AIBU to refuse to buy a colleague's lunch?

[BadElsa]

Heading out of the office for lunch break and a colleague asks if I can pick up lunch for them. I joked and refused. Feel like a bitch but don’t regret it. It always gets out of hand. The order gets convoluted ie “something with chicken..... except no mayo and I hate avocado and white bread only, oh and a packet of crisps pickled onion flavour if they have it, oh and a cappuccino with soy milk and three sugars” then another colleague says “I can you get me a twix” which means a different shop. By the time you’ve finished your whole lunch break is running errands and you have to juggle 4 lunches and a tray of bloody bespoke coffees! AIBU or is it just rude to expect a colleague to do this?

I don't mind doing it but it's the money that gets me. There's a bloke in my work who ALWAYS asked for things for the shop and would then say 'I haven't got any money though' so we would say oh that's fine just give me it tomorrow. The money never materialised. It makes it awkward as the office would always have brought things for each other and now everyone is so sick of funding this other guys lunch and drinks that nipping to the shop has become a furtive mission so he doesn't ask for lunch on you.

whirlyswirly you need to stand in front of their desk with your hand out and a hard stare - they are taking the piss and know it, and you’re letting them get away with it. You could end up forking out £££ hundreds a year if they don’t pay you back! Put a stop to that right now, you hear me? Really pissed off on your behalf!!

Where I work we don't really have this with lunch, but the 'drinks round' can become a bit ridiculous. Sometimes I sneak off to make a quick cuppa and before I know it I've had to make a list to remember all the drinks orders, which tends to look something like '3 teas with milk, 1 black tea with 4 sugars, 1 herbal tea, 1 coffee with milk and 2 sugars, 2 coffees with milk and 1 sugar, 2 coffee's with milk and no sugar, and one decaf'. Does my head in! Ends up taking 10-15 minutes to make and distribute across the building.

if you have a few liberal millennials in the office, it's lots of tosspot vegan shit, like avocado and walnut smoothie, and soy milk latte, and wholemeal, salt-free, sugar free bread kissed by free range fucking fairies, and low fat, low salt, baked crisps made by 'Vegan dreams R us' in a tiny obscure village in The Lake District.

PS: I am a millenial...

I had an old boss who used to ask a junior member of staff to buy lunch. We all stayed out of her way because she'd order an expensive lunch then tell us to get the money from accounts. Who would also refuse to reimburse you. £5 a day was a lot of money on someone else's lunch 7 years ago !! Especially when you were on next to min wage and she was on £80k

Littlepenguin Did she not realise that staff weren't getting the money back from accounts? If she did realise that's incredibly cheeky of her.

Not the same but on the subject of workplace cheeky-fuckery I've learnt bitterly the perils of not giving lifts to colleagues over the years. In one place of work when I was younger one colleague was always trying to get lifts. People used to actively avoid her at home time as she would always try and nab someone to give her a lift to the nearest train station. The thing is the nearest station was 4 miles away so was actually a significant diversion for most people, and if she did catch you she would faff about for 10 mins before leaving the building etc. Used to literally make me 30-40 minutes later home if I gave her a lift compared to just going straight home, and when you dropped her off she never even ever said thank you or offered petrol money, just a 'bye'. I've grown a backbone more since then.

An easy way of not being stung for other peoples food is to just say youve left your debit card at home and you only have enough cash for your own lunch.....

take a packed lunch to work?

Yanbu

Janice need to put her shoes one and move her arse and get her own lunch

BITCH

I would say "No sorry, I'm off to get a lunch break designer vagina"
YANBU.

Bolton Welwyn so not far off

Well, YANBU, but on the subject of the tea run the easiest thing is to have a list of how people take their drinks on the wall in the kitchen.

I used to hate the tea run, and I don't get it anyway.

Why can't everyone just get their own on the way back from the loo rather than one person having to take orders and then fannying around collecting cups and washing them then making the drinks and distributing them.

Glad I work at home, just a drink for me.

I never had this but then again I used to bring sarnies from home. Cheaper and you get your whole lunch break rather than spending half of it queuing and the rest of the afternoon with indigestion because you've shovelled it down to get back on time.

If you do want to go out though, OP, always remember 'no' is a complete sentence.

you get off your lazy ass next time Paula & get it!

Was Paula a vegetarian? If so - I knew her. She was a twat in general.

Asked me to get a cheese savoury sandwich for her one time when I went for my stuff (she never got anything for me because she "couldn't go into a shop that sold dead bodies"). They didn't have one, so I got her nothing.

She said "why didn't you get egg, or cheese and tomato- anything veggie would do."

Because you didn't say that and you're always a month late getting "there ight change" to pay me, that's why.

I had made the company look ridiculous in the eyes of a client by having caster sugar in the sugar bowl instead of granulated.

I can see how this would lose your company a million=pound client.

Never do it again. Leave the bowl empty and just tell the client they are getting too fat and anyway white sugar is just Dead in a Bowl. That will show your company in a really good light.

I only do this for my boss or my office buddy. I know which side my bread (the un-kissed by vegan fairies kind) is buttered on.

I don't even allow my colleagues to get me a coffee from the machine in the canteen (it's free), as I deem my requirements are too fussy - an Americano with half the hot water, but double the hot milk and then heated in the microwave so it's hot, not tepid.

We don't allow the American in the office to make tea - she has no idea how to (at least that's what she says).

ShesNo - that kid must be going places! I'm very impressed.

Making drinks for me causes no end of stress. I hate doing it (but make an effort for visitors)

First job at 16, I was quite shy and not very good at standing up for myself. I'd only been there a few days and had been given the early 12-1 lunch slot as the longer serving staff preferred 1-2, fair enough.

"Janice" collars me and asks if I'm going to the bakers that day, I was, so she asked if I could get her and other lady a sandwich as there was never anything left after 1 when they went. Ok, not a problem, took her at her word as I had no reason (nor experience) not to believe that was the case.

Roll on a couple of weeks and it's become my job to get their lunch every day but then the silly buggery started.
Wanting things from other places and started leaving the money counted out in piles of coppers or I'll have to owe you 20p or some shite.
It upset me but I just didn't know how to handle it back then.

Couple of months later, "Janice" is on holiday and I get to go to lunch 1-2. Funnily enough, the bakers had plenty of sandwiches available and the penny dropped I was being used.

The Monday "Janice" came back from holiday, she starts to give me her lunch order and I just said to her, sorry I'm not going out, I've got my lunch. She tried to guilt me into going still by saying the bakers wouldn't have anything blah, blah but I just told her they had plenty last week when I went 1-2...

She still tried it on sporadically if it was wet, windy or icy but I'd say I wasn't going out or that way and she'd just sigh resignedly.

20 odd years later, I'd love to meet "Janice" again!!!

YANBU my manager used to ask make me to get hers and it was always somewhere I wasn’t going eg I’d go to Subway but she wanted a McDonald’s. I was too shy to say no. Definitely don’t do it OP.

ShesNoNormanPace that temp will go places! I'd hire him in a flash!

My boss once refused to pay me for the lunch she made me get her because the toasted sandwich she ordered wasn't toasted enough. She was a very passive aggressive person and made my life hell. It was my first proper job and it would definitely be called bullying these days. Was so delighted the day she resigned and even more delighted when management refused to allow her to retract her resignation.

AHedgehog Actually we had to let him go we kept the tray though

People are such cheeky fuckers. I'm particular about how I like my tea but I would never expect anyone to make it exactly how I like it, if they did it was a bonus. If I was that bothered I could easily make it myself, same for lunch.