Disgusting supermarket habit

[leggzz66]

I hear ya bout the long lines. I usually grab a diet tea from the cooler when i get that far, show the cashier that i have it, and gonna keep it out, i tell her, then drink it, cause we have a store with like 20 isles, yet only 2 or 3 are open, same with walmart too, but they never have my diet drinks there in thier coolers, and when i asked about it, they said, tell the coke man, its up to him what he puts in those. I never fail to ask each cashier ive been to over time, is there any way you could tell the coke man, to add sprite zero and some diet teas. Im diabetic and grew up up north and im so not used to being able to get what i want to drink or eat for that matter. I miss that about up north, the diabetic check outs. No candy displays and coolers with diet drinks of all kinds. I mean wally here has diet coke, but i also suffered renal failure last february, so dark drinks except tea/coffee are out. I love that lipton diet citrus tea. It smells like a highball to me and tastes like one too.lol. The newest one i tried that they had one time there, Gold Peak. It was awesome!

[Exile]

The main difference here seems to be between those who open packages and pay for it at the checkout stand vs. those who take food like bulk candy without paying at all. There's not much excuse for the former because those customers often expect the cashier to take and dispose of their sticky Coke cans, snack wrappers, etc., which is pretty inconsiderate.

But for thse who just take food without paying, no matter how little--even if it's just one piece of bulk candy--that's just plain theft, and no rationalization that the store "can afford it" can justify it. And what kind of lesson are parents teaching their kids when they let them get away with this, or worse yet, do it themselves!

And that crap about getting hungry and long lines? Gimme a break. What about eating before going shopping? That's not exactly rocket science.

[cptacek]

Hmm, I'm a good enough drinker that my Coke cans don't get sticky when I drink them. How do yours?

Somehow I think it was better to buy a box of tissues and use one and pay for the rest than, well, just about any alternative. Oh, and I didn't have the cashier throw the used tissue away. That would have been inconsiderate and just plain icky. I (gasp) just kept it and threw it away after I got out of the store.

[Exile]

Hmm, I'm a good enough drinker that my Coke cans don't get sticky when I drink them. How do yours?

Somehow I think it was better to buy a box of tissues and use one and pay for the rest than, well, just about any alternative. Oh, and I didn't have the cashier throw the used tissue away. That would have been inconsiderate and just plain icky. I (gasp) just kept it and threw it away after I got out of the store.

Sorry, cptacek, I didn't mean to make my post sound like a flame. I was referring to shoppers' habits in general.

[mike8822]

I never buy candy out like that. I buy it in the bag only. I never seen that happen ever though.

[leggzz66]

Happens all the time, they even did a bit about it on everybody loves raymond. it was sick! i think they did on married with children also.

[cindyg86]

i was with a friend once shopping and he just opened up a box of poptarts and started eating them... i think he had about 2 packages and then put the box on the counter. i was so dumbfounded i didn't know what to say!

[zakity]

When my oldest was a baby, I did give him a banana in a store. He was throwing a fit because he wanted one. I picked out one that was about the same size and asked the cashier to weigh that one twice. I hated to do it, but he was throwing such a fit. I figured it would be nicer for everyone in the store (including me) to do it that way.

[TomWills]

Yuck... I have bought sweets like this before, makes you feel kinda sick

[ScrimpAndSave]

Totally GROSS!

[braxton]

Bulk Candy = Germ & Bacteria breeding ground.

[antiver]

I've seen this happen at my local grocery store. I've also seen managers and employees stalking customers and kicking them out for such behavior.

[Angio333]

The fact that people are reachuing into the bins with their bare hands doesn't bother me. I'm not a germaphobe. I think that people sometimes make too big of a deal out of people touching their food with bare hands.

However, it is the theft part that makes me mad. No one has the right to steal from a story even if they feel that the store is overpriced. Shop somewhere else if you don't like the prices.

I guess some people don't consider it stealing if they steal a piece of bulk candy or something small. It still is stealing.

I saw something similiar this weekend. My wife and I went strawberry picking. They charge you $6.95 for a huge basket that you can fill yourself. It was a huge basket too. There were a few other customers who were picking strawberries. At least two of them ate a few strawberries whiole out in the field. That is stealing just like if you stole a single tootsie roll out of a bulk bin.

[eisor]

For the record I don't have a problem with opening a package and eating some, if you pay for it at the counter. I give my son the heel from the loaf of bread that we're buying to eat in the store.

Eating things that come in bulk or by weight though, obviously that's stealing. And again, putting your grubby hands on something that someone else is going to eat, that's not right.

I don't think I've ever eaten anything, but I often get a water and drink it while I shop. I always take the bottle with me and pay for it.

The main difference here seems to be between those who open packages and pay for it at the checkout stand vs. those who take food like bulk candy without paying at all. There's not much excuse for the former because those customers often expect the cashier to take and dispose of their sticky Coke cans, snack wrappers, etc., which is pretty inconsiderate.

But for thse who just take food without paying, no matter how little--even if it's just one piece of bulk candy--that's just plain theft, and no rationalization that the store "can afford it" can justify it. And what kind of lesson are parents teaching their kids when they let them get away with this, or worse yet, do it themselves!

And that crap about getting hungry and long lines? Gimme a break. What about eating before going shopping? That's not exactly rocket science.

I think you made a generalization. I never give my trash to the cashier. If I have something to throw away, I often look at the register behind me to see if there is a trash can. If so, I throw it away, if not, I hold onto it.

[GoodBuyGirl]

I once seen a mother give her baby a package of hotdogs to teeth on. Then instead of paying for them when she left she put them back on the shelf for someone else to buy.