Food Theivery at the Office

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  • _Pseudonymous_
    _Pseudonymous_ Posts: 1,671 Member
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    I should just write "low-fat", "Sugar-free", and "Gluten-free" on my lunches. I bet no one steals them then!!!
  • mgibbons22
    mgibbons22 Posts: 69 Member
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    Write medicated on it!

    At motorcycle meets we used to label our gas cans, "Mexican Gas" and it was never stolen.
  • Katleskin
    Katleskin Posts: 111 Member
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    Someone I know (definitely not my husband :ohwell: ) was a bit of a hot-head in his younger days and when he realised someone was stealing his milk in his Uni Hall of Residence he put Tipp-ex/Whit-out/liquid paper in it. The culprit was revealed as they were ill for about a fortnight :sick: . I do not condone poisoning thieves - I would have used laxatives myself.

    Glad I work from home, the only person who steals my food is the cat!
  • skhuu
    skhuu Posts: 25 Member
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    I don't understand why people would steal lunches. I don't know how it prepared and if it was prepared in a hygienic fashion. It's just gross to me. Maybe I could understand packaged foods, but then that's just rude!

    This is why I keep my lunch in an insulated bag with an ice pack at my desk.
  • Galatea_Stone
    Galatea_Stone Posts: 2,037 Member
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    Drugging your coworkers (thieves or not) is an absolutely terrible idea. If something goes seriously wrong they could pursue legal action and you could lose your job. Not worth it.

    This argument holds as much merit as someone with a peanut allergy suing me because I like peanut butter in brownies and they stole it. If the food is in an enclosed container (ziplock bag or tupperware) and they steal it, they do so at their own risk.

    Mike

    Interesting. Where did you get your law degree?
  • mediamogulsteve
    mediamogulsteve Posts: 115 Member
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    Drugging your coworkers (thieves or not) is an absolutely terrible idea. If something goes seriously wrong they could pursue legal action and you could lose your job. Not worth it.

    Invest in a lunchbox and an icepack and just bring what you need for that day. It's ok if things thaw a little through the day so long as they stay cold. Or get the fridge locker - much more publicly passive aggressive but nonetheless effective.

    So, someone could pursue legal action for eating something that didn't belong to them in the first place even though it has someone else's name and someone else paid for it? I would love to see the precedents. Maybe a Judge Judy special or something. Larry the Lawyer would argue that his client had to take his medication with food to avoid upset stomach and that the perpetrator shouldn't have ignored the name tags.

    These people don't have a leg to stand on. I've heard of a thief taking the food-lacer to HR. HR fired the thief and didn't do a thing to the food-lacer. Their argument was, "If they want to eat cat food, that's their business. We have a no stealing policy. You violated the policy. Here's a box."
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    And as far as the NPR article... I was reading the comments... if I ever caught someone drinking breastmilk I just expressed, I would be charged with assault... and they probably wouldn't be able to have any children of their own... considering how much of a pain in the *kitten* it is to pump in the first place... I wouldn't even fool with laxitives or other ****... they would have to hope I didn't have a sharp object in my hand to shank them with.
  • NotBonJovi
    NotBonJovi Posts: 187 Member
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    I rarely eat outside as I know portions are large and I can't track their calories.

    I don't keep much food in the office fridge and if someone was to help themselves to my lunch or food, I find that a good excuse to buy something outside as a treat to myself. This happens infrequently, so I really don't get upset if my food goes missing.
  • tapirfrog
    tapirfrog Posts: 616 Member
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    I keep my food at my desk. And I would have no problem either marking my food with "medical sample" or putting ghost-pepper powder in it.
  • BrainyBurro
    BrainyBurro Posts: 6,129 Member
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    Drugging your coworkers (thieves or not) is an absolutely terrible idea. If something goes seriously wrong they could pursue legal action and you could lose your job. Not worth it.

    Invest in a lunchbox and an icepack and just bring what you need for that day. It's ok if things thaw a little through the day so long as they stay cold. Or get the fridge locker - much more publicly passive aggressive but nonetheless effective.
    its not drugging them. someone could easily need a laxative and keep it in a work fridge, if they decide to steal it its their own fault...

    You never know who has an allergy to those kinds of things or a preexisting condition that could cause a serious adverse outcome. While logically one would say "it's not my fault, it wasn't theirs anyway," the law interprets it very differently. It's just not a good idea. There are other ways to solve OP's problem that don't involve that sort of risk.
    theres no way you could get into trouble from the law, they are the ones who stole. if someone has a pre-existing condition or allergy you think they would be smart enough not to drink/eat unknown foods. they took the risk in taking it, i just wanted to keep my poop juice cold

    well, everything you've done could be argued to have been designed to tempt somebody into stealing your food and then cause them harm because you've tampered with the food, so you could be prosecuted for some combination of entrapment and food tampering.
  • klyn7788
    klyn7788 Posts: 52 Member
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    I don't have many issues with this, although my office supplies a lot of snacks so I doubt anyone is interested in stealing my grilled chicken or spinach salad when there are much more delicious options available. Sometimes, things get used or go missing because it's assumed they're for everyone. (Yogurt, coffee creamer, energy drinks, lean cuisines, and condiments are most often mistaken to have been purchased for everyone.)

    I keep a small cooler under my desk and when I bring in something that I don't want eaten, I bring in ice packs and keep it in there. This wouldn't solve an issue with keeping things in a freezer for long periods of time. It only works as a day-by-day solution.

    When I bring in my own coconut milk (for my coffee), I put it into a tupperware container. I do this so others know that it belongs to someone. I think this would work for coffee creamer thievery ... it looks kind of thick and gross on it's own and no one would expect it to be stored in tupperware.
  • jwooley13
    jwooley13 Posts: 243
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    Drugging your coworkers (thieves or not) is an absolutely terrible idea. If something goes seriously wrong they could pursue legal action and you could lose your job. Not worth it.

    Invest in a lunchbox and an icepack and just bring what you need for that day. It's ok if things thaw a little through the day so long as they stay cold. Or get the fridge locker - much more publicly passive aggressive but nonetheless effective.

    Can they really sue you? I mean, they can't prove you didn't mean to eat it yourself and that you needed the laxatives. You can, however, prove that they stole your property.

    If someone hops over a fence and past a no trespassing sign in your yard and sprains their ankle in the process, they can sue you. And win. Trust me, I've been through it. It's just not worth the risk.

    **edited for typo

    Yeah, I happen to think that situation is total BS, as well, so that explains why I don't "get" it. Judges who rule in the favor of people who are victimizing others should be slapped in the teeth.

    I agree. I guess it's the reason that sort of situation is the first thing that comes to mind in this case!
  • elusive_design
    elusive_design Posts: 1,095 Member
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    Actually, just the other day someone got into my truck on a jobsite, ate my lunch and then neatly packed everything back into my lunch box.. At least they left me my 2 oclock! >.<
  • JustinAnimal
    JustinAnimal Posts: 1,335 Member
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    At a law firm I used to work at, I had a can of Emerald spiced almonds on my desk. The head partner ate the ENTIRE CAN one night, leaving about four almonds left at the bottom. I was so mad, especially since I was only a temporary employee and couldn't really afford to have the boss stealing my food.

    At my current office, stealing isn't a problem, the bigger annoyance is people leaving stuff in the fridge wayyyy too long.

    Same at my office...one person actually brings in eggs (she has chickens...don't ask) that she sells to other employees, and assumes it's totally cool to use up half of the fridge.

    I know this is unrelated, but I can't believe how often people feel it's cool to run their business out of other people's business. At various businesses, I've observed employees advertising that they are handymen or selling their home-grown canned tomatoes and salsas or bringing in briefcases full of eyeglass frames because it's their wife's business or selling their daughter's girlscout cookies (for some reason, however, this one is socially acceptable... I guess b/c it's a fundraiser, not for profit) or WHATEVER! In the ethics / compliance / governance world, I believe this is referred to as a conflict of interest. If you aren't paying the rent on the building, your *kitten* should be working, not getting paid to operate your side business.

    Anyway, OP, find the culprit and poop on their desk. It's worked wonders for relations with my co-workers.
  • gmoneycole
    gmoneycole Posts: 813 Member
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    Was just discussing this topic with a fellow MFP friend earlier today.

    It frustrates me to no end also. Big things (frozen lunch meals) to small things (pack of gum in my desk drawer) all seem to disappear on third shift.

    I have no good answers as to what to do here outside of a locked area,which I do not have at my work space, to hold non-perishables, but am anxious to see suggestions!!

    Hope you get some good suggestions! ;)
  • jwooley13
    jwooley13 Posts: 243
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    Drugging your coworkers (thieves or not) is an absolutely terrible idea. If something goes seriously wrong they could pursue legal action and you could lose your job. Not worth it.

    Invest in a lunchbox and an icepack and just bring what you need for that day. It's ok if things thaw a little through the day so long as they stay cold. Or get the fridge locker - much more publicly passive aggressive but nonetheless effective.

    So, someone could pursue legal action for eating something that didn't belong to them in the first place even though it has someone else's name and someone else paid for it? I would love to see the precedents. Maybe a Judge Judy special or something. Larry the Lawyer would argue that his client had to take his medication with food to avoid upset stomach and that the perpetrator shouldn't have ignored the name tags.

    These people don't have a leg to stand on. I've heard of a thief taking the food-lacer to HR. HR fired the thief and didn't do a thing to the food-lacer. Their argument was, "If they want to eat cat food, that's their business. We have a no stealing policy. You violated the policy. Here's a box."


    See above example regarding trespassing. The food-lacer might not get in trouble every time but it is simply not worth the risk when there are other solutions that don't aim to harm someone (i.e. lunchbox).
  • molonlabe762
    molonlabe762 Posts: 411 Member
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    I've had it happen a few times. It made me mad at first, but then I figured maybe they needed it more than I did. How bad would it suck to be hungry at work all day because you couldn't afford lunch? So it doesn't make me mad anymore, although sometimes it makes me sad, for whoever took it and sometimes for me, if I was really looking forward to whatever I brought.

    Maybe so, but I don't know because I am one of the lowest paid employees in the office and brought everyone pastries yesterday, enough for everyone to have 1-2 each to try and boost morale during a stressful time at our office.

    Secondly, it's one thing to be hungry and take a sandwich, it's another to take some sandwiches, and then leave the rest out overnight so that they go bad.

    I wish I were a good enough person to be understanding but I am not. I mean, if they would have asked I would have shared. But now I don't have any breakfast and that is money wasted.


    Boom, well said.
  • mandasalem
    mandasalem Posts: 346 Member
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    Actually, just the other day someone got into my truck on a jobsite, ate my lunch and then neatly packed everything back into my lunch box.. At least they left me my 2 oclock! >.<

    See, that! That's *totally insane*. Whoever does that has deeper issues that, frankly, terrify me. >.<
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,068 Member
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    Drugging your coworkers (thieves or not) is an absolutely terrible idea. If something goes seriously wrong they could pursue legal action and you could lose your job. Not worth it.

    Invest in a lunchbox and an icepack and just bring what you need for that day. It's ok if things thaw a little through the day so long as they stay cold. Or get the fridge locker - much more publicly passive aggressive but nonetheless effective.
    its not drugging them. someone could easily need a laxative and keep it in a work fridge, if they decide to steal it its their own fault...

    You never know who has an allergy to those kinds of things or a preexisting condition that could cause a serious adverse outcome. While logically one would say "it's not my fault, it wasn't theirs anyway," the law interprets it very differently. It's just not a good idea. There are other ways to solve OP's problem that don't involve that sort of risk.
    theres no way you could get into trouble from the law, they are the ones who stole. if someone has a pre-existing condition or allergy you think they would be smart enough not to drink/eat unknown foods. they took the risk in taking it, i just wanted to keep my poop juice cold

    well, everything you've done could be argued to have been designed to tempt somebody into stealing your food and then cause them harm because you've tampered with the food, so you could be prosecuted for some combination of entrapment and food tampering.
    i suppose, but it would be pretty easy to say that you intended for yourself to ingest it
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    1. Talk to your supervisor or HR or to whomever you're supposed to report stuff like this. Perhaps suggest that they send out a memo to remind everyone that whatever is in the fridge is not free for the taking. Is there by any chance a new employee who isn't aware that the things in the fridge are not provided by the company and do, in fact, belong to other people?

    2. If it happens again, stop putting things you don't want to share in the fridge. Yeah, it sucks that people can't be grown-ups and keep their hands off other people's things, but the world is what it is.

    3. If this is a rampant issue and the company isn't actively working to fix it, think about looking elsewhere for employment. I wouldn't work at a place where my co-workers steal from me and my bosses do nothing about it, even if it is "just food." What's next, they can steal your personal belongings from your office?

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