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?

"kissed by free range fucking fairies" is what I think of whenever I hear the song "Nymphs and Shepherds":

Nymphs and shepherds, come away,
In this grove let's sport and play

Gosh, office friendship really is dead. I pick up lunch for
My colleagues if I'm going out and they want something from the same shop. Never occurred to me to see it as a problem!

oly
To me at least there is a differenve between Are you off to the shop? Here's a few quid. Could you grab me a sandwich? Ham, cheese or something like that and someone saying Ooh you're off to the sandwich shop. Could you get mine for me while you're out there? Can I have an organic, gluten free sourdough roll with the skinny chicken and mayo filling. Salad wise, I have lettuce and tomato but no onion or pickle

One is reasonable. The other isn't.

I got coffee in the other day. People ordered lattes, hot chocolates, flat white. If I was going and someone always piped up Maisy can you get me a super skinny low sugar caramel late with soya milk. If tbeu have the Kenyan blend instead of their normal coffee blend then I'll have that too then I would and make a mental note that they are high maintenance

Hahaha at our work we only ask and say "i'm off to tesco express, want anything?" We would never dream of asking for stuff outside the place we are going. Also i am dippy and im only trusted to buy kitkats and cola.

We're fhr same martha.
Picking up simple bits from thr shop someone is going to is reasonable and normal.

Expecting people to deal with your custom.coffee and deli orders because you are too lazy to leave yourself is ridiculous.

Update: demanding colleague was off today. Just two of us in office so bought us both bacon rolls, even cups of tea. Recipient very grateful and sworn to secrecy not to tell. Fussy colleague would have been “I don’t want a bacon roll but while you are out could you go to M&S, get me anything with chicken, but no mayo.... or cucumber oh and crisps Prosecco flavour and an organic flavoured water but only if it’s pomegranate but not the pomegranate and white grape..... ad finitum” That’s the line folks. I call it the “taking the piss line”

haha tiring work people. Someone did once send me out for popchips and i came back with cellotape.

I worked for a lazy dictator who would get other staff to call or text me to go to the supermarket and pick her up an avocado and a red onion on my way to work. And god help you if it wasn't a hass avocado! So I would take my time, shop around, pick up my own stuff etc. Lol

Where I work we just wander off and make a drink for whoever is in (list is on pinboard of how everyone likes it) don't even ask as usually no one refuses a cuppa. I also make soup and toast for my boss for lunch when he's in which isn't often and he buys jellybabies if he goes out. It's all very civilised but we are a very small team and no-one is fussy so no problems. I would refuse though if anyone started to take the piss or didn't make drinks for everyone when they did their own

Yanbu ..good for you !

Get it wrong - very wrong.
You won’t get asked again

No YANBU at all, I never do it.
I don't mind picking up a bottle of water but that's as far as it goes .

How about saying: "ooh you can come with me, I can do with the company" (I have genuinely done that when I was in an open-plan office). More often than not, the CFs welcomed the suggestion (and in my eyes stopped being CFs ). What they hated is not the queueing, it's the boredom of queueing alone!

Yep that would piss me off too. Grabbing a Greggs sausage roll and a custard slice is one thing, but 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

😂😂😂😂 I can’t stop laughing at ‘free range fucking fairies’!

OP YANBU, I have found my people! I hate this, always a complicated arsing order, or even worse - “get me something with chicken, or egg”. Oh bollocks off, I’m not staring at a menu figuring out if you prefer egg mayo or chilli chicken, and I won’t be responsible when you’re disappointed either.

I just slope out now saying nothing. It’s good for them to say no, they need to get out themselves and get some fresh air, why would you wanna be cooped up all day?

Three versions when I worked and now with young adults at home.
1."I fly, You buy." (Work obviously. They buy mine bc I'm flying out. But it's written down and only ONE place)

1. "Text me your request, I will do my best, not gonna search, I am going to Place X"

1. "Sorry, (laugh gently), no time."

Anything else you are nbu.

Sounds like your colleagues have no manners!

I always offer and approx five times in the two years in this job has anyone taken me up on it.

I say I’ll buy you a coffee as long as I don’t have to ask for fucking almond ‘milk’.

Hahaha. Of course you're being unreasonable. You only exist to do the bidding of others. Special orders? Why is that a big deal? Or maybe they can go quietly fuck themselves. Seriously, why feel bad about it when they don't feel bad taking the total piss.

I can't believe how common a thing this is, I'm 28 and don't think I've ever been asked except for in my most current job and even then it's only one person and she asks for cheese and ham or something sinple and gives you the caveat that she really will eat anything. Have brought her back egg mayo, chicken and stuffing, she's always really grateful and gives you the money up front so o don't mind doing it when she very infrequently asks. I wouldn't have to nerve to be putting in special orders to my work colleagues who would be doing me a favour like some of these people.

YANBU, just kindly remind them about the existence of Deliveroo or Ubereats (if they have it in your area)!

It annoys me that people will sit there on their arse, knowing they don't have lunch with them, but wait for someone else to go. I remember a while back a colleague having a cob on with me because I didn't ask her did she want anything, she wasn't around when I went out but seemed to think that it was my responsibility to get her lunch!!! Pure cheeky fuckers.

No!

Tippy- loved your response, made me and my hubby lol when I read it to him. You should write for Sarah Millican!
I agree with all comments on this string. Let the lazy sods get their own!

In the acting industry there is someone who's job it is to do things like fetching food etc . They are called runners and are paid for their job. It's not expected as a favour using up someones entire lunch break! Simply say you don't have time.

In the acting industry there is someone who's job it is to do things like fetching food etc

I understand that in certain parts of the acting business there are people known as fluffers. Given a choice, I'd rather fetch sandwiches.