Stupid bribe

[bigjimaz]

Working in the grocery store, we had a sale on a box of Cheerios. Normally $2.39 each, they were on sale for 10 for $10.00 (actually a dollar each no matter how many you buy)

Lady at the register says she couldn't find the Cheerios on sale. I walk back and find that the end cap where it was located is now empty. As I walk toward where it was normally located on the shelf I came across a coworker who confirmed that we were out. I walked past where it was located and noticed that there was one 'hidden' behind another but larger box of Cheerios so I grabbed it.

Enter Queenzilla.

She practically ran me down from behind with her cart yelling that the box I had just grabbed was hers, that she had hidden it to pick up later. I explained that since it was not in her cart and I had a request for it at my register, she would have to settle for a rain check.

Her reaction?

She offered me $10.00 for the box.

Let's think about this.

A. The item on sale was 1 dollar.

B. Not on sale it sold for just $2.39

C. The same item in the same size sells for $2.50 at the dollar store 4 blocks away.

D. She was willing to give me $10 for it and still have to pay for it at check out. (I took the box to the lady at my register)

Was her quest for the last one so strong that she felt it was appropriate to offer $10 for it?

BTW, my supervisor asked me what happened because apparently Queenzilla complained that I 'stole' the box from her cart. Luckily I had my co-worker back me up as he had seen the whole thing.

By the way folks. Did you know that items in a shopping cart are not really yours until you purchase them? Even though it is a sucky thing to do, anyone can take any item you took off a shelf out of your cart and take it to check out to pay for it. Until you actually purchase it, it belongs to the store. At least in PA.

[South Texan]

She practically ran me down from behind with her cart yelling that the box I had just grabbed was hers, that she had hidden it to pick up later.

She offered me $10.00 for the box.

Wait. She did not have the dollar to buy the item, so she thought you would take an IOU bribe for ten dollars?

Did she think you were more stupid than she?

[bigjimaz]

I have no idea why she hid it or why she didn't just put it in her cart when she found it. If she had the $10 to bribe me with she had the dollar to pay for the cereal had she just put it in her cart. I never seen the money if she was serious about the bribe, nor did I see her check out.

All I got from this is that she had to have that particular box of Cheerios because it was the laaaaaaaaaaaaaaast onnnnnnnnnnnnne!

I sincerely hope I come across as less stupid than her.

I do, don't I?

Don't I?

I'll go back to my hole now.

[Shironu-Akaineko]

I admit I do the hiding thing for socks.

But if they're not there when I come back, my loss.
If I see someone else finding the socks I hid, well guess what? MY LOSS.

I apparently am able to deal with loss of property that is not mine.

Go figure.

[Boozy]

Hilarious story!
Although I have not reached the same level of crazy as the Cheerios woman, I have suffered in the past from sale-induced psychosis.
Shopping for sale items had become a sport/hobby to her. She lost sight of the purpose for shopping for sale items (saving money) and became focused on procuring the sale items. And she lost her mind.

[Becks]

I wonder if she didn't REALLY hide the box, but didn't see any Cheerios at all. When a box magically appeared, she suddenly decided to SAY that she hid it.

I'm offering the above suggestion because I really don't see WHY someone would hide an item while they're already shopping.

[justZu]

I wonder if she didn't REALLY hide the box, but didn't see any Cheerios at all. When a box magically appeared, she suddenly decided to SAY that she hid it.

I'm offering the above suggestion because I really don't see WHY someone would hide an item while they're already shopping.

That's what I think, she saw bigjimaz grab the last box and blurted out a fast lie.

[Gurndigarn]

Would have been a good opportunity for a customer to make a fast ten bucks.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Wow, who knew Cheerios were such a hot commodity...

I love those 10 for $10 sales...it amazes me how many people I see actually buying 10 bottles of juice or 10 boxes of whatever...where do they store it all? Do they really think they have to buy 10 to get the sale price? Most X for $X sales are just a gimmick to encourage people to buy that amount, even though you can still buy one for the sale price...usually the only time you have to buy a certain amount is when it's a buy X get X free sort of thing.

[bigjimaz]

If I had taken her bribe, that box of cereal would have cost her $11. Why not just get one of the bigger size boxes of the stuff that she hid the smaller box behind? They're only $3.09

[Best Made Tacos]

If I had taken her bribe, that box of cereal would have cost her $11. Why not just get one of the bigger size boxes of the stuff that she hid the smaller box behind? They're only $3.09

Maybe she had hidden something incredibly valuable in there, then stashed the box for collection later, whilst she was throwing off the pursuit in the other aisles! The box contained an incredibly valuable and rare...something.
No, maybe she was just stupid and sale crazy.

For some reason, it reminded me of the Sherlock Holmes story about how a thief stole a massive emerald and then sneaked into a factory that made plaster busts of Napoleon and dropped the gem into one of the casts. When he came back to retrieve it, the busts had already been sold to people all over England - thus the thief had to engage in a series of burglaries to try and find the one containing the emerald.

[DrugstoreJulie]

For some reason, it reminded me of the Sherlock Holmes story about how a thief stole a massive emerald and then sneaked into a factory that made plaster busts of Napoleon and dropped the gem into one of the casts. When he came back to retrieve it, the busts had already been sold to people all over England - thus the thief had to engage in a series of burglaries to try and find the one containing the emerald.

[nerdyOT]The Three Investigators have one episode with a silimar theme [/nerdyOT]

I suspect the woman has some OCD issues. I have a few regular customers who are like that.

[Killer Bees]

Man, when you get that cheerios monkey on your back, there's no stopping it

I must admit I've done something similar. When I find a book or a CD that there's only one of and I don't have the money right there and then, I usually hide it somewhere obscure in the store and then come back and buy it when I have the money.

[AFpheonix]

Maybe she had hidden something incredibly valuable in there, then stashed the box for collection later, whilst she was throwing off the pursuit in the other aisles! The box contained an incredibly valuable and rare...something.

Ooh! Maybe it was one of those neti-pot thingies that got onto the Oprah show, apparently, and that I can't keep on the shelf due to her minions that MUST have them.

[ArenaBoy]

Maybe there's a diamond syndicate using cheerio boxes as means of transportation?

One of the entertaining things about Whiskeyclone was the numerous people bribing us. Best attempt for a guy to bribe me was about $300 while the lowest attempt was $5. We also had the Christmas bribers who would try and offer us large amounts of cash just because it's Christmas when ulterior motives were suspected.