eating unpurchased food.

[Evil Queen]

I will admit I (sometimes) graze while shopping. But, not matter what, I purchase what I sample.

Yesterday, I think it was, I went shopping with a friend. I got hungry and so did friend so I picked up a box of donut holes that was marked down and we snacked while shopping. It's now in my freezer, waiting to be eaten some more.

[BookstoreEscapee]

It has never occurred to me to ask for a sample of food in the grocery store. (Though I have seen people ask for a slice of meat at the deli counter.)

For the record, when I get shaky/dizzy from not eating it's usually because I didn't eat breakfast, sometimes no lunch, which means I haven't eaten since the night before...12 hours or more. If I'm running around top of that.... Plus my blood pressure tends toward the low end of normal, and I've been known to faint for no apparent reason (which happened once at the doctor's office while I was waiting for some paperwork at the desk so I got checked out right away...other than a big bruise from landing square on my hip I was fine)...so that doesn't help.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

As with most people here, I don't really care as long as you pay for it. Don't graze and don't sample from multiple packages with no intent to buy.

A real pet peave of mine is when a customer comes through my line, bag of chips in hand, and tells me they don't want it after all because it's "stale". If they had purchased it, we would refund their money because we support our products. But since they haven't bought it, what they're doing is stealing. Not like I can call it that way to their face and keep my job, so I just shut up and claim out the opened package. Had another woman come through my line, she and her child were muching on an big tub of raisins. She wanted me to send someone to grab a brand new package because the lid on the opened tub wouldn't close properly and was therefore "defective". My looking at her confusedly and calmly explaining it wasn't defective if she's already been eating it didn't work. Management went and got her a replacement.

Ok you have a customer, with an open product, has obviously used said product WITHOUT paying for it and yet you CAN'T call him a thief? Ummm, am I missing something because I would not be afraid call that guy out if he was HOLDING THE EVIDENCE.

[Kogarashi]

As a cashier, I was quite thrilled when customers would pay for half- or nearly empty packages of food they'd been snacking on, because that was one less opened package left tucked somewhere on a shelf. The only time I've ever been annoyed was with the woman who handed me an apple core and expected to pay for it (apples are a by-weight item). So I just found another item of hers (more fruit) comparable in weight and weighed that in the apple's place.

As a customer, I've only ever eaten food before I paid for it once. When I'm pregnant, I tend to get hypoglycemic, especially in the first trimester. When not pregnant, I can go a whole day or more without eating and feel mostly fine, but when pregnant, going just two hours without something to nibble makes me feel like I'm going to pass out. I literally feel fine one moment, and like the world is going to end the next.

Hubby and I were doing a major grocery run back when I was pregnant with my first child, and the "Baby Hungry," as I called it, struck without warning in the middle of the trip. I went to the deli for barbecue chicken chunks, which are weighed right there and given a barcode to scan, and snacked on those while we shopped. I made sure to pay for the empty package at the end.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

The Safeway policy is for things that are ready to eat. You can't sample things that need cooking, are in cans for the most part or any alcohol.

Aww crap, I knew there was a catch.

Other than that, yes they have to give a sample and if you don't offer and are on a stupid er secret shop, you WILL get points off for it. The thing they taught us right be fore i left slaveway was "If they ask, they eat".

That's stupid. Guess Safeway doesn't give a rat's ass about shrinkage (if the person decides they don't like the product, does it have to be thrown out?) as long as the customer is satisfied.

This sounds like something the Grocery Store of Awesome might do, but I would never ask for it. It's never occurred to me to crawl into the clerks for free samples of stuff.

[bainsidhe]

As with most people here, I don't really care as long as you pay for it. Don't graze and don't sample from multiple packages with no intent to buy.

A real pet peave of mine is when a customer comes through my line, bag of chips in hand, and tells me they don't want it after all because it's "stale". If they had purchased it, we would refund their money because we support our products. But since they haven't bought it, what they're doing is stealing. Not like I can call it that way to their face and keep my job, so I just shut up and claim out the opened package. Had another woman come through my line, she and her child were muching on an big tub of raisins. She wanted me to send someone to grab a brand new package because the lid on the opened tub wouldn't close properly and was therefore "defective". My looking at her confusedly and calmly explaining it wasn't defective if she's already been eating it didn't work. Management went and got her a replacement.

[mattm04]

We had one elderly SC do that to strawberries. They would open 15-20 containers, lick each berry and the ones they liked put in one container. They out the rest back in container and closed it. We finally got video to prove it. In the end we were out approx $500-700 dollars of berries. She was trespassed.

But if someone want's to munch on some chips or a beverage (as long as it is not weighed) and pays when they leave we don't care. That policy is store to store based on the LP and GM decision.

[Shpepper]

At our Safeway, it is the rule that clerks must allow customers to taste anything they want to buy. If they want to taste anything, even a can of something, you're supposed to open it up, get a spoon, supposedly, and let them taste it.

I don't know what my husband (he works there) is supposed to do if they want to taste the leg of lamb. I imagine corporate would come up with some lame policy, like "then get the mint jelly, slave!"

The Safeway policy is for things that are ready to eat. You can't sample things that need cooking, are in cans for the most part or any alcohol. Other than that, yes they have to give a sample and if you don't offer and are on a stupid er secret shop, you WILL get points off for it. The thing they taught us right be fore i left slaveway was "If they ask, they eat".

[Aethian]

I remember when I was a cashier and a lady (and YOUNG son) came up with a bag of grape stems...all the grapes were gone and she asked me to toss the bag. I asked her if it was a preweighed bag or a 'pick your own' bag. She said it was a pick your own so I put in a weight of ten lbs for the price of 2.99lb. (Bad year for grapes) She was appald and asked for my manager, so I got the one who hated theft with a passion.

Manager told her she could pay the price given or she could explain to her son why Mommy was being arrested for theft. Lady paid the price, claimed she would never come back again.

Lady (and son) was back the next day with a very pissed off guy with her. Turned out she complained to her husband who now made sure he came with her while shopping so she wouldn't do something so stupid again. He appologized to myself and manager for her actions.

[persephone]

Just curious with all these people "not diabetic but..." are you guys sure, usually getting dizzy or faint when not eating is a good sign it might be, I only ask because I've gone up to two days without eating and not felt faint or anything figured that was the norm.

Yes. Diabetes runs in my family, on both sides, so it's something we were also very very aware of. I do not have diabetes, nor do I need to regulate what I eat or worry about insulin. However, if I'm not careful (I have a tendency to forget meals) my blood sugar will get a little wonky. Usually I keep hard candies or a juice box in my bag because that will tide me over until I can sit and eat a meal, but sometimes I forget to replace it. It's rare though, and usually only happens if I've forgotten to eat (and most likely drank anything either) for like a full day or something.

[Nyoibo]

Just curious with all these people "not diabetic but..." are you guys sure, usually getting dizzy or faint when not eating is a good sign it might be, I only ask because I've gone up to two days without eating and not felt faint or anything figured that was the norm.

Goods that are dependant on weight for their value (fruit for example),

That's usually called grazing, which is stealing.

At our Safeway, it is the rule that clerks must allow customers to taste anything they want to buy.

Is that a single store thing or all stores wide thing, if so I wanna try it at Woolies.

[crazylegs]

When I worked retail I would never have any problem with someone eating something with a set value (chocolate bar, crisps, sandwhich) before paying as long as they paid for it. Goods that are dependant on weight for their value (fruit for example), well that's a different kettle of fish...

[Can I Help Your A$$?]

At our Safeway, it is the rule that clerks must allow customers to taste anything they want to buy. If they want to taste anything, even a can of something, you're supposed to open it up, get a spoon, supposedly, and let them taste it.

I don't know what my husband (he works there) is supposed to do if they want to taste the leg of lamb. I imagine corporate would come up with some lame policy, like "then get the mint jelly, slave!"

[edible_hat]

During common cold season I'll sometimes forget to bring a hankerchief, and I'll pop into a store and open a box of tissues, but I always pay for the box.

It also used to bug me when I'd see someone come into my aisle, and spray a little bit from one of the cans of air freshener to see what the smell like. Granted, this isn't the unsanitary issue that arises from doing this with food products, but I think that as a customer I'd be pretty pissed if I unknowingly bought one of the cans that people had been sampling, and had it run out in a day.

That's why I always take one from the back of the shelf where spray cans are involved.

Also I once chased a homeless woman out of the store because she was spraying herself with a tiny bit of every can of deoderant on the shelf.

[depechemodefan]

Like that butter story, I think it's someone who just wanted to know how the cookies tasted like.

True story about my dad. I was around age 6 and dad took me to the grocery store. He went to the wine aisle and picked up a Gallo jug and sampled it. We both go to the grocery line and dad buys the wine. The cashier says that it looks like it was opened and some was gone (I think she just wanted to warn us that someone else drunk from it). My dad didn't hear her (he was deaf in one ear) so being helpful I tell her my dad drank from it. I forgot the look she gave, but since no one called the cops or protective services, I think they were in too much shock...or maybe they are used to weird things like that.