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I've never worked at a grocery store myself, but when I was in college I knew several people who did, and my then-girlfriend worked at a grocery store while putting herself through college.
Apparently, the most stolen/shoplifted item at grocery stores, by far, is meat.
Thus, I pass along the things that were told to me, tales of the meat thieves.
1. Big Barrel of Meat
A customer brings a big metal tin to checkout. It's one of those large barrel-like tins that are sold filled with cookies. The clerk notices it's unusually heavy for a tin of cookies, and feels very cold to the touch. She's pausing for a moment to wonder what is going on when over the intercom they call for a cleanup in the bathroom.
The customer insists she just scan the tin, he can pay the $10 for the big tin of cookies, and move on. She notices that the plastic anti-tamper seal has been replaced with clear packing tape. She calls for a manager, while the customer becomes very irate at the delays and says he must check out NOW.
The manager comes over and says something to the effect of "what is it, we've got to clean up a huge pile of cookies that are dumped all over the men's room floor."
At this moment, the customer bolts out the door. The manager and cashier open up the tin and surprise, surprise, find it's jam-packed with steaks, a pot roast, and ground beef.
2. Is that meat in your pants, or are you just scared to see me?
A nervous teenager comes up to a checkout lane at the grocery store. He's only buying a bottle of coke. He seems really nervous, and he's shivering in the "dog days" of late summer. The cashier takes a moment to look at the customer, as something isn't adding up. He's thin and gangly, wearing just a t-shirt, and sweatpants. The problem is, his sweatpants are bulging, all over. It's like he's a huge, tubby, portly guy everywhere covered by the sweatpants and a scrawny fellow everywhere else, and he was shivering like he was out in the middle of a a snowstorm.
The cashier, very suspicious of him, asks "Sir, do you have any other merchandise that you are intending to purchase?"
At this moment, the Sucky Customer panics and runs for the door. The cashier shouts "after him!" and spins around and points at him.
In even more panic, the sucky customer starts reaching into his pants with both hands and grabs the meat. He is taking packs of ground beef and chicken and steaks and tossing them away as he's running into the parking lot and diving into a car that is waiting with the engine running as it burns rubber out of the parking lot.
3. That's a load of meat. . .
A customer comes up trying to buy a huge load of meat. Her shopping cart is filled with a wide variety of meat products. As the cashier starts to check the meat out, he notices a few things are wrong. First, the labels seem just a tad odd in texture, like they were taped or glued on top of the existing labels. Second, upon closer inspection as he's checking out the groceries, he notices that all the labels all have passed their "sell by" dates by a week or more and he finds it odd that there would be a shopping cart worth of expired meat on sale in the meat department, and somebody would be buying all this expired meat. Third, he starts to notice that labels don't match. Labels for one pound of ground beef are on two-pound packs, labels for sirloin steaks are on T-bone steaks and so on.
The cashier stops checking out and calls for a manager. The customer starts acting nervous and asks what is wrong. The cashier says he just has to ask the manager some questions. The Sucky Customer immediately gets agitated and starts demanding to finish checking out now. The manager shows up and the cashier pulls up one of the meat packages and shows the irregularities in the labels to the manager. When this happens, the customer starts to walk out the door, and when the manager shouts to the customer, she starts walking faster and just keeps right on walking.
Apparently, the most stolen/shoplifted item at grocery stores, by far, is meat.
Thus, I pass along the things that were told to me, tales of the meat thieves.
1. Big Barrel of Meat
A customer brings a big metal tin to checkout. It's one of those large barrel-like tins that are sold filled with cookies. The clerk notices it's unusually heavy for a tin of cookies, and feels very cold to the touch. She's pausing for a moment to wonder what is going on when over the intercom they call for a cleanup in the bathroom.
The customer insists she just scan the tin, he can pay the $10 for the big tin of cookies, and move on. She notices that the plastic anti-tamper seal has been replaced with clear packing tape. She calls for a manager, while the customer becomes very irate at the delays and says he must check out NOW.
The manager comes over and says something to the effect of "what is it, we've got to clean up a huge pile of cookies that are dumped all over the men's room floor."
At this moment, the customer bolts out the door. The manager and cashier open up the tin and surprise, surprise, find it's jam-packed with steaks, a pot roast, and ground beef.
2. Is that meat in your pants, or are you just scared to see me?
A nervous teenager comes up to a checkout lane at the grocery store. He's only buying a bottle of coke. He seems really nervous, and he's shivering in the "dog days" of late summer. The cashier takes a moment to look at the customer, as something isn't adding up. He's thin and gangly, wearing just a t-shirt, and sweatpants. The problem is, his sweatpants are bulging, all over. It's like he's a huge, tubby, portly guy everywhere covered by the sweatpants and a scrawny fellow everywhere else, and he was shivering like he was out in the middle of a a snowstorm.
The cashier, very suspicious of him, asks "Sir, do you have any other merchandise that you are intending to purchase?"
At this moment, the Sucky Customer panics and runs for the door. The cashier shouts "after him!" and spins around and points at him.
In even more panic, the sucky customer starts reaching into his pants with both hands and grabs the meat. He is taking packs of ground beef and chicken and steaks and tossing them away as he's running into the parking lot and diving into a car that is waiting with the engine running as it burns rubber out of the parking lot.
3. That's a load of meat. . .
A customer comes up trying to buy a huge load of meat. Her shopping cart is filled with a wide variety of meat products. As the cashier starts to check the meat out, he notices a few things are wrong. First, the labels seem just a tad odd in texture, like they were taped or glued on top of the existing labels. Second, upon closer inspection as he's checking out the groceries, he notices that all the labels all have passed their "sell by" dates by a week or more and he finds it odd that there would be a shopping cart worth of expired meat on sale in the meat department, and somebody would be buying all this expired meat. Third, he starts to notice that labels don't match. Labels for one pound of ground beef are on two-pound packs, labels for sirloin steaks are on T-bone steaks and so on.
The cashier stops checking out and calls for a manager. The customer starts acting nervous and asks what is wrong. The cashier says he just has to ask the manager some questions. The Sucky Customer immediately gets agitated and starts demanding to finish checking out now. The manager shows up and the cashier pulls up one of the meat packages and shows the irregularities in the labels to the manager. When this happens, the customer starts to walk out the door, and when the manager shouts to the customer, she starts walking faster and just keeps right on walking.
)
He is my Black Dragon (and yes, a good one) strong, protective, the guardian. I am his Silver Dragon, always by his side, shining for him, cherishing him.
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