send American troops some of his beans to replace the military contractor's "lousy" coffee.
Cycon's Orange, Massachusetts-based company, Dean's Beans, answered the call, sending dozens of bags of its gourmet organic coffee to the caffeine-starved troops.
The 51-year-old entrepreneur's eight-employee company had already been receiving Internet orders from US soldiers in Iraq when a Halliburton employee sent Dean's Beans an e-mail two or three months ago, Cycon said.
The woman was running a Halliburton "welcome centre" for the troops, Cycon said.
'With all that money can't Halliburton serve good coffee to the troops?'
"She asked for donations of coffee because some of the Halliburton employees were also ordering coffee from us and they were sharing it with some of the Marines, in Fallujah of all places," Cycon said.
"I wrote back and said: 'Pardon me for asking, but don't you have a $6-billion no-bid contract and with all that money can't Halliburton serve good coffee to the troops?"
"And she said all that may be but the coffee's lousy and the troops love your coffee," he said.
The Texas-based oil services and general contracting giant said it can only pick its coffee from the army food supply catalog.
"Halliburton has no option for the brand, grind type or roast variety of the coffee it purchases," company spokesperson Cathy Gist said.
"Coffee served in military dining facilities is prepared according to military guidance and oversight," she said.
From iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=29&art_id=qw1096109100647U262