To expect a restaurant to be able to do a pint of milk?

[YourAgileBiscuit]

My autistic DD (13) will normally only drink milk when we are out in restaurants etc.

Some restaurants (including chain restaurants and pubs/carvery places) get a bit funny about it when she orders/asks for milk though. Even though they already have milk for the kitchen and for teas/coffees. We’ve had some restaurants outright refuse as well even though they have milk in the building.

Is it unreasonable to expect restaurants to be able to serve milk for a paying customer? Of course we pay for her milk, we are not asking for it for free!

I would say about 50% of places we go to get funny about it which I don’t understand as they already have milk in the building.

The point of it.

As I said, I think it’s highly unlikely that the supply of milk in a restaurant is this tightly controlled. Milk is a staple - it’s only 80p a pint to the consumer, so will be even less wholesale. Why risk running out for the sake of a couple of quid?

If ten customers like the OP’s daughter came in, I can conceivably believe they’d run out. But selling one pint in one go (as opposed to two lattes, for example)? I can’t imagine it leading to hordes of quivering-lipped customers sobbing “But… my coffee… my coffeeeeee!!”

I don’t get it. They could easily give you a pint of milk, then grab an extra bottle from a local shop if needs be. I should imagine pretty much any restaurant would be able to charge back for the odd extra top up from HQ if needed, there would be other times odd things might run out.

Ime parmesan,parmesan isn't on the table the waiting staff come round with it and grate it on to the meal but that's by the by
I also dont think anyone is suggesting people can't successfully order a glass of milk ever in any food establishment
It's just in this case the restaurant don't serve it
People can't go into a restaurant demanding they serve a food or drink item that isn't on the menu just because another food establishment is willing to accommodate their requests .

So you expect staff to just nip out to a local shop to accommodate a customer who has ordered something not on the menu 🤔

It's not necessarily about having the milk in stock, it's the inability to put "pint of milk" through the till. Many places don't allow staff to go "off piste" in any way - so if drink X isn't on the POS system then they're just not allowed to sell it.

@x2boys if they run out of anything like that, yeah- I don’t think the odd time this might happen should be that much of a big deal tbh.

That's fine if it's your restaurant/ cafe and.your happy to accommodate, you can't however expect all restaurants/ cafe,s ro accommodate.

A pint of milk is a lot. Not to mention a lot of teas and coffees.

If it's not on the menu, I can see why they're funny about it. It's got a short shelf life, so they probably buy in exactly what they think they'll need that day.

Surely the easiest fix is just to bring in a pint in a thermos for your DD and ask for a glass.

Not again 🙄

I think it has been pretty well established that people aren’t expecting staff to run out to the shop if a customer fancies an Angel Delight instead of something on the dessert menu, or likes Heinz mayonnaise when you’ve only got Hellman’s. But milk? Something the vast majority of restaurants will already have in their kitchens? Then yes - I would say it isn’t a major hardship to top it up in the unlikely event that using one pint more than expected means you’ve run out.

A pint of milk is a lot. Not to mention a lot of teas and coffees.

Five, maybe? Six at a push? That’s assuming no one wants a milky coffee or a cappuccino…

Is there a 'how to run a business for dummies' book out there? So many people on this thread should read it, just to have some kind of fingertip grasp on why 'just pop to a shop to get an item not on your menu' , whilst being perfectly doable for some establishments, isn't a particularly good solution for profit for other establishments.

And what is a restaurant meant to do if they're nowhere near a shop?

I went to a Toby Carvery a few weeks ago, it was off the side of a motorway lay by and only accessible by car, with nothing else for miles round. Last week I went to a Nandos in a sort of retail park that only had chain restaurants- if you wanted a pint of milk it would have been a 10 minute drive.

I went out for a meal recently with my boss and she ordered an alcohol free beer which they had to pop out to buy for her. It was a very fancy restaurant though.

Use common sense and sell them the milk if they’ve got plenty, but not if they’re at risk of running out?

Is there a chapter on customer satisfaction and encouraging repeat business? Or a top tips section that suggests not skimping on the basics?

Okay so if we're using common sense do we not think that's probably the case in the scenarios OP is describing?

It’s possible. It’s also possible - and for me, more likely - that this is a “computer sez no” scenario.

Oh dear lord, again? The level of rigidity some posters have is startling. It would be a very strange business decision for a restaurant to use milk as an ingredient but keep stocks so tight that 2 lattes make them run out; milk lasts a week and fresh stocks are usually sent several days each week, there is no need to work out usage to the drop. Restaurants are not being asked to produce every conceivable item, nor is there a need for any particular restaurant to send staff to the shops; posters have simply explained it is factual that staff buy extra milk sometimes. It is reasonable to ask a restaurant if they have the standard ingredient milk, and if they have it then it is reasonable to ask them to sell it.

And as per pp experiences, this would not be well received. Complaints over inconsistent service 'we got it last time, this is ridiculous!!'

It is also reasonable for the restaurant to say no we can't. Or won't!

Anyway my comment was talking specifically to the posters who are adamant that staff can just pop to the shops to replenish. I'm just saying, that's not always possible.

I can understand refusing to serve milk, as many places run to very tight budgets, and will only buy the milk they need. It's also possible they only have powdered milk used for cooking.

However, I don't understand why they would get funny about you bringing your own, as long as you're buying a meal.

Having worked behind bars and in restaurants for massive chains, whetherspoons and mitchell and butler and also independent places, the staff who refuse are just being awkward and theres no need for it.
All places will have to pop out for extra supplies and being able to sell a pint of milk for inflated prices is a win for them so they're being stupid.
A bit of kindness goes a long way.

Well if you can’t deal with that, you shouldn’t be working in a restaurant.

Use common sense and sell them the milk if they’ve got plenty, but not if they’re at risk of running out?

Yay!! At last, you're getting it! Sometimes a restaurant can accommodate off menu requests, and sometimes, they can't!! At last.