In addition to milk, there’s something else I can’t stomach. That’s why I got in touch with Lactaid…
Dear Makers of the Other Milk:
Thanks for inventing Lactaid Milk. I’m intolerant about a lot of things and lactose is one of them. Adding Lactaid to morning cereal is so much more preferable than doubling over after breakfast. Then again, there’s a good chance I’ll double over after lunch or dinner because anything I make in the kitchen can cause severe abdominal cramps, thundering gas and bodacious bloating, but that’s not why I’m writing.
While your milk may be great, the spout system on the carton definitely needs work. Have you ever tried to open that thing? By the time you do, that sucker looks like it was mauled by a Rottweiler. It gets all torn and bent out of shape … and then you have no control over where the milk dribbles out. Who has the intestinal fortitude to put up with that every day?
That Origami-style of spout, where you have to bend it back and then forward, and then back and forward again and again, needs to be put to rest. I’ll bet there are thousands of people with arthritis who have to jab a hole in the side of the carton and insert a straw just to get their daily milk.
It’s just pour thinking on your part. Is anyone working on a solution?
A Product Specialist from Hood, manufacturers of Lactaid, responded with:
Thank you for communicating with us regarding the Lactaid® milk quart cartons.
We were sorry to hear about your problem with the carton seals. This problem is a result of excessive heat in the sealer. This is a “touchy” part of the manufacturing process. Too little heat does not make the seal, while even a couple of degrees too high results in a burn or at least a severe seal. We constantly monitor this portion of the process, but sometimes a few cartons slip by that are abnormally hard to open.
I do apologize for this inconvenience. Please accept the enclosed coupons for your future use. If you have any further problems, please don’t hesitate to call me at (800)-etc.
Thank you for your patronage.
Final Thoughts: It’s refreshing when a company not only admits to a problem, but clearly explains it, monitors it and makes good on correcting it for their customers. Enclosed with the response were 2 FREE (up to $5.00) coupons for Any Quart or Half Gallon of LACTAID® Milk.
If eating dairy products causes you stomach pain, give Lactaid a look. But when opening a product’s packaging becomes a pain in the butt, definitely Write The Company.
4 Responses to "Spouting Off to Lactaid"
LadyHawk
October 13, 2009 at 11:25 am
Pouring Lactaid on the Kashi Crunch would make for a very intolerable day.
Write The Company
October 13, 2009 at 11:40 am
It sure would! The comment above is referring to a previous post, Crunch Time with Kashi.
marsha miller
July 30, 2010 at 7:38 am
After a restless/sleepless night, I figured I would heat up some Lactaid to help me fall asleep.
By the time I struggled with opening the freshly purchased quart — finally resorting to scissors and then more ripping — I became even more wide awake.
The 1/2 gallon size, although it does open easier, is too heavy for me to carry from the market, so I must get the quart size.
Please find a way to remedy this problem with the spout.
Thank you.
Write The Company
July 30, 2010 at 11:10 am
Sorry to hear about your sleepless night. I’m just a consumer like you who also runs into occasional spout problems. While I can’t remedy it, let’s hope the manufacturer eventually can. In the meantime, maybe wrestling with the quart spout has increased your strength. If so, you could give carrying the heavy 1/2 gallon size home another shot. Perhaps it won’t seem as heavy after all the spout-aerobics. Thanks for sharing your experience!