<p>I don’t preach and so isn’t interested in giving anyone a lesson. I just pointed out that it’s ethically WRONG to eat before paying or recording the intent to pay.
With technology advancing we soon be able to check out the item from the shelf and it will be charge to your card instantaneously (Some one can grab that idea and make $$$).
That point you will be able to eat or throw it without any ethical question but till that point in my opinion it’s ethically wrong to open a bottle or a package or break a bread before paying at the register.</p>
<p>We do a lot of things without realizing that it’s unethical because we’ve seen it others (generally the parents) doing it.</p>
<p>That’s why we as parent shouldn’t do it so that the next generation won’t do it.</p>
<p>Those who pay wouldn’t be called thieves. My point is that, when they see people eating in the store, the staff/managers have no way of knowing who is going to pay and who is going to steal. They can’t follow everyone to the checkout. Anyone who is seen eating in the store could be suspected of stealing/intending to steal–even if they intended to pay. I’d rather not be a suspect. Eating in the store gives a bad example to others and makes people wonder about your integrity. True, if everyone paid, there would be no problem. But everyone doesn’t pay, and that makes it a problem. I don’t want to be part of the problem. (And I don’t want to look “low class”–which is the local opinion of eating in the store.) I do think managers would prefer that folks check out first. When customers eat in the store it just adds chaos, mess, anxiety, suspicion to their day. </p>
<p>When I say, “one bite. . .” I mean tasting fruit, eating candy out of a self- serve bin, etc. If everyone took one, the food would be gone, and the store wouldn’t get paid. It makes it harder to teach kids not to do this when they see adults taking bites.</p>
<p>Some people say to themselves, “What harm will it do if <em>I</em> eat in the store?”
I say to myself “What if EVERYONE ate in the store?” (IMO, it would be a mess.) Now, what if NOBODY ate in the store? Problem solved. Some folks think they should have special privileges that can’t be allowed to everyone. Why?</p>
<p>IMO this whole discussion is interesting, but in the end it will remain one of those topics where people have to agree to disagree. Re: the original topic – just because one person does/believes one thing doesn’t mean people who don’t do/believe that same thing are wrong or unethical. I don’t believe anyone on this thread is condoning stealing.</p>
<p>I don’t believe my eating in the supermarket for items I will ultimately pay for is unethical. If people are staring at me, I will conclude–not that people think I am low class–but that I am damn good looking!</p>
<p>Absolutely, mim. There are many important issues that can be discussed under the purview of ethical behavior. In my opinion, giving your child a snack while shopping isn’t one of them. Retail stores do have a problem with pilferage but it’s mainly through shoplifting. People who are the problem in grocery stores are taking things in a stealthy manner, putting them in bags, large pockets, inside their coats, and have no intention of ever paying for them. This is where the issue of stealing is applicable. The very small percentage of people who eat something in a grocery store and don’t pay for it, is negligible in the large scheme of things. </p>
<p>Not to continue this thread unneccessarily, but have you noticed that eating in public (outside of a restaurant) is a very American thing. It is very unusual to see Europeans eating while walking down the street, or in their cars, or in the grocery store. In fact, I almost never see Europeans eating on the street unless it is a street fair, or open air market - maybe ice cream. But I’ve never seen anyone eat in a store or a car. Maybe that’s part of the reason we’re so fat!</p>
<p>I was thinking about this while making my grocery list this morning and decided it really just depends on the store. Where I shop (Wegmans) I am treated as a guest, not a potential suspect. I know the produce guys and if I ask about the tartness of a new apple they will wash one and cut me a slice. There are not security cameras throughout the store (though the truffles are kept in a locked case ;)). I think people are actually thankful to have such a nice place to shop with great employees and they treat it with respect (rarely empty drink cups left on the shelves, etc.). If I want a bottle of juice while I am shopping there I feel comfortable having one and paying on the way out. When I shop at one of the other stores in town I might hesitate to open a bottle of water and drink it while I was shopping (though I would probably do it if I were thirsty). If I were shopping at an unknown store while on vacation I would not open the water (especially after reading this thread!).</p>
<p>Here’s a question for the ethicists out there. I am at Target. I have forgotten my reading glasses and I take a pair off the rack so I can read a vitamin label. Perhaps I use them to select a few other items. Am I obligated to buy them?</p>
Same for me. I find this thread very interesting. Those defending this practice–eating food you haven’t paid for yet–refer to it in such terms as giving your hungry child a snack, etc.</p>
<p>From a legal point of view, it seems to me that eating this food in a store before paying for it is, in fact, shoplifting. The store, however, can choose to allow this behavior, and it’s probably in their interest to do so, within reason. Indeed, they may not even confront the donut and almond eaters who don’t pay, because they don’t want to make a big scene unless the problem gets out of hand.</p>
<p>I guess what I would say is that you shouldn’t *assume *this is OK if you’re in a place you haven’t been before.</p>
<p>1moremom- Target eyeglass dilemma–completely ethical, unless you have taken off the tags. If any of my CC comrades disagree with this, including the staunch anti- eating- in- grocery store- people, then I give up.</p>
I totally agree with you about Wegmans! We live in a town with MANY supermarket options and I pass by at least half a dozen to shop at Wegmans. Their customer service is unsurpassed. I was at the prepared seafood counter, debating between two different kinds of shrimp. The guy behind the counter gave me one of each to sample before I bought. Yum…
Anyway - in the past I’ve opened a bottle of water (and once or twice a box of Kleenex that I really needed!) and used them in the store, but paid for the opened/empty pkg. at the register. It would never occur to me that this was a form of shoplifting! I had always felt that as long as I paid BEFORE exiting the store, it was fine. I have never been questioned, nor even looked at askance. Maybe it is a regional thing…???</p>
<p>Imo, not as long as you put them back on the rack in their original condition so that they can be sold. If you somehow break or scratch them, I think payment would be in order. Btw, I buy readers too and have noticed that some people seem to treat those racks as free replacements for their old ones…which they hang on the rack although they’re obviously chewed and scratched. Another “ewww” for me!</p>
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<p>I really don’t understand why it’s so hard to go thru the self-checkout or fast lane to pay for something they feel they have to open while in the store! If they came unprepared and starving, is it too much to ask that they take two minutes to pay for something? We are truly an instant gratification society…</p>
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<p>As you know, most stores have security systems at the doors now. So people are taking things out of the packages and then doing whatever they do with them…including consuming them in the stores (and not only food/drinks, but batteries are also big theft items because they’re small and easy to conceal). Maybe not a big loss per item, but they’re losing it on the sheer volume! </p>
<p>I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world to eat in stores and pay later, and certainly not a character flaw (though it still seems like a yucky thing to do, from a hygience standpoint…trust me, you don’t want to know what my poor S has had to remove from shopping carts)! But, as usual, the bad apples have cast a pall over it and are ruining it for all of the honest shoppers out there.</p>
<p>Several of our local stores have free cookies for the kids in the bakery area. You don’t have to ask…they are in a case that clearly say Free Children’s Cookies! The produce people will give free samples if you ask , as does the deli. I have asked at the bakery for a bagel and tell them I am going to eat it and they print up the price on the bag and smile. It happens around here and is not a big deal.</p>
<p>for those that think eating a few grapes is OK…simple question, what would happen even every single person who entered the store thought the same and ate a few grapes? The grape section would be wiped out. Sometimes if you exaggerate the situation, things become clearer. So basically those that do it the grapes are self-centered people who really don’t care about anyone else…apparently.</p>
<p>…and for heaven’s sake, teach your kids about having patience, they just might learn a valuable lesson early in life.</p>
<p>Then, they’d be sold out of grapes. I only eat one if I intend to buy. Once again, I don’t think people are eating them because they’re hungry. Gross!</p>
<p>I really don’t think many people are consuming items without paying, as you’d see evidence of discarded packages. I’ve only seen this once or twice. If it becomes an issue in the store, then yes, everyone becomes suspect.</p>
<p>There should be produce samples (Gelsons does this.) I never sample produce, but I’ve certainly brought home a lot of produce that turned out to be disappointing.</p>
<p>Supermarkets are thrilled that you are there. It is an intensely competitive business, but the most competitive part is getting you in the door and willing to spend time there. As many have pointed out, stores lose money to systematic shoplifters (for which, of course, they charge their other customers, but there are limits to how much the other customers will bear before finding somewhere else to shop). But people who eat things in the store and then pay for them on the way out are not shoplifters (legally or otherwise). Those are exactly the shoppers your grocer wants to have, and if they are in the store the store will do everything it can to make them comfortable and get them to slow down. Heck, the trend towards in-store cafes is only part high margins; it’s also part getting people not to rush through the store, so they buy more.</p>
<p>Bottom line, I would bet anything that, on the whole, this is profitable activity that the stores would like to encourage, and that they want people to feel comfortable about. Which, apparently, lots of people do. (Not I, but who cares?)</p>
<p>Whole Foods has a “kid’s snack” policy. If you ask nicely at the bakery, they will GIVE you a snack for your child (small children only). </p>
<p>I’ve also never had a produce manager refuse me a sample of fruit if I’ve asked. As in: “are the grapes sweet this week?” “Here, try this!” Same with the cheese-section managers. </p>
<p>I have eaten in grocery stores and then paid for it when I left my entire life. I grew up in Philadelphia (where my mother did it too) and have done it in Boston, the Bay Area, Seattle, and now Portland. It never occurred to me not to eat, once surrounded by food. Most of the grocery stores I go to also have samples on display. Many times I have tried a sample and then bought the product. (The Whole Foods cheese-jalapeno bread comes immediately to mind. That stuff is addictive. And I never would have tried it without the sample being there.)</p>
<p>A friend of mine is regularly hired by stores to be the sample lady. It’s a special kind of sales; you have to make the food appetizing, you have to be approachable, and you have to be able to close the sale.</p>
<p>I really think there is a difference between eating a store sample, and opening a food package you haven’t yet paid for and digging in. I’ll never forget standing in line behind a father with a small child. This guy had allowed the child to open a package of cheese and gnaw on it. When they got to the cashier, he took it from the child and gave this slimy mess to the cashier to scan. It was rude and revolting. I live in NJ and have always felt that eating store food you haven’t yet paid for is stealing. I guess I’m a regional outlier.</p>
