Do have a cuppa vs bog off and make it yourself

I have volunteered in a charity shop now almost 16 years, and as soon as we arrive and begin our ‘shift’, the manageress makes us a cup of tea/ coffee. Then again at 3 pm, we get another. I do wash up, if there is any to do, but it is my own choice, I have never been asked to do it.
We all have a lovely working relationship with each other, and many have become real friends. What a shame that some paid staff do not value their volunteers.

I worked in an office where they expected tea on tap and me to make it! Was young and shy but dug my heels in and refused to make more than my fair share.

Volunteers are the backbone of Charity shops and the sooner paid staff realise this the more plesent working conditions will be.
I managed a well known Charity shop first as a volunteer and then as a manager my staff where very important to the running of the store.
When we opened every morning I put the kettle on and whilst we opened up the store we discussed what tasks we where doing that day and enjoyed our cuppa,after that staff where allowed to boil the kettle when they wanted.

I’m afraid I wouldn’t put up with that, I’d be off, you volunteered As an admin person and not a tea lady!

I can remember many years ago when one of the men in the office I worked had a visitor and I was told ‘get us tea’. I smiled as sweetly as I could whilst seething, made the tea and took to them on a tray and gave a cup to the visitor and held the other cup and saucer just out of reach and asked if he wanted to drink it or wear it! His face was a picture, I then packed my stuff up and left the job. He was doing the same job as me, almost certainly paid more being male back then. He was always rude, sometimes crude and That day I had just had enough.

I've never worked anywhere where there was more than one coffee/tea break in the morning, ditto in the afternoon!

With all these variations of refreshments they are taking advantage of a volunteer. You're not there to attend to their whims - perhaps one break with tea, coffee or water.

Who is funding all these variations of drinks four times per morning - do they bring in their own or does it all come out of charity funds?

It would not seem to be best use of your time nor of theirs, especially if they are paid, not volunteers.

The more I hear about how some charities are run, the more sceptical I become about the paid employees.

I would forget their request, be absent minded whilst contracting on your work...

Oh sorry, I forgot.

Concentrating!

I worked part time in a school at one time alongside someone who was a sort of a friend of a friend. It turned out I was to answer the window to questions from pupils (I didn't know all the teachers or the procedures), do the admin plus photocopying etc which was miles away down a corridor. The worst bit was the other staff plus a very belligerent technician came twice a day to sit in the office and loudly demand why I hadn’t made all the brews! No one else did anything towards it, it was down to just me plus washing up afterwards etc amongst everything else! The ‘friend’ laughed along with them all. I had been a Personal Assistant in a previous life and wasn’t used to being the dogsbody! I blew up one day and said make it yourself and left!

That’s how we work too glammananna but if the poster has a documented agreement with that duty written in then that’s part of her duties surely
We probably have three or four coffees/ teas between 8.45 and 1 or 2 pm we don’t stop to have them so they are not coffee breaks just a cup in your work area Most of the time half mine goes cold as I forget I ve got it whilst I m working

Four cups of tea during a morning ?. If they had my bladder, they'd not get much work done! Bit excessive isn't it? Two cups maybe. I think I would take it up with the office manager, nobody needs 1 cup of tea per hour.

It seems rather a waste of your skills to be a tea lady, particularly if you are expected to do admin in between the tea rounds. Sounds as though they have arranged the 'office procedures' to suit the office workers, not the charity.

I volunteered to do admin. Nobody mentioned the tea making responsibilities as such. First saw them when given the office procedures to read. In my view that is excessive. very time consuming too. Some have their own cup, each has their own choice of drink, most don’t wear their name badges so it will be weeks before I know who is who anyway. (There are two toilets in the building). I used to work for the civil service and no way were they as bad as this lot. No, it isn’t below my dignity to make the tea but it certainly isn’t why I volunteered. Will very probably give up this next
week and look for something more useful.

It sounds as if tea person is a role on its own, which they could probably find someone to fill.
Looks like they may have to now.

Alima let them make tea

Your services will be much appreciated elsewhere to help those in desperate need of help. They sound as if they have arranged this 'charity work' very nicely to suit themselves!

I volunteer twice a week at a charity. I have no expectations as to how I'm treated. I like going there and doing what I do. However many cups of coffee people have is not a problem. Of course I'm not very precious!

I think the people Alima has to cater to sound a bit precious, though, Jane10!

I think if you volunteer at a charity you should be working for the charity, not for the paid employees.

Exactly, Gonegirl. If I was going to be a volunteer tea maker I'd go to a day care centre or something similar where I'd get some satisfaction out of doing a service for people who are there to enjoy themselves.

It was clearly stated at the start of her involvement that it would be her job to do that. Why then start complaining that she felt it demeaned her? If she thinks she should be doing better things then she shouldn't have taken the job.
As to the others in the office they could be manning phones and taking extremely stressful calls for all we know.

They'll just have to find another mug then.... Geddit?

silverlining perhaps the name change changed other things as well. I worked for over 10 years for Age Concern as a voluntary home visitor. Ther was a team of about 25 of us and we had the happiest relationship withthe professional staff. I even joined the paid staff for 6 months to cover maternity leave. I only left when funding for the scheme finished and it had to be closed down.

However I joined another charity in a similar role and left after a year, because of the lack of support they gave their volunteers.

Stop stirring, you!

It's not as though OP has entered into a paid contract though is it? She's a volunteer. Surely she can't be tied down to doing anything.

And why shouldn't it "demean her"? She's not a little office junior.

documented in the office procedures
yeah, right!

As merlot says, let them find another mug.

It seems strange to me that this company still engages in what many would view as a very outdated practice.

My own company (like so many others) has for a considerable number of years changed over to the use of coffee and tea dispensers plus adjacent water coolers. As we insist that all staff using computer monitors break from continuous viewing of those monitors for five minutes in every half an hour for eyesight reasons, then they usually go out to the coffee, tea or water dispensers located in the reception and also adjacent to the restroom, collect a drink or use the toilet and return.

The above also has the benefit of dispensing single-use cups (which are recycled) and therefore helps prevent the spread of colds or other infections among the staff.

To have a person who spends a large percentage of their time serving drinks to employees would seem to be highly inefficient, even if that person is a volunteer.

Indeed, in most commercial organisations in this day and age, having a person to serve drinks to other staff members disappeared many years ago, at least in this part of the world.