At supermarkets is it okay to eat first then pay later?

[fruitbowlk]

They will allow you to sample fruit in the store if you ask the produce person.

It's not okay with fruit. Fruit is paid for by the pound and if you are eating it as you shop you are cheating the store out of money. But it used to be okay to sample a grape to see if it was sweet or sour and a lot of old people still do that even though it is no longer allowed by stores. It was never okay to eat half a bunch of grapes though.

Most in-store bakeries will give a free cookie to children (and often their moms) so blood sugar crash could be mitigated by that. The deli at one of our local stores will also give a free mozzarella whip (sort of like string cheese) to children under 12.

I don't like to see it, but I'm also not all that irritated over a box of crackers being opened if there are small children and the item will get paid for. Putting it back on the shelf after eating some is theft. It's not exactly right to open something, but I'd rather see that than listen to children screaming because their parent didn't think to feed them before shopping and they are genuinely needing to be fed.

[disneysteve]

I agree. It's not yours until it's paid for.

Do you pay for your restaurant meals before you eat them?

[ua_guy]

I think hunger sometimes gets the best of people when they're walking around in a gigantic warehouse full of food, and they nibble. I don't care as long as they pay when they get up front. If you tried to tell a caveman that he couldn't eat any of the food until it was outside and he paid for it, funny looks would ensue.

I personally don't eat in the store or before I've paid for something. I don't want funny looks or questions from the other cave-people.

It's disappointing to see theft or just plain disrespect, when people leave empty wrappers in aisles. You have to wonder just how desperate (or stupid) people are.

[97guns]

i have a friend that works for safeway and theft is getting bad he says, my guess is due to the economy and rising food prices,

they find chicken bones and opened bags all over the store, lipstick and makeup are one of the highest items of shrink, alcohol is another favorite

[feh]

Do you pay for your restaurant meals before you eat them?

Are you equating a restaurant with a grocery store?

[disneysteve]

Are you equating a restaurant with a grocery store?

Some newer, bigger supermarkets really are almost by design like a restaurant. They put food displays all over with hot (or cold) ready-to-eat items prominently displayed, even sometimes having plastic forks and spoons on the display rack. They do everything but hang a sign that says, "Eat this now". Then they further blur the line by setting up tastings and free samples throughout the store. In many ways, they're trying to make food shopping more of a destination event. They don't want you to just zip in and out and buy only what is on your list. They want to entice you to try new things and spend more time in the store because they know the longer they can hold you there, the more you are likely to spend.

As long as I handle my trash appropriately and pay for everything I eat, I'm not sure where the problem lies.

[Blessed]

I dont think it is ok to eat it until you pay for it.When my children were little if they wanted a treat we walked up and paid for it and then finished shopping.

[~bs]

I sometimes do eat chips and open bottled water while at the grocery store. Does that mean I have no class too?

I do think that it is okay as long as you are going to pay for it and not fruits or other consumables that can not be checked while at the counter.

I've done it in the past, but I really try not to do it.

I generally don't think it's ok. How does the store know who intends to pay for the item or put the half eaten item back on the shelf? If a car dealership allows people to simply take keys, and go for a spin around the block unsupervised (they intend to purchase), how many of their cars wouldn't make it back to the lot?

[sblatner]

When the boys were little, I would feed them animal crackers throughout the store, pay for the box and then have the checker throw away the box. I don't think I see anything wrong with eating one grape to try them out as sometimes the produce guys grab and apple and cut it up so I can try it. I even had one cut up a cantaloupe one time when I was asking how good they are. I wouldn't eat an apple without weighing it first but think a small grape is fine.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Thank you to those who choose to have class.

[Redraidernurse]

I usually give each kid a banana & tell the cashier when we are checking out to add two extra bananas (we are already buying two bundles of them so its not difficult to tear off two and weigh them twice). I don't have guilt about this because we are paying for what they ate & the other unhealthy option (cookies, chips, etc) are not options in my mind. My oldest (4) is trained to go throw away the peels in the trash after they are done so there's no litter on the store floor. I have happy, healthy-eating, well-behaved kids in their store, and everyone goes home happy.

[BuckyBadger]

I don't do this a lot, but I do do it sometimes. It doesn't bother me. I'm not stealing anything, and if someone's going to steal something, they're going to steal it. People eating things and leaving the packages all over the place is wrong and gross, but that doesn't really have anything to do with normal responsible people snacking on something while they shop. I wouldn't ever do that, of course, because it's stealing - not because I have an inherent issue with people eating things in the store.

One thing I do pretty frequently is grab a soda from the coolers in the front of stores (like Home Depot or Best Buy) and drink that while I'm shopping, then have them ring it up as I check out. I just did that this weekend, actually.

[BuckyBadger]

I've done it in the past, but I really try not to do it.

I generally don't think it's ok. How does the store know who intends to pay for the item or put the half eaten item back on the shelf? If a car dealership allows people to simply take keys, and go for a spin around the block unsupervised (they intend to purchase), how many of their cars wouldn't make it back to the lot?

I actually knew of a few dealerships that allowed this. I drove a number of cars unsupervised before purchasing. One of them he told me to take out for a half hour or so and drive my commute a few times. It always made me more inclined to buy than the ones where the guy is crouched in the back seat blocking my blind spot...

I always brought the car back, and they have your drivers license on file if you don't.

[~bs]

I actually knew of a few dealerships that allowed this. I drove a number of cars unsupervised before purchasing. One of them he told me to take out for a half hour or so and drive my commute a few times. It always made me more inclined to buy than the ones where the guy is crouched in the back seat blocking my blind spot...

I always brought the car back, and they have your drivers license on file if you don't.

The grobery store doesnt have your license on file

[Redraidernurse]

The grobery store doesnt have your license on file

You also aren't test driving a $30,000 snack in the grocery store.