Why you don't shop and eat at the same time.

Honestly why people do this is beyond me. It's not a resturant, it's a freaking grocery store.

http://www.rr.com/news/topic/articl...gnant_mom_says_sandwich_arrest_was_horrifying

 

It was very clear in the article:

They were lost, probably a little frustrated, and just wanted to get their groceries and get back home. I see no problem with them eating a pre-made sandwich while they were picking up their groceries, if they intended on paying for it. I find it odd, though, that the grocery staff believed that they would pay $50 for what they bought only to steal a $5 sandwich.

Considering the fact that they had just left the register after dropping $50 in the till for the goods they bought, I think security could have given them the benefit of the doubt and asked them to pay for the sandwich.

 

I thought that it was a tad excessive arresting them and taking their child. I accidentally walked out of Lowes Food one day after going through the self check out; I scanned all of my groceries, but forgot to swipe my debit card to pay for them. I just bagged them and headed out the door... it was pretty embarrassing. I guess they thought it was an honest mistake because I wasn't dashing through the doors.. I had stopped in the front to check out the Red Box. I apologized and we went back in and I paid for them. It was a weird feeling...and even though it was done in error, I sometimes wonder if they have my photo behind customer service....Be on the Lookout!! LOL

 

You miss the point. It's a grocery store not a restaurant If you are that hungry, stop and eat before shopping or in the case or our local Lowes foods Tthey have a little food bar you can sit at and eat.

 

There were definitely a few times when I was pregnant that I snacked while shopping. If I didn't eat right away when I got hungry, I got really sick instead. Now, with two kids, there have been times when I have opened something in the store to let them eat so they are quiet while I'm trying to finish. I've always remembered to pay for them, but there have been a few times when I've remembered at the last minute and had the cashier add it on to my bill.
It was an honest mistake, and the store completely overreacted to the situation.

 

I agree with Craig - Buy it first.
Even worse - I've seen people snacking on grapes from the produce while walking around the store. That's no different than shoplifting. But I think eating or drinking anything in the store before you purchase it is wrong. It isn't yours until you pay for it.

 

I agree, my mother would have popped my tail if I had eaten something that wasn't paid for yet. I felt guilty the other week when I opened a soda in the checkout lane and took a drink before I paid for it (I was having a coughing fit in the line). It's just not "done" in my family.

 

I didn't miss the point. It's a food place. It's not as if they picked up a load of bread and a pack of balogna and started making sandwiches to munch on. The sandwiches were pre-made. And, again, these people were hungry and (according to all indications) were fully intending to pay for the sandwiches they ate.

 

That is even worse as grapes are sold by the pound, so in all honesty you are stealing in that case.

 

But it is not a RESTAURANT

 

Whatever

 

Heard the mother-to-be interviewed and she stated that this is not something that she normally does but she was becoming light headed (usually caused by low blood sugar or low blood pressure) and needed something really quick and saved the wrapper with the intentions to pay but forgot, as she put it "one of those busy mommy moments with a toddler and one on the way", even offered to pay when the security guard from the store stopped her. For those of you who seemed out raged by her eating something to prevent her from passing out and possibly doing damage to herself and unborn child, how's the air up there in that ivory tower? "its just not done in my family" oh pleazzzz.

 

The only time we've ever done anything remotely similar in a grocery store was opening up a snack-sized carton of goldfish for your kid. 'Course we didn't just forget to pay for it. You know, mistakes like this happen. I can't imagine such a big deal being made over it. Yeah, technically, I could see this being a situation where the letter of the law was followed. Yet, still seems a bit extreme.

 

It isn't "done" as a rule. Yeah, I took a swig out of a bottled drink at the register in view of the cashier the other week, I have NEVER, EVER done it before and prob won't again.

It was ingrained in me growing up that eating food you have not paid for is stealing.

I didn't say I don't have sympathy for her.

Whether the store over-reacted or not is up for debate, but there you go.

And Puleaze yourself.

 

on the most basic level, this whole article is outrageous. the store over-reacted. the police over-reacted. child welfare over-reacted. i have been pregnant and in a store when i got that sick feeling. it's a terrible feeling, and unless you've actually been in that situation, you do not know how it feels as i'm sure we females don't know how it feels to get kicked in the you-know-what's. hindsight, sure, buy it, sit outside, eat it, come back in and finish your shopping. but we don't have the luxury of hindsight in the present...however we do have the luxury of common sense. assuming the account is true and they just forgot to pay, give them a break. even just logistically speaking, look at the awful press this particular store and this chain is getting now. let law enforcement deal with the real criminals and child welfare deal with real abusers. insane.

 

While I agree that the store went too far, The cops have to enforce the law and if the store insisted on pressing charges there isn't much they or CPS could do.

Kinda sounds like another example of a 'zero tolerance' policy gone wrong.

 

It's not common sense, you can go to any Walmart on either Saturday or Sunday and see the same stuff happening (ie people walking around shopping and snaking while doing it) I've seen it and for the life of me I look at those people and honestly wonder what the hell they are thinking.

 

I'm certainly not condoning grazing but you have to ask why WalMart would turn a blind eye to it- they're certainly aware of it and I'm sure they've analyzed it to death.

I don't know, but if I were the store manager I might handle a pregnant customer with (presumably) no priors differently than I would a career criminal with a package of steaks stuck in their underwear- that would constitute 'common sense' to me.

Hey, I must admit that I have fed a whiny toddler a banana in the store just to shut 'em up just long enough to finish grocery shopping. I did pay for it, but maybe I'm part of the problem too? Nah...

 

If the banana's are sold by the lb then you probably didn't pay for it in reality.

 

...unless I had them ring one banana twice to get the correct sold weight- and I did. Kinda sad, huh?

Perhaps that's the moral of the story- maybe most people are honest enough to pay for what they buy, or at least honest enough to earn the benefit of the doubt.

On the flip side, I doubt WalMart loses much sleep when they charge me more than the price marked on the shelf or accidentally charges me twice for the same item.

Peace?