Eating in the grocery store

ladybg81

I've done this several times with my son. But, I will say that it is NOT the free cookies from the deli (really people???) it is the freeze dried fruit he LOVES. He's had a banana before and I just grabbed an extra one for them to weigh to cover the one he ate. He's had a juice box before which I paid for as well. I can not think of anything else. I'm usually prepared and have snacks from home but my normal routine is to give him a snack before we ever leave the house so this is not an issue.

ladybg81

I've done it....ONCE. I was 8 months pregnant with my first child and DESPERATELY wanted milk for some reason.
I was with my mom at the time. She proceeded to take a pint of milk off the shelf, open it, and hand it to me. It tasted like the best milk ever. lol When I finished it off, she took the empty container, put it in her cart, and paid for it during checkout.

This was 13 years ago. I've haven't done it since then and don't ever plan to. haha

OMG!!! I did this exact same thing when I was pregnant with my youngest only it was Dr. Pepper. That was the best tasting Dr. Pepper in the WORLD. Being pregnant is like being possessed at times.

Amen honey!!!

skylark94

Items in a store are not mine until I have paid for them, so I would never think of munching.

pain_is_weakness

If I forget snacks for my son and he is having a meltdown and I have no way of walking out witohut leaving everything I do open him a small snack, he never finishes the whole box lol, but I might have done this 3 times in the last 2.5 years. Anyone with little oens understands but for adults, I dunno, that is strange, must have been starving!

AlsDonkBoxSquat

So I went grocery shopping tonight, and ended up unwittingly following around a couple who opened a box of Cheez-Its and ate the entire box (um, eww) while shopping. They did have the cashier ring up the empty box and immediately throw it away...but I couldn't help but think about how odd the whole thing was! Does anyone else do this?

No, I have never ever done this, but I have seen people do this, i have seen people ffed their kids in grocery stores doing this, too. it actually irritates me greatly. At the risk of sounding rude ( and I really apologise because I can't sugar coat this), people who do this shouldn't be allowed back into these stores, it's just crass , wrong and even stealing.

If it's a non-weighted item and you take it to the counter and pay for it, how is that stealing? I don't give my 2 yo son produce when we're shopping because it's a weighted item, but if he starts screaming while we're in the produce aisle I'll make a beeline for something that I can open and give him immediately after hitting the produce. when we go to super walmart or target I hit up the toy aisle first knowing that I'll get him a little something before we get out of there anyway (usually something Thomas), I open it, I put the box in my basket, do the rest of my shopping, and that box is the first thing I had the checker when I hit the line. It's only stealing if I consume it in some way without paying for it.

pain_is_weakness

I haven't done it and I would have thought of it as wrong, but it's interesting seeing people's reasons for it.

I would only wonder... what if you somehow came up short on cash? I've had times where I had less money than I though I did because some of it was actually Canadian... lol. I also don't think the store's security would be a big fan of people eating things before paying, I think they could call you out on stealing? Since they have no proof if you planned to pay or not. It could also cause a bad example for kids if they miss the part about paying for it before you leave.

I agree if you come up short on cash it could be bad.

Technically it is not stealing until the person leaves the store. Security can't even do anything if they see you put items in your purse or pocket, unless you walk out the doors. At least that is how it is in California. I have lots of friends who work security and my husband and I are both in the criminal justice field, also study law. But I do agree that I WOULD become suspicious even if my hands were tied I would watch them closely

FauxNinja

Perfect example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43Cg-ggsVC4

umachanxo

In my opinion, you should never open/eat/use anything that you haven't paid for yet. What would have happened if you ate it all, and then found out your bank account was empty! Or you didn't have your wallet. People used to do this at a store I worked at when I was in High School. And it drove me crazy. Some people don't even bother to pay for them, and just throw away the garbage and leave.

I wouldn't do it, and I suggest for others not to. Just wait until you're done groceries xD

umachanxo

Perfect example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43Cg-ggsVC4

HAHAHAH! I love this. Thanks for sharing.

livnlite

Knowing what I know about what crawls all over a shopping cart handle, I can't imagine eating something with my fingers after directly touching a public shopping cart. I am not germiphobic but, I do have limits .. THAT is one of 'em.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

In my opinion, you should never open/eat/use anything that you haven't paid for yet. What would have happened if you ate it all, and then found out your bank account was empty! Or you didn't have your wallet. People used to do this at a store I worked at when I was in High School. And it drove me crazy. Some people don't even bother to pay for them, and just throw away the garbage and leave.

I wouldn't do it, and I suggest for others not to. Just wait until you're done groceries xD

I worked in a grocery store when I was in high school and this is not what bothered me, what bothered me was if they didn't pay for it, or if they tried to strategically place something so that you'd miss it, or if someone put coupons in their pile for things that they didn't purchase and then insist that I they did purchase it and that I had no right to look in the bagged groceries to verify. I found while working in a grocery store that there are lots of other things that bother me rather than people consuming stuff that they pay for.

umachanxo

In my opinion, you should never open/eat/use anything that you haven't paid for yet. What would have happened if you ate it all, and then found out your bank account was empty! Or you didn't have your wallet. People used to do this at a store I worked at when I was in High School. And it drove me crazy. Some people don't even bother to pay for them, and just throw away the garbage and leave.

I wouldn't do it, and I suggest for others not to. Just wait until you're done groceries xD

I worked in a grocery store when I was in high school and this is not what bothered me, what bothered me was if they didn't pay for it, or if they tried to strategically place something so that you'd miss it, or if someone put coupons in their pile for things that they didn't purchase and then insist that I they did purchase it and that I had no right to look in the bagged groceries to verify. I found while working in a grocery store that there are lots of other things that bother me rather than people consuming stuff that they pay for.

Mm! I agree! When they don't bother to pay it's so frustrating! For me, the most frustrating thing was seeing people open things in the store before paying or throwing it away and not paying. Because, for me, it's hard to see just who is paying and who is throwing it out, especially if it's busy. So I guess I just always thought that if everyone paid for things before eating them, then there's no trouble with some people paying, and some people just stealing. I was managing a small store at the time, and I swear I had more people open things and consume and then not pay than vice versa. xD So that's also shaped my opinion on it. And I totally understand your viewpoint on the subject, too! There's so many things that people do that can be frustrating.. haha.