Colleagues keep using my milk!

[Immo8]

I don't want to sound petty as in the grand scheme of things, milk isn't an expensive item and maybe I should leave this be, but it's really starting to grate on me...

Work in an office with around 30-ish staff, the majority are on shift work including weekends so people are in & out a lot. I work standard hours 4 days a week. The company provides tea & coffee but staff bring in their own milk etc. I buy a large filtered milk every month as it lasts and I only have a few cups of tea a day so makes sense.

However, over the last 6 months or so, people will ask me if they can 'borrow' some milk. I would never say no to someone asking but they NEVER bring in their own milk or buy one to replace mine that they've used over the weeks...

Today, I brought in a brand new milk, name on it, placed it at the back of the fridge so hard to find, and I've just gone to make a cuppa and it's been opened without asking, and a 1/4 of it has gone!

How do I word an email to my colleagues (if people think I should) that is polite and doesn't sound too petty?

@Immo8 Don't know why you're bothered about being polite TBH!

Put a big photo of Liam Neeson on it and a note saying ' Keep the fuck off my milk! If you steal it, I will hunt you down and kill you'

Some people may take this as a challenge .................... but it'll make your working life more interesting 😎

If people are in the office infrequently, the company could just get in a stock of UHT for staff. I prefer fresh, but it's a small price to pay for working from home for most of the week, and to not have to waste my time bringing in tiny amounts of milk and worry about people nicking it.

Gosh loads of places I've worked in don't provide anything, cups /hot water etc. The NHS for example.

This happens in every office. A different container (small water bottle etc) is the best way of avoiding it as people won’t know if it’s out of date.

if people ask say sure, it must be your turn to bring the milk in next week.

I’ve had to start taking my milk in a flask because I was fed up of going to make my very much needed 3pm coffee and finding all my milk had been used.

I used to finish the milk and then pour new milk into the old carton, no one would touch it as they thought it was out of date.

Gentle version: Decant your milk into another container or perhaps a goat’s milk carton, nobody will touch it.

Extreme version: This involves wasting one pint of milk though or part of, add epsom salts to it.

We have a milk thief. I bring my milk in a flask each day. Keeps it cold and only I use it.

This happens everywhere. I did an unpaid placement for a few months and very senior staff stole my milk. In my current role I'm only in the office 2 days a week so I bring in a small tub of powdered milk instead. Its not great but I've got used to it!

They already provide tea and coffee, how much of a stretch is it really to add milk to the list?

My company provides tea, coffee and milk, as well as cereal. As far as I'm aware no one is taking loads home

A problem as old as time.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a short polite email to the team.

Previous posters have mentioned that didn't stop some people 😳😳😳

What's a baghead?

A company who provides tea and coffee and not milk is not really providing tea and coffee as most people don't drink those things without milk.

Off topic, but this thread reminded me of a contractor who would do her weekly shop on the way to work (only one day in the office), she'd empty the office fridge of people's lunches etc and stuff her shopping in till the end of the day. She'd be very put out when colleagues complained.

Did the LA charge you for electricity to run the fridge? Wouldn't put it past them.

Temped for solicitors years ago, senior partner goes mental at me for charging my phone in their sacred socket - using their precious lekky - but it wasn't me, one of his colleagues came running out to fess up when he heard the commotion. Weirdo and I didn't get an apology.

UHT is nasty, though. That's a bit like deliberately burning your house down just so that nobody can burgle it

Are you in charge of getting the milk, though - to see how much is used?

You may well work in a place full of respectful non-CFs; but if you did have milk thieves, they'd hardly be open and obvious about it.

@Immo8 please update us when people realise. I fully expect CF ‘cereal milk’ person to moan 😂.

You've never worked for the NHS!

We had this problem too. I started bringing in a small flask of milk each day, and kept it on my desk. Another colleague put hers into a baby's bottle, with the words breast milk written on it. No one touched it, ever!

Our kitchen space at work has 40+ people using it and a tiny fridge. Honestly OP we'd be well pissed off with you bringing in a month's supply of milk.
Just get a chillies bottle and keep the milk on your desk or in your bag, it stays cold for a good 12 hours.

My advice would be to put some laxatives in the current carton of milk that you have. Then on Monday I'd bring in some milk in a thermos and use that. Leave the current carton untouched by you.

Then I'd circulate an email saying that you felt that you had been left with no option as you are not providing free milk to your colleagues and while the fridge might be communal for storage, the contents are not free for use.
I might even consider transferring some milk to a thermos that I could use during the day and not even show them that I'd bought a carton lock until absolutely necessary. In a few weeks time after you are no longer providing them with their daily dairy, you introduce the lock on your milk.

It's the time hassle of having to go out and buy it regularly because it goes off so quickly. They could potentially ask a staff member to pick up some on their way in.

I hope that was a joke