You are right to be suspicious of the word free. In this industry a "free trial" is sometimes a genuine no-obligation week, and sometimes it is an installation with a contract attached to the back of it. The two look identical in an email.
Here are the seven questions that separate them. Ask any provider, including us. We have answered each one at the end.
1. Is there a deposit, and what triggers its return?
A refundable deposit is not automatically a red flag, but it converts a no-risk decision into a cash-flow decision and a follow-up task. Ask for the amount, the return timeline in days, and the conditions. "Refunded at the end of the trial" and "refunded within 30 days of equipment collection subject to inspection" are very different sentences.
2. Is there an install, delivery or removal fee?
The trial can be free while the logistics are not. The one that catches people is removal: free to bring in, chargeable to take away, which quietly makes saying no cost money. Ask about all three legs, not just delivery.
3. What happens automatically on the last day?
The important word is automatically. Does the trial lapse unless you opt in, or does it convert to a paid agreement unless you opt out? Opt-out conversion combined with a card on file is how people end up as customers without deciding to be. Ask: if I do nothing at all, what is my status on day eight?
4. Am I signing anything, and can I read it now?
Request the actual document before the machine is scheduled, not on the day the technician arrives with a tablet. Read for term length, auto-renewal, and any minimum-purchase clause. Trial paperwork that is three pages long is telling you something about what it contains.
5. Do you take payment details up front?
If a genuinely free week requires a card, ask what it is for. Sometimes the answer is reasonable — damage cover. Often it is the conversion mechanism from question three.
6. Who pays for the coffee during the trial?
Some "free trials" mean free equipment rental while you buy the product. Ask whether the beans, milk product and cups during the trial week are included or invoiced, and get the expected volume in writing so there is no argument about a "reasonable quantity."
7. What is the exact process if I say no?
This is the most revealing question, because a provider confident in their coffee has a short answer. You are listening for: who do I call, how many days until collection, is there any charge, and do I owe anything for the coffee we drank. Vagueness here predicts vagueness later — the same pattern as the contract red flags worth checking before you sign anything longer term.
Our answers, in order
- Deposit: none.
- Fees: no install fee, no delivery fee, no removal fee. If you say no, we take the machine back at no charge.
- Day eight: nothing happens automatically. There is no auto-conversion, because there is no contract to convert into — our model is pay-per-cup with $0 equipment cost and cancel-anytime terms, so continuing simply means we keep servicing the machine and you keep paying for the cups your team pours.
- Paperwork: nothing to sign for the trial.
- Payment details: not required to start.
- Coffee during the trial: free servings sized to your team, included. That is the point of the week — you cannot evaluate a machine that runs out on Wednesday.
- Saying no: call 416-995-0577, we book a collection, you owe nothing.
Why we can afford to do it this way
Because the trial is doing the selling. A week is long enough for the novelty to wear off and for people to form a real opinion — which is exactly the window a provider relying on lock-in would rather skip past. If a fresh-ground espresso-based machine with a 20-plus drink menu does not change the mood in your kitchen in five working days, no contract clause is going to fix that later.
One week, no obligation, machine sized to your headcount from the 125, 350 or 550 Touch. Book the trial or call and ask us the seven questions yourself.