eating unpurchased food.

[code-monkey]

By the sounds of it a lot more people do it than I first thought, but it still really pisses me off. In the words of foamy: "How difficult is it to plan your shopping trip so you don't die of starvation before yo reach the checkout?"

Worst I saw was at my local supermarket. It has a mezzanine floor with electrical, clothing, Music, etc on the upper level. I was walking down an aisle with DVD players on display, and there was an empty sandwich wrapper on top of one of the DVD players. So by the look of it someone had picked up a sandwich, decided to eat it while the went round the store, finished it and decided "Hmm, well I've finished that now, and I'm not near the till so i can't really be bothered to pay for it now". What a bastard I thought.

[Jester]

I have no problem with people eating something and then paying for it. I have been known to do that myself, though with me more often than not it's just popping open a cold bottle of orange soda for some much-needed sugar. I pay for it, sure...we all do. It's the SCs that don't.

As for getting samples at the deli, well that is pretty much standard practice, and has been for as long as I can remember. I know that I have been spared from getting something I really wouldn't like many a time by asking for a sample first. Wish I had done it a couple more times, actually, as I got stuck with some really horrible luncheon meat when I didn't sample. (And by horrible I don't mean stale, rancid, or spoiled, just low quality.)

That almost sounds like something a child, or a person with a cognitive impairment might do.

A cognitive impairment like, maybe, being a complete fucking douchenozzle asshole?

Sorry, I just don't see every sucky action as being part of some large ailment, syndrome, or disorder. The action described sounds to me like maybe some teenager screwing around having a lark, or maybe someone older doing the same thing. Sure, it could be somebody with OCD or some such, but it could just as easily be someone who is just a shitty fuck trout.

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.

Different people have different body chemistries. For you two days with no sustenance might not present a problem. For other people, it very well could, even without them being diabetic or even hypoglycemic. Hell, I am neither, but if I don't eat for long periods of time, I have been known to get shaky. Literally shaky. As in, my hands shake.

However, I normally make sure either Child Rum has been fed, will be fed right after shopping or I have a snack for her from home to chow down on. Why don't parents ever think of doing that?

Because a lot of parents are either stressed, distracted, busy, or just blithering idiots. Sometimes all of the above.

I used to eat one of those white mushrooms about every other time we went shopping, and I have no idea why.

Because mushrooms are all kinds of AWESOME!

[Buglady]

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.

Um, as far as I know two days without eating and without feeling faint is VERY unusual! I'm at the other end of the scale though - I eat every two hours at MINIMUM. I have a metabolism that's stuck on "hummingbird" even now I'm in my 30s.

I used to have stronger reactions to hunger - I would get a headache quite suddenly, and be dizzy and faint. This eased off a lot when I (a) stopped eating so much sugar (blood glucose that goes up must come down!) and (b) gained enough weight that my body actually had some reserves to draw on when I did get hungry. I built up a good amount of muscle, which tends to even out metabolism. (I still have to be careful about fruit juice; it hits me harder than candy does I think because Fructose is a simpler sugar. Really throws me for a loop though. I got in the habit of eating whole fruit instead, and drinking water.)

[Eric the Grey]

I will admit that there has been one or two times that I was shopping and realized I was extremely weak and needed to eat SOMETHING (I do not have diabetes, but I do have some small problems with my blood sugar levels and there are times if I don't eat something, I'll faint or have problems)

I DO have Diabetes, and more than a few times I've had to pick something up and eat it while I shopped, but I've always payed for said items. I remember once feeling like I was being watched all the way to the checkout. I suspected at the time that someone from the store was waiting for me to skip out without paying for it.



Eric the Grey

[ESM]

Does anybody remember "Boy Meets World"? The father worked in a supermarket and the family wanted to know why he was so bummed after receiving an award. I forgot the dialog but it goes like....

Sean: "Yeah you weren't real good with the free samples."
Dad: "Just because you put your own toothpicks in them does NOT mean they are free samples!!!"



Overall I think self checkout is a bad idea, most people aren't watched close enough and it's very open to shop lifters. For DVDs, the reason the cardboard is cut, is to allow the true UPC code to be scanned. Some people can put the cardboard on an expensive dvd and scan the cheap one twice. Because the cardboard is on the expensive dvd, the person that checks receipt would see two copies of ______were bought.

My father loves the self checkout even if it's a shopping cart filled with groceries. He likes to scan each item to double check the price, he told me he was charged wrong sometimes. He says that the cashier goes too fast for him so he likes to scan each item then bag them confirming each price. We would be there FOREVER. lol.

[RetailWorkhorse]

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.

I think more people have Hypoglycemia then they think they do.

[Digitalpotato]

My cousin had this problem. She apparently got QUITe a bit of old people who would sample on food but they seemed to have alzheimers(sp).

She would report that some customers would do stuff like take a bite out of a fruit and set the fruit WITH the bite taken out of it back on the shelf, or they take something they opened a little before and say "what is this I shouldn't pay full price!"

[MageAkyla]

I think the worst example of grazing I've seen is an elderly man, licked his fingers and stuck them into the bulk trail mix, ate it, and went back for more before moving on. He did this like it was a perfectly normal thing to do. All I know is I don't buy bulk unwrapped candy or dried fruit anymore.

When i worked at a truck stop/travel plaza down the road from a concert ground we'd have quite a few people with the munchies (especially after the Dead and like concerts). Luckily most would continue to wait in line to pay for their food but we always found wrappers after the rush.

However, I always prefered these to the people who would decide not to buy ice cream novelties and leave it sitting on the shelves because those 2 feet back to the cooler was too much of a trek for them.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I did this just monday night, I have chronic hypoglycemia. I had a ROUGH day and had been sloppy with my eating habits last couple days.

I damn near ended up on the floor in front of dairy. Man. It comes on you so fast sometimes, which is what happened to me.

I went and bought a pack of gummi lifesavers (what the hell happened to hard candy???? Can't find lifesavers anywhere!) and a couple packs of peanuts. I wasn't done shopping, but I jumped in an empty line and bought the candy and the nuts, then went back to my cart, thinking of you guys the whole time. Took a break, just noshing on my stuff and leaning on my cart. The cashier looked at me like I was nuts, leaving my car behind to pay for a handful of snacks. I mumbled out something like "need a quick snack" or something. I dont know, I tried to expain myself but it's exceedingly hard to articulate a coherent thought in that kind of state.

If there had been no empty line, I would have had to "graze." I wouldn't have been able to wait in line that long. I went from "feeling okay" to "seeing black looming on the edge of my vision" in 15 seconds or less.

I am not a supermarket grazer, and my child understands that we don't eat stuff that's not paid for yet. However, people used to do it at Kinkos with our office supplies all the time and it never bothered me. They would just stick all their price tags on a sheet and settle up when they were done working. That's just the nature of Kinkos, you go in and work on your projects. Its easier for everyone to just settle up after. Most even asked if I minded they do it that way first. I never minded.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I had shucked some cobs of corn to cook that night.

It is better to shuck the corn just before you cook it. As soon as you shuck it, the exposure to the air causes the sugar in the corn to start turning to starch. The corn that is cooked immediately after it is shucked is the best tasting.

[Dasota]

I remember when Safeway first started giving out cookies to kids. I moved away to an area that has Tops/Wegmans instead of Safeway, and I went back when I was 12 and really wanted to get a cookie, but thought I was past the cut-off point. I really wanted that cookie too.

I myself have never eaten anything while in the store, and then paid for it later. I do remember going shopping with the neighbor and her kids after church one day and she had drank something and paid for it at the register. I thought that was really strange at the time.

My dad is guilty of being a slight grazer though. When grapes or cherries go on sale he'll sample one or two out of maybe 3 bags so he can tell which one he wants and then buy the bag. And now that I think of it, I was a really strange kid. I used to eat one of those white mushrooms about every other time we went shopping, and I have no idea why.

[Balgram]

I take stuff and eat it in store all the time. I'll buy chicken or sandwiches from the deli, eat in store, then pay for the wrapper.

I use self-checkout, too, so no human was involved in my devouring and payment process.

I never see a problem with this. I will pay for what I take, so shrug.

That cookie monster that started this whole thread confuses me. I think it's really really funny, but it's still rude.

[CaroPhoenix]

At Safeway, I always ask for a cookie if I have Child Rum with me. Sometimes, I'm offered a cookie too.

i've been known to ask to try deli meats (i.e., Dietz & Watson Barbecue Chicken - Delicious! Primo Taglio Roast Beef - too seasoned for my taste, etc).

However, I normally make sure either Child Rum has been fed, will be fed right after shopping or I have a snack for her from home to chow down on. Why don't parents ever think of doing that?

[Gerrinson]

The old grocery store was vehemently opposed to grazing (for obvious reasons), but was totally fine with people eating/drinking things that aren't sold by weight, so long as they paid for it before leaving. And no one ever got away with the 'these are stale chips' argument at my register.

I had the one idiot that told me to 'just weigh my kid' when she wanted to pay for the apple he ate while they were shopping. She thought it was hilarious right up until the SM threatened to charge her with shoplifting. Despite her 'I'm so insulted, I'm never coming here again!' spiel, she came back. And got caught feeding herself and her kid out of a bag of grapes by the LP guy. Can you say charged and trespassed?

Given my experience from the cashier side, I have no qualms about eating something while in the store. A few times, I've wanted a piece of fruit or other weighted item so I go through the express line, pay (and keep the receipt) and have it while doing the rest of my shopping. So far, I've never had anyone mention it as a problem.

[Jay 2K Winger]

We sometimes find boxes opened with evidence of grazing, but there's not a lot we can do at the wholesale club about it.

I don't graze, myself, but if I get hungry or something while I'm at Wal-Mart or wherever, and eat something off the shelf, I'll bring the bag/box up with me.

Most often, though, Sundays when I work the 5am back-door shift, I'll grab a bottle of Boathouse Farms mocha drink for the caffeine. Since there's no way to pay for it yet, I'll hold onto the bottle, and refill it with water. That way, when I head up front for the front-door part of my shift, I can pop through the self-checkouts to pay for it, dump out the water, and toss the bottle. (Usually at that time, none of the cashiers are ready to ring me out, and if the bottle is empty, the self-checkouts will reject it.)