How can I politely say no to this request?

[Fedupandstressed]

I’m an Ea for our SLT. I volunteered a couple of years ago to be ‘milk monitor’, as in taking their £5/month and buying the milk, tea, coffee and biccies for the 9 of us. No issues so far. I nip to Asda twice a week on the way to work. I get the bus btw and all the money goes via a dedicated tea fund Revolut.

Now a fairly new member of SLT, has asked the other departments (over 100 people) if they want to join to save on the multiple milk situation in the fridge, and asked me to organise this. So I’d have to organise a regular delivery and payment AND be responsible for chasing every single person for their money!

I'm not a purchasing clerk, or what they’re called. I do this for our team voluntarily.

How do I politely say that sorry, but it’s beyond my remit!

Can people read the thread? She’s already replied.

I actually would have said “ I don’t do wife work” so the OP was considerably more professional than me

When I worked at the council management had a seperate kitchen which was well stocked with coffee pods and a nice machine, I want to be generous and say they paid for it but someone was telling me one of the top bosses has recently resigned and is under a number of investigations for accepting backhanders so I suspect not.

Classic move: new SLT member wants to be seen as proactive and visionary, so they make a sweeping suggestion that creates a ton of logistical work and then offload the actual execution onto someone else who’s already doing a favour!

They get to look efficient and solutions-focused while you’re left managing Revolut spreadsheets, chasing payments, and organising deliveries for a hundred people. It’s lazy, self-serving, and wrapped in performative leadership.

You volunteered to buy tea and milk for 9 colleagues, not run a subsidised catering department. Tell them to sort their own admin if they care so much about fridge space ffs.

It's rude for the new slt to put out the request for others to join and just volunteer the OP for this, without checking this is okay/an actual part of her job first.
Seems like new slt will have interfered and ruined a system that was working perfectly well for OPs team.

Nope - this case is just selfishness and entitlement. Everyone in the (central London) office is on very good money.

My point was that these systems are open to abuse and it can’t be up to OP to monitor people feeling like they aren’t getting their own fivers worth.

LOL - yes! Slightly different situation, but I remember being on a little school committee to raise money for supplies, and a new member suggested a fish and chips in a cone fundraiser (we had no budget for this, no food safety permit to cook it, no equipment etc) and the president said "So will you organise this Sally?" And she said, "Oh no, I WORK. I don't have time."
Newsflash - everyone on the committee worked.
Some people just think having an idea that peasants can implement is their contribution to society.

Not the same but a Senior Leader once wanted me to buy exercise jotters for the whole (nearly 400 pupil) school.
I had to explain that 20 x 400 students= 8,000 and I wouldn't be able to carry them/fit them in my boot etc.
Sometimes the "Higher Ups" don't consider the logistics and practicalities AT ALL.
They think "oh Leesha is organising her own stuff. She's good at organising. She can sort it all and save the other 20 teachers time". Not realising it's not a task that can be multiplied by 20!

Some perfectly good suggestions here. The fairly new member of staff should have checked with you first before inviting everyone else to take part in any new system. Best wishes as you proceed. I don't see any problem with you politely refusing because it's too big an "ask".

Would you be happy for your council tax to be spent on tea, coffee and milk for council staff?
I can only imagine the uproar if public sector staff were supplied milk!

I can't say it would bother me. If it helps workplace morale and means a paid employee doesn't have to spend their working hours going out to the shops, it seems to me it's a win-win.

But multiplied across the public sector it would be millions a year in coffee. And then some people would start buying nespresso and it would increase etc etc

I think what you have done is fine. Perfectly reasonable to say no and you have outlined why. Stick to your guns and not have any other communication about it.

I'm an EA, something like this is not an EA job, but as an EA you are a fixer who
deals with lots of things and it's very easy to be put upon!

That's the easy part! The sorting it out for 100 people I'd the thing that will be a nightmare

I think you're the one that can't read

We provide our own, the company has never provided it. I refused to be responsible for collecting everyone’s money, nobody could agree on an amount so I buy the exact coffee or tea I want to drink. We all take turns to buy milk. People buy their own preferred tea etc we are a small team though.

The problem with that is people will start using milk for their breakfast. People will want decaff, fruit teas etc etc etc, will want to.oay less as they only drink tea and don't have sugar/milk (i know, I've done it).
I'd just say sorry, but I'm not organising this for so many people, it will take up too much of my time (I was doing this on my own time for SLT) time which I don't have. How would you like to organise this moving forward?

Not necessarily, some people are just CF. Ive worked in investment banking and people would take the fruit etc home, or e.g. eat an entire punnet of berries daily that were meant for sharing.

I’m an Ea for our SLT.

Thanks, I was thinking it could mean Elderly Aunt to a Shed Load of Toddlers.

Also, I worked in public sector decades ago and it was even the case back then that nothing was supplied for hot drinks. So it's not a new thing.

Yes, "Does it pass the Daily Mail test?"

Say you’re no longer willing to volunteer with this task now it’s changed. Good luck to him finding a new volunteer

Simple solution would be to set up a delivery to your office and charge everyone a few extra pence to cover the delivery charge.

“No sorry, I won’t be able to do that”. You don’t need to explain why.

That's the easy part. It's keeping up with those who forget to pay, want something different to what's provided or argue about contribution rates for different working patterns that takes time.