 Around this time last year, we ran a series of polls on bad customer behavior, from inconsiderate grocery store patrons to folks practically making babies at their restaurant table. Today's debate comes courtesy of a 30 weeks pregnant mom arrested last week in Honolulu after she ate a sandwich in a Safeway store and forgot to pay. Nicole Leszczynski, a former Air Force staff sergeant, was charged with fourth-degree theft, a petty misdemeanor, as was her husband Marcin. The charges were later dropped by the store, but per standard procedure when both parents are arrested with a child present, Honolulu police called Child Welfare Services, and their 2 year old daughter was taken into custody overnight. In Leszczynski's case, it was seemingly an honest mistake; she'd kept the sandwich wrapper to be scanned at the register and forgot. The family, when stopped by security, offered to pay once they realized what was going on. Though the managers involved during the incident argued to the contrary at the time, the Safeway chain has no official policy about in-store eating. They do, however maintain that shoppers should identify and pay for anything they consumed before checkout. So, is it wrong to sneak a snack while shopping, if you fully intend to pay upon checkout, or is that simply beyond the pale? Share your stories and opinions in the comments below and we'll highlight the best of the debate in an upcoming post. Previously - Pay-per-pound nibbling |
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This thread has great information on shopping. A friend of mine told me about this cool app that allows you to get instant feedback from your Facebook friends on whether you should buy something or not (for themselves or as a gift). Here's the link – I think the app is coming out around Black Friday but you can sign up now:
http://www.leapcommerce.com
It's not only bad for your waistline but it's also stealing!!!
Staceyann Dolenti
Racist idiot.
Everytime I see the situation in the store. I was like why can't they wait until they paid for the item. I was at bj or costco once. I saw a customer open all the bags containing grapefruit and picking out the one she wants. Her bag was huge at the end so she took more. I decided to see if there was any secured bags left. all of the bags was loose. i try to pull one up and all the grapefruit fell. I was like this is stealing.
Wow, like you don't like really like talk like that, like do you?
What does her being 30 weeks pregnant have to do with anything? Do a different set of laws apply to pregnant women?
As for whether it is right or wrong, it's OK to eat something if you intend (and actually do) pay for it if the item is sold by the bunch, unit, etc. It is not OK if you are eating something that is weighed – then you're not paying for what you're eating. That's what it comes down to – do you pay for the part you're eating?
EXACTLY. I agree completely.
I have been out running errands with my children longer than anticipated and, in the middle of shopping, one has said they were thirst. I nabbed a juice bottle and allowed them to drink it, but still paid for it when we left. It would be redundant and a complete waste of time to go up to the cash, wait in line and pay for just a juice bottle, then go back to shopping and pay for the rest when we are done.
This article is ridiculous. The woman ate something in the store, then left the store without paying. No one said it was wrong to eat in the store. It's wrong to shoplift, however. She would be in trouble if she left with the whole sandwich, without having paid for it and without having eaten it. Even if it was unintentional, she shoplifted. Nothing to do with eating and shopping. Sheesh!
It's not stealing if you are offered a sample in the store, but it is stealing if you eat it before you pay. My wife works in a larger grocery and she sees people "sampling" all the time and isn't allowed to say anything to the customers. And people wonder why the price of food continues to rise. The shrinkage has to be paid by the honest people that pay for what they plan to eat, not the ones that think they are entitled to take whatever they want. Please people...common sense?
I'm sorry i have been reading some of these posts and i have had enough with the excuse making. If you have some kind of medical condition then you obviously need to be prepared before you go food shopping its only F**ing common sense. If your "condition" is that severe that you can't live 10-30 minutes without stuffing something in your pie hole then you have issues. If you have little bastard kids that like to throw tantrums, destroy everything in the store and scream their high pitched squeals then it is your damn fault for being a crappy parent. My son shops with me every saturday, he is five years old if he wants something he brings it to me and i may or may not let him put it in the cart. HE NEVER ATTEMPTS TO EAT IN THE DAMN STORE why ? because he doesn't see me or his mother doing it its called F***ing parenting and teaching discipline. Teach your kids discipline from the get go and you won't have to deal with a little monster at the store. How far have we fallen as a society when it is everybody elses fault but your own. There should not have to be a damn store policy telling you it is not ok to stuff your face while your food shopping; The local Stop and Shop is not a f***ing Red Lobster how hard is that to understand!?. Now i agree IF the store allows you to sample a grape before you buy them That is fine. its a nasty, low class, guetto, trashy behavior and i do not feel sorry for a person if they "forget" to pay after they filled their mouths with something they have not paid for and then walk out of the store. There i'm done ranting now back to your regularly scheduled program.
sometime things happen, even the best plan fails. She did not feel well, so she ate something then she forgot to pay. Yes, it is her fault, but she did offer to pay. I do not think she intended to steal. I agree that according to the law she is guilty, but why is the punishment so harsh? breaking up their family?
I shop with a 3 year old often and yes, I let her have snacks and I ALWAYS keep the wrapper and pay for it at checkout. I do not allow her to eat anything that has to be weighed until after checkout. Anybody who has gone shopping with a toddler should understand.
So you are raising a person who will turn out just like the other weak people who eat while shopping. When this topic comes up again in 25 years your 28 year old will post a reply saying, "What is the problem? My mom always let me eat while shopping when I was growing up." Good job keeping the foraging while you shop behavior alive and well.
What are you trying to say? I allowed my child to take naps, heck his kindergarten teacher even allowed, him to have a midmorning snack!! My amazing son, realized that he couldnt take a naps everyday, and he could not take a mid morning snack at work. I so proud of him, he has over come some major obstacles!
Name*Shell – I can't really figure out what you are trying to communicate. I have broken out each sentence to try find a point. The only thing I can say for sure is you really like using commas randomly.
You allowed your child to take naps.
Did his kindergarden teacher take him shopping for groceries and allow him to snack while they were in the store?
Then your son discovered he couldn't take a nap everyday.
He also is not allowed to have food during the middle of the morning hours at work.
You are proud of him because he has persevered through some trying times.
Just trying to figure out WTF you are babbling about.
I have been in the checkout lane, and have opened a bottle of water, to drink because I was so thirsty, before buying. And yes, I have tasted "one" grape (To see if they are good). And of coarse I intended to buy the grapes.
But you know I cant tell you how many times I have looked over my receipt, at home, and noticed something rang up twice. Is that considered stealing, or a honest mistake by the cashier? Could I have them arrested?
Well I can only pray, they have the little machine, to sign your name when you use a credit card, if not be careful you don't "steal" it.
That women, did not intend to steal that sandwich, it was a honest mistake. There was no need to arrest her, she saved the wrapper, she offered to pay for it. I wonder how many man hours was wasted (the store manager waiting four hours for police, the police time, and child services)?
Well said
try being a cashier for a day. let me know how it works for you.
I call BS.
CNN needs a comments section similar to Huffington Post. All of the abusive negative posts in here make it impossible to have any sort of real conversation. Most of you act like children throwing around insults as if you never learned how to talk like an adult. Grow up.
Grocery stores and the like encourage people to eat while shopping when they give out samples or even cook products and offer samples. I guess it is okay for the stores to allow eating by sampling to sell products, but it is not okay for the paying customer to sample...say grapes or fresh produce, before purchasing. Purchasing something that isn't fresh or tasty and finding out after a customer gets home is not good customer realtions as then the customer either has to absorb the cost, or make an effort to return it and make yet another trip to the grocery. I have been known to sample but not have a full meal in the grocery. As long as the customer pays for the goods consumed, it should be okay, but having a full meal on the grocery store while shopping is tacky. However if a customer forgets to pay, most grocery stores absorb the cost of this habit in the price of their goods anyway.
Yea...if the store offers it to you, it's OK. If they don't, it's not. It's not yours until you pay for it.
Nice fake family picture . . .
The grocery stores should have some employees who patrol the aisles and mark people with paint ball guns when they catch someone eating food before paying. I've been in a few paint ball battles. I'll bet these starving people would think twice about eating in the aisle after feeling the sting of a paintball or two. Noone is entitled to eat while shopping for food but then again many people can't drive without texting. With 7 billion people on the planet and you are bound to get a group who will constantly say, "Whatever! I do what I want!!"
So to those non-grazers out there, you've honestly NEVER tasted a grape before buying a bunch, or sampled any of the product demos? Guess you guys don't show at Costco or Sam's Club, either. And those who think someone should go to their car to eat their snack before returning to the store need to get a life!
Uh, trying to justify your bad behavior? Do you stick your hands into the bin and 'sample' (STEAL) too?
First off I would never use the bulk bins without the supplied tongs/scoop but I would not hesitate sampling an item if I wasn't familar with it before I possibly waste money on it or for freshness such as slivered almonds. I hardly think the single piece I might try would break the bank considering if the item is up to par, I'm likely to purchase enough to overcome that fraction of a cent's worth of loss to assure a sale. If it's in my cart, I'm going to be paying for it when I get to the checkstand so I hardly think it is going to make any difference if I open a bottle of water and take a sip or two while shopping. I would agree with a few of you, though, that messy stuff like greasy fried chicken shouldn't be eaten while shopping since most major stores and even many smaller ones offer some sort of seating area in their deli section. At the store I frequent (part of the Kroger chain), all of the shopping carts have a built-in cup holder and there's a coffee cart and soda fountain just inside the door, encouraging shoppers to sip while they shop. Guess some are just too prudish to do more than breathe and walk while in public unless it's done in their cars.
You are one of those people who like say, "Whatever! I do what I want!!" aren't you?
Do you text while driving? Run stop signs because they are an inconvenience to you? I have never been so hungry or thirsty that I needed to break open a container while shopping. I am sympathetic to people with your condition of self imposed weakness.
Who needs to taste a grape? I know what a grape tastes like, I don't ask them to let me taste the apples or broccoli before I buy it. You're trying to justify your bad behavior. If you're walking around eating stuff in the grocery store and it didn't come from a point of sale cafe or something they have you're a friggin pig and have no manners. I won't hold myself to the standards of the lowest common denominator, I'm not gonna start behaving like a slob just because other people do.
If you start tucking into the Oreo's or grapes you are planning to buy while you're shopping you're a pig.
As usual………….lots of ignorant comments.
Retail grocers operate (that is, WELL run stores or companies) on a one to two and half cent net profit. Many do not even make a penny on the dollar.
Sampling is one thing………it's allocated and accounted for. This has NOTHING to do with the subject at hand.
"Did you pay for it"????? No? YOU ARE STEALING!!
All this crap of I forgot, or I intended to, or the baby was crying…………….absolutely ridiculous.
For those that do not agree: It's always about you….isn't it? Your rationalizations is what it's all about, right?
You did not pay for it so you are not entitled to it in any way until you pay for it. It's that simple. All the other stuff are stories………….stories that people make up to justify their behavior.
Oh………………most of you all make me wish for the Mayan's 2012 thing to happen.
About that last line – DING! Wish granted!
Now you will die on the Mayan's magic date and never have to deal with us miscreants again. Happy now?
LOVE it when I see people at Whole Foods stick their hands (or better yet, watch their snotty kids put their hands) in the bulk bins and just eat whatever the hell they want, figuring it's just a small handful or whatever....absolutley GROSS! Not only are they STEALING (a lot of times they double dip), but they're using their hands, which God knows where the hell they've been....
Nasty, tacky, and trashy. Does anyone have the class to WAIT any more? As in WAIT until you've PAID?
It's not that you're stealing it. It's that you eating while you shop is rude and often disgusting. I think it's a cultural thing – we are tempered to look past it when someone eats their lunch on a park bench or in a lounge or something but there are other places where it is considered inappropriate to open up food containers. You might think it's odd that some people find eating to be rude in a place that's full of food, but if you look from their perspective, that's not odd at all. It's not a matter of objective moral truth; it's a manner of what a certain society finds to be acceptable public behavior. We've gone through this same debate with breastfeeding – where is it acceptable to engage in this sort of behavior? One day it may change – but where I'm from it's pretty rude to stuff your face in the middle of the supermarket, especially if you're messy.
I think it might be because eating is considered an unsanitary activity and many people see grocery stores as ideally sterile public environments. In the same way that there are certain places for smoking, there are certain places for eating.
These giant, big-box stores are asking for it. No one is watching the patrons or the employees. They are just too big! My little corner grocery store has expanded and I hate it.
You can drive a car before paying for it, you talk on your phone before paying for it, there are so many things you do before paying for it. My time is valuable, so I shop during my lunch break and eat lunch at the same time. The package is there and I always pay for it. I can see not doing it if it is pay by pound, but bag of chips, soda and sandwich are not. I wish I had the luxury to sit down and enjoy lunch but I have my lunch while doing something else and that includes shopping. Once I forgot and the cashier just reminded me, I was so embarrassed, I never forgot again. Now I always put the wrappers in front now so I won't forget. If they don't want me to eat in their store then they should put up a sign and I WON'T SHOP THERE. I can spend my money elsewhere, and certainly not at a Safeway.
Test driving a car is a bad analogy. Not comparable at all. You have to pay for your food at a drive thru before you can eat it. The food in the grocery store isn't yours until you pay for it. And while there are some who claim they intend to pay, most do not. And if you or your child can't wait until you pay for your food to eat it, go to a restaurant. It's wrong, it's bad manners, it's gauche. And that is why so many whine about it. They want to be ill mannered, gauche and don't care about right or wrong.
I'm getting the feeling this is like the abortion issue: both sides are very passionate that their side is the correct one. And the answer is both sides are right if they can live with the consequences of their choice.
Back to the topic of eating while shopping, I don't see a problem as long as the store doesn't have a policy against it, you don't eat like a pig and pay for it before you leave the store.
If you are that hungry before shopping, go and purchase the item you so desperately need, eat it, then do your grocery shopping. - My children can wait the 20 minutes we are in the store and get their snack or treat when we get to the car. - Eating something that does not belong to you (because you have not yet paid for it) is stealing.
So do you pay for your food at the Olive Garden before eating it?
Non sequiter.
Illogical.
Faulty!
Faulty!!
Eating while you're shopping is just plain gross, right up there with changing your baby's diaper on the bench in front of the pet department. I've seen people go up to the deli in our store, get a bag of greasy chicken wings and walk around the store sucking on the bones and grabbing groceries with their greasy fingers. I get tired of stepping on gummy bears and popcorn chicken that kids drop on the floor. I found an apple that had been 3/4 eaten set on the floor down a frozen aisle. I've watched a teenage boy slog down a half gallon of chocolate milk, belch loudly and leave the jug sitting on a display.......and mom didn't say a word. I've found opened singles of soda on shelves, some had only a sip or two taken out and some were half empty. I would love to go to the dressing room with brand new clothes and change into them and wear them while I shopped. What are the chances I could do that at ANY store?? Theft is theft. Whether it's clothing, music cds, movie dvds, or food, STEALING IS STEALING. We do not have time to police every single person who is in our store. Everyone is a potential thief as far as we are concerned and watch them as such.
I love stores where they stare at you like you're going to steal something. I walk around suspiciously eying and fondling items, tightly clutching my bag, occasionally looking into it, dipping my hand in and out, then I get amusement watching the eyeballs bulge on uptight, suspicious people like you. I'd never actually steal something but it sure is fun to freak you people out.
HAHA! Love it.
It's stealing if you do not pay. If someone forgets, we only have their word that they intended to pay. Maybe they did. Or maybe they get a lot of free lunches by "forgetting". Regardless, only once in my life have I ever opened an item while in the store. I was driving home, the temp outside was 110 degrees, I was out of soda, so I stopped at Wally World for a bottle of Pepsi. I opened it and drank half of it while I was standing in line and just waggles the bottle at the clerk and handed her $2. I see people, mostly fat women, eating while they shop all the time. Their husbands can't understand why the don't lose weight! Well, yo wife is eating for 3 while she shops and picking at salad while you look on at dinner. Wise up!
It doesnt matter when, or where she ate the sandwich. She left the store with the sandwich, without paying. Case closed.
I've drunk a bottle of chocolate milk while shopping and the empty bottle is the first thing that goes on the conveyor belt when checking out. Most grocery stores have you pay for the sandwiches before they give them to you. On the other hand I have to admit that I have tasted a grape before buying them. I'm not going to buy grapes that are really sour. When my son was a baby there were times that we would buy baby cookies and give him a few, if we forgot to bring something with us, They were iitems that were prepackaged and always were paid for before leaving. The problem would be if it's a bulk item sold by weight. If you have to have that apple then pay for them prior to doing the rest of your shopping, That way there is no confusion as to whether the item has been paid for or not. All you have to do is show the receipt to the cashier when you check out and you're good to go.
Ok who ever says that they don't do this (snack in the store while you shop) is a total liar....because I see more and more people do that each time I go to the store and I am not going to deny I do it too....
Uhh no, I don't...and people who do should be embarrassed. Slobs and animals.
I'm not a liar. I have never done that because it is stealing. Sampling or grazing as you go is stealing. How can you pay for something once you have eaten it. If the product was wrapped and the price could be rung up during check out that would be acceptable but the person would have to put the empty wrapper through the checkout. How could someone "forget". The wrapper should be in the cart... not in their purse. Eating without paying is stealing, shame on you.
I don't do it either, but I also see it happen all the time. in fact, the ones I see do it just toss the empty package back onto some shelf. Now that is stealing. Since you seem to think it's OK to take another persons property without paying for it or being offered it, I'm sure you would be Ok with someone siphoning half a gallon of gas out of your car once in a while.
I live near the store in question. There is a McDonalds and a Burger King 200 feet away in one direction and a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut in the other. On the other side there are several plate lunch places, a convenience store, restaurants and a subway. Because of the one way streets in the area, there is NO WAY for her to get into the store without passing any of those restaurants. Any thief who gets caught will almost always give that excuse, Oh, I meant to pay for that! as their justification. Plus in Hawaii, most foods are sold by the pound so if you eat an apple or snack on a few grapes, they can't be weighed to determine their price. What she says is one thing, but both her AND her husband didn't speak up while at the register and that was their actions.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention, caddy cornor to the store is a hopsital so if she crashed, help was right there.
I can tell by the fascist, mean, Nazi-esque comments on this board why the US is a 3rd world police state. You people would throw someone in jail for literally five bucks! Then you would claim they were stealing, when they bought $50 in groceries along with their $5 "theft". And you would do all of this with no evidence!
Americans are:
-ignorant
-fat and sickly
-they hate eachother
-they can't reason
-they LOVE religion but they hate the mercy/values that religion teaches. Jesus probably loves putting people in prison, right?
-they are mentally deficient
You want to know why you have the biggest prison population in the world? Want to know why TSA is grabbing people at airports (including children)? Why you are ALWAYS at war with someone? Why you have the worst health? Why you are fat? Why the only social life you idiots have is the mega church? Why your wages are stagnant? Why you are in so much debt your great-great-great grandkids will be poor? Why everyone in the world rips you off and sends your kids to farflung battles so they can make money? Look in the mirror and view your fat, mean, stupid self America. The rest of the world laughs at you morons (except for maybe the Middle East, with whom you have MUCH in common).
By writing such hateful things about America...you, too, have become American. Congratulations. The story was about a woman who ate a sandwich without paying. Way to blow it up into something so pathetic and generalized. I bet your country is just amazing...
Remember not to feed the trolls, Ladies and Gentlemen.
The first thing I always do before shopping is grab a 12oz soda or water to drink while I shop. I always pay and never have any issues.
Geez, people, it's not that big a deal. If you read the articles on this at all, you'd know that she was a. pregnant, b. new to the area, and c. had just spent hours trying to find a grocery store so she and her husband could stock up. On top of that, she's a military veteran with no criminal history. If you don't think the grocery store overreacted, your priorities are seriously screwed up.
I was pregnant not too long ago so I know what its like to be starving because I ate every at least every 2 hours around the clock, even getting out of bed starving in the middle of the night. It sucks but by 30 weeks (and it being her second child) she should know how hungry she could get. I do believe they also overreacted but there is fault on both sides. Pay for your sandwich on the way in and don't put someone through THAT much over less than $10 that she planned on paying anyway.
Agreed.
Eating food before you pay for it is just weird. It's like putting on a shirt in a clothing store and then asking the cashier to scan your arm for the price. Sure you intend to pay for it but it just seems incredibly rude to me, especially to the other shoppers.
I think the store basically has to invite you to consume the product before you should make that presumption. For instance, I wouldn't read a a book cover to cover in a bookstore unless the bookstore deliberately puts down chairs for me to do it and I would try on clothes unless the clothing store has dressing rooms. In the same, way I don't think you should eat in a grocery store unless it's also a restaurant with a sanitary eating area.
I do not think you have any children, do you?
People eat food before they pay for it all the time...in restraunts.
Frankly, I'm tired of people feeling sorry for this woman. I am also a veteran AND a mom. That doesn't mean you lose your mind and all common sense goes out the door when you're pregnant. Really, it doesn't. Was the punishment over-the-top? Perhaps. But good grief, lady. OWN your own part in this already! Take some personal responsibility and LEARN from this. Stop expecting people to bend over backward to support your bad behavior. Mistake or not, you broke the law, and the store acted accordingly. Case closed.
From all that barking I guess it is safe to assume that you are a saint and never did anything wrong in your life that you did not owned up to, rigth?
Yes, she is a saint. She goes to the mega church every week. Don't you get it?
That's right American moron. Now put that family in prison! Prison and war are the answer to everything. Oh, and only YOU have common sense. YOU never make a mistake.
What on Earth is the "Mega Church" you speak of? And hey "Proof:..." – I will tell you that I hold a degree from a fine university and I'm quite personable. So where's your proof, knucklehead? I think you need a good hug.
I'm thinking there is more to the story than what is being reported, and I'm sure that we'll never hear the full story since the Safeway managers are most likely being told by Safeway's legal department that they are not allowed to discuss the situation.
In most states, it is not considered shoplifting until you have actually left the store with unpaid merchandise, so really a crime wasn't committed until she left the store without paying for the merchandise. If she was really intent on paying for the sandwiches, then why didn't she place the wrappers in a conspicuous place in her cart so she wouldn't forget? The articles I've read stated that they only bought $50 worth of groceries, which I'm sure in Hawaii doesn't add up to much, so they couldn't have been in there long enough to have "forgotten" to pay.
If she put the wrappers in the cart like she says, then why didn't she see them when unloading her cart at checkout? Why couldn't her husband have paid for the sandwiches while she continued to shop? Why is everyone in such an uproar that this happened to a pregnant veteran? She should not get special treatment for being pregnant or a veteran. Period.
So let's imagine this scenario.....there's a lady where I work who sells Girl Scout Cookies for her daughter. She puts the boxes in front of her desk to advertise the fact. What if I just walked up, took a box, opened it up and started munching...she would be furious. But It's okay...I'm going to pay her when I leave work in the evening. (Assuming I remember to.)
Until you pay for it, it's still the property of the store. They shouldn't have to keep track of everyone eating their inventory to make sure they pay for it later.
Exactly: put those families who eat a few grapes in the grocery store in jail! Then they will learn how to behave like a saint, just like you!
I think its extremely poor taste to eat food in a store even if your intending to pay. She easily could of brought something to snack on while walking around; she is pregnant however so I give her some leeeway on that. There's absolutely NO need for a sign that says "do not eat or open packages" its just common sense not to do so in a store and the fact they called the police over a 5 dollar sandwich is just ridiculous. No one should have to go through that especially when they fully intended too and tried to pay. The management was completely ridiculous its not ilke they pumped the tank full of gas and tried to drive off. When I worked in retail we never bothered calling security on kids we caught doing stupid stuff like writing with Pens we clearly put a sign up that said "no testing pens" we made them pay and they paid end of story. Now if they refused we'd of called security and if they blatantly shoplifted we'd of called security. We even had smaller children open candy without their parents realizing they were near it and asked them to pay and they'd pay we only had to call security once in that case. We called security because the mom went bat shit accusing us of accusing her of trying to skip out when thats not the case she never saw her kid with that candy and then she of cousre physically attacked the employee that asked her politely to please remember to pay for the candy. People are so riciulous sometimes this is a huge case of ridiculousness they should of let her pay and be done with it. The fact the cops even arrested her over it just defies logic and only cost them time and the city money.
As for consumer protection, if the grocery stores want the customers must pay first then they must post a sign in front of their stores to indicate that.
You just made that up, didn't you?
I am outraged by the jaded and biased comments that I am reading in the blog. I suspect that the woman and her husband could have handled the consequences of their actions (being charged with a misdemeanor); however, the very thought of a pregnant woman without a criminal record being arrested over a $5 sandwich is heart breaking. Even worse, is the fact that her two-year-old daughter was placed in protective custody over a the same $5 sandwich.
We can talk about morality all day long, but I suspect that each of us has made a small mistake in our lives (speeding, forgetting to pay at a store, not paying our car taxes on time, etc.), and when those mistakes happened, I don't think any of us would have been able to stomach having our children taken from us and placed into foster care. The issue isn't the sandwich; the issue is the severity of the situation that followed.
My thoughts exactly. Where have we gone wrong when such an innocent mistake turns into such an incredible nightmare. Lord help us all.
I am glad I did not get arrested when my then 2 year old put a small vegie brush in his stroller and I only saw it at home. I guess they could have arrested me for the $2 brush too and put him in protective custody... How rediculous is that.
Yes, the outcome of this situation was severe, and I suspect that this couple may think twice before they make their next "mistake." I hope they do so that their young daughter will not have to face such a situation again.
I was at the grocery store one night and saw an old man in a scooter just shoveling grapes in his mouth with no remorse whatsoever....I'm not gonna lie though, I just chuckled at him.
If you haven't paid for it then it's stealing. plain and simple.
It's a grocery store, not a restaurant. You don't own it until you paid for it. (.)
I open drinks at the market, they have cases of them cold so one can just grab it and drink it, one of the Lucky stores has a big refrigerated case right next to the entrance of nothing but individual drinks. I don't see the problem with that at all. The checker even gives me my open drink so I can finish it without it getting buried in the other groceries. I think the only other thing I may "try" are grapes because it's hard to tell if they're sweet or sour and I hate to buy a bunch of sour grapes. As long as you pay for what you take before you leave the store, it's not stealing. It would be much worse if I started yelling at people because my sugar level crashed.
Sandy, most stores now have softdrink machines outside the entrance, just for this reason. (Some even have snack machines.)
I'm so glad you think it's okay to steal grapes! Please post your address so we can help ourselves to the grapes in your fridge, since that would not be stealing!!
Seriously, if every time you went to the store and paid for grapes, they "forgot" to put them in your bag, wouldn't you have a problem with that? Or would it be okay because "they are only grapes"?
"Most stores" do not actually have soda machines outside. In fact, the only store I can think of that typically does is Walmart. Even so, the store still has soft drink refrigerators at the checkout lanes, and most do; it's for "impulse shopping," and no store manager in their right mind is going to fuss over a customer grabbing one and opening it as they check out.
Eating while shopping might be in poor taste, but when someone has been on buses for hours trying to find a grocery store, and that someone is a pregnant and hungry woman, maybe giving her a pass to eat while she shops isn't such a bad idea. Treating her like a criminal because she forgot about the sandwich is ridiculous and petty.
Get a life, Susan. It is b/c of people like you someone gets arrested for eating and forgetting to pay for a sandwich.
Actually, Tati, it's their own fault if they get arrested for eating something and not paying for it.
Americans don't eat grapes. They eat cheetos. OK? Anyway, so your mega church said you are an angel, so you get to judge who is stealing and who is not, right?
"It would be much worse if I started yelling at people because my sugar level crashed."
I did that today.
Knowing that you have a 'sugar' condition, you could also be sure that you're prepared with a little snack BEFORE you start running errands. whether you eventually pay for it or not, if you've ingested something from a grocery store before paying for it, it's STEALING. i see people do it all the time when a bratty kid wont leave them alone. they let the kid eat chips or cookies in the cart. How about learning how to parent so your kid learns not to act out in public rather than appeasing the kid by giving him what he wants every time he throws a tantrum? No child or adult is going to die of starvation by having to wait a few minutes to get through the checkout line. I'm happy that this couple was charged with theft. If the wife was pregnant and just HAD to have something to eat, I'm sure she was aware of her pregnancy before she left the house. Why not grab something to snack on to carry with her?
As for you yelling at people because your sugar crashed, I HOPE the person you yelled at cursed you out HARD for it. Don't get mad at the world because of your condition. You shouldn't be walking around unprepared.
Laura- That was the best statement ever!! I couldn't have said it better myself...LOL!!
Laura, that was essentially the most foolish comment I've ever read. If you had bothered to read another comment of mine, posted hours prior to yours, you'd have seen that my standpoint was in favor of not eating things at the grocery store until they're paid for. What's this nonsense you post about hoping the person I yelled at cussed me out and then attempting to make a self-righteous judgment of me and a condition of mine - all without knowing anything other than that I yelled at someone because my blood sugar crashed? You sure make yourself look foolish when you assume something without knowing any facts. My blood sugar crashed without me knowing about it. Preparing for it was impossible, since the crash occurred sometime during my sleep and the person I yelled at was on a telephone only minutes after waking up (completely unaware of blood sugar crash) to discover that someone made a very serious error that caused me a very serious amount of undue and unjustified stress. While the people I was talking to certainly deserved the majority of the harshness, I wouldn't have reacted the way I did if my blood sugar had been at a safe level. The entire situation was completely abnormal in general. Now, the next time you want to lecture someone on something, you better darn well know what you're talking about - especially if you're going to pretend to have some moral authority over another human being. (moral authority does not exist anywhere on this planet btw) Have a nice day, kiddo.
Stand down Laura, I've got this.
Real, if you are knowingly susceptible to sugar crashes, you have no one to blame but yourself. If you have had ONE, you could have one again if you don't find out what caused it. Laura is absolutely correct that you are responsible for being prepared for such an inevitability. You also have a responsibility to yourself and the people you scream at to find out what causes it and take steps to prevent it.
Blood sugar crashes are preventable. You just have to take some time, investigate and find your triggers. Good luck.
I know because the same time happens to me. I got sick if apologizing to my loved ones and taxing their patience.
Sandy – you sound like a real boor.
Being hypoglycemic is no excuse to go pigging into stuff at the grocers. My mother gets low sugar jags and knowing that, she deals with it by keeping stashes of candy or little snacks where she can always get at them – in her purse, jacket pockets, glove box. That's how polite grown-ups deal with their problems instead of yelling at others and stuffing their faces with the nearest food they can lay hands on – even if it isn't theirs.
People who eat in grocery stores also contribute to messy carts, pens at the checkout, crumbs on floors, etc.
It's tacky behavior.
recently, I saw a lot of comments which said that it must pay first. If so, then all of those made the comments like that should pay first when they go to the restaurants, also pay everything first before the vendors deliver services to them.
No, because a restaurant has an entirely different business model from a grocery store. At restaurants, partons are expected to consume the meal before they pay - at groceries, they are not. And even in a restaurant, if you leave without paying you have committed theft.
Your sound like you are a MBA who knows all business models. I am not so my argument is just there is no sign from the store forbid you to consume before you pay then you don't need to pay first. I agree that we must pay before we leave the store but in this case, the woman may forget and should be accepted to pay when she realize that she forget.
A lot of other services indicate clearly that you must pay first such as at gas stations...
That's fine if the restaurant operated that way...but most don't.
That is the dumbest logic I've ever heard.
Are you enjoying the view from your high horse yet? Sounds like you must be uber-prepared at all moments of your life. If you feel the need to eat or drink something, I don't see what the big deal is as long as you save the container for the checkout lines. As for crumbs getting everywhere as someone said, there are a lot worse things on your shopping carts than crumbs. Also, many grocery stores encourage people to eat in them as they have tables and chairs. Is our society so "Puritan" that we can't see that this lady made an honest mistake and I could really give two flips if people eat in a store, so long as they pay.
"recently, I saw a lot of comments which said that it must pay first. If so, then all of those made the comments like that should pay first when they go to the restaurants, also pay everything first before the vendors deliver services to them."
Anthony, we do. It's called fast food and delivery or COD.
the most i will ever do in a store is open a drink very occasionally, esp if i am waiting in a long line...when my mother was alive she would do the same but that was bc she was diabetic and her sugar was crashing...i do it just because i am thirsty...but i will ALWAYS pay for it...
There's a thing called manners and one called crudeness. This behavior falls under the latter and lacks the former. Just the way I was raised.
Sometimes if there's a soda or iced tea aisle at the start of the store, I'll grab one to drink while I'm shopping. I always keep the bottle and let them scan it at the end. Why should I shop thirsty? I think eating food... especially things that are messy or weighed upon purchase... is probably wrong.
Eating while shopping is not good manners in my book. However, being pregnant can be hard, really, really hard. At 30 weeks, you are building and feeding two people and carrying them both around at the same time. I feel badly for the mother. She was hungry, ate something, meant to pay, messed up. I get it: tired, hungry pregnancy brain. What I don't get is why the man was eating. He isn't pregnant and should know better.
Once, when I was pregnant, I ate a roll while I was shopping. I could feel my blood sugar crashing, I needed to eat something. I got a roll. Probably I should have eaten it while waiting in line at the bake shop, paid the cashier and then gone on with my shopping. I didn't, though, and after paying for my full pile of groceries, as I exited, I realized I had not paid for the roll, turned around, went back and did so, and moved on with my day. No one cared, except for me, as I was really embarrassed that I had been desperate enough to eat in the store and then make the mistake of not paying.
Everyone lost in the story. The grocery store looks stupid for what it did to a pregnant woman (what were the store managers thinking? They must have been young men: Never been pregnant, never lived with a pregnant woman) The pregnant woman looks stupid for having eaten without paying. The husband should have sucked it up and not eaten in the store in the first place. The poor little kid was taken away from her parents for a day. The whole thing was needlessly stupid.
Welcome to the police state. It is so great. Wall street criminals take billions from middle class people, but if worker bees make a five dollar mistake, they go to jail.
I used to have to ask customers to go grab a similar item as I had seen them take off the shelf and eat while they shopped. It was a tiny store that got ripped off all the time, did they really think no one would spot them?
If you absolutely feel you must eat while in the store (which I don't understand anyway), the purchase the product BEFORE you open it, and either carry the receipt or ask the cashier to tape it onto the product for you. Even if you plan to purchase the item at checkout, until you have paid for it, you're actively stealing. Plus it's just classless.
I still think it depends on what kind of person you are.
I dont do it,most likely because I look like the kind of person Id accuse of shoplifting
I think its always a matter of intent,but its something that is only excusable in extreme circumstances
Like how women can breastfeed in public but not be topless,or how theres handicapped parking
Or how when theres a fire or ship sinking its women and children first
I shop at a small (3 stores)super market chain owned by Armenians, in Los Angeles. The produce, on average is two-thirds below Von's etc. The cheese section, with lmostly imported items at half what you pay in cheese stores, or even Trader Joe's. They cut your order and give you a slice before you buy to see if you like it. I've seen people scoop up nuts, grapes, dried fruit, etc,for a "taste." I wouldn't do it, and thought it inappropriate. I resigned myself to it, viewing it as an ethnic habit; 90% of the clientele are obviously Armenians, Central Europeans, and Mediterraneans.
On the other hand: we live in a society, whose mantra is, "get away with it if you can." Madoff, Martha Stewart, cooking the books, planting evidence on innocents, running stop signs (uh, the rolling stop) and red lights. How about invading a country to "get" weapons of mass destruction," when the president knew there weren't any? Blockading a sovereign country (Cuba) because WE don't like its government? How about posting the most insidious racist comments here, when you can be anonymous. The constitution says it's legal to do, and I agree with that right. Wouldn't call for its prohibition. Let the rats out. How else will we know how far we need to go BEFORE we can say we are a free and moral country? Most of the above resulted in someone's life being taken from them early.
This type of behavior is rampant. I used to cashier for a grocery store and I rang up half finished sodas and open bags of chips all the time. Management was pretty lax because they don't want to scare customers away. There was a guy who would come in and eat a banana EVERY TIME he shopped, and then hand the empty skin to us. I started going over to produce to get a banana to ring up when he'd do it. He quit coming to my line. Thievery, pure and simple.
Being right doesn't mean you are not foolish. When the couple offered to pay the manager should have taken their money and asked them to please not eat anything prior to checking out in the future. From a PR standpoint this is a mess. Where is the line drawn in the future? If a mother samples a grape or cherry before making a decision to buy is she risking having her child taken for the night? Is she safe if she decides to buy but at risk if she leaves the produce in the bin. For six bucks Safeway is going to lose a handful of customers but it is going to cost many times more in advertising to attract an equal number of shoppers to replace those lost. The Safeway manager directs a business and should be making business decisions. If he wants to teach morality and a strict interpretation of right and wrong then he should volunteer to teach Sunday school.
If I could, I would make a point of shopping at that Safeway because they cracked down on thieves and I might be able to shop without seeing pigs stuffing their bleeding gobs.
Mike, "sampling" a cherry or grape that is sold by the pound is always theft. There is no way for the store to know the weight of the item, therefore no way for the consumer to pay for it.
That might sound like a good deal, but when some people steal, ultimately, other customers pay for it with higher costs. The store is not going to pay for the loss - they are going to pass it on to you and me. I would be MORE likely to shop at Safeway because they prosecute shoplifters.
stealing a 'taste' is still stealing. You aren't entitled to something that doesn't belong to you period.
I'm probably the most honest person I know, but have learned from experience that it is foolish to buy grapes without a taste. Perhaps I should taste after the checker weighs the bunch and then decline it if sour – save myself the gas and them the hassle of me bringing the purchase back to the store. (Could they / should they sell them again if I had taken them home???)
If you can't wait 20 minutes until you're out of the store to eat your purchased booty, you're pathetic.
These pregnant women get crazed if they don't food when they want it. I think if your pregnant you should be given a break .
That's ridiculous. I'm not pregnant, and sometimes I get hungry when I'm in a grocery store, but I still wouldn't do it. Different sets of rules for different people is insane.
True, a pregnant woman who has not eaten for several hours can be famished. But she could have grabbed the sandwich and paid for it as soon as she entered the store, then eaten it (maybe outside or in the car) while her husband shopped.
This isn't about hunger, it's about laziness. Too lazy to go through the line twice.
She was shopping with her hubbie. While hubbie shops wife could you know, buy a sandwich and not steal one.
What if I plan on shopping for more than 20 minutes? What if I want to shop for 22 minutes? I'm not saying go eat 5 apples or bring a barbecue to the store and throw on a couple of rump roasts, but what's wrong with popping open a soda that you pay for anyway? Some of you people need to get lives and find something that matters to nit-pick. Why don't you teach your rude children some manners or some polite communication skills?
Jay, I really don't see that much wrong with swigging a soda in line and paying for it later. BUT SHE DID NOT PAY, AND HER HUSBAND ALSO DID NOT PAY FOR THE SANDWICH HE ATE. "Oops, I forgot" becomes a convenient excuse.
Jay – most of the RUDE children I've seen are the ones throwing temper tantrums in the grocery store begging for candy and chips (which the parents ultimately open for them and allow them to eat while grocery shopping). I'm seeing a trend here – people who steal while grocery shopping seem to be passing on the same trait to their kids who learn that it is OK to grab something off the shelf and eat it without paying first. hmmm....
Unless specific permission is given beforehand, it is wrong. It's like using the neighbor's car without permission. Permission folks, remember it, or don't be surprized when your getting cuffed.
That's right. Did your mega church tell you that logic? Good job, dumb American schmuck. Next they will put people in prison for being over the speed limit. Do you see how laws start to creep forward?
Who really cares?
Obviously you do, or you wouldn't be reading this thread.
You care enough to comment.
Weird you should say that, because I live in a pretty diverse neighborhood and I have NEVER seen anyone by white people do this. Although, the white trash are already living off of us through food stamps, so why not feel entitled to eat while shopping too?
everytime I went to Sprout market in Plano, there will be indian family feasting on the open barrels of chocolate and nuts with their bare hand. It is disgusting and put me off from buying. I do not understand their culture. Seriously!
I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with the fact that they were an Indian family. There are people from all walks of life and all cultures who are gross and have no manners.
I agree that it probably has nothing to do with the fact that they are an Indian family. Where I live, it's always the white people bringing dogs into the grocery store and feasting on anything that catches their eyes. I don't know where or why this disgusting trend started, but it needs to stop immediately.
It started when the almighty dollar took precedence over manners & common sense. It started when grocers realized people with poor manners spent the same money as those with good manners and the money was more important. Greed has superseded many things in the last few decades. Sad.
BS. They are from a third world country (like the US is becoming). It has every thing to do with culture.
The store manager should simply tell them to stop it. That should be enough.
When did people start to think it was okay to eat while shopping? It's one of the most crass, low class things you can do in public. If you're THAT hungry you should walk in, pay for the one item you want to eat, take it out to your car or outside and eat it. Then continue with your grocery shopping. Anything else is just plain lazy.
I totally agree! Even when I was a penniless single parent, I never did this. If I knew we would be out, I would pack a baggie of Cheerios or crackers as a snack for my son.
I see people doing this all the time at the Super Wal-Mart near my home, and of the ones I've observed, 50% never pay for the items consumed. That just means the rest of us pay higher prices.
So now that you're rich, you have plenty of time to take statistical samples of every customer in the store. GET a life.
Actually Jay, yes, I;m not rich but I own my own business, am semi-retired, have time to spend half the day at the beach or the movies, dabble in writing fiction, read 5 or 6 novels a week and still take college classes for personal enrichment. Oh and my other hobby - people watching. It makes for better material for fiction. Sorry you are so unhappy with your miserable life.
Do you think putting people in already crowded jails is the answer? Prisons and law enforcement are extremely expensive. The government likely spent thousands arresting, imprisoning and taking a child to CPS over five bucks. And that officer, while arresting someone over five bucks, was NOT solving murders, rapes, and other more important crimes. Can't the manager just call the people out and tell them to stop? Stores have the ability to ban piggy customers as well why not try that first?
Stupid Americans want to use police, prisons, and military for EVERYTHING. No wonder you are all broke.
Probably got arrested because she was a white mainlander in the wrong part of town in Honolulu.
No need to bring racial bigotry up here. Totally inappopriate, and I highly doubt that was the case. This particular Safeway store is located near an area heavily populated by homeless people, drug addicts, etc. As a result, this store probably has a huge problem with shoplifting and theft, and therefore management probably felt a need to crack down to try to control their losses, and this may be why they were not initially willing to just let it go.
So there is no such thing as racism against Caucasians, and it is racial bigotry to suggest that it even could occur? You are just dumb enough to be perfect for America.
Kids I can understand... that is why you stop, quick go check out what they are going to eat, give it to them and go back to shopping. It a little inconvenient but, it's the right thing to do.
An adult... there is NO excuse. Seriously?!?! You can't wait 15 minutes?
To avoid this all together, EAT BEFORE YOU SHOP! You will buy less thingsyou don't really need. THINK PEOPLE!!
Ah, but that requires thought and planning - two items that seem to be in shorter supply every year.
Why not just spank the kid and make him wait too? Worked for me as a kid. My mom need only to give me "the look" and I stopped what I was doing immediately. Don't bend your life around your kid...how weak.
That's right! The mega church is absolute! Now send that family to prison! No mistakes, or it is automatic jail. The US needs to compete with sweatshop wages somehow–have them make more license plates!
All items inside the store are property of that store until paid for by the customer. Consuming items that have not been paid for is a crime, it does not matter if you plan on paying for it or not, until you pay for the food it legally belongs to the store, placing it in your shopping cart does not transfer ownership to you, paying for it at the checkout does and until you have paid for it you have no legal claim to it.
So are not using a turn-signal and going 1 mph over the posted speed limit.
Which is why we don't do them.
See above.
The wife was the one who felt faint, but both husband and wife ate their sandwiches before paying. They left the wrappers in the cart, but both of them failed to notice that the wrappers were there after emptying their cart at checkout, and both of them forgot that they had eaten them and had to pay? I don't believe for one minute that they just happened to forget to pay. More like "it's just a couple of sandwiches. It's a big company. Nobody will care or notice." There's a lot of pity going around for them because the wife is pregnant and they had their child taken away for several hours. I feel bad for the child, who must have felt scared and alone, but the parents are to blame for that, and yes, maybe even Safeway, who may have been a little heavy handed in this case. But theft is theft, and I don't think Safeway is the villain in this case..
Have you never been in an argument with someone and forgotten what you were doing before you got in that argument? It is possible for two people to forget the same thing at the same time. Without knowing them or having all the facts, it isn't fair of any of us to pass judgment. Definitely the child got the shortest end of this stick.
Yeah, it's possible, but a stretch in this case. They claimed in the media that they had a fussy baby moment, not a full blown argument. And both wrappers were in the otherwise empty cart. Wouldn't that have been very noticeable, unless they were scrunched up and hidden in a corner somewhere?
It's called personal responsibility. Regardless of what happened, it's THEIR fault.
I don't buy it. The husband wasn't preggers. No reason he had the desperate need to eat a sandwich and not pay.
You wrapped up the situation really well. It's very unlikely that two people who just finished eating would have both forgotten about it. And either way, it was their responsibility to remember to pay, and no one elses.
I agree. While I can't judge without all the facts, I have a feeling they just gave that story and offered to pay because they got caught. Had they made out of the store and realized their mistake, I highly doubt they would've returned to pay for the product. They should've purchased it before consuming in-store anyway.
That's why the bought $50 worth of other stuff. Congratulations, proud American! You get it! Send the anyone who makes a five dollar mistake to jail. Those middle class people make the best license plates!
Seriously, what?
I can understand the pregnant woman eating, but why was her husband eating, he has no reason. Also,where did they put the wrappers when they were finished that they "forgot". Why wouldn't they put the empty wrapper in the cart with the other groceries so that it didn't get "forgotten", and could be put on the conveyor belt with the rest of the groceries? Seems like they planned to "forget".
The full story is that the couple and child had just moved to HI, and after a day of unpacking, realized they had nothing for dinner and took public transit to get food. After getting off at the wrong stop, they figured grabbing a snack and groceries at the Safeway was the best idea. You know the rest, forgot to pay, arrested, baby taken away...Has no one opened a drink or water at a store before paying before? I do this all the time when I'm thirsty – I start drinking while I'm in line to pay. I've never been scolded or corrected by employees, it must be acceptable behavior to some extent.
It absolutely is acceptable – as long as you pay for it and until the store you're shopping in tells you otherwise. Don't let the self-appointed etiquette cops in this thread change your mind.
I read the full story, Mom is pregnant, felt weak, dizzy, whatever so she needed to eat. Dad had no such excuse, not being pregnant himself he could have waited until they bought the food. I still want to know where they put the wrappers that they were "forgotten". They should have put them in the cart with the rest of the unpaid groceries where they could put them on the conveyor belt and pay for them. Putting the wrappers anywhere other than with the rest of the unpaid for groceries leads me to believe they had every intention of "forgetting".
It's exactly this kind of self-entitled, selfish behavior as exemplified in your comment that it is "absolutely and perfectly acceptable" to start chowing down on items in a grocery store before paying that I addressed earlier. I blame the store management for not wanting to cause a scene and your parents for not teaching you that 1) you are not the center of the universe and cannot just do whatever you want; and 2) if you haven't paid for it, it's not yours.
This isn't "etiquette policing" – this is doing the right thing. Your encouraging another's selfish and illegal behavior is the most disturbing part about it. Safeway must be your personal buffet line, to pick and slurp from at whim. I blame your parents for making you selfish, self-centered, and worst of all, presumptuous. Pay for it first and then you can fill your gullet all you like. What's so hard about that?
You know what Chrissy? I recently completed a 2,000 mile move. When I arrived, I was exhausted, hungry and there was nothing in the house to eat. I managed to get through the checkout line before I ate it.
Yes, it's okay for you to open a bottle of water or soda and take a swig while waiting in line, AS LONG AS YOU PAY FOR IT AFTERWARD. But these two did not pay, and they paid the price.
Honestly, I think they have done this before and thought nobody would catch them. If their story is true, I nominate them for the TDTWAL award - Too Dumb To Walk Around Loose.
I never said it was unacceptable to eat while shopping, but since the product consumed has yet to be purchased the empty wrapper, or half empty bottle of water, belongs with the rest of the unpaid groceries.
If you are pregnant and exhuasted you sometimes just need to eat something ot you'll pass out. The total lack of compassion and complete ignorance surrounding the realities of pregnancy is astouding and women who pit themselves against other women are the worst kind of toadies.
This has nothing to do with pregnancy, although some of the stories in the media seem to play it up that way. If this woman was feeling faint and needed to eat something right away, then I'm sure those folks at that Safeway would have been more than happy to accommodate her if she had just made an effort to let someone know, but she didn't. Don't forget that her husband also ate a sandwich along with her. Was he also feeling faint? She admitted that they left the empty wrappers in the cart. Did they both fail to notice the wrappers as they emptied the cart at checkout? Did they both forget that they had eaten the sandwiches and had to pay for them? Sorry, but I don't think that being pregnant is justification for taking something without paying for it.
Pay first then eat the food. Very simple.
If you are so hungry that you cannot wait until after shopping, then buy the food first and eat it before shopping. It's not just the issue of payment but the potential for mess the nibbler trails through the store or soils merchandise (such as clothing) which is for sale.
Good point, Barb! Besides the mess, it's also unsanitary. You are touching your mouth, the food, then other items on the shelf that you might not purchase. This guarantees that you will spread every germ in your mouth throughout the store.
Thsi is why restaurant chefs are not allowed to eat between preparing orders. They have to leave their work station, and wash their hands throughly after eating before handling food.
This is someone's idea of spam. They've posted very similar comments like this many times.
Please don't feed the trolls or the spam-bots.
Hmm..and where do they do THAT at...?
.... after the "at"
well yeah...that's kind of the point. "Where do they do THAT at" Its an urban colloquialism. I wouldn't expect you to have come across that, then again, you ARE a grammar professor, right? Hmm..
This is a troll. Don't feed them.
I'll admit I've eaten food before paying for at the grocery store, however, it's usually only if my sugar is very low. I'm hypoglycemic and on the rare occasion I'll get caught out without a candy or something to boost my sugar. Usually I go to the bulk candy isle...weigh and print a sticker with the amount in the bag and then take a few pieces from the bag while shopping. There was even one ocasion when I hadn't gotten much candy in the bag so ended up just ringing up an empty bag...the price having been set when I filled it and recorded on my label sticker.
I totally think it's wrong to eat produce, etc. that is paid for by weight before you have a sticker or something on it marking the weight. That is stealing because you never intend to pay for those items that you've eaten. I also don't think that it's wrong to eat something just because you haven't paid for it yet. With that type of logic you'd be stealing at most sit down restaurants.... However, I do think there is a difference between a small snack to curb your hunger or in my case from becoming nauseous and passing out (I know, dumb on my part to let it get to that point but once in a blue moon it happens) and chowing down on your dinner while cruising the grocery store aisles.
No, Low, restaurants and grocery stores are entirely different business models. In a grocery store, you are supposed to pay before eating. In a restaurant, it is understood that the patrons will consume the food first and pay later. And even in a restaurant, if you exit without paying, you have committed a crime.
I actually think that someone in your situation has a valid excuse/reason for consuming the food while shopping - as long as you pay for it, every single time. Kudos to you for putting forth the extra effort to weigh the food before eating it!
For those without low blood sugar, the problem with munching while shopping is that it certainly presents the appearance that you intend to steal the item. It's like, you don't walk into a bank with a gun and a mask, unless you mean to rob the place. If it quacks like a duck...
You tell them, proud American! Jail for everyone! Now if you make a penny mistake, go to prison. That's freedom, right? Did you go to your favorite mega church yet this week? If not, it's jail for you too!
Normally I would say no but when you're pregnant you just don't know when those drops will hit and I'd rather nibble something than pass out in the store. And I too have seen people of all races, ethnicites and classes do this . Its an American thing though. When I lived in Europe I noticed people sit down to eat and you don't see people driving, walking and shopping while eating.
Yep. I was raised in Europe, and it's a big no-no to do this over there. I was disgusted when I moved here and saw people eating while shopping. Europeans tend to think that Americans have no class, and the people who do this only perpetuate the stereotype.
you are correct.
When i lived in Ireland I would get dirty looks from folks when I would rip into a bun on my way out to the parking lot.
Why is that? I multi task all the time, and don't have time to stop and sit and eat. and I won't eat and drive.
I don't eat in the store, proper, however, unless it is specifically a shop u eat in, like ice cream or donut.
Us americans are disgusted by the way you Eurpeans have no oral hygiene. If you have been living in the US for awhile you should now realize that WE DON"T GIVE A RATS AZ WHAT EUROPE THINKS.
You need to go to McDonalds and then the mega church so you can forget about those nasty Euro-trashies. Ewww. They are such hippies. How can anyone think you should spend quality time eating instead of rushing around? Also, the Euro-trashies barely arrest anyone, they have very small jails (what losers, haha), and they are in barely any wars. The US has to help them get involved in wars so they can be cool like Americans. Lucky they have the US, huh? Without the US, Paris wouldn't have any real food like McDonalds.
I think it's funny how every conversation reverts back to race...how ridiculous! I suppose in your tiny microscopic world only Black people do this...yet the family in question is not Black...so how do your process that tidbit of information?
Wow. Usually I overlook idiots that say things like this, but I'm black and that's a really offensive and ignorant statement you posted. How dare you sit there and compare us to some wild animals? Not once have one of my family members or I behaved that way in a store. I can't believe there are still racist assholes like you out there. What the hell do you do for a living? I'm an educated black woman (a microbiologist to be exact), not some wild beast that goes out and "hunt" on the streets. Before you ever make another bold comment like that, get to know black people or say that in front of a lot of black people rather than hide behind your computer or cellphone and type.
Only if you are a hot girl it's ok, if you are fat and nasty...no way.
Simply put, walking out of a store with an item and not paying for it is shoplifting. It wasn't the fact that she ate the food inside the store, it was the fact that she left the store with the food that she didn't pay for.
Most stores don't allow you to pay for the item after you are out of the store because it just promotes the idea that you only have to pay if you got caught.
Imagine if stores allowed people to pay for items after they got out of the store. No one would pay in the store, they would wait to see if they got caught. Try this out...walk into any store, take an item and walk out...then offer to pay for it. You will be in jail.
It's ghetto!
Just because you pick something up doesn't mean it belongs to you. Until you pay for it, it belongs to the grocery store. Consuming it is stealing.
Even if I'm extremely thirsty in a grocery store, I would get a soda, pay for it and get a "paid" sticker or whatever they use, and then continue shopping.
Ok everyone. How about we not automatically equate race or financial status with this argument? The number of derogatory "poor people are pigs or thieves" comments here is entirely uncalled for.
Go into a Whole foods in a rich white neighborhood and you'll find just as many soccer moms munching on on organic granola as you will find in a discount food store. Poor has nothing to do with it.
Poor manners, perhaps.
Ah but it's so true... When I used to live in the hood, I used to see people stuffing Twinkies in their mouths at the store. Now that I live in a nice, middle-class neighborhood, the only thing I ever see anyone eating at the store is a free sample. It's classless to eat food off the shelves before paying for it.
That's nice, but completely untrue. I see just as many rich moms eating in stores prior to paying (or feeding their kids) as I do poor moms. The quality of the food is usually the difference.
In my area it's more likely to be the rich soccer moms driving mini-vans who let their kids sample everything in the cart while they shop. Probably because the kids don't know the meaning of the word "no." I have seen a woman with a designer handbag and a 2 caret diamond engagement ring put the empty box of cereal or cookies back on the shelf after her children finished - obviously, not intending to pay for the items consumed.
I agree Annoyed! It just amazes me how people equate negataive behavior to race automatically. Let's face it, when you live in certain areas where theft is expected, you can't walk around the store without someone following you so how can you stuff twinkies in your mouth or roam the aisles and graze...it ridiculous! Yet, in the suburbs where I live you can walk into the store and find opened boxes of fruit snacks, cereal, or whatever...give me a break!
EXACTLY! Read what I posted earlier. The absolute worst examples of hogging out in the grocery store are at Whole Foods in affluent parts of LA! Digging into the salad bar with their bare hands and eating entire hard-boiled eggs (and usually talking with their mouths full), women with those filthy acrylic fingernails digging into the bulk bins and "grazing" while they shop. Unbelievably disgusting AND IT'S STEALING, I don't care what kind of spin you try to put on it.
I was waiting in line at checkout at Walmart and witnessed a woman eating (at best) a half a bag of green grapes. She paid for what was left. This is stealing and this shows how ignorant you are. I wish more people would get charged. The checkout girl witnessed her doing this while waiting in my line and never done anything about it. Walmart has tons of cameras around and obviously no one monitoring them. I feel that in the long run, it is myself and other honest shoppers who ultimately have to pay for the thieves that steal and eat the food.
Yes Mary, prison IS the answer. Put everyone in jail. It only costs thousands if not millions given law enforcement, legal, medical, and institutional costs. But it is definitely worth it to punish five dollar mistakes. Prison or military or the mega church is always the answer.
Why can't the stupid store train their employees to watch better and ask for payment for their products? And why can't Americans wait to eat their food? I know five minutes is a loooooong time when it comes to the feeding trough, but please!
Eating something at the grocery before you pay for it is not stealing. It may be tacky, depending on what you're eating and subjective to personal opinion, but I wouldn't consider it to be "wrong" unless it's against that particular store's rules.
My personal opinion is that if you open a drink or eat something small like a mint or a piece of gum while you're in the checkout line or walking around the store, it's not a big deal. I think that walking around with a sandwich would be rude because you would inevitably get crumbs all over the floor, but it's up to the store to make the decision on that.
Regardless, you HAVE to pay for it. If you eat and don't pay on purpose, it's stealing, and if you eat and honestly forget to pay, you deserve an embarrassing "walk of shame" back into the store to pay.
With regards to the story, I think that most people have, at one point in their lives, forgotten to pay for something and left a store (or restaurant, or bar, or gas station, etc.) Usually stores just let you go back in and pay for it, which is a lot better of an option than ruining someone's day and winding up on the news...
By the way, I am a veteran too and I have very poor circulation in my foot. I feel like if I get caught stealing at the local supermarket (or at ANY store for that matter,) they need to just forgive and forget!
You don't deserve any sort of special treatment just because you worked for the military for a few years. The military isn't nearly as honorable now than it was before. You get payed good money because it is a job. If you were drafted, it would be different.
Good one Joe!
Ohhhhh, wait! I have a hangnail! I get a free pass to shoplift, too! Sorry y'all, I haft run to Safeway! See ya later!
What a load of crap! How many times have they gone into a store and eaten for free? I'll bet they do this constantly and finally got caught. "I'm a veteran and I'm pregnant" therefore you should be exempt from the rules against stealing???
It's called planning ahead. A 30-week pregnant woman should know to always have snacks on her. I'm 20 weeks and I always have a small cup of nuts and a granola bar in my purse. If for some reason, I didn't have those items and I really needed to eat, I would pay for what I intended to eat and then continue shopping.
It's not that hard.
Not to mention that it gets messy for the cashier. If someone handed me a sandwich wrapper that had remnants of chicken salad or mayo or whatever on it, that stuff gets on my hands and then I have to wipe it on my pants because I don't have napkins at my cashier stand.
And final point, it is stealing! Until you pay for it, it does not belong to you!
Unless you are at the store because you are out of groceries thus the trip to the store. I'll never understand any woman who has been pregnant having so little compassion for others in that state.
OF COURSE she offered to pay for it when caught, and expected to be let go free.
So, all is okay, when I rob a bank, then, if caught on my way out, say "Oops, sorry, here is your money back, can I go home now?"
She ate it, and if she is so absent minded that she forgot she did, she certainly isn't very smart.
.
Don't do this. It's tacky, annoying, unsanitary, and in some cases theft. All the rationalizations of being hungry, having whiny kids, being in a hurry, being diabetic, "I'm about to drop $100 here, so it's okay!" are all pathetic, BS, cop out excuses (yes, even the diabetic). Plan ahead, control your kids, be the parent, be the adult. And don't pay with checks!
I'm a diabetic and I would never use that as an excuse to open up something inside of a grocery store and start nibbling. Besides, most diabetics, carry candy or a fruit with them. In my humble opinion, the practice of opening something up in any kind of store and consuming it or using it lacks of bad manners. Can you imagine someone picking up a comb in a Walmart, using it, then deciding that they don't need it? Gross, inconsiderate and lacking decency and manners.
Here, here, Mu!
The expression is "hear, hear," not "here, here."
It seems in poor taste to me, but that's purely a matter of opinion. However, in response specifically to the comments on here that are concerned with the ability to pay – such as "what if you get to the checkout counter and your credit/debit card is rejected?" – I would ask how that differs from restaurant dining experiences, where the meal is always paid for after the fact. There are other differences, of course – in a restaurant, the establishment can keep track of what you consume, whereas in a grocery store it's possible to swipe food without anyone knowing – but those are concerns related to honesty, not ability to pay.
You named the difference.
In the restaurant, they keep a talley of what was ordered, and you can work out how you will pay when your credit card is rejected.
In the supermarket, when your credit card is denied, you simply walk away and the store will re-stock your items. Except for the ones that you consumed.
Nothing I hate more then finding an open food package in any store. Its worse then stealing. Even if only one cookie is gone form the package, the store now has to dispose of it in the trash. Absolute waste of food... Just steal the whole dam thing if your going to do that....
I agree with you your Holiness. A few years ago I bought three or four dark chocolate candy bars for my partner at Target. He opened one to eat a few nights later to find the bar had been perfectly re-wrapped after someone had taken a big bite out of it. I took the chocolate bar back saying this had never happened to me before, but the cashier said it happens all the time. Just stupid, tacky people.
This is a problem in America. We like to make up our own rules as we go along. We already have a rules/laws for this, it is called stealing/shoplifting.
I know I am the LAW!!!
I agree with Jason P. In addition it just seems rude to be shopping and eating. I was disgusted just just a few weeks ago with a whole family, taking up an entire isle, eating, drinking and making a mess. I felt that was so disrespectful to fellow shoppers and the store employees. It also got me thinking about the growing obesity issue plaguing our country – do people really have to be constantly eating. And is giving a fussy child cookies or crackers the answer?
I frequently let my daughter eat popcorn chicken from the walmart deli while we're shopping... but we ALWAYS pay for them FIRST. That's our first stop in the store if I have to run in after work, before dinner, and we ALWAYS pay at the express checkout before we do anything else. I've always thought that eating first paying later is a bad policy; what if the bank is having problems and your card doesn't go through or check doesn't clear?
It doesn't matter if you pay first. Eating while shopping is a disgusting habit. Perhaps this should have been the second focal point of this article?
It does matter and that is the point of the article. So sorry we aren't living up to your standards. Tell you what, there's a seat that just came available in the stfu cafe. Why don't you just take your self-important, judgmental at!tude and have a seat? Someone will be along (with a cattle prod) in a moment.
@ Reality Dealer. You're an idiot. Yes, of course, a shopper should first. I'm suprised, like many responders here, that that is even in debate. My point, like many others here, is that is very poor taste to eat while shopping, even IF you pay before hand. It doesn't take "high standards" to realiize that. It should be common sense.
Reality check: we have differing opinions ... Spork.
The fact is there are times when people get caught up in their busy, busy lives and get hungry. Sometimes to the point of dysfunction and have to do something about it so they can get back to functioning normally. Typically that involves eating. What doesn't matter are the reasons. If they pay for what they eat, I don't see a problem with it – as long as they're legitimate reasons.
UN-Reality Check, you must live, then, in the same dyfunctional world that you describe so well here . . .
Only skumbags eat in the store. Eat something before you leave your pig-sty house. And don't tell me the kid can't wait. People lived in this country for many decades without feeding their kids in stores, but now that no one has manners and feels they have to placate their bratty little spoiled kids, it's become commonplace. And don't leave things like raw meat in the cereal section because you decided you don't want it. Also, people who take shopping carts on a one-way trip to their condo and leave them there need to be charged with theft.
That plastic divider thing that the cashier slides toward you? That's to separate your items from the poor schmuk behind you, who can't reach it while your reading the latest mind-slop about Kim Kardashian in the National Enquirer. Be considerate and put it there for him, will you? I know that's a lot to ask in today's self-centered society. but DO IT ANYWAY!
lol someone's on a [frustrated] roll... but I agree!
PREACH IT!
you said it! there's nothing I hate more than people who are afraid to be the adult around their child and just give in to every whine. All America is doing is breeding whiny, spoiled brats who always get their way. When did it get like this?
To eat while shopping? It's a supermarket, not a restaurant and it's in poor taste (no pun intended) It’s like bringing your own food to a restaurant. I've seen people do it, not to mention there was one of those pretend burritos add bragging on it. Really sad on sooooo many levels. Then not to pay for it is not only just plain rude it is theft.
On the other hand, it’s not an offense that should warrant an arrest, with booking and holding the kids hostage at a Welfare service, which make me think there was more to this story than a knicked sandwich.
What this store did, in effect, was make an example out of this "adult" couple. In this day and age of decadent ethics, morals, manners, etc, what happened here is just another flagrant snap shot of the sad state of affairs of modern-day society...
Another ethical dilemna: We were shopping when our daughter received a sample of a product from a demo station that contained an ingredient she was allergic to (peanut flour). We immediately went to the pharmacy section, opened and she consumed a Benedryl pill. Her symptons abated and we paid for the drugs and our other purchases. Comments on our behavior?
Auser – regarding your daughter's allergic reaction... that's a medical emergency and not unethical or in poor taste, especially as you paid for the medicine consumed. The same could happen to a diabetic.
I agree. Despite all of the yammering about hypoglycemia and such, there was absolutely no claim made in the original story about any "emergency" beyond "they were hungry."
Emergencies are emergencies. Not wanting to wait a few minutes to stuff your face isn't an emergency. Completely different.
I would say even though you thought your decision was justified, it was the neglect of your child that got you into the situation.
If you know your child has allergies to foods, you would allow them to sample foods that you are not familiar with.
If you didn't know about the allergy and this was the first outbreak, and you decided to self-medicate without knowing the pro's and con's (side effects) of the drug you chose then this is also neglect and closer to abuse.
.....not allow them to sample....
Really? How long has that corn cob been up your rear?
I guess since 1:59 pm Eastern Time. Right about the time the post came up.
Ahh, stuff happens. And especially with a medical emergency – I don't see a big deal. People who make a big deal out of this kinda stuff have nothing better to do with their time other than to look after others' mistakes/problems. If everyone just stopped and considered how often they mess up, they wouldn't mind such situations. I actually applaud you for acting quickly and still remembering to pay.
Automatically jail! How can you steal like that! In America, you must be obedient and servile. There is not room for logic!
It's stealing, pure and simple. Only you have the chance to pay if you think that you could be caught.
When you consumre prior to eating, you have not provided proof that you have the ability to pay. What happens when you go to the register, and your credit card / debit card is declined? What happens if they are unable to process credit card / debit card transactions? Or an emergency arises, and you have to leave the store unexpectedly? Even if you had cash, something could come up.
It basically comes down to a question of class and etiquette. I've seen customers come in to the store and pull out silverware and start munching on stuff. Do you think this person was in a 3 piece suit? Or, do you think this person was wearing pants with holes in it and a t-shirt with stains on it?
Did Safeway go overboard, I think so. But, I'm glad the point was made. Hopefully it will deter future classless shoppers from participating in such practices.
Yes Jack!! You are so right! There needs to be jail for more offenses. And no lenience, NONE. Automatic jail. And there should be credit checks before you enter the store. That way, if you somehow do something that costs some money before the checkout counter, the store is protected. Good thinking Jack.
I've been told in store after store, by the produce manager that when buying grapes, it is ok to sample "one" to make sure they are ok, and I don't consider that stealing, just checking to make sure they are ok prior to purchasing 1-3 lbs. Other than that, I'm against it.
It may be ok to sample, but you should always ask first. I routinely have customers sample just one grape from 5-8 bags of grapes... that's not just one grape.
I see this going on all the time in stores. I've always felt it's just tacky, and nobody can be THAT hungry. A few weeks ago I was standing in line to pay, the woman in front of me was snacking on something before paying for it, the lady in front of her asked if what she was eating was good. I couldn't believe it when the snacker said, "oh, yeah...... they're real good", and then offered the questioner a taste from the still unpaid package. They stood there in the express line talking about what else they like to eat. Another thing I can't stand is the number of people chowing down as they try to drive down the freeway. Just as bad as using a cell phone behind the wheel.
I live in a very affluent part of LA (I'm not rich, I'm just stuck with these folks due to circumstances). The yuppies are the most ill-bred of all. Reaching into the salad bar at Whole Foods and "snacking" on olives or worse, entire hard-boiled eggs! Unbelievably disgusting. AND it's stealing, AND they usually have their offspring with them. Setting the example that "we are entitled." Even where sampling is accepted -e.g., the people at the local Indian restaurant will give you a taste from behind the buffet – these "foodies" take taste after taste after taste. Smacking their lips and MMmmMMMMing and consulting with the spouse, either in person or on the cell phone. And getting a taste for junior. And then "oh, can I try THAT one?" By the time they are done, the line behind them is out the door and they end up ordering one samosa b/c they're not hungry anymore.
This is some pretty petty stuff... As taboo as eating in the store may be, the store manager should have also used better discretion (case-by-case decision rather than black & white). How about customers at Costco/Sams Club that open containers of fruit and switch stuff around to get all the best pieces... then leave a mess (where they should have to pay for both the 'best' package they created and the stuff they did not put away)
My understanding has always been that if you need to snack on something prepackaged with a set price, this is ok to do as long as you pay for the item. However, if you pay by weight for the item, it's absolutely unacceptable to munch while shopping. (Also, do you really want to eat grapes without washing them off? Do you know how many people's dirty hands and how many chemicals have touched them?)
The practice is generally looked down upon, but understood by both store employees and other customers. The danger is, as happened in this case, forgetting to pay and getting in trouble for it. With so many people intentionally shoplifting things using just these methods, it's understandable that an honest mistake can be viewed as intentional theft.
I never do this with food at a grocery store. I go in, buy what I need and get back out. Eating would be messy and distracting, and I don't have a health issue that makes it necessary to eat right away rather than wait ten minutes. The one exception to this is if I am waiting in a pharmacy for a prescription. I often grab myself a bottle of water to drink while I wait. I always pay for it when I receive my medicine. In that case, though, I am sitting in clear view of the pharmacy workers, so to make my intentions to pay for it quite clear, and I'm usually waiting for 20 minutes or more. I don't think I've ever actually eaten food while I wait, though.
In short, I don't think it's wrong to munch on things with a set price if you do pay for it, however it's tacky unless you are really in a dire state or will be waiting for awhile.
I like your response. I too will grab something to drink while waiting.
A woman and her two boys, under 10, came through an isle I was shopping in. There was a "bulk barrel with a scoop" where she could have scooped and bagged some of that item to buy. Instead, she reached her hand into the barrel and her boys followed her example and all three ate a handful. I told her it isn't sanitary for her and her boys to do that. She said: So what? Another idiot raising more idiots! I don't even look into bulk barrels and I won't buy items from any open salad bar at supermarkets because people are just plain filthy, lazy thieves. I mentioned her behavior to the Manager and he said: What can I do? Shrugged his shoulders and that was that. Decent people don't eat at the grocery stores.
And some still call this country civilized? That's disgusting.
With a response of "so what", she's lucky she wasn't facing an employee with a attitude similar to hers, who woulda forgotten his/her manners and smacked her upside the head for acting that way.
SIMPLE POLICY: Unless one is having a life-threatening medical emergency, no customer should be allowed to eat or drink a consumable good sold at a grocery store until the item is purchased. The caveat would be if the grocery store purposely puts out "free samples" (as Trader Joe's often does) so customers may try the food before purchasing. ...
This policy eliminates the question of "intent to pay" and whether it is "appropriate" to eat food sold at a grocery store while shopping.
NOTE: One *shops* at a grocery store for food. One *eats* at a restaurant. This is why one should pay for groceries before consuming it and why it is appropriate to eat food at a restaurant and pay afterwards.
We have more important things to worry about in this world!!
But not so important you didn't have time to comment!
It's a matter of local custom. In ancient Greece it was rude to eat anything in public.
But it is less troublesome to eat after paying than explaining why you ate before paying.
In Ancient Greece only rich men could vote and the practice of old men taking young men as lovers against their will was also a tradition. Do you want to go back to that, too?
Until it is paid for, it belongs to the store. It is stealing. Period.
Got to agree. What if you truly intend to pay, but when you get to the register you realize "oops, I forgot my wallet"?
If your child is getting fussy, go to the express lane or a self serve lane, buy the cookies and keep the receipt.
If you forget your wallet, then you have the same dilemma as you would if you ate at a restaurant before realizing you forgot your wallet, and it could be handled in the same way.
I disagree with the whole "medical emergency" argument. That you'll collapse from hypoglycemia or die of thirst if you don't eat or drink something at the supermarket. If your daily reality is that this may happen to you, then carry snacks or water with you. What do you do if you're in class or at church, and there isn't food or water immediately available? Why is the supermarket any different?
If the supermarket has a specific, posted policy that allows you to graze while shopping, then it's fine; otherwise, it's extremely poor taste. Eat something before or after you shop, there's no reason that you have to do it at the store. I think the store should have the right to press charges against anyone who consumes products they haven't paid for, but the store should also practice some restraint when appropriate - like in this case where they caused a 2-year old to go into foster care overnight.
no different than eating at a restaurant before paying
Your premise is false. They are two different kinds of businesses. Sort of like if you go to the hardware store you don't pay for all your wood and materials after you finish the project as you would with a contractor.
Completely different. A restaurant has a record of what you owe them, a store does not. When it comes time to pay, the restaurant knows everything that has been brought to your table. a grocery store does not know everything you might have stuffed into your gaping maw. You can't neglect to pay for your drink at a restaurant and claim that you "forgot."
the situations are completely different, and if you can't see that, you probably should not be allowed to mix in polite society.
I work in a grocery store enviroment and people often will open packages and eat something out of it. Some people will tell you and others will try to hide it. Only to say something once I have noticed that it was opened. Lucky we do not sell anything by the pound, other then raw meat. I feel its wrong, if your child is cranky you should have planned ahead and packed them a snack!
I am hypoglycemic and no matter how hard I try sometimes it hits in the middle of a store. When this happens, my husband goes and purchases a Snickers bar and I just keep the receipt to show the cashier when we checkout. I have never had anyone say anything to me about eating the Snickers and I have never had any problem with the cashier or store managers. And they have all seen me. If they ask and sometimes even if they don't I just explain my condition and offer to show them my receipt. Never had a problem.
Really Susan? If you're truly a "hypoglcyemic", you should be carrying your own sugar from home. Are you really that unprepared?
Ooo, looky! Another "perfect worlder."
Maybe she doesn't carry a purse.
Maybe it's not something you can prepare for because it doesn't happen all the time.
Maybe it "just hit" her like she said. God knows it's "just hit" me more than once.
Soooo sorry we aren't living up to your standards. Just look away so it won't bother you.
Really Spock500, I have to say, if I had a severe medical condition that might even kill me, I just might take a simple precaution or two.
@ Reality Dealer, you're an diot. She should carry a purse or other bag to place sugar supplies for her hypoglycemia. What a stupid comment that is of yours, to make an excuse like that for not having the preparedness or responsibility to safeguard against an event such as hypoglycemia when you eave home. Pathetic.
Sometimes, yes. This is how we learn. Well, this and nice people like you that help me realize when I need a change for the better.
You are right, Susan should go to jail. And we probably need military intervention in some foreign country because of these people, these crazed enemies, who insist on eating in the store! It should be mandatory jail! At least 5 years, up to a life sentence if necessary!
In your case a Snickers is different because it is something that can be kept in a purse. People coule think you had it with you at all times there. But ripping a full size bag of Oreos open in a store while shopping is just obvious and tacky.
@ Reality Dealer, you're idiot. She should carry a purse or other bag to place sugar supplies for her hypoglycemia. What a stupid comment that is of yours, to make an excuse like that for not having the preparedness or responsibility to safeguard against an event such as hypoglycemia when you eave home. Pathetic.
I doubt anyone is going to make a big deal of it if it really is an emergency (not even all that big of an emergency), but what if you're not in a store, but out somewhere without sugar around? Seems risky to me.
I do carry fruit and nut bars in my purse, but sometimes the process of chewing something that dense makes me nauseous so I opt for an easier to chew answer being a Snickers bar. The fruit and nut bar works very well usually, but there are a few times that it didn't. My nutritionist says that these bars work the best for hypoglycemia (I am not diabetic) and she is right, but there are still those rare occasions.
It is very common to see people eating down the isles at my local grocery store. It's called in store sampling. The store promotes a bunch of different products. They have people on every isle set up making samples for people to eat and try different things. They are making fresh breads, meats and cheeses to sample. Samples everywhere! I get home and I'm stuffed! The grocery stores promote trying their products... before buying.
What you are talking about has nothing to do with the article.
Red herring argument. The store gets to choose what products are offered up for sample, not the customer.
Also, eating an entire sandwich is not a "sample."
This is not stealing. Stealing is intentionally not planning on paying for it. For the people who think this is stealing then if you are a credit card user think about this. If this is stealing then so is paying with a credit card. You take the merchandise first with the "intention" of paying for it later. What if you lose your job the next day and can't make the payment? Oh, but that's different right? I mean if people are gonna take this literally. Think about it, it's the same concept. Enjoy now, pay later. I personally think neither one is stealing, but for the ones who are so quick to judge, I'll take a stab and say you probably use a credit card and have never thought you were stealing.
Nope, if I lost my job I would still pay, if I can't pay, then yes, I STOLE those things. I would be a thief. People who don't pay for what they take, intentional or not, are thieves. It is that simple.
Theft requires "malicious intent". Read the law, it is not that simple. It's that same principle that seperates Murder from manslaughter from unfortunate accident (Life in prison/Capital punishment, from no jail time, no crime). So it goes with many statutes. It is someone's intention that defines a crime, not the act alone. Furthermore, the burden of proof is on the prosecution, there is clear evidence she intended to pay for the sandwich by keeping the wrapper. Theft would imply trying to sneak out, I doubt she thought that would be easier by keeping the wrapper.
b, you can't be serious.
Paying with a credit card is not the same b. To even have a credit card, you made a prior agreement with the Credit Card Company. You agreed that the CCC would loan you money for your purchases and that you intend to pay them back. The merchant gets paid for what you bought minus a transaction fee when you swipe your card with money that the CCC loaned you. You then later pay the CCC the money back, per your agreement. So, using a Credit Card is not the same as stealing because the merchant got paid, you just borrowed the money to pay them, but pay them you did. Now, if you didn't intend to pay the CCC back, yes, you're stealing.
Debating a topic is one thing. But this comparison is beyond ridiculous. Come on now. The couple left the store without paying for the food. Her defense was because she had saved the wrapper, that this showed she intended to pay and forgot. If she had a clean record, then it isn't unusual for stores to drop the charges. It doesn't mean that it is right and it didn't prove whether or not she saved the wrapper just in case she got caught. Thieves are smart. They do think ahead.
b, I'm hoping that you don't bother to vote...
Studies have shown that hungry shoppers are impulse buyers. So eat before you go shopping. Back to the point. If you're really hungry and have to eat, pay for the item first. Get a receipt and then continue with the rest of your shopping. Why are people in such a rush these days? thinktwice
To quote Gallagher, "That don't work at a liquor store. You go in drunk you'll buy the whole store".
When did people get so judgmental. I think there are far worse things you can do then open a bag of goldfish or a bag of cookies before checking out. I assume you are probably the same people who would crucify me for my screaming child that is hungry while shopping too. Never can please anyone. At least this way I get to shop in peace.
oh and yes I do feed my child before we go but those darned 3 year olds just can't seem to eat enough. Shame on her for being 3 and hungry. Maybe we should crucify her next. Sheesh.
I totally agree, people are so uptight these days :)
You should control your screaming child. If you are no able to, we can have her taken away and given to a parent who is not an idiot. Or we can just slap her to make her shut up. And you should pay for your items before you eat them.
Or, you could buy the bag of goldfish, go sit in your car and eat them, and when you are done go back into the store and do your shopping.
I've done similar things myself. Is it convenient? No. But I didn't have kids because it would be convenient.
We have some spare crosses stored in the Mithraeum near the Circus Maximus, come on down!
I had to mark the fourth choice because I include a bottle of water in the list. I often go to a store and pick up a bottle of water to keep hydrated while I shop. Interesting that so many people jumping to the obese shoving food in their mouth. I always pay for it and the cashiers have never seemed to mind.
It's fine as long as it's not something that is charged by the lb such as fruits and veggies, but anything else can just get scanned at the counter. People walk around drinking their starbucks they bought at the store, why not walk around with a bag of chips too. Just make sure to pay for it.
So Safeway thinks its ok to send someone to jail over a sandwich? Glad to know, I'll be doing my shopping elsewhere from now on.
I get faint sometimes and have opened a soda while shopping and purchased it on my way out with the rest of my groceries. But even if they had no intent to pay, how can you be arrested for stealing $5 sandwiches?
Stealing anything can be an arrestable offense, even if it's a 50 cent piece of candy. It's just a matter of how far the store owners want to take it. It's still petit theft.
In this case, once the couple offered to pay for it, the manager should have accepted the money and let them know that if they catch them doing the same again, they'll be banned. First time could be a mistake, second time is probably intentional, theory. Taking into consideration a young child, and two people who had just payed ten times the price of the sandwiches, he or she should have reasoned that it was likely a mistake. It was the unreasonableness and the fact that they were itching to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law that caused this mess.
Stealing anything can be an arrestable offense, even if it's a 50 cent piece of candy. It's just a matter of how far the store owners want to take it. It's still pet i t theft.
In this case, once the couple offered to pay for it, the manager should have accepted the money and let them know that if they catch them doing the same again, they'll be banned. First time could be a mistake, second time is probably intentional, theory. Taking into consideration a young child, and two people who had just payed ten times the price of the sandwiches, he or she should have reasoned that it was likely a mistake. It was the unreasonableness and the fact that they were itching to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law that caused this mess.
And to be clear, even if a consumer enters the grocery store, goes first to the Deli and pays for a sandwich, then grabs his/her basket to start the grocery shopping, it's still poor taste and inappropriate to eat while shopping.
Tell that to all the black Friday shoppers that they can't consume coffee while shopping.
I will, and I'll also tell them not to buy things they can't afford. What weird concepts!!!!
Interesting hypothesis
I agree. And it's also inappropriate to bring your small dog or be barefoot in a store that sells food! Happens all the time here in Florida.
Only scumbags eat in the store. Eat something before you leave your pig-sty house. And don't tell me the kid can't wait. People lived in this country for many decades without feeding their kids in stores, but now that no one has manners and feels they have to placate their bratty little spoiled kids, it's become commonplace. And don't leave things like raw meat in the cereal section because you decided you don't want it. Also, people who take shopping carts on a one-way trip to their condo and leave them there need to be charged with theft.
That plastic divider thing that the cashier slides toward you? That's to separate your items from the poor schmuk behind you, who can't reach it while your reading the latest mind-slop about Kim Kardashian in the National Enquirer. Be considerate and put it there for him, will you? I know that's a lot to ask in today's self-centered society. but DO IT ANYWAY!
I will occasionally open a box of crackers at the grocery to stave off a total toddler meltdown. I make sure it's not something that needs to be weighed, and I always pay for it. If a meltdown happens, I'd have to leave the store, and they'd have to put my full cart of items back on the shelves.
You're teaching your child to eat when they are upset. That's setting up your child for some weight issues later in life.
Oh, it's the store's fault that your children are uncontrollable!! They'd have to clean up behind you, heaven forbid you show the slightest bit of responsibility. Your kids are doomed unless you give the to somebody who can handle them.
But you should always taste the fruit before purchasing it - ask an attendant to open an apple or a watermelon for you, though they should already have samples ready for you.
Open a watermelon so you can sample it?!?!!?
You're a 3 year old playing on the computer, right?
It has nothing to do with paying or not paying. It is disgusting watching some pig roaming around the store stuffing their face. Nobody has any manners anymore.
Just because someone says they planned to pay but forgot doesn't mean they really planned to pay.
Seriously, people, how many of you missed out on the fact that thieves are dishonest?
Criminals aren't all stupid (look how long Bernie Madoff got away with what he was doing, and how complex it was). A halfway smart criminal will have a plan in case they get caught. Maybe, just maybe, that plan involves looking innocent, claiming to have forgotten, and offering to pay?
Or maybe she really did intend to pay but forgot.
The people at the store have no way of knowing. So the thing you do is you put the sandwich in your cart, and after you've paid, you eat it. Because the person we know for sure is being honest is the one who pays before cramming their gullet.
Very simple solution: Feed your kids and eat a nutritious snack or even a meal before you go shopping. Then you and they will not be tempted to eat in the store. Or go to the store's restaurant area (all big ones seem to have them, now) and get something to eat before you start shopping. Then clean your hands and your kids' hands carefully. Or at the very least, carry with you(in your purse or fanny pack) a few small candies or cookies or maybe nuts, things that you brought from home, something that will not make a mess when you or your kids eat it while walking around. It's ridiculous to put yourself or your kids in the position where you HAVE to eat while you are actually shopping! That's just gross, and yes, it is stealing to eat it before you pay for it.
When my kids were toddlers, I always had a sippy cup and a snack with me just in case. It's not any different than having a bottle on hand (or breast) when your baby is hungry while you're shopping. Seriously...why would you not be just as prepared for a toddler as for a baby?
Geez lady, deal in reality much? Maybe the bigger stores where you live have a place to sit down and eat, but not where I live. In a 25 mile radius, there may be 2 grocery stores out of a couple hundred in my area that have a place to sit & eat. Maybe it's the same for alot of the posters here. Yes, you describe things the way they should be and maybe it was that simple for you when you had kids. I'd like to have the address of that perfect world in your head so I can live there, too.
The reality is that you think you are entitled to do things you know you shouldn't. Join the civilized world and leave trashville behind. Or, are you really a "dealer" and like it there?
That is why most are overweight. Always stuffing their faces.
There's no question. It's trashy behavior.
As a Type 1 Diabetic, I have had to have some candy or juice or something on occasion before paying, but I always pay. I think the store would prefer I continue to shop and spend more money rather than collapse into insulin shock. :)
That's OK, so long as you bring your own supplies from home.
Spock, You missed John's point. Diabetics need the food when they need it. They do not have the luxury of preparing for every emergency. Part of the plan may be to be close enough to a store so they do not go into a diabetic coma and die. Your tight etiquette that would prefer people to die seems insulting to human life. But again, I think you just threw your two cents in because it appears to be a pet peeve of yours. But John, keep on doing your best to lead a strong healthy life.
No Nick, I did not miss John's point. Being a diabetic means taking responsibility for your health and being prepared. A diabetic who leaves home without sugar supplies for signs of hypoglycemia is equally as mindless as a person taking a hand gun through an airport security check point. I don't buy that.
Eat healthy and you wouldn't be a diabetic.....then you would also have enough lead in your pencil to drool over the blonde in the picture at the top of this article!!!! Man, did you see her!
perhaps you missed the part where john said he's a TYPE I diabetic (formerly known as juvenile onset)? that is because his pancreas is not producing enough insulin in his body, and has nothing to do with being obese, or lacking exercise as is commonly associated with TYPE II diabetes. don't diss on all diabetics until you understand the difference.
Type 1 diabetes and Type II diabetes are not the same thing. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas fails to produce insulin. No matter how well they eat or do not eat, Type 1 diabetes will always have type 1 diabetes and will always need insulin. We don't have a way to prevent it or cure it yet. Type II diabetes is associated with overweight and obesity, and is almost 95% preventable and curable by maintaining a healthy weight and eating a healthy diet.
Type 1 diabetes is a form of diabetes mellitus that results from autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. It is not caused by poor diet. You're thinking of Type 2 diabetes. Or, likely, you weren't thinking at all...
Ditto on the mom! Homina homina homina...
Your ignorant which is OK, because it's different than being stupid. Ignorant means you don't know the facts about a particular situation, in this case diabetes. There are lots of things I don't know about, but one thing I do know about is this condition. Type one diabetes (or juvenile onset) isn't brought on by lifestyle and eating habits. Type two can be. So now you can consider yourself less ignorant about diabetes – from here on out, any more comments like the one you made would simply be stupid. And you're not, are you?
As a hypoglycemic person I've been there, done that. It's just important not to use foods that must be weighed, that's stealing. Prepriced items are fair game.
If you're diabetic, you should be carrying something with you. If you go into diabetic shock in the grocery store, they aren't going to pay your medical bill.s.
Dave, What they carry with them is cash or a credit card. As was mentioned above, per pound food is not fair game. I hope this thread doesn't paint diabetics as thieves or wanna be thieves. The Diabetics are just trying to illustrate a few points when it is not even a debate about etiquette. For medicated Diabetics, food is as life saving a drug as any prescription.
Agreed, Dave.
Ditto. As a diabetic myself, I've been in the same situation. Waiting in line to pay and passing out would not be good – for either me or the store. If someone wants to accuse me of "stealing" (even though I always pay) all I can say to them is I wish a blood sugar of say 37 on them. Perhaps they'd learn something.
Maybe you should learn something about taking responsibility for your own condition and not using it to justify stealing? Do you drive 125mph and say that you "have" to do it to get home and take care of your blood sugar?
About the only thing I do like this is headache pills (Aleve is my choice).
When I need one and have none, then go to the store.... I open and ingest one tablet before I even take another step.
Wrong? maybe, but at that point, if my headache goes away sooner, I will be happy to go to jail... :)
cheers
JusDav
Near the entrance of my local market they have slushy and coffee dispensers that you obviously fill and partake while you shop and pay for it when you are done shopping. I often split donuts with my kids from the bakery section and pay for them when we exit. And when I do forget, I just pay for them on my next visit, which I have done a several occasions.
I agree with you.... It's encouraged but now all the sudden it's a mortal sin.
So what if you eat three donuts and only pay for one! Or leave the slushy cup upside down in the meat department and it magically slips your mind. Why not relieve yourself in the frozen food displays, it won't smell bad at that temperature!!!
This is an incredibly trashy thing to do and I especially love when people leave wrappers, apple cores, and bread crusts hidden on the shelves. In my experience, very few of these people plan to pay and they feel like it's their reward for shopping at a store to have a free snack. Grocery stores operate on tiny margins and these scumbags are really stealing from everybody else. I wish people got arrested for this more and their brats were put into foster care, too...maybe they might learn to be civilized there.
Wow Claude Gothic...you wish people's children would be put into foster care because they leave a mess in their shopping cart? Maybe do some deep breathing or yoga for that anger of yours.
I relieved my anger by slaughtering 500,000 Goths in the Balkans in 268AD. Instead of putting their children into foster care, we sold them into slavery (maybe not so different) or used them for archery practice. I don't know, maybe I'm still on edge because I caught the plague and my thrice a day bleeding treatments haven't been helping.
Some points to consider:....
She is in Hawaii, the sandwich was probably ten dollars minimum. Food is not so cheap there.
She was with her husband. Two Adults are now at fault.
Yes She was pregnant. However, my wife just gave birth to twins. She was 8.5 months pregnant. She is not an animal with no self control. Give her some credit!
The store way over reacted. They were willing to pay. Give them a break. Atleast they didn't leave the wrapper laying behind some boxes of cereal, or tucked in the freezers behind cartons of ice cream!
People need to learn some self control! I take my son grocery shopping all the time. He will always try to grab a banana before we even head out of the produce Isle. He never gets it until we have checked out. Sure he screams and shows his contempt for the situation, that doesn't mean that I do not have the obligation to teach him to wait. Self control starts early. In my "humble" opinion, if it is in a grocery store and the food is not paid for, it is not fair game. Just think of it this way, what you do with the majority of the food, you should do with all of the food.
The more detailed version of this story also stated that it was thier first day on the island (they were relocating there), got lost on public transportation, etc...In other words on of those cluster-F days – add pregnancy, crashing blood sugar and well...Yeah, trashy and not polite but understandable. The little martinets that worked at the store could have dealt with this on a case by case basis but they would rather follow the rulebook to kiss up to thier superiors. Now that this is a media crapstorm, I bet those superiors are happy with them.
Unti your pregnant yourself you can't speak for the masses hun. I've been pregnant too and I admit freely to having a snack in a grocery store. I also snacked at Target too. Oh dear god sue me!
My wife didn't do that stuff when she was pregnant.
I didn't snack in stores when I was pregnant. I kept snacks in my car and made sure to eat something before grocery shopping. It isn't that hard to plan ahead a little.
I also didn't allow my kids to eat in stores or in the car. We would eat at home before going shopping. Now the kids are old enough I can go shopping without them, and none of them are overweight like so many of their friends. Maybe it's because they didn't learn to eat mindlessly and constantly?
If there is no corporate policy then I think it should be up to the supermarket manager to set the rules for grazers. If they were serious about not letting it happen, they should have stopped the pregnant lady once she started eating the sandwich and told her that she had to pay for it before she could eat it. However technically she did break the law so if the store wanted to call the police on her they were in the right.
She was wrong. They were very, very wrong. Case closed (though learn from it).
The 'they' referring to the store.
I shop at a store that allows you to use a hand held scanner and scan your food including produce before you get to the register. My husband frequently shops with our twin 2 year olds and if they behave during the trip they each get a treat to eat while my husband pays. The food is scanned before it is eaten so there is no possiblity of forgetting and the supermarket is fine with that arrangement. And yes, we did ask first.
But that does that still make the practice appropriate?
Yeah, it is, if they asked permission and have already scanned the items to pay. That's the PURPOSE of asking permission.
"Allowed" doesn't mean "appropriate."
Yes, it is allowed, no it is not appropriate.
Duh, you're idiot. You completely missed the point. Eating while shopping, whether you pay first or not, is very poor taste, if not inappropriate.
It's deemed in poor taste... by YOU. They asked permission and pre-scanned the items so they would no make a mistake and not pay.
There's nothing inappropriate about it because all of the APPROPRIATE steps were taken prior to eating the food. Just because you don't particularly like it does not make it inappropriate.
Duh, perhaps in the trashy world you reside in, you and your neighbors may like it and think it is appropriate. But in the real world in which most of us live (why don't you scan the majority of these comments), it is a trashy, distasteful, and inappropriate practice.
It's just low class and tacky, plain and simple. I used to work at a grocery store as a teenager and even then it bugged me to watch customers go through my line and plop down a banana peel for me to ring up (which is impossible). I was taught as a small child that eating in a grocery store was stealing, plain and simple. If you currently eat in grocery stores you might want to know that the majority of people in the store will think very poorly of you – just in case you didn't get the memo.
It's too hard to simply lay out black and white rules here. When people are that far along in their pregnancy or hypoglycemic, sometimes the need to get something to eat might be really pressing. While a lot of people in those situations carry something with them, not everybody does. I'd sooner see people eat something in a store than face a medical emergency.
The biggest problem is the fact that the woman forgot to pay. I think the store should've dropped it when she admitted the mistake and offered to pay. The police didn't even need to be called.
Now, before buying grapes, I always sample one to make sure they're good. Once in a while, my mom might get a bottle of water and open it before paying if she's feeling parched. I tend to wait to eat or drink until after checking out.
I understand your argument, but I just don't see how two adults ate two entire sandwiches and neither of them "remembered" to pay for them.
See that's the problem. Your mom stole water so you grew up thinking that stealing was OK as well. And since both of you are stealing, you don't think others should be punished for stealing because they were only stealing a little bit. Of course they said they forgot. No one said they were stupid, just thieves.
I used to work in a deli and I used to watch people open up things and eat it right in front of us. You should wait until you have paid and on your way home. People tend to either leave the packaging in the isle that we have to clean up or they spill something. How would you like it if we went to our house and just went to your cupboard and opened up a snack and started eating it while we walked around your house. I was taught by my mother you don't ever open food in a store and eat it until you pay for it. Come on people we need to bring manners back.
Amen to that. But, oh, wait, what about their rights?
It's definitely bad etiquette, but not worth being arrested over! The woman was pregnant, apologized, and offered to pay for the sandwich once her mistake was discovered. There was no intent to commit a crime. Just because someone is rude does not mean they deserve to be hauled off to jail!
Or maybe she did intend to steal and was just clever enough to have an excuse ready if she got caught. "Oops! I forgot to pay! I'll pay now!"
Do you ever make any small mistakes in your life?
Of course I make mistakes.
I don't make the mistake of thinking everybody is honest, though.
Why did her husband eat then? Is he pregnant too?
Good point!
If being rude was a crime, think of how many posters here would be arrested ... :D
Who care's whether the lady is pregnant or not (unless you're the dude that knocked her up)? Of course they are going to say they meant to pay for it and that they are sorry. Shoplifters say the same thing. Don't believe they needed to be taken to jail, but they should have been given a citation by the police requiring them to show up at court and let the judge decide whether they should be found guilty or not and what the penalty and court costs should be. Petty criminals are still criminals.
I went on a blind date with a girl once, and she told me a story about how she hit another car, and two people had to be taken to the hospital. She was still angry that the police had put her in handcuffs "like [she] was some kind of criminal."
It's amazing how many people think their particular crime is okay.
(Yes, she was hot. No I didn't hit it. No, I never went out with her again.)
Ooops... Forgot to specify, she was DUI when she hit the other car.
How fitting that this article features a photo of two teenage punks pushing the grocery cart.
When I use to work retail when I was younger, my policy was that the store didn't pay me enough to police the customers. In fact there was a situation at a Ralphs by me where a employee was trying to stop a shoplifter and got stabbed. See what I mean; they don't pay me enough to put my life on the line. Also I don't care what the store policy is, when it comes to fruit I sample before I buy. If I am going to spend $6 on grapes for instance, I am going to make sure they taste right. In fact if you think about it, selling fruit is such a scam. You're buying something, often paying allot for that item and then taking the chance it is halfway decent.
I always grab a soda when I go into a grocery store to shop.
Meant to add that it's always the kind with a twist off lid and I keep it next to my purse, then I never forget to pay for it.
Its just very, very tacky. I can see very limited instances where it may be acceptable (screaming infant, diabetic, pregnancy, et al) but otherwise its just slovenly and potentially unsanitary. I feel the same about people who eat on the subway or bus.
I don't think it is stealing unless you are actually intening to steal it, which some people do. I don't snack while in the store but that is becuase I don't feel comfortable with it.
It doesn't matter, though, what all of our opinions are because the fact is the store did not have a stated policy on it we can't decided on a moral value system because you can't force your morals on someone else. The fact is the couple were able to pay, stating that it was an honest mistake, so they should not have been arrested. They weren't trying to run away from the store excited about their stolen sandwiches. If the store doesn't have a policy on it then how can they just make up rules whenever they want for what ever situation they want? If any particular store has a problem with it they should make it a store policy, knowing fully well that all stores deal with customers who snack while shopping.
This is very true. Stores open up themselves up for incredible liability if they accuse a customer of stealing before he or she physically leave the store. I often see people bring their own reusable shopping bags and for some odd reason, they will walk through the store and load their purchases into the bags as opposed using the shopping cart; but they always pay for their items when they get up to the register.
Did they pay for it? No? Then it IS NOT theirs, therefore it is stealing.
The store probably didn't have a posted sign requesting patrons to pay for their items at the checkout counter, or to wear clothes while shopping. But I bet everybody else at the store paid for their goods and weren't naked. We shouldn't need signs to let us know what is acceptable behavior.
Man you got that right. Next thing you know the store employees will have to do all the thinking for these numbskulls.
It's not yours until you pay for it. While some items have a barcode that could be scanned at the check-out, other items like fruit don't. Bottom line – if you consume it prior to paying for it, you're a THIEF. If you got a whiny kid, that's your problem. Bring food with you to feed them. Don't steal the store's food. While large chains might be able to absorb the costs, mom & pop shops can't.
You eat in a restaurant before you pay. Does that make you a THIEF?
No, but Safeway is a supermarket (i.e., store) and not a restaurant.
Depends. In a restaurant, you order the food and they charge it to your bill prior to you consuming the food. If you go the soda machine and fill up a cup with soda that you have NOT ordered, then yes, you are a THIEF. In cases like these, parents are teaching their kids that it is ok to steal. Too bad parents can't be spanked in front of their kids to teach them that stealing is wrong.
That is entirely different...do you order dessert or maybe get coffee after you finish eating? Maybe you should pay bit by bit, 4 or 5 times at the table then.
Drinks? $2.50 now please
Salad? $4 now please
Entree? $13 now please
Dessert? $6 now please
Entirely different business model.
If she were that hungry they should have grabbed the sandwiches and PAID, then ate them. Also if she and her husband were that hungry....what about the little girl? Did they not feed her? Seems to me she used the "I'm a vet and pregnant" card to justify her actions and make others feel sorry for her. Another example of someone feeling the standard norms do not apply to them. To me this is another example of trying to get away with something using a "poor me" crying jag. In all fairness I might have understood if they had fed the little one and this happened, I would have felt bad. Also the media failed in the inital reporting to list the little girl going into custody is reguired when no local family or friends are available to take custody during an arrest of both caretakers. By the way, Safeway DID know that would happen....its part of having the shoplifted arrested. This alone got the family a huge amount of sympathy which was not deserved. Poor me my a$$, pay for the food first.
The store admittedly has no rules about eating before paying. If they & a large portion of your peers do not care why should anyone else?
They took this lady's kid away because of this! That's unreal right?
I find it upsetting that this news story has turned into a discussion about eating food before paying for it. That is the most trivial bit of information.
The real story here is that a child was taken away from her parents over a misunderstanding over a $5 sandwich. Just soak on that for a minute. It is unacceptable that our society would allow that to happen. I don't know how these parents did not physically flip out. I can't imagine how that would have felt. We obviously do not know all the facts but it is certainly seems like the store manager was out of their mind. Why call the police over a $5 sandwich? And I understand the police officers were doing their job. But it appears their department's policy gives them no ability to make a judgement call.
What if I chew a stick of gum while waiting in the check out line & I forget to pay for it? Do we allow the authorities to take our children away? Unreal.
I agree! Thank you.
Yeah right. The real story is that she stole and she is going to show her kids by example in the coming years that it is okay to "graze" while shopping. Get a grip. There are consequences to actions.
Grip & point taken. And I am a hard traveled student of consequence. But I have to submit she did not steal by eating before paying. The store admittedly has no policy on this practice. Technically she did steal by not paying. Regardless of whether it was a malicious intent or an honest mistake they took her child away for a $5 sandwich (after she bought $50 of groceries & offerred to pay for the sandiwich). That's like an "eye for a head" right? It just doesn't make sense and seems like a super harsh consequence. Are you suggesting this 3 (?) year old learned a life lesson about stealing from this experience?
I'm simply suggesting that their 2 year old daughter was taken into custody as a direct result of their own actions.
Please read Hiro's post further down for what would have been a very simple, common sense solution to her hunger at the time.
very good point.
I totally agree with you. Mistake or not, both parents been taken away from the child? It is a very bad judgement call.
The worst is when I see people sticking their grubby hands into a bulk item bin and scarfing down nuts, granola, or whatever. Besides that being clearly stealing, it is disgusting. If these people are that poorly mannered, they probably don't wash their hands after whatever, either. Do you want to buy anything out of that bin, and then eat it?
Totally agree!! Was she also wiping her mouth with her hands and touching the store's merchandise. That's disgusting!
I have small children and "oh they are crying" is not an excuse in my book. Nevermind the fact that I'm a parent who thinks ahead and always has a snack in my purse. If I did not, I'd buy the food, then open it, and continue my shopping. Until you pay for it, it's not yours, and unless you are paying cash, there's always the chance your card won't work, the place doesn't take checks, etc. Be the grown up and wait 20 minutes
I agree you do need to plan ahead... especially with children. But not all people are planners. And in this case, this pregnant woman was lost and stopped in to buy food. Also, the store has no policy on using before paying so they were not breaking any rules. I could argue this lady was being grown up because she was eating to nourish her baby. :)
It doesn't take being grown up to have babies. That's the problem. A couple of years ago, two young people left a IHOP restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia, without paying for their meal. An off duty police officer went to stop them when they tried to drive off. When they didn't stop, he shot them dead. The best part of the story, is that the officer was found innocent of any charges.
Stores offer free samples, there are food courts, they sell bulk items, food preparation exhibits, vitamin presentations, roaming food carts, etc... And now we cant eat in the store if it is not controlled under their rules! And I cant believe the high number of righteous sheeple that fall for this by judging and criticizing others. You spend $150 a time, nibble WHO CARES, it's called customer loyalty... Try Whole Foods they are the best, or shop with all the judgmental victims at Kroger. Your choice but this seems petty?
Really?? If 10,000 people a week nibble, that is a huge loss for any store.
Either the pregnant mom and/or this article got it all wrong. She did not get in trouble for eating while shopping. She got in trouble for eating something that she did not pay for BEFORE swallowing it. If you do this constantly, then it means you're constantly hungry and you should bring snacks with you. If it's just one time, then it shouldn't be such a hassle to get on line, pay for it, and then eat it. Intending to pay for it is an excuse for laziness. You wouldn't let someone take your money without your consent just cuz that person intended to return it???
After eating, your hands are dirty and anything else you touch will get dirty/germy. It's unethical and unsanitary to eat in a store. I see it a lot in the border area I live in. Also, the clerks eat at their checkout stations and then touch my stuff while they ring it up. This has happened several times. So gross.
I know, isn't that nasty? I'm to the point that I wipe everything off when I get home. Think about it, the cashiers handle money and touch your food. Blreck!
I've had a hungry toddler in the store with me before... I've been hungry when I go grocery shopping before (and buy stuff I wouldn't normally), but under NO CIRCUMSTANCES have I EVER eaten something that's not paid for while shopping. Quite frankly, even taking a strawberry or grape to try is still stealing... and AGAIN I DON"T DO THAT. I believe "preggers" probably should have eaten PRIOR to going into a store with FOOD, if she was so hungry. I don't think Safeway should have made THAT big a deal out of it and let her pay... but if I owned a food store ANYTHING consumed before being bought WOULD BE STEALING!!! Moral: Feed your fat face BEFORE grocery shopping.
Yea I can see the clerk eating being an issue and unprofessional. But as a consumer and you pay for it, I dont see the harm honestly. I take wet ones with me ALL the time and I make sure my cart is cleansed before i use it. So, where you live it may look gross but as long as its [aid fro wherever i have been (which is across the US) it is OK to do!! I am sorry you live around that crap though YUCK on the clerks!!!
Germ-o-phobes are self-important, ignorant, imbeciles.
Typically liberal behaviour. I should eat, and everyone else should pay for me.
Oh, shut up. This has nothing to do with liberal vs. conservative.
I agree!!!
I vote every election.
I have never voted for a Democrat.
I agree 100% with Mehgann.
I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today! Yup, stealing outright. IT IS NOT YOURS TO DECIDE WHETHER TO EAT IT IN-STORE OR NOT UNTIL YOU HAVE PAID FOR THE ITEM! PERIOD! Grocery stores factor in losses like this and who pays for it? Everyone who shops there. Why should I pay more for a bunch of grapes because inconsiderate munchiefiends decided that just because their intentions were right that they could ignore the rules? You may as well carry it forward to running stop signs, littering on the highway (oops, did I just lose my cigarette?) and myriad other simple rules that are blatantly being ignored. You people cost the country more money than any government bailout and I'm not limiting cost to fiscal.
Grocery stores stimulate your hunger with samples and aromas purposefully. If you shopped being righteous you might realize what reality we really live in. This is not cut dry as the bible or any other platitude might have you think. There is manipulation here and we have rights as well.
Having worked at a grocery store for years – how do I charge you for grapes/apples/bananas, etc. AFTER you eat them when they are charged by the pound? Take the two minutes necessary to pre-pay for the item you HAVE to eat, get a paid sticker and get on with your shopping.
I agree with the choice "It's not stealing if you pay, but it is in poor taste and I won't do it" but voted for "other" because, as previously mentioned, some items are by weight. Last week I saw a woman pushing a cart eating a bunch of grapes while walking around... that's stealing. If you pop open a box of cookies and scan that barcode at the register then you've paid for that item and I don't believe it's stealing.
I agree !! Produce should be off limits!!!
I put myself thru school working as a cashier in a grocery store. One of my customers told me they had eaten a banana while shopping. They proceeded to put the banana peel on the belt along with the rest of their groceries. There wasn't a second banana anywhere in sight. I laughed my a$$ off and sent a bagger to bring me a similar sized banana to weigh & charge them.
I'm of the school of thought that it's not stealing as long as you pay for it before you leave the store.
That is hilarious. Thanks for sharing.
I agree with you Susan. And how many grapes do you have to eat before you decide whether they are good are not? These people should go to Singapore and try this. They would be stripped naked and caned.
The bottom line is if the store doesn't have an "eating-in-the-store" policy, then technically eating in the store doesn't break any written rules and is therefore not a crime. However, once the person leaves the store without paying, then that's shoplifting - PERIOD. I might also add that while eating in the store may not be illegal, it is self-centered, self-serving (literally) and inconsiderate to others. People who possess such a selfish attitude were probably born and raised in a barn where they reigned supreme above all of the other barn animals! If you want to eat like the rest of the animals, then return to your barn. If you want to shop and eat like civilized people in a civilized establishment such as Safeway, then pay for your items first!
Technically, if they don't have an eatting in the store policy that says it is ok, then it is stealing unless there is a local or state ordnance that says that it is ok. You can't pee on the fruit just because the store doesn't have a no pee policy. If they got arrested, then they broke the law regardless of whether or not the store had a policy. It's not unusualy for judges to drop the charges with a warning if it's a first offense, etc. etc. It doesn't mean that it was not illegal.
Onetime after I checked out of Pick's Save, right before out of door, I saw those fresh strawberries looked so tempting and I picked one basket/box put it on the cart without thinking then walked out. When I start loading bags into the car and notice strawberry was not in the shopping bags and realizes it was not paid. I ran back to the store to pay for it. How glad I was not been caught as a theft for such mistakes!
My mom is a diabetic and has done this before when she was having low blood sugar. Otherwise, most people should be able to contain their hunger for a while longer (though I have opened a soda while waiting in line to pay before...I was really thirsty and since I was next to the register, it was obvious that I was going to pay for it)
Your mother as a diabetic should know to keep snacks on hand for when her blood sugar drops.
Then your mother should have eaten PRIOR to leaving the house... or better yet, she should be carrying around something in her purse for emergencies... Diabetes is STILL NOT A REASON TO BE A THEIF... sorry FAIL!
We go to the same stores every week and know the owners, we always pay, one time my son threw a fit so we opened a dinky car, then one of us took him out to the car to calm him, we of course rang through the empty package, not one employee has given us a dirty look, I work retail and have customers who want to wear the clothes before they buy it, so we just cut off the tags for them (its maternity wear) I dont mind as long as I know they are not stealing and are up front with their plans
Where do you go with this one? So, let me see if I have this straight... You REWARD your child for acting inappropriate... Nice... VERY nice... well at least it explains 2/3rds of the people I see in public every day acting like idiots... When my child was a brat in the store I left the store immediately with her, put her in the car, went home, she got a spanking for being a brat and sent to her room... if you don't want a little twit for a child, I would suggest you don't reward him/her with TOYS when they are ACTING UP. Sheesh
When I was 30 weeks pregnant and my body decided that it needed food...it needed food now! I've never been one to nibble before I buy, but I did it once or twice when I was pregnant because I got very light-headed and shaky. I think that this is a situation where an honest mistake got mixed in with an overzealous security officer/store staff who let things spin out of proportion. The couple bought a whole cart full of groceries. It's not like they were stuffing food in their pockets. And how sneaky can you really be eating a sandwich?? It's not really a stealthy food! :-)
Off topic, but comparable– This past weekend, I ran errands with my toddler and very nearly forgot to have the checker ring up the cat litter that was on the floor tray of my cart. She saw it and asked about it, I apologized for being distracted, we rang it up, and I was fortunately not arrested and separated from my son. Things like this happen.
I have done it before with drinks, but I will caution, even if you have full intention of paying, be sure you CAN pay. I had a person in front of me in line one day that had let her kids drink and eat items and then her card wouldn't work. One option would be to pay for the item you plan on consuming and then shop. You can always show the receipt if anyone asks.
I work as a cashier and have had people open cookies, chips, etc. and eat while shopping and then not be able to pay for some reason. They would just leave the cart with the groceries and walk out. Very irritating and some of these people have the nerve to complain about the high cost of food.
So I understand that some people think it's over-the-top to eat or snack at the store before you've paid for it, but as long as you do pay for it I don't see the harm.
Now, on the flip side of this coin, how about the over-the-top response by the store to actually call the police about this situation after the woman offered to pay once she realized her mistake? Or the over-the-top reaction by the police themselves to actually arrest not just her, but both parents over this...why was he arrested anyway, it doesn't even say.
This is like the zero tolerance policies in schools that caused a 12 year-old girl to get arrested for doodling on her desk because they saw it as destroying school property.
Where has common sense gone in this country?
That actually was defacing of school property.
HOW is drawing on a desk NOT destroying school property? You MUST be a democrat.
Well, surely that! After all, no REPUBLICAN would ever think anything other than what every other Republican thinks, right? and certainly the poster couldn't be an independent, since we don't have those in this country. Ergo, must be a Democrat.
Or perhaps you're a moron.
I worked at a Kroger store (Smiths Food & Drug) in Las Vegas, Nevada for 4 years (2006 – 2010) during High School before joining the Military. We were always told that if a customer was buying groceries, we would overlook what they called "grazing". They saw it this way, if the customer was about to spend $100+ in our store buying food and other items, there was no harm in letting them have a free Coke or Water while they shopped.
That's was a poor policy. What would happen if the customer spent less than $100.00?
Actually its a good policy. The Mom with her kids is going to spend $100 many times over in that store. They just lost long term customer, not to mention the other 'grazers' who realize they could be arrested if they made the same honest mistake, who are now looking for another store to shop at.
@JLewis4....That is complete bull, 10,000 people per week doing this cause my grocery bill to go up. This about the big picture, not your own little circle of personal space.
@schubb Nonesense, re-read the topic heading. Its about people who eat 'before' they 'pay'. Those people don't cause your bill to go up one cent.
It doesn't belong to you until you pay, it belongs to the store. The same goes for kids toys. Parents have failed to teach their kids how to respect other people's property and we see it every day in society. This poll shows that very clearly as many parents don't seem to even know what basic respect is. As soon as you turn off the road into the parking lot you are on private property, the grocery store isn't a public space you are their guest.
I can't believe that an entire article is devoted to this topic. When did ethics become so relative? An item in the grocery store doesn't become your property UNTIL you pay for it. Anyone debating this issue is just a symtomatic example of the self-centerness of modern culture.
Here, here!
"When did ethics become relevant"??????? I think that question alone answers several points. If adults don't backtrack and learn some, they'll never be able to show their kids. As to snacking in the store, if I open a package I ensure the bar code stays intact, the package is obvious in the basket so I can't forget it and never nibble on anything that's sold by weight.
whatever1000 asked, "When did ethics become so relative ..." not relevant.
Once my fiance's blood sugar suddenly dropped dangerously low on a shopping trip to walmart and we grabbed a bottle of tropicana orange juice. We took the empty bottle with us to be scanned and paid for at the register when we were done shopping. I wasn't comfortable doing that but it outweighed the option of having him pass out in one of the aisles. In normal circumstances, I would not do that.
Many stores have a sit down area and hot food for sale. If you're hungry and can't wait, pay for it, eat it, and Then continue your shopping.
I don't think it's stealing, but it's very rude to be walking around chowing down and possibly making a mess where people buy food. Also, imagine you owned a market and your customers did this. I don't know if they're going to try to pull a fast one, so I wouldn't allow it either. Is it really that hard to wait a whole half hour?
Yes, it is sometimes very difficult for some people, especially those who have digestive issues and actually become faint when hungry. It can actually be scary! However....one should not grocery shop while hungry. Not only will you probably eat while shopping, but you'll probably spend more than you need to!
Don't do this. It's tacky, annoying, unsanitary, and in some cases theft. All the rationalizations of being hungry, having whiny kids, being in a hurry, being diabetic, "I'm about to drop $100 here, so it's okay!" are all pathetic, BS, cop out excuses (yes, even the diabetic). Plan ahead, control your kids, be the parent, be the adult. And don't pay with checks!
Children don't always see the bigger picture. In the same way that they don't correlate having to pay a bill when you use a credit card, they don't understand that you have to pay for the food they are snacking on in the grocery store.
Parents need to teach by example. If a parent allows snacking in the store, they should go to register immediately and pay for the 'snack'. If the children are old enough have them hand the money to the cashier, so they see first hand that they have to pay for what they are eating. Then, the family can go on with the shopping.
I so agree with you. I work part time at Kmart and frequently see ADULTS chowing down on food and candy. And even more frequently you see their kids ripping open bags of candy as they are walking around. We suffer a lot of "theft" by finding open/empty food packages that they have left laying around. Never paying for any of it. I have 3 children and as babies/toddlers if they were hungry we went to the check out and paid for what they were about to eat. In no way is candy a necessity that needs to be opened and eaten "before" paying.
Oh right, there's registers waiting EVERYWHERE to quickly pay for a single item. You're clearly not a working mother who has to marathon-shop with the kids on the weekends.
I don't believe her. Her and her husband each ate a sandwich. It wasn't just her or just one sandwich. Not surprising this story left that little tidbit out.
Read a Honolulu paper to get more of the facts than is presented here. 90% of the commenters on the Hawaii site don't believe them and support Safeway's actions.
Source? I haven't seen any articles that suggest that it was more than one person, one sandwich, including the Star Advertiser (Honolulu paper).
It's disgusting to watch people eating while shopping. How many people have touched the cart that they are pushing with the same hands that they are eating with.
What happened to our culture that it is acceptable to eat while shopping. If you can buy a sandwich at the grocery store, most likely they have some tables to sit at while consuming food.
I NEVER put any groceries in the child seat.
I shop for 10 people, 2x a month. It's usually a 3 or 4 hour deal, so I buy a drink, or a snack *before* I shop, and keep the receipt. It's really not that hard.
Agreed. If I'm the slightest bit hungry, I'll make sure to eat something before I get to the store. Not so much due to ethics, but because I know I'll make irrational food choices at the grocery store if I am hungry. Also, it's rare that we take longer than an hour to grocery shop. I think I can muster enough self-control to wait that long to eat if I get hungry while we're shopping. ;)
The Matrix has you.
The food isn't your property until you purchase it, so why should you have the right to eat it before you own it. Common sense.
You don't prepay at a restaurant do you? This statement makes NFS.
Nicole, a supermarket or grocery store aren't like sit-down restaurants. You're comparing apples and oranges. This story isn't about eating at restaurants. At sit-down restaurants that involve menus, customers are supposed to pay after they eat. At grocery stores, customers are supposed to pay before they eat. Surely, you're aware of that...
You make NFS, a supermarket is not a restaurant.
@Nicole – And you lady, are making NFS. You are comparing apples to oranges. One is shopping for, in most cases, prepackaged items (not counting items by the pound or otherwise). And in the other case, you are ordering from a menu at a restaurant where you do order before you eat. One has nothing to do with the other.. (at least common sense would dictate to most of us). Whether the woman was pregnant of not, she should not have ate the sandwich while shopping. That would include a parent opening up a package of cookies to stifle the cries of a kid.
Actually, it makes quite a lot of sense if you stop to think for a moment.
At a restaurant you have an agreement about how much you will pay, and what you will get, before you ever touch any food. Regardless of if it is $12.99 for a plate of food delivered by a waitress or $19.99 for unlimited trips to the buffet, you have an agreement in place. The restaurant has tracked exactly what you owe.
In a grocery store, that hasn't happened. Dishonest people can easily eat foods and hide the wrappers or peelings and avoid paying. Clever ones, when caught, might even claim they forgot to pay, and offer to pay on the spot.
Completely different situations.
@North Dakota Boy
A dishonest person 'could' leave a restaurant un-noticed after eating and
not pay.
Nicole is right , in a restaurant you are indeed eating before
you actually have paid for it.
Hey Randy, guess you've never been to a restaurant?
Aaron, have you been to a grocery store? They don't operate the same way a restaurant does.
Ditto Hiro and Manny. Grocery stores are NOT restaurants!!! And C-O-M-M-O-N S-E-N-S-E !!! It's just an excuse!
First of all Mr. Randy laws are made for mens and mens are not made for law. You are talking about common sense. Is this a common sense to torture a two years old child who is not even guilty? Is this a common sense to separate a 2 yrs old child from his/her parents for just $5.00 and give a mental stress. Can you imagine the pain and insecured feeling of that child went through just for 5.00 $. The store manager made it a big issue of 5.00 $. But do you know how much tax money these big companies steal and do not show proper documents to IRS. What are you talking about? Its a shame that manager did this and did not even give a second thought before doing it while parents were agreed to pay the $5.00. Sometimes you should think by heart and you should take decisions according to the circumstances. People who dont think wisely and do such actions, pay a big price and I am pretty sure this manager has to pay such a huge price for his such inhuman act and bad deed. because there is delay in Gods's court but this couple and that poor child will sure get justice in all mighty's court and manager will be punished by the God sooner or later.
As someone who works at a grocery store, I find it extremely frustrating. I don't mind if you take a sip of your soda if you are thirsty and I will certainly help you in any way to get checked out quickly if you absolutely need to eat but when you consume a whole food item as you walk around, I consider that theft. Particularly if it is a produce item or something that is weighted. If you bring me a banana peel and tell me you ate it, I can't charge you properly for it. Even if you bring the rest of the bananas, I still cannot do things the way they should be done. When I shop I hesitate to even bring in a drink I got somewhere else just because it makes me feel uncomfortable. Besides really if you have a medical condition, you should be aware of that and prepared. You are shopping, not crossing the mojave.
I agree with you Carissa. I too work in a grocery store. We find food wrappers, banana peels, grape vines etc on shelves. It's the same as theft. It's similar to "you break it, you buy it". It's a part of what makes grocery prices high. It's a loss of profits. The same for putting cold items on shelves when the customer changes their mind about purchasing the items. It's a loss.
Stores offer free samples, there are ood courts, net sell bulk items, food preparation exhibits, vitamin presentations, roaming food carts, etc... And now we cant eat in the store if it is not controlled under their rules! And I acnt believe the hig number of rieghtous sheeple that fall for this by judging and criticizing others. It's the Borg.
Given it's the store's property and the store's store, yea, it is their rules. Your logic is along the lines of saying it's OK to steal from someone that gives to charity "It's OK if he gives it, why not if I take it?".
I used to work in a grocery store too and I hate it well, some people say that they are sampling the products before they purchase, but it's human nature to forget stuff and not pay. Folks should just wait until they get to the car if they are hungry or thirsty. The crazy thing is that most supermarkets have eat in cafes or counters that one can sit down for a bite or drink and many, many, studies have shown that if you shop while hungry, you tend to spend even more money on food.
It's insane that people can't keep themselves from shoveling food into their mouths for five minutes. I can just imagine this DB with a sandwich in one hand on her smartphone in the other wandering down the isles in her PJ's like she's in her own kitchen.
your kitchen has isles??? Man, I wish my kitchen had that much ocean space.
the word you are looking for is "aisles", and if her kitchen is big enough to have them then I'd say she has enough money to do what she damn well pleases in the grocery store.
You are a git, and the word I meant to use there was indeed git. The fact that you bothered to correct someone without so much as processing what they said is laughable. Look up what a simile is.
Personally I don't eat it until I leave the store, I think it is a little tacky. The only exception I make is for my kid. There are times when he is hungry and I have been shopping all day, so I get him something from the "hot section" and let him eat it. It beats having a hungry whining child and I always pay for it! Its only a dollar or two, not worth getting in trouble for.
I feel sorry for this lady though. I really think she did make an honest mistake and I think the store over reacted. It was not fair to the child to have to spend the night with strangers. Why did they get arrested for a $2 sandwich? In Minnesota for petty theft you get a appear in court ticket. Not a night in jail.
When I was very little (pre-school age) I usually went grocery shopping with my mother, she usually would let me have a snack in the store (e.g. a cookie, a few animal crackers). However, this stopped once I hit school age, and it's definitely in poor taste for adults to eat an entire item before paying–although I might cut an adult some slack for taking a sip from bottle of water or a bite of candy if they have low blood sugar.
i used to do it all the time....then one day the person pushing their shopping cart called for security.
i think it's perfectly acceptable as long as it's something that doesn't have to be weighed. obviously if you eat a pound of grapes going through the store there's no way to pay for them – that would be stealing in my opinion. but to open a box of cookies or something i believe is ok b/c you still have the box that can be rung up at check out.
It's wrong. How do you intend to pay for an apple - which is usually sold by weight? The core weighs a lot less than the whole apple.
Stores do not usually sell apples by weight...its usually by quantity.
Stores I buy at ALL sell apples by weight.
I have NEVER seen apples priced by the unit instead of the pound.
Weight-wise or quantity-wise, it doesn't matter. Even if the stores you buy at do sell apples by the quantity, if you ate one before paying for it, that would be one apple consumed that you didn't pay for, right?
Lots of places sell apples in large quantities (i.e. by the peck) in prepackaged/preweighed bags. The bag has a bar code printed on it that can be scanned, so you still pay for all the apples no matter how many leave the bag between the fruit stand and the checkout counter. I think that's what jec0199 is referring to.
Our local grocery store was intentionally built across the street from a high school. Not only are the kids not in class, but they open packages, take one item; or hold their dirty hands under the dispensers of bulk foods. Of course they're not paying and this has necessitated the need to hire security personnel, thus raising prices.
Stores are NOT restaurants. Eat, and feed your kids, (even a piece of bread) before you go shopping. Stores that give samples are discouraging wise eating habits. You may think that one item now and then doesn't make a difference, but it all adds up – burdening everyone.
I'm going to say "No" because I've sick and tired of seeing half eaten food in stores left on shelves. And bringing food in from other places should be banned too, even the same store's cafeteria or food court....BIG pet peeve of mine when I'm walking through a Target and see someone's half consumed cup of whatever sitting on a shelf....the employees there aren't being paid to be your babysitter or clean up after you. But then again, this is Baltimore, where manners and courtesy aren't trained to the ghetto dwellers.
she is a 7.5 month pregnant veteran.
i believe her.
IF I was in her shoes I would be picketing the store with a big sign that says Safeway hates pregnant vets.
It's not Safeway, it's Hawaiians that hate everyone in the military.
It's not stealing if you pay, but it is in poor taste and I won't do it. That's why many other cultures hate or have no respect for us Americans. We are so lenient on so many things (wearing PJs outside of the house, showing too much PDA, etc.) that this country is going to the dogs when it comes to responsibility, common sense, self-control, etc.). We're becoming a RUDE culture, that pretty soon we will be more rude than..........
I'm so over people defending someone because they are pregnant or in the military. I don't hate people in the military in fact I'm the person you'll see going up to a person in uniform and thank them for their service. In fact, I'm leaving the military out of this. As a womne who has children, I managed to go to the grocers and not eat my way thru. If you're hungry, eat before you go, don't graze throughout the store. give her a break because she's pregnant, no thank you. You have the same rules as the rest of us and there are proper placces to eat and the grocery store is not one of them..
I agree. I posted earlier stating that I'm not normally someone who "grazes", but when I was pregnant I had to crack open a box of saltines once early on to prevent myself from getting sick. Later in the pregnancy, I had to crack open the OJ to regulate my blood sugar because I got light headed. Now, I didn't forget to pay because there was an obvious box or carton but a clear plastic wrapper could have feasibly slipped my mind if I had been shopping with a toddler as this woman was. I think we need to really think about all the angles before we decide to just jump on this woman.
People are arrogant, and stupid, just pay before consuming! Keep receipt and then continue shopping.
You are a nasty jerk. If the store wants veterans to stop shopping there, then keep arresting them, especially the pregnant ones
It isn't as if veterans are automatically trustworthy. I was an NCO and had to deal with subordinates who thieves and all-around dirtbags. Yes, most of my troops were good, honest people, but just because someone is a veteran doesn't mean they aren't a liar and a thief trying to get out of being held accountable.
Just because someone says they "forgot" and offered to pay doesn't mean it is true. It could just mean they are canny enough to have a plan of action in case they get caught.
Since when do veterans receive a different set of laws to follow ? Are they superior to other citizens ?
Just because you are a veteran doesn't mean you get to eat without paying.
Manny
"Since when do veterans receive a different set of laws to follow ? Are they superior to other citizens?"
- Yes, Manny, as a matter of fact, saying this as a veteran and Marine, veterans ARE superior to other citizens. They've done what you and the overwhelming majority of the American people have not and have no intention of doing: served and protected this country.
But, a veteran, pregnant or not, should know better than to take something and chow down on it before paying for it. It's called "stealing" where I come from. A store item doesn't belong to the shopper until it's paid for – it's sorta common sense, but I could be wrong. A supermarket is not an Old Country Buffet where you pay after backloading one's gullet. Society seems to now say "do what you want" and parents who "graze" (steal) and teach their nasty children to do the same like a mama raccoon is now the norm – they all now feel "entitled" to go on and help themselves and do whatever they want, and the supermarkets most often than not will let it slide as to keep from making a scene. The stores pass the costs on to other shoppers. This whole "intended" to pay excuse is tired – how do I know a shopper "intended" to pay?
Basic courtesy, common sense, and consideration have gone the way of the dinosaur and it's all about "me" and "scr*w you". If a store has to put up signs saying "pay before consuming it", people are truly stupid.
That name: Leszczynski is waaaaaay too close to an name that scares me :-(
At Costco most anytime there are 10-20 stations to feed you "samples" – cheeze, ham, turkey, bread, cookies and more. I know some people who go there to have free lunch. It is called store grazing. I don't eat there; can't brush teeth resulting in bad breath. I am already overfed.
Until you pay for the item, it DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU! It is stealing, plain and simple. Most stores (at least around here) have snack bars or even restaurants like McD's or Subway in them – go eat there. Got a hungry toddler? Take a snack with you. For crying out loud, I never take my 18 m/o out of the house unless I have some graham crackers and a water cup with us. It's not rocket science people. Pay for stuff before you eat it. If you really MUST have that banana or sandwich or whatever haul you butt up to the register and pay for it before you chow down.
It is a sick practice. Unless you're eating from a free sample plate, DON'T EAT IN THE STORE! !!!@@!!!
It's not sick. You are sick. At Big Y I will buy a slice from the pizza section and eat while we shop. nothing wrong with it and I end up not whining about being hungry. It's a win-win for everyone. So take your judgements and stick 'em you know where.
Do you ever wash your hands?
I really don't see much harm, if you TRULY intend to pay. But, there is the rub. I mean, c'mon. How many times have you eaten a freakin sandwich and "forgot" about it. This woman is either...
1. Lying
2. Has a memory as long as my little finger.
3. Spending waaaay too long in the grocery store. I mean, if you're in there long enough that you forgot you ate, that's too long.
she is a 7.5 month pregnant veteran
i believe her
IF I was in her shoes I would be picketing the store with a big sign that says Safeway hates pregnant vets
You need to drop the veteran excuse, it won't work.
Mark? I'm guessing you are man and that you haven't ever been pregnant and starving? It's not hard to forget things when you are pregnant and looking after a 2 year old. It's very easy for something to slip your mind when you are preoccupied, but I guess that has never happened to you before. Her and her husband were very apologetic, it was a simple mistake, and they offered to pay $5. No big deal. I guess people aren't allowed to make mistakes, they are automatically lying or stupid.
And what was the husbands excuse? He also ate a sandwich but he's not pregnant so no forgetfulness due to being 7.5 months along and if he has blood suger issues they shouldn't be something he didn't expect so he should have come prepared.
Sorry, I disagree. A person could get distracted and forget until reminded. I did something similar in a Target – had a full cart of stuff, with a package of toilet paper on the bottom underneath the cart basket. Pulled everything out and paid for it, but I was chatting with the cashier and forgot the toilet paper. As I was walking out, the security guard was checking my receipt and I realized I hadn't paid for the toilet paper, so I went back and did so. It was embarrassing, because I'm sure he thought I was trying to shoplift, but it was actually an honest mistake. With so much going on in people's lives today, it would be very easy to overlook something. Maybe the daughter was fussing, or the mother was talking on her phone, or she was watching the cashier ring up the order. Of course there are people who deliberately steal, but let's use a little common sense, especially for something so small. That being said, in my opinion, unless you have a medical condition and are having some sort of crisis requiring you to eat (in which case you should have enough sense to carry something of your own with you), or you have a child who's truly on the edge of a meltdown, it's better to wait till you've paid and are out of the store before eating anything, especially if it's something such as produce that's sold by weight.
As someone that has worked in a store...about 50% of the people that eat while walking around pay. The other 50% hide their wrappers behind other merchandise. I do not believe you should consume merchandise before paying, even if you intend to. Do you drive a car for a week before buying it?
no, but you do take it for a test drive with the car salesperson with you to test the performance.
Bad example, yes I drive before I pay (not for a week). When I eat before paying I don't " test drive" I commit myself to pay. Same in a restaurant I eat (don't test drive) and I pay after (or I could walk away without paying).
Bad analog, since yes you should absolutely drive a car for at least a week before paying for it and are often encouraged to do so.
I have to do that sometimes for my screaming babies or when my blood sugar drops, but I've also gone to the store before and left my wallet at home or for some reason my debit card wouldn't scan. If you've consumed food, then what do you do? You have to leave the open package there, come back to the store to pay for it, and that's really embarrassing and also a lot to ask a cashier or store manager to trust you. I'm glad I can do it when necessary but really not the best thing in the world to do.
If your debit card doesn't scan they can punch in the numbers manually.
If there are concerns with your blood sugar (that you obviously deal with from time to time), or you're carting your baby in the store, why wouldn't you automatically have something with you in your purse to munch on for such a purpose, rather than just picking something in the store to nibble on? Personally I don't get this mentality that makes a person think it's okay to do this, even while pregnant (and I have been twice). I mean, at least be courteous enough to wait until you've paid for it and you're back in your car.
Well here's a scenario. Let's say she packed some snack for herself and the kids, but it's been a long day of getting chores done. The snacks are eaten, and there's still at least one last thing she has to do before taking the crew home and making dinner. The kids are tired, whiny and hungry, as is she. However, if she doesn't buy food today, she's not going to be able to again right away because she works and this is her day off.
Does that work for you?
We don't know the situation of others. It's pointless and cruel to judge.
Well said! It's a shame you had to take the time to actually spell that out.
Why can't you just purchase the item BEFORE you open it?
I dont think it is stealing, because you have no intention to do so. But I do believe that it is wrong, I will never do it! even if i feel hungry or even if my child goes mad, i wont entertain this habit myself . What if ur card gets declined because of some technical error, what if you dont have cash in such a situation, you can leave all ur stuff right at the store but what will you do about the item you already consumed! Guys we can pay for it and then eat it! It is not a restaurant, but a grocery store!
And we all wonder why 1/3 of the US population is obese?
This woman is pregnant.. not fat :) Joking.
This problem arises merely because the distance between the point of removing from the grocery rack and consuming is so far that customers do not want to take the time to do so. What if the grocery store chain posted self paying micro kiosks that can bar code scan and charge it to the consumer's credit card for small items (not more than 2 items maybe) and this way it is paid for and there is no need to defend or offend anyone. This comes with an investment, however, eliminates a lot of problems on both sides who are trying to prove the contrary. I am sure grocery chains and other businesses are considering this given the variety of products they sell these days.
I have to disagree. Few supermarkets are that big that someone can't just grab an item and then head to the checkout lines and buy it. Unless someone has some physical problem that makes it difficult, it's hard to sympathize.
The pregnant woman in question was with her husband, and he could have gone and bought the sandwiches.
Bingo! Hiro gets the Eatocracy Common Sense Blue Ribbon award today. She stole and she knows it.
I've seen people do that with drinks, but eat an entire sandwich and forgetting to pay is wrong. It's not your food until you buy it, so personally I wouldn't feel comfortable chowing down until you pay for it. I also am not that keen on people drinking drinks without paying. Stores usually have water fountains if you are THAT thirsty.
You eat the food in a restaurant BEFORE you pay for it. So you are a thief until you pay?
You should reconsider your argument. There's a major difference between eating food at a supermarket before paying as compared to eating at a restaurant before paying.
If you weren't aware, eating at a sit-down restaurant with menus, waiters and such, is HOW it is done.
I sense you're aware of that, but you seem to be one of those trollish posters who wants to lecture and scold. Well, paganguy, your argument is nonsensical and doesn't hold water.
Fuyko has never been to a restaurant where you did not pay at a window before eating
Thats the funny thing about restaraunts....is that they aren't grocery stores.....
You get the red herring award!
In a restaurant, the business has a record of what you owe. A grocery store does not keep a record of what you have taken off the shelf, and thus they cannot be sure of what you know.
Your argument is either poorly considered or intellectually dishonest.
Which is it?
"what you know"
err... that should be
"what you owe."
grocery stores aren't restaurants. If she is so hungry she has to eat while she shops, but the sandwich first, eat, then shop. Its not as though her hubbie can't push the cart himself and get started on the groceries.
I don't have a problem with it so long as folks pay. But I gotta tell ya, if I tried to snack on something in the store when I was a kid, my parents would have tanned my cowhide like there is no tomorrow.
Me too.
Shop at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. Great culture and you can try items before you buy or not.
How can you try something before you buy it at Trader Joe's? Everything there is buried in plastic wrap!
Because they always have tons of samples.
Yes !