Take A Hint

[K.L.]

KL = Me
MM = My Manager
DA= Dumb Ass

DA: I want hot water to make a bottle.

KL: Sorry, can’t do it. We’re actually not legally allowed to give out hot water for that because you could not only scold your baby’s mouth, but end up suing us for scolding your baby’s mouth. If I gave you hot water, I’d be fired on the spot.

DA: Oh... (long pause) Then I’d like some tea, but leave the tea bag on the side.

KL: I am not giving you 100 plus degree water from the latté machine to make formula.

DA: No, no, no, I just want some tea.

KL: Fine, but I’m putting the tea bag in it.

DA: No, put it on the side.

KL: No, because I know what you’re gonna do with it and I’ll be just as responsible.

We argued back and forth like that for about ten minutes before I finally realized that she wasn't going to just buzz the hell off any time soon, and had to get my manager. He proceeded to tell her the exact same thing I told her. Of course, she then wanted to call corporate to complain. Already knowing the outcome, my manager gladly provided her with the number and she proceeded to spend the next forty-five minutes screaming into the phone about how hungry her baby was, as if WE were in the wrong for following company policy. Surprise, surprise, she was told the same thing that she had already been told twice before. She finally hung up and made one last fleeting plea to us.

DA: Common sense would prevail...

MM: Well if that’s the case, then why didn’t your common sense prevail in your decision to take a bottle with you?

DA gave us a dirty look, walked off into the abyss, and (thankfully) hasn’t been seen since.

[Food Lady]

We used to get that all the time in the cafe when I worked there. Some mom yelled at my mngr that we were saying she didn't know how to take care of her own baby. No, what we're saying is that SOME people would sue. You're projecting your insecurity on us.

[Whiskey]

for every 100 customers who know to ice extremely hot water for formula, theres 1 looking for a reason to sue a company that'd put their baby's welfare on the line.

(i dont have a baby, so) couldnt she just use a lukewarm bottle of water from a shelf?

[EvilEmpryss]

I used to mix up formula with room temp bottled water. You have to add the mix slower and shake it more, but it works in a pinch. So long as the bottle is clean and you don't introduce contaminates in the mixing process it's sterile enough.

Then again, my family firmly believes that babies need to be exposed to a certain amount of dirt and germs to build up immunities.

[jjc927]

What stopped her from feeding her child at home I wonder.

[Whiskey]

What stopped her from feeding her child at home I wonder.

depends on how old it was? dont some of those things need to be fed like every two hours?


can you tell i dont deal with babies?

[XCashier]

They had ready-made formula in 8 oz cans when my son was a baby. It was too expensive to use for regular feedings, but when I had to go somewhere and needed something convenient, I'd take a can and a clean bottle and he'd have lunch when he needed it, no hot water required!

[dalesys]

My kids all survived on mother jugs... and she was a little hyper.

[aurelemsrealm]

I have a six-month-old daughter. It can be challenging to transport and keep bottles of milk handy for her feedings when we have to be out. I've never run into problems asking for hot water to heat her bottles, but my wife pumps milk rather than using formula. We just use the hot water to gradually heat the milk to room temperature for feedings.

I understand your company has policies, and you must follow them. However, I'm curious if it could have been possible to ice the water to a useable temperature if it's dispensed too hot? Anyway, the woman should have just gracefully withdrawn from the argument, and gotten hot water from the restroom. I've held bottles under running hot water in restrooms to warm them up before, so I know that's not so difficult. I completely understand the customer's lack of planning not being your problem.

[Seriously?]

I have a son, and when he was a baby and needed a bottle, normally in a restaurant, we could show them the ready-mixed bottle and explain we just needed to heat it up some, and then would bring us a cup of hot water - and then stand there while we put the whole bottle in the cup to take the chill off. I completely understand and agree with you - a lot of people would use it as excuse to sue.