Is the economy THAT bad or are people just crappy??

[Peppergirl]

When I got up yesterday evening (don't judge - I work swing/3rd shift. ), I went to my neighborhood Kroger, which also happens to have a Starbucks. Since I'm there pretty frequently, the baristas know me and chat with me quite a bit.

I walked up to the register and there was a 'station closed' sign. I looked at the time and it was well before the close time of 9pm.

The girl on u-scan saw me looking confused and advised me that the barista was on break, and since she was the only one manning the SB this evening, they had to close for a few.

Odd, but okay. I sat down at one of the tables and began sorting my coupons and decided to wait.

As I sat, a woman breezed by the tables, which happen to be near the sugar/creamer area.

She stopped, stuck her hand in the sugar container, grabbed a *huge* fistful of those 'sugar in the raw' packets and proceeded to stick them in her purse. It was all so fluid and seamless, she barely broke stride as she did it.

I just sat there with my mouth gaping open at the audacity of her.

When the barista came back, I went up to order and leaned over to tell her what I had seen. She shook her head sadly and said, "Have you noticed the 2 percent milk and skim milk containers aren't out anymore?"

I glanced over at the sugar/creamer area and noticed only the half-and-half out. Since I use half-and-half and not milk, I hadn't noticed this before.

Me: "Now that you mention it, I hadn't noticed before now."

Barista: "Yeah. People were coming in and filling their kids sippy cups and bottles before they shopped, so we had to remove them and put them away. So now people have to ask for them."

Me: "Are you serious?"

Barista: "Yep. And management told us we weren't allowed to confront them about it, so we removed them as a cost-saving measure."

Me: "Holy shit!" (yes, I actually said that)


I just...ugh. There are no words. Granted, I live in sort of a semi-shady area, but Jesus! At first I started thinking it was the side effects of the bad economy, but then I started thinking it's likely just people being their typical entitlement-whore selves.

Oh! And there's a sign out on the salad bar now, requesting that people not 'sample' the items. It tells people if they want a sample to ask an employee.

Ridiculous.

I can't remember the exact wording, so perhaps I'll snap a pic next time I'm in there and report back. Yes, I need a hobby.

[fireheart]

Oy that's pretty ballsy.

I'm surprised the woman wasn't charged. Also, you have to be EXTREMELY cheap-ass to do it that way.

[bhskittykatt]

In our coffee area at the motel, extra supplies are stored beneath the coffee dispensers. We had to stop storing extra sugar there because people would come buy and just steal the whole container.

[Spork4pedro]

At my last job I was friends with the GM of the starbucks next door and she told me the same thing. They even had to remove ALL the milks, sugars and whatnot (I think the stirrer stick things were still there) due to needless theft. She told me the final straw was this older lady would come in daily and walk straight to the sugar dump the ENTIRE bin in her purse and walk right out. Apparently she used it for her baking everyday...

[RecoveringKinkoid]

The messed up part is that they're saving, what, a few bucks at the very most?

That's some trifling ass cheap, right there. People just love the idea that they're getting something for nothing or getting one over on someone.

Pathetic.

My five year old asked me once "why does the toilet paper have a lock on it?" When I told her to keep people from stealing it, she said, genuinely shocked and disgusted, "people steal TOILET PAPER?"

[Grape The Cat]

People are just crappy i say. It doesn't matter what state the economy was in people will still try and get something for nothing, many times not caring what it does to employees and honest customers. It's sad but true. When i worked at the rest stop people would , after they completed their meal, grab several handfuls of ketchup, dump them in a bag and leave.

[surreal20]

See, if i'm going to go to a store and they have ketchup packets and the what not, i make sure i'm going to use the item before i grab too many. Normally it's texas pete from chick fil a. I like it on their chicken, so i use it when i eat, and if i have extra, i save it for the next time i go out to their store.

I normally do drive through, and i forget about the texas pete until i get home. So it's nice to have the packets. I only use it then, so if i grad 2 or 3 mroe than i need, i don't feel too bad.

And i don'y grab any more than that. I'd feel like an out right theft if i grabbed more than that.

[Catwoman2965]

People are just cheap; if they see it out, they assume its there for THEM and THEM only,and its ok to take.

That being said, I do admit to, once or twice, taking ONE packet of artificial sweetener...from a restaurant - if a new one came out, to try to see if I liked it before actually buying. And while I didn't use it right then and there, I did use it eventually.

[Peppergirl]

You're right, guys. It's just so pathetic.

And I feel badly when I take more napkins than I need and end up putting them in my glove compartment.

Here these people are, using the condiment area as their personal kitchen.

[BaristaTrav]

Yup.. had that happen all the time at the old s-bux too.. and corporate in their infinite wisdom put us in a terrific catch-22. They wanted the dispensers "filled up" at all times but the manager was ticked about inventory always being down and always having to re-order sugar packets to keep the thief supply lines going.

[Kogarashi]

What makes it even worse is that half these people aren't even customers of the chains. They come in, take the packets and stuff, and then leave again. Most of us here who grab the occasional few extra are at least paying for something first.

Me? I don't usually like the ketchup packets and don't bother with sweeteners. About the only time we end up with such things in our fridge (or napkins in the glove box) are because we got our food delivered/drive-thru/to-go and the store employee put the extras in our sack in the first place.

[Kanalah]

Ugh. Back when my parents were freshly divorced my dad used to take anything that wasn't nailed down from fast food places. Sugar, salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard, relish, mayo.....the list goes on. He would say he didn't want to "waste" money by buying it at the store when he could get it free at any fast food place.

Thinking back on it though, now that explain why we had a jug of tarter sauce, a huge jar of mayo, and those in door storage shelves full of little sauce packets.

Yeah my parents are hoarders, why do you ask?

[MadMike]

The sad part is, these people probably don't even think they're doing anything wrong. They don't think of it as stealing.

[Peppergirl]

The sad part is, these people probably don't even think they're doing anything wrong. They don't think of it as stealing.

That's exactly right. Even if they're not buying anything, they think if its out there it's for them.

It's just like people who steal shit out of hotel rooms.

[blas]

When I worked at both restaurants, little old ladies were always stealing the little butters and jellies.

I thought it was just an old person thing, you know, Depression babies.

Then I started witnessing people of all ages stealing samples, demanding samples, always looking for freebies.