<p>I mentioned earlier that the store we shop at has frequent munchers, and lots of munching options (coffee, pizza, etc., etc.). All of these items are in an area that you either pay when your order, or in very close proximity to several quick-pay registers. I’ve never seen more then one person in line…ever. I guess if you wanted to munch on fresh fruit this wouldn’t be an issue as you weigh the produce yourself and print the label with the barcode, weight, and price. If you eat half your grapes, you’ve already accounted for how much you took.</p>
<p>So, the overwhelming majority of things are being paid for prior to check out. I always keep that receipt just in case. With all this snacking, I rarely see trash of any kind, but the store is very well staffed. It may be something they expect as a result of the availability of ‘ready to go food’.</p>
<p>As for the carts, there are antibacterial wipes next to the carts which most people use, as well an antibacterial hand gel. I see a lot of people using that as they head into the ‘cafe’.</p>
<p>When my kids were younger I packed snacks to take to the store…goldfish or cheerios. I don’t remember seeing other people giving their kids snacks by opening containers, but then I had three of my own kids to watch. Did my kids fuss for treats? I guess so. I don’t remember it being a big deal. My kids aren’t saints and had their share of public meltdowns. I just don’t remember then being about twinkies.</p>
<p>Although the idea of theft and dishonesty is upsetting, and should never be brushed off, my son (who is a front end cashier at our local grocery) will tell you the in store snacking is really not an issue. The things he has to watch out for is people who try to put $40 cuts of beef into a rubbermaid container they are buying (or something similar). The number of donuts that go unpaid for are small. The amount of high dollar items they have to watch out for are staggering. The lengths that people will go are extreme.</p>
<p>Again I never said that you can’t eat drink and shop. If the market has Starbucks and you pay for them and any food items and then eat/drink while shopping then there is no issue.</p>
<p>But if you open a Starbucks or Beer can without paying and start drinking then it’s not ethical.</p>
<p>Does it matter whether or not store staff is interested in prosecuting people munching away eatable that are readily available? </p>
<p>If something is unethical then it is so irrespective the cost.</p>
<p>It’s good parenting to teach children not to eat without paying. </p>
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<p>No, it’s not expected on the part of the stores. Stores just don’t want to make scene by pointing such small things. It’s individual responsibility to be ethical. Just because some one forgot to lock their door won’t prompt me to steal anything.</p>
<p>Similarly just a store have ready to eat meals ready doesn’t mean you can eat without paying. It’s just not ethical. Plain and simple it’s WRONG.</p>
<p>Have you seen the people of walmart photos? Unbelievable…I used to see women wearing their hair in curler to the store and wondered what they were saving themselves for. Now it’s gotten so much worse and the older people are often the most presentable!</p>
<p>POIH - I believe you misunderstood me, or I did not do a good job of explaining myself. I agree that theft is theft and have always taught my children that. What I shared about my son saying that in store snacking not being an issue was not to say that it was overlooked, or that it didn’t matter. The incidence of this, in the eyes of the store is that it is very small. They set it up for people to do the right thing, such as registers for quick pay right near the donuts, individual drinks, etc.</p>
<p>Regarding not seeing trash that others have complained about, I simply stated I don’t see it. This store has great customer service and there are always plenty of people to help. I assume if someone sees a cup a shopper has left on a shelf an associate throws it away without much thought. Does it mean the person who left it there was right? No way!</p>
<p>I hope this has cleared up my intent. If not, I’m sorry and I’ll leave it at that. I respect your opinions, and have enjoyed discussing things with you in the past.</p>
<p>A lot of my friends (17-18 years old) will open their drinks or something while still looking around the store, which makes me uneasy. Primarily because you don’t expect a 34 year old mom juggling two kids who samples a grape and gives her kid a box of apple juice from the carton while in the store to not pay for everything. But three eighteen year old girls with big bags? Yeah, we’re watched.</p>
<p>But you are all parents. So I don’t really see the big issue. I think it’s generally assumed that you’re pretty trustworthy, trying to set a good example, stressed beyond belief, etc. I’ve never seen anyone, much less older adults, face any reprimanding or sneering or anything like that just for eating while shopping. Possibly a side effect of only living in small, New England towns.</p>
<p>It would never occur to me to do this. Why couldn’t I wait to pay for my purchases and then start eating them? And why would I want to teach little kids to eat before paying?</p>
<p>All of you folks who say managers/staff at large stores presume that customers are trustworthy; do you notice the many surveillance cameras placed throughout the premises? They ARE NOT PART OF THE DISPLAY.</p>
<p>The grocery stores I shop in don’t have surveillance cameras, and those that do are not likely utilizing them to catch a mom giving her child a piece of bread while doing her shopping.</p>
<p>Maybe I’m spoiled in living very close to the supermarket, but when my kids were small I tried to make sure they (and I) were fed before we got there. The people behind the deli counter would sometimes offer them a slice of cheese, and that was fine with me, but it honestly never occurred to me to open a package of something I was going to buy and feed them then and there. I do understand if you’re pressed for time and your child is about to melt down, but most of the time people can surely wait to eat (excepting of course for medical reasons).</p>
<p>At Safeway, at the bakery, all kids under 12 can ask for a free cookie, which most eat while shopping. I know my kids enjoyed that treat when they were young enough to get one. I do try to eat & have my family eat before we shop–keeps impulse & unhealthy purchases way down!</p>
<p>I think it’s weird that we assume people aren’t stealing the food they munch on when they shop if people are sneaking $40 cuts of beef into tupperware. </p>
<p>There’s really NOTHING to stop you chowing down, eating until your full, and then ditching the cart when nobody is looking and walking out. Retail does not work on the honor system!</p>
<p>Obviously, the people who are giving their toddler an occasional bite are not the reason stores lose money. They lose money from people who are are deliberately stealing by sneaking items into backpacks, etc. As for all the “lessons kids learn” I don’t think a two-year-old truly understands the concept of paying for anything. I just asked Kid Number Four (the one I apparently raised with no code of ethics) if he has any memory of eating something in a market before paying and said no. That would be because be because kids recall very little until after the age of three unless it’s a big trauma, and we were past the snacking stage by the time he would have been old enough to make sense of it or remember.</p>
<p>I remember years ago seeing a mother and her two teenage daughters enter the grocery store and make a beeline for the donut case. They each chose a donut and ate it standing in front of the case. It was rather fascinating to watch. When they finished, they appeared to just exit the store. I could not believe my eyes.</p>
<p>At another specialty market there are bins of candies that you scoop yourself into little bags and then the cashier will weigh them when you check out. On one occasion I saw a man enter the store, head straight for the bin of jordan almonds and just pick a large handful out of the bin. He proceeded to just munch on them as he did his other shopping. By this time, I have to admit, I was kind of stalking him. LOL. He paid for his other purchases (he had eaten all of the candies) and THEN he circled back to the candy bin and got another handful of almonds and then exited the store. Unbelievable.</p>
<p>I don’t do it, and I have never let my kids eat/drink in the store. I rarely see folks eating in the store–when I do, I think it is low class. (I’m not talking about free samples or in-store cafes.) My kids have, at times, asked if they could open something out of the cart–especially when they’ve seen someone else eating in the store. My answer has always been, “No. You have to PAY for it FIRST.” Even if people intend to pay later, eating in the store isn’t a good idea because it raises suspicion that they MIGHT be stealing something. I wouldn’t want there to be any question about my/my kids’ intentions/honesty. Even one bite is stealing. What if everyone took “just one bite?”</p>
<p>If they paid for it, there would be no problem. It’s not stealing if you pay for it. I intend to seek out the managers of the stores I shop at this week and ask how the store views this – explaining this debate on the Internet. It is possible that a manager will say that they prefer if customers wait and I can respect that. But I cannot believe any manager will refer to it as stealing if a customer pays for what they ate. </p>
<p>POIH, honestly, I don’t need a lesson. My entire life I have been the kid and the adult who did the right thing, who never got into trouble, who figured out what the rules were and made sure to abide by them. I have never intentionally stolen anything in my life. If I am undercharged or even think I have been, I point it out. My conscience is completely clear on the point of grocery-shopping habits. If I am ever called to make a list of my failings as a parent and/or a human being, it will not even be a consideration to put such a thing on the list.</p>
<p>So if I take a candy bar and walk out with it is it not stealing as long as I intend to pay for it later? If it’s okay to walk off with something in the store as long as I intend to pay for it, why not?</p>
<p>For the same reason as you can’t eat dinner at a restaurant and walk out without paying. Once you leave the store with things that you did not pay for, it’s stealing. While you are in the store you are shopping. Then you make the purchase. Then you go home. When you make the purchase, you have to pay for everything you are buying whether opened or not. I suppose if you disclosed to the store that you are leaving with the candy bar and coming back with the money and they say “okay” then it’s okay. </p>
<p>I think this conversation is getting silly. Obviously, there is a difference. A quick google tells me that many message boards have debated this topic just like this. It seems to me that the best policy is to find out what your own market is comfortable with. Ask the manager and then abide by their house rules, observe what is acceptable in your own neck of the woods and follow your conscience.</p>
I do try to eat & have my family eat before we shop–keeps impulse & unhealthy purchases way down!</p>