Make sure you check out the rest of the Coupon and Shopping Ethics posts that I have posted!
This could be a sticky question and I have a feeling that some of your answers are going to be based on where you live (urban or rural), how well you know the employees in your store, etc. But I thought it might be an interesting conversation....
Yesterday, Merissa shared a link with me about a couple arrested for forgetting to pay for sandwiches and asked what I thought about it. The "nutshell version"?
- A couple and their 3-year old daughter were grocery shopping. The pregnant wife started to feel light-headed so they grabbed some sandwiches from the self-serve deli. They ate the sandwiches while shopping, placed the wrappers in their cart (saying that they made no effort to conceal them) and continued shopping.
- They paid for their groceries, but for one reason or another, the wrappers didn't make it on the the belt at checkout and they didn't pay for them.
- They were confronted outside the store by 2 men who asked them to show their receipt that they paid for the sandwiches.
- The couple apologized, said it was an oversight and offered to pay for the 2 sandwiches ($5). Instead, the manager called the police, they were both arrested. Since both parents were arrested, their daughter was placed with CPS overnight.
Ok - I have a few things to say about this, and then I would love to hear your thoughts!
The fact that they ate a prepackaged item (as opposed to something like produce, where the final price is determined by weight at the cash register) doesn't bother me AT ALL. We have done this in the past (I have been known to grab a single serve soda halfway through my shopping trip, finish it while shopping and hand the empty bottle to the cashier to scan). In most jurisdictions, it is not the eating of the item while in the store that is stealing, but leaving the store without paying for it.
That being said.....
If, as they said, they made no effort to conceal the wrappers, I am having a hard time believing that they DIDN'T see the wrappers in the cart once all of their groceries were loaded on the to cart. I've been shopping with a 2-year old while pregnant (as well as a 5 and 3-year old while pregnant) and at no time was I struck suddenly blind that I wouldn't see wrappers in a cart that had been emptied of groceries. But maybe that is me.
and THAT being said....
Calling the police on the couple over $5 in sandwiches seems like overkill. And having both parents arrested over $5 in chicken salad sandwiches so that their child is taken by CPS and will now have a "CPS file" until she is 18 seems like Overkill-On-a-Freddy-Kreuger-level.
Like I said - I have done this. We have shopped at stores that sold pizza by the slice and Brad grabbed a slice, ate it while we were shopping, and handed the empty pizza box to the cashier. I have done the same with soda bottles. When the kids were younger and had more in-store meltdowns, I opened many many bags of Goldfish. Not ONCE did I forget to pay for them.
What do you think? Have you eaten prepackaged items (not items where you pay by weight) at the grocery store before paying for them? Why or Why Not?
And what do you think about the manager's reaction to this couple?
Heather Dellinger via Facebook
This is a peeve of mine. I hate seeing people walking around the store eating and drinking stuff. Leaving trash behind and NOT PAYING FOR WHAT THEY CONSUMED.
Tracy Harvey via Facebook
I have done it, and still do, frequently it is a soda or water, or a cup of popcorn chicken at walmart. Like you I give the empty container to the cashier, they ring it up and toss it into their garbage, no harm no fowl. I think the reaction of the store was completely ridiculous and WAY over the top! However, where I think I may disagree with you is whether or not they forgot or didn't see the packaging. With a 3 year old (who was likely in the front of the cart) it is very easy for an empty package to end up on the floor lost in the store somewhere.
Jo Chatterton via Facebook
I have done that when the girls were toddlers. I'd get a bag of chips and we'd ring the bag through. Same when I was feeling really sick, I got a bottle of water to drink from the shelf, kept it in sight in the cart with the other groceries and rang it through.
Felicia Powers via Facebook
I go through the register and purchase before I open anything. Sometimes that means I stop shopping to run through the checkout to buy a cup of fruit from the salad bar, a bag of goldfish or a banana from produce. I tell my son that we can't eat the food until we pay for it.
Bethany
UM...I do this EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I go to the store. (but I always pay for the item.)
Occasionally the cashier looks at me like, "uh...do you know this is open? and there are Oreo crumbs all over your two-year-old's face" but only rarely do they say something. The only time I can actually remember them saying anything is just recently, I needed some "emergency pacifiers" got a pack of two, took one out and handed one to my screaming baby, and put the package of one with an empty slot on the register. All the cashier said was, "do you know this only has 1 inside? It's supposed to have two." But I take that as her just looking out for me. I just explained that I needed it.
I can totally see how they forgot to pay. Plus the fact that they offered to pay shows me that they really were forgetting. If they truly wanted to "steal" some sandwiches, they'd go in, sneakily...eat the sandwiches and probably leave without actually paying for other stuff. Plus the fact that they had their kid with them seals the deal....the manager was probably annoyed at whatever "tantrum" the kid was having and just mad at the couple...and the parents were probably stressed from said tantrum and were just hurrying like mad to finish their shopping and get out of there to put their kid down for a nap. Been there...I try to never take my kids with me because it's inevitable that they'll scream the whole time.
One time I saw a lady feeding their kids yogurt in the store...I was impressed. (no spoons, mind you.) I was like, "wow....that is risky with the mess and all" and she just showed me her opened wipes and said, "well, I have these, too." You do what you gotta do with kids.
Manager needs to chill. A simple, "hey, you forgot to pay for those, lets go ahead and do that now" would have sufficed.
Yvette
"Plus the fact that they offered to pay shows me that they really were forgetting."
Not that I don't think they forgot, but offering to pay doesn't make me think so. At my last job I've had people offer to pay after they were caught stuffing packages of meat in their pants half-way out the door. Not that they went to this extreme here and I can believe that they forgot, but I've had more than a few obvious thieves offer to pay once caught.
"If they truly wanted to “steal” some sandwiches, they’d go in, sneakily…eat the sandwiches and probably leave without actually paying for other stuff."
I've also had people steal things and pay for others. *shrugs*
Denise
I've been shopping with3 kids and one of my children wanted to eat a yogurt. I stopped at the nearest cash register and paid for it before I would let her eat it then gave the receipt to the front checkout. I don't see how two adults shopping had that oversight. I don't care what the cost of the sandwiches what they did was wrong. Hope their child learns from their mistake. It's sad that they were arrested, they should have been able to just pay for their sandwiches. Maybe the store has high shoplifting numbers.
dpark
Indeed, ALL stores have high shoplifting numbers...and we all pay for it in the price of our groceries, therefore, the management SHOULD be aggressively pursuing shoplifters. I work in a grocery store and I am appalled by this story. Not because the consequences the couple faced, but that the media, and the general public has made the store back down. People should never, ever eat before purchasing and if they do, the responsibility is on them to make double certain they pay. And if you eat without first paying, in front of your children, or allow them to do the same, you are setting them up for trouble later on. The general public seems to have developed a lackadaisical attitude about grocery shopping and honesty. IF YOU HAVE NOT PAID FOR IT, IT IS NOT YOURS! Stop teaching your kids to steal, because it IS theft. The grocery store management knows that some folks are not intending to steal and does not want to lose good customers and so they let you do it. But it is NOT ok. It makes it so much harder for employees. We actually have to waste time trying to make sure someone is going to pay for something. We have no way to tell who is stealing and who is going to pay. And we are the ones who find all the wrappers and beverage bottles, etc. empty and laying in odd places on the shelves where the dishonest ones left them lay. So in order to accommodate the "honest" customers who intend to pay, we are less able to track the dishonest ones. It is very expensive to deal with the legal costs of shoplifting as well as the actual loss of product. And all of that cost gets figured into overhead. You pay more for your groceries and so do the good customers who don't feel entitled to consume something they haven't paid for. LET ME PUT IT THIS WAY, IF YOU WERE THE OWNER OF A CANDY STORE AND A FAMILY CAME IN OFF THE STREET AND JUST STARTED MUNCHING AWAY WHILE THEY WERE SHOPPING, AND A FEW KIDS CAME IN OFF THE STREET AND CAME IN AND DID THE SAME, WOULD YOU BE O.K. WITH THAT? How many and how much would you be willing to tolerate if it were your property and your livelihood? Just a thought.
Noel Brabson Lenhart via Facebook
I don't do it and I consider it stealing to do so as do the stores in my area. Like Heather I have seen people leave their trash and half eaten food lying around the store. However, I do think the manager's reaction was a bit much.
Alice Dubonn-Burson via Facebook
I've never done it. If we need an emergency snack we head to the coffee shop or snack place in the store since everyone around here has one of those. We buy what we need and then continue shopping.
Pamela Nelson via Facebook
I've done it, only 1 or 2x. I try to go pay first if I can. I think their reaction was way over the top -- but, maybe we aren't getting the full context of the story either. What a nightmare for them & their child over $5.
Jo Hanson via Facebook
The worst is when you see people eat things like grapes right there in the store...they haven't been WASHED!!!!
Jo Chatterton via Facebook
To eat stuff that has to be weighed to buy is horrible. But, I pay for each and every thing. I haven't had to in a long time, but I won't feel bad for it since I am not stealing it and not once has a cashier given me the stinky eye. My kids as toddlers always knew to hand it to the cashier from their cart seat 🙂
Moms Need To Know via Facebook
I look at it this way....
I have done this. When we have finished the product before we were done shopping, it's always in the back of my mind..."Gotta pay for this"
If it was just the pregnant mom and her 3-year old, I might be able to give her a pass that she forgot. "Pregnant Brain" can get to the sharpest of us.
But she was shopping with her (assumingly) non-pregnant husband. They live in hawaii where the cost of living is much higher. They only had $50 in groceries. It's not like they were in the stores for hours that it slipped their mind.
So I guess my opinion is: they were probably trying to "get away with it", but the reaction of the manager/police/CPS was WAY over the top!
Alexis
It sounds over the top, but there is usually more to a story when it doesn't sound right. Chances are, this couple has a record. That's my guess. Maybe it's not the first time they have stolen from this or other stores.
Melissa McK
I do this a lot when shopping with my kids but unless somehow they had like a bag (sometimes we carry back pack even with my 3 & 4 year old for snacks, drinks, or extra clothes. You just never know!) covering it??? Who knows. I think the store over reacted when you look at the situation as a whole. But they might have a policy of no tolerance so perhaps they HAD to? I do think the idea of running to a register to pay for a snack in the middle of shopping is a bit over the top. Perhaps that's because where I shop there is no nearest register, LOL! It's go all the way back to the front of the store and wait in line, pay, then go back to whatever you are doing in the store. I guess that's just me. I would never do that if I wasn't sure if I had the money. That I have seen in a store. Never a good scene.
Elizabeth Hilderbrand VonWaldner via Facebook
I have consummed pre-packaged items and sodas while shopping as well and do not think it is a big deal. I totally agree with you that the couple had to see the wrappers in the buggy once things were all out. The manager did majorly over react though!
Wendy
Oh yeah, I'm not afraid to open something and eat or drink it while I'm in the store, as long as it's not something that's sold by weight. And when I had a 3-year-old, I could totally have not seen the wrappers somewhere. I carry a huge purse anyway, and have had stuff end up stuck under it in the process of putting things in the cart, moving things around to make room in the cart... and then I get out to my car, put the groceries in, pick up my purse up and end up cranky because I have to go back and pay for something else. And when I had a toddler I also had a bag for them, so now I'm pregnant (which seemed to make me less with-it than usual) I have my purse, a toddler, their bag, and if my husband is there too - good grief, now we're in total chaos! Because, as disorganized as I can be, I do have a plan & I can guarantee you that it's shot to pieces the second my hubby walks in the store with me! And, although my cart may be empty of groceries, it's still not empty LOL So, I'm happy for those of you who have never made it out of the store without paying for something, but trust me, some of us just don't have it that together! 🙂
And unless they've had a problem with this particular couple before, I think refusing to let them pay was just ridiculous. Especially since their daughter had to spend the night in CPS. Many of us do actually have memories of traumatic events as early as 3 years old, and this definitely has the potential to qualify as traumatic.
dpark
You are incredible. You are an admitted thief and you think it's ok? Got news for you lady, it is illegal. Not simply to forgo paying but to consume it first or feed it to your kids. And shoplifters always either say I will pay for it, or I didn't have the money. Neither is o.k., and no, the store should not have let them pay for it after, because it's not the policy to let the ones that get caught pay up and go on their merry way. Stealing in stores costs consumers a fortune. It costs money that could be spent paying employees more or giving more hours. It is not harmless. It is shameful that you are teaching your children to steal. Honestly, I hope you get busted. Your chaos and disorganization are not an excuse to steal! But good luck with that. Maybe the judge will buy your excuse. I probably wouldn't go in their with that casual, oh yeah, I do it all the time kind of attitude. You need a course in values and morals too. Hope you are not raising kids in my neighborhood.
ME
OMG get over yourself! Not once did she say she didn't pay for something which is the definition of stealing. In fact she said that the few times there was an oversight she went back into the store to pay. I hope your own misplaced hate comes back to bite you one day.
Carrie
Well, you obviously don't have children! There were times when I had an infant in a car seat and a toddler, the car seat in the front of the cart. I got to my car and loaded up the baby only to find a pack of butter slid under the car seat. Yes, I put both kids back in the cart to go back and pay for that item. I have also found a container of pepper in the cart loose when I got to the car. When I got home checked my receipt to see if it just fell out of a bag. I couldn't find in on the receipt, so my next trip to the store I picked one up, had it scanned at the register, and told the cashier to keep it because somehow I didn't pay for it last time. That's being honest, not stealing. But I guess you are better than us?
Jessica Valk Claman via Facebook
I do it almost every.trip for my son, of course I pay for my items. I came thisclose to forgetting to pay for animal crackers last time because he was in fit mode. I could see it happening, I mean how big could the wrappers be? Either way, calling the cops and having them arrested is serious overkill like you said. Its sad to think how much that upset/traumatized that 3yr old when his/her parents wwre taken away and then he/she were sent with strangers. ... I dont see a problem with using something you need in store as long as you pay for it. Unfortunately, there are people who ruin it for honest people.
Amanda
Just the other day, my kids and I were shopping at Walmart and they wanted popcorn chicken from the deli. This happens just about everytime I go to Walmart. They ate the entire cup full of chicken by the time we got to the register. When I got to the register I was looking for the cup and asked my son where it was. He had thrown it away without thinking about the fact that we needed to pay for it. I told the cashier and she rang it up from another cup sitting in a warmer nearby. I am just glad we didn't forget about having the chicken in the first palce.
Sharon Stoudt
Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I say -- pay before you eat, just because sometimes we all forget or miss things. It's just a protective policy to keep for all parties involved.
Jennifer Jones- Bailey via Facebook
IMO as long as it's not weighed it's ok. I work in a store and many people think it's ok to eat off salad bar and not pay for it by either ditching container or putting it in their hands. Not cool at all!
Deann Tatum Nielsen via Facebook
I've never done it - I try very hard to instill to my daughter that we have to pay for things in the store before they become ours.
Joni
I used to this all the time when my kids were younger. I'd just save the wrapper and hand the wrapper to the cashier first thing when I got to the register. One time, I had put my 5 dozen eggs under my cart and totally forgot about them. When I got out to the car and saw them, I immediately went back into the store and paid for them. My 4 year old son was so worried that the police were going to come because I've told him if you take something from a store without paying, it is stealing, and the store calls the police. The cashier was very thankful and surprised that I was so honest.
kelliinkc
I have done this many times and not only for my kids! I have begun eating or drinking something while in store because I was very thirsty/hungry. Fortunately, I have never forgotten to pay for the item. I should also note that the cashiers have never given me a difficult time or told me such practice was unacceptable. I have done this in grocery stores, Wal-Mart and Target stores. I have always tried to place the item up front with my purse so that I will see it and remember it. I do think the manager's reaction was overkill and wonder to myself if he has any children.
celia
I have opened pre-packaged stuff in the store now that my son embraces tantrums with wide open arms. If a goldfish is gonna get me through the trip, then HECK YES I will be that Mom. Usually I am better prepared and bring a snack for him, but sometimes I forget. I have hypoglycemia ( and am pregnant too)and occasionally will get lightheaded if our trip takes too long, but I have never forgotten to pay for something I have opened for my son like that and I have never felt the need to open something in the store for myself. If it gets that bad I know I need to get home and so we check out, I grab some raisinettes and we go home. I have almost stolen balloons if you can believe that. Tied right to the cart and the cashier and I almost forget about them all the time. And it's tied to the cart and bobbing merrily in the air! So I suppose it is possible to forget to pay, though I have trouble believing you could forget feeling so lousy that you ate an ENTIRE SANDWICH.
Melissa
I don't really mind opening pre-packaged foods in the store if it keeps the 2 and 4 year olds happy, but then again, as far as I can remember, I've never forgotten to pay. Once though when my older son was a baby I was out at the mall in department stores looking for a bathing suit for him. I had hooked a couple outfits on the rail of the stroller that I was debating if I wanted. Ultimately I decided I didn't want them and left the store. Two hours (and about 5 stores later) I saw the clothes still hanging there when I went to put the stroller in the car....ended up putting my son back in and taking the clothes back to the store.
tarabu
I think the manager's reaction was ridiculous. I've also never done this - when shopping with various family members who need a snack NOW, I buy their snack first and then continue shopping. It used to be vaguely inconvenient to do so, but now with so many self-serve lanes it's just not a bother.
sara
I usually carry our snack as i always shop with my kid and husband . so if we need something to eat/drink one person will stay with the kid and cart and the other will buy that and meet. happy ending. At least they should have notified the cashier when checking out what actually has happened and might have resolved the issue in a better way.
JulieW8
Call me old-fashioned, but I have never grazed my way through a store and wouldn't even consider it. For one thing, you should never go to the store when you're hungry because it leads to impulse buying. Taking hungry/tired children to the store is even worse. If my children threw a tantrum in the store, they weren't rewarded for it with food or snacks. I've left the store without completing my shopping but never considered picking up a bag of chips or cookies and handing them to a child who was throwing a fit. I do think the store's reaction was over the top, but for heaven's sake - how long does it take to get through the grocery store and don't people plan ahead?
Steve
1) Clearly there is more to this story. If more details ever emerge that we catch wind of, I would not be surprised at ALL if they have a history of some sorts at this store. Just doesn't add up from the store's perspective to potentially generate such negative PR over $5. Also, could have just arrested one parent (the one who paid?) and let the other leave with the child, or let them call an aunt or neighbor or something just to be HUMANE about it. There's history here we don't know, there just has to be.
2) This kind of ties in to the above, but I've walked out of stores without paying for things. One time we had 3 "rugs" from Target's dollar spot on the shelf under the cart, kids were melting down, and we forgot them. Called the store from the (waaaay back of the) parking lot and asked if someone could meet us at the door to take my cash. Manager said just keep them. Tried to pay next time we went, CS looked like I had 3 heads and eventually told me forget it. So next time Target goofed my coupons by a coupon bucks, I let it go and called it even. Other times when checking a receipt at home because the math didn't add up and contacted the grocery store, they've either waved it off or let me pay on next trip. Never sent the cops to my house over it.
3) About a month ago my 3 1/2 yr old son put a t-shirt he really wanted but was too expensive in the stroller and we walked out of Children's Place. Found the shirt about 40 minutes later, took his "good behavior" snack away and marched him back to return the shirt personally and learn a lesson. He cried, felt badly, and still references it occasionally so I think the lesson sticks. Stories like this have me worried - can I not impart such simple action/consequence lessons on my young children for fear the cops might arrest him over a $12 shirt?
4) The Wegman's in my area have scales that you can weigh your own produce and it prints a sticker similar to the deli with the exact weight and price. So even loose things like grapes/bananas/etc can be used to quite a tantrum in some instances.
Judy Irish
I feel the whole thing went overboard, I eaten things in the store and given my children items when hungry or just trying to get through the store without children crying. I could not help to feel the trauma this poor little 3 year old went through shame on the store manager and the CPS for putting this poor little 3 year old through that she will feel for a life time.
tanyetta mckoy
If it were my store, I would have them pay for the items and ask them NOT to eat BEFORE paying for items in the future! I would NEVER want to see innocent children in CPS custody if it's avoidable. Shoot! Take them to court or anything but, come on now...jail time? Nah!
A
I have done this before and once I did forget to pay, realized it when I was putting my groceries in the trunk and my son & I went back into the store and paid for the item. the cashier looked at me like I was nuts, but I would have felt awful if I hadn't paid for the item, especially with my son there with me. If I have him with me when I buy meat or cheese from the deli, I usually ask the deli clerk if my son can have a piece of cheese before they close the package, and usually they just give it to us for free, so I suspect that most stores allow for a certain amount of loss. However, I agree with what others have posted, there must be more to this story. I have a friend who regularly puts things on the very bottom of their cart and then "forgets" to pay for it, large items like cases of soda, lamps from Target, etc. This couple also admitted to me that sometimes they carry their baby in a back pack carrier and give the child toys to play with in Target or Walmart and then also "forget" to pay for the toy. I have a feeling that the couple in this story are probably like the couple I know, the manager was probalby onto them and just waiting for some proof to bust them. With that being said, I think having them arrested was a little over the top, but we don't know the manager's side of the story. Could be that this type of thing happens a lot at this particular store and the manager wants to make an example of every person he catches. I can't say I blame him, if this is a small ma & pa store, they could be losing a ton of money.
Ruth
The reaction of the managers was not over the top because they have to deal with this stuff every single day. I bet in a single day, they lose a lot of money due to customers thinking that that if they eat something at the store, it is ok. I have seen a lot of half eaten stuff at store, empty candy wrappers shoved in the back of shelves. It is wrong and we, the honest consumer, pay for it. The other day at Giant, there was a women just eating candy in the bulk candy section of the store. She was there for about 20 minutes and had a small bag of candy in her cart which she continue eating as she shopped, I was disgusted.
In this case, if it was only the pregnant woman who ate the sandwich I would give her the benefit of the doubt but not both of them. At least one of the them would have remembered that they had to pay for the sandwiches. I never ate anything at a store even when I'm hungry because I think it is tacky. If I'm that hungry, I need to buy it, go eat it in the car and come back and shop. Somethings are just commom sense.
A lot of people "forget" to pay for stuff and since the cashier doesn't notice it, they justify it as being ok and some people think that they got away with something. A couple of times, I found an item that got stuck to the side of the cart and I went right in and paid for it. No, if you take something that doesn't belong to you, you are stealing it, there is no justification.
Jr
I don't like to do that .. eat with out paying. I've only done it maybe twice in "emergencies". I remember one day this summer I was so hot and hadn't had lunch yet and started to feel almost lightheaded so I grabbed a single serve orange juice to get me through. BC I feel somewhat uncomfortable doing this, I can't see how its possible to forget to pay for the item. Doing something out of my norm like that keeps the item in the forefront of my thoughts.
Debra
I've known someone who placed things next to their baby's car seat carrier that they had affixed to the top shopping cart section. When they placed items on the counter to pay they cleared out their shopping car, paid for their items and left the store. When they got to their car and lifted off their baby's car seat carrier, they then saw the unpaid items they had accidently overlooked on the other side of the carrier. Ooooppps!
Purple Box Jewelry
It's a grocery store, not a cafe, wait till you get home to eat.
Anita
I agree with Purple Box Jewelery! A grocery store is not a restaurant. The couple were in the wrong. Their mistake has made an impact on their child. They stole and it might have not been the first time. My mother always taught me that it is not mine unless I/parent/friend/date/husband/whoever pays for it. If it's not paid for, it is therefore theft. I have also instilled this to my child. This is why we always eat before going shopping.
I also agree, both parents should not have been arrested, just the one (mother) who violated store rules and the law. Many parents today lack courtesy and respect for things that don't belong to them. This is the society we are dealing with, today and in the future. People who only think about the now and not the future. Let's charge this with the credit card, let's lease a vehicle every two years. Pay with cash once in a while people. Patience is a virtue!!!
Renee
I've done it. Not myself, but if I had to take the kids to the store with me and they were being kids I will get a donut from the donut display. My oldest didn't make a trip through Wal-Mart without consuming a pint of blueberries until he was 3. I have on occasion forgotten to pay for the donuts, since they don't have packaging, but don't recall ever having forgotten to pay for something that left a wrapper or container behind. And as best I can recall, I did pay for any donuts at a later time, since I am at the grocery store at least 3 times a week.....I don't have a problem with it when kids are involved, but adults doing it is a bit much unless it's a diabetic episode or something.....but finding empty wrappers and containers and cans sitting around does annoy me. I also live in a small enough town that everyone working at the store is familiar with me at least by sight and knows I'll be back if I do forget something.
Renee
Also...if I am thinking of the same story, this couple was in the processing of moving to a new state, had been traveling all day long and it was dinnertime. I can see how if that was the case, she might be in a state that she needed to eat and maybe if she put the wrappers in the basked and set her bag on top of it, they could be forgotten, especially if her husband used his wallet to check out with. Oh...and If I remember correctly, she was the only one who ate and they did pay for ONE sandwich.....granted, I wonder how they forgot the eaten one if they put one on the counter, but they were tired, the kid was probably grouchy...perhaps the husband unloaded the cart while she tended to the child....it could happen. In any instance, putting the child in foster care for the night did nothing positive for anyone.
Laura
More than once I have needed to open an item in the store and consume PART of it while in the store -- either because I had a problem while pregnant and was light headed or had a sudden attack of nausea and needed something NOW or because I had a child that missed the timing and needed something to prevent being upset. However, have always made sure to not completely consume the item in the store so that it was still in the cart (and not just flimpsy wrappers). Most often, this has happened in a grocery store and the stores I shop most often have the scanners that you scan as you shop so I scan it and add it to my order before eating any of it.
I can't speak to the managers reaction because I wasn't there. I didn't see the surveillance video on how they acted and I didn't hear the conversation. It is possible that the manager over reacted, but on the other hand the couple may have been belligerent or clearly lying. I don't know. I do know that the truth of a situation is usually somewhere in the gray area and not a clear black and white.
Val
I've done this plenty of times, especially when my children were toddlers. I've placed a banana peel at checkout or any other packaging . I've also accidentally shoplifted when distracted by toddlers: left the store with sunglasses I was trying on on my head, a bag of dog food in the lower rack of the cart, etc. Never been arrested. Was there TV coverage of this? It's a good story!
Brenda
The best thing to do - if you ever find yourself in this uncomfortable situation - is to comply with any requests being made of you by store employees. Cooperation is the best strategy for making the situation settle quickly.
However, once settled, NEVER PATRONIZE THE SAME STORE AGAIN. Let them be the ones who suffer by losing business. Most stores have cards affixed to customer accounts; in order to issue coupons, etc. A store manager can easily check a customer card to see how much someone has spent in the store. Think about it: $200 per week for 52 weeks = $10,000 spent in any, grocery store annually. Multiply that by the number of years you'ved shopped in the store; 10 years = $100,000, etc. And then the store will stupidly "cut off its nose to spite its face" over a good customer fogetting to pay for something?
As I said, let the store be the one to suffer by losing your business. There's no monopoly on grocery stores.