You have got to be kidding me!!

[Farmerboy16]

I was getting 4 cases of can corn and beans from a store, for my parent's store, and was using the self-checkout. I was having issues with it, and had some help, then process the canned goods, then dropped them off at my parent's store. Went home, and a hour or so, I was taking things out of my jacket pocket, and found the dollar bills that my mom had given me to pay for the canned goods. I went like ''Oh no, the police is going to get me.'' I drove back to the store right away, and the guy that helped me earlier, saw me and had a relieved look when I had given him the money and said '' I am very sorry.'' He said that most people would not have done that, and was very glad that I came back with the money. So, yeah, people can get distracted, forget to paid for them, and is willing to pay when reminded, but the Police and the store had overreacted on this.

 

[buffalogal]

You have two adults, one basket, one child, some food, and two wrappers from sandwiches they ate as they walked around the store. That is not a lot of stuff to have to keep up with.

When they emptied the grocery cart at the cash register to pay, how could they have missed seeing the wrappers? It's not like shopping baskets have hidden compartments. Even if a wrapper had ended up stuck to something else, it would have showed up when that item was scanned.

Wandering around the store eating and hiding the wrapper or empty bottle to avoid paying is an all too common form of shoplifting. Maybe that had something to do with why management said they were reviewing the security tapes, although they had already banned the couple from the store for a year.

Sniffly crocodile tears about how "stressful" it was aside, if this couple is so 'distracted' that they can't remember eating less than ten minutes before, it sounds like they might be too air headed to be responsible for a toddler - or a newborn.

 

[buffalogal]

Quote:
You know why don't you? It's because if he was in charge of the register, he is responsible for any shortage, meaning the few dollars you forgot to pay could have cost him his job.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

It looked just exactly like mine, I thought it was mine, so I picked it up and took it home. It was several days before I had occasion to open it and discover it was NOT mine.

*Snort* I did that with a sweatshirt once. I had a plain grey sweatshirt I brought to work during the winter. At the end of the day, I grabbed a grey sweatshirt and threw it in the back of my car. Left early from work that day for a doc appointment. Next day, my boss sheepishly comes up to me and asks, "have you, erm, seen Bob's sweatshirt?" Instant "oh crud" moment. I asked if it was grey, and realized immediately what had happened. Poor guy had his wallet AND car keys in the pocket, and had to have his dad come pick him up since I had taken it home with me early. I probably apologized for a month on that one. Good thing my boss is an awesome, unassuming person. Apparently I was on camera, marching out with the sweatshirt in tow too. X) Stealing items is a genuine concern at my workplace too, and has been very purposefully done before.​

 

[punk-a-doodle]

You know why don't you? It's because if he was in charge of the register, he is responsible for any shortage, meaning the few dollars you forgot to pay could have cost him his job.

Yep, which is another overreaction to me in many cases, and an unfair way to treat employees (It's a bum system when honest mistakes equal irrationally large penalties...especially in a society when purposeful and far-reaching mistakes can mean absolutely no penalty if you have a certain amount of money/power/publicity). Especially when there are cameras trained on every cashier these days. I certainly wouldn't feel like I was in the wrong for accidentally taking cans home with me (and going back to fix the mistake) and having an employee fired due to it. It would be the manager who would be getting an earful from me, and who would not be receiving any future business.​

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
This is just wrong. Until you have paid for the item, it is not yours.

 

[maclady]

I think this could have been handled better & realize that in todays world shoplifting is a serious problem. One--no one should ever eat/drink anything without paying for it first. Two--mistakes happen in honestly just forgetting to pay It has happened to me a Lowes when there was so much stuff in the basket that a small item wasn't checked at the register. I went back in to pay for it but you should have seen the peoples face at customer service. Shocked is an understatement. I have also done it at the grocery store but never made it out of the store without realizing I didn't pay for something. Usually because I am checking the receipt over as I walk out.

 

[SillyChicken]

I think it could have been handled with a little more common sence.

I usually grab a pop when I go to the store, but I go and pay for it before I drink it.... cause until I pay for it, it's not mine to drink.

One time we went to the gas station, I walked over to the bank next door to do a transaction and walked back, asked my DH if he wanted anything and went inside to get something to drink. He never told me that he didn't pay at the pump prior to pumping (which is what we always do). So needless to say, I didn't know and I didn't pay for the gas inside. We left! A couple hr's later my DH asked if I paid for the gas, and I said no, I didn't know I had to............so we went back to the station to pay for it. How the station handled it from there was their choice. They were looking at the tapes when my DH went into the store (I wasn't going to do it since it was his stupid lack of communication ability that caused the propblem). Anyway we paid and left. We still go there for gas without any issues.

I think in the stores case they could have been more lenient.. but who knows, that may have been the 5th shoplifing they had that day and the manager was fed up.

 

[SillyChicken]

Quote:
LOL, I bet, I worked at a Lowes for 4 years....... you'd be amazed with what and how people will steal... like Carts full of tools, hammers shoved down the crack of a guys...yeah... so for someone to be honest...it's mind blowing!

 

[justbugged]

Quote:
This is just wrong. Until you have paid for the item, it is not yours.

This has been my policy for all of the years I have been married.(almost 30 years) I can recall many yeas ago checking out at a grocery store, only to find that I was out of checks. If I had eaten something in the store, I would have been stealing because I would not have been able to pay for it. So no matter what nothing is ever eaten before it's paid for at my house.