Eating while you shop?

This article got me thinking a bit. How many people have ever ate or drank something in a store while shopping?

http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/news/5048978-418/jury-acquits-man-of-stealing-99-cent-hot-dog.html

Its somewhat of a trip that the store took this dude to court with a jury. Wondering if there is more to the story then in the newspaper read.

Cbot wrote:This article got me thinking a bit. How many people have ever ate or drank something in a store while shopping?

http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/news/5048978-418/jury-acquits-man-of-stealing-99-cent-hot-dog.html

Its somewhat of a trip that the store took this dude to court with a jury. Wondering if there is more to the story then in the newspaper read.

The issue is really who ate or drank something in a store while shopping and without paying. The only time it seems legitimate to open food you haven't purchased is if you have a child who's crying and needs some grub to pacify him or her before you get to the register. Otherwise, stuffing one's face in the grocery aisles seems barbaric and perhaps, technically, illegal.

It's possible that this kind of random eating of unpurchased food is a problem for this particular store, but it does seem nutty to drag the guy before a judge.

I've cracked open a bottle of water once or twice on a blisteringly hot day while shopping, but I always present the empty bottle when I check out and tell them I drank it while shopping. I've never gotten any grief for this. Once just to be sure I told the service desk what I was going to do and they had no problem with it - could be it was just too much of a hassle to make a fuss over it.

David Hammond wrote:The issue is really who ate or drank something in a store while shopping and without paying. The only time it seems legitimate to open food you haven't purchased is if you have a child who's crying and needs some grub to pacify him or her before you get to the register. Otherwise, stuffing one's face in the grocery aisles seems barbaric and perhaps, technically, illegal.

It's possible that this kind of random eating of unpurchased food is a problem for this particular store, but it does seem nutty to drag the guy before a judge.

I have seen this going on in a number of places. People grab a dozen olives from the olive bar and finish it off before the register.

One family took an apple for each of their SIX kids. The apples were gone before the register.

Most grocery stores have a 3-4% margin so they need to be aggressive on these things.

The guy in the article probably has still not paid for the hot dog.

I don't do it often at all, but I do it whenever I feel like it, and I don't feel one bit "bad" about it. I always pay. I fail to see how it would be considered "barbaric." Of the few places I have done this, I was doing it because I was hungry, I fully intended to pay, and also because I was actually HOPING an employee would make the mistake of calling me out on it. One trip to the service desk with me yielding a credit card for them to look up my past purchases would lead to a quick apology, and perhaps a gratis soft drink to go with my bag of chips I was munching - trust me. The receipts would tally figures that would cause most to say, "what could you possibly buy here for that much?"

Illegal? Probably. Barbaric? I don't see it. If you (and no, not anyone in this thread specifically) saw me munching on a bag of chips in a store, and you gave me a look, I would walk right up to you and offer you some. If you were still snooty after that, and I had some extra time, I might follow you around, and just start opening and munching on other stuff specifically for you to see me. I would simply find it too hilarious to pass up an opportunity like that.

BTW- I'm NOT kidding.
And, again, I DO pay for everything. I've never had a cashier give me a "look" - they ring an empty bag of chips, candy bar wrapper, or an open cold 20 oz of diet 7up like normal - no questions, and always ask if I want it in a bag or if I just wanna take it "as is."

Barbaric?

Re: Barbaric.

This is entirely a perception issue, but when I see a person ambling along streets or grocery aisles, eating as they go, not taking the time to sit at a table like a person, I see "animal." This is not in any sense a criticism of anyone in this thread; I'm just relating some of the less scary images that go through my head every day.

FWIW, my dog always stops and settles somewhere before he eats. If he has acquired "food" along his path, he simply keeps it in his mouth without munching until he finds a spot he deems appropriate.

seebee wrote:I don't do it often at all, but I do it whenever I feel like it, and I don't feel one bit "bad" about it. I always pay. I fail to see how it would be considered "barbaric." Of the few places I have done this, I was doing it because I was hungry, I fully intended to pay, and also because I was actually HOPING an employee would make the mistake of calling me out on it. One trip to the service desk with me yielding a credit card for them to look up my past purchases would lead to a quick apology, and perhaps a gratis soft drink to go with my bag of chips I was munching - trust me.

I have to admit, this really bugs me. While I wouldn't go so far as to call it'barbaric', I do think it's gauche. Moreover, to hope that an employee would call you out on it sounds like you're spoiling for a fight, looking for an opportunity to throw your weight around versus a worker making a fraction of what you do, whose only crime is trying to protect the business he works at.

If you do it so seldomly, the question is, why? You obviously recognize that there's a social norm that you're violating; why do you feel entitled to break it, and chew out a minimum-wage employee for trying to enforce it?

David Hammond wrote:This is entirely a perception issue, but when I see a person ambling along streets or grocery aisles, eating as they go, not taking the time to sit at a table like a person, I see "animal."

+.5

(.5, because I don't see anything that wrong with eating while ambling along streets, but agree with you completely about eating in grocery aisles.)

Independent George wrote:I have to admit, this really bugs me. While I wouldn't go so far as to call it'barbaric', I do think it's gauche. Moreover, to hope that an employee would call you out on it sounds like you're spoiling for a fight, looking for an opportunity to throw your weight around versus a worker making a fraction of what you do, whose only crime is trying to protect the business he works at.

If you do it so seldomly, the question is, why? You obviously recognize that there's a social norm that you're violating; why do you feel entitled to break it, and chew out a minimum-wage employee for trying to enforce it?

I can see how you might think that of what I wrote, but it's not what I was trying to convey. Looking for an opportunity to throw my weight around or spoiling for a fight is a little more harsh than I would put it, since I am a very calm and collected person. There would be no fight. There would be no yelling. I would have no ill feelings towards the employee. (I've been a minimum wager before, as have plenty of ppl. I've also been in situations where supposed big shots try to throw their weight around by being loud. Usually, the more loud someone is about being a big shot - the smaller of "shot" they actually are. The more wealth I amass, the lower key I am about it. If I was the employee in this situation, I'd simply notify someone, and maybe keep an eye out to make sure the shopper paid for the item.)

To answer the question of "why:"
You have imposed your perception of "gauche" onto me. The reason of why I do it so seldom is FAR more simple than "me knowing it's wrong:" I simply don't snack or eat candy very often, and my father gave me some very good advice - don't ever go to the grocery store when you're hungry. As far as me chewing out some minimum wage employee - maybe my writing was misleading. I'd never do that. Not in a zillion years. It makes no sense. If there were to be some issue with an employee giving me grief, I would however, ask a manager to come to the service desk, and ask the service desk people to check my CC for purchases in the last year (I know for a fact they can do this.) I would not need to say anything after that. The employee who made a stink would be doing the right thing, and I would have no issue with THEM at all, but I would be permitted to go back to what I was doing. And again, I would have every intention of paying for the item.

I don't get why it is perceived as "gauche." Can you explain why it is gauche to you? I'm not trying to create a battle or have some bad feelings here - honestly - nothing like that. I'd just like you to explain it from your perspective - not using the "social norm" tag. I'd like to know why it's gauche specifically to you, and you only.

David Hammond wrote:Re: Barbaric.

This is entirely a perception issue, but when I see a person ambling along streets or grocery aisles, eating as they go, not taking the time to sit at a table like a person, I see "animal." This is not in any sense a criticism of anyone in this thread; I'm just relating some of the less scary images that go through my head every day.

Is the table the line that distinguishes animal from person?
Baseball game
Movie theater
turkey leg at a state fair
Street festivals
Concerts
Free samples on Saturdays at Whole Foods
Been to a Costco on the weekends? You can eat an entire full on meal in the aisles, and they encourage you to do so.
Drinks included in this?

seebee wrote: I simply don't snack or eat candy very often, and my father gave me some very good advice - don't ever go to the grocery store when you're hungry.

I think the implication there is to eat before you go, not while you're there.

Anyway...

Obviously there's a tremendous number of people (animals?) out there who are walking around while eating. There's a whole reality show built around the concept.

riddlemay wrote:

David Hammond wrote:This is entirely a perception issue, but when I see a person ambling along streets or grocery aisles, eating as they go, not taking the time to sit at a table like a person, I see "animal."

+.5

(.5, because I don't see anything that wrong with eating while ambling along streets, but agree with you completely about eating in grocery aisles.)

Problem I have yet to get around: food trucks. When I buy from them, I go next to a building, look for a ledge and eat off of that. It's what makes us human. I think.

Or maybe, sometimes, it's just fun to go animal.

David Hammond wrote:

Cbot wrote:This article got me thinking a bit. How many people have ever ate or drank something in a store while shopping?

http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/news/5048978-418/jury-acquits-man-of-stealing-99-cent-hot-dog.html

Its somewhat of a trip that the store took this dude to court with a jury. Wondering if there is more to the story then in the newspaper read.

The issue is really who ate or drank something in a store while shopping and without paying. The only time it seems legitimate to open food you haven't purchased is if you have a child who's crying and needs some grub to pacify him or her before you get to the register. Otherwise, stuffing one's face in the grocery aisles seems barbaric and perhaps, technically, illegal.

My sister and I were taught never to eat anything at a grocery store before paying. I don't think Mama happy_stomach ever said it was like stealing, but however she did explain it, we took away that it was a very bad thing to do. I guess more uncouth is what she meant. I still can't bring myself to open anything in a store, even when it would really serve me to, as someone prone to very fast, very ugly hypoglycemic meltdowns. I have cried occasionally, but--I'd like to think--more quietly than a child. (More often I just have to sit down immediately, which sometimes means sitting on the floor in a store aisle.)

My problem is that I usually have snacks on me in case I do have a meltdown, but often I'm worried about eating my own food in a grocery store in case someone were to think that I was stealing food. Thanks, Mom.

happy_stomach wrote:I still can't bring myself to open anything in a store, ...

I guess certain things are just too hard to resist though.

Kennyz wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:I still can't bring myself to open anything in a store, ...

I guess certain things are just too hard to resist though.

My friend's a bad influence.

Kennyz wrote:FWIW, my dog always stops and settles somewhere before he eats. If he has acquired "food" along his path, he simply keeps it in his mouth without munching until he finds a spot he deems appropriate.

I forgot to mention-- have your read JR Ackerley's My Dog Tulip? (I don't know how the recent animated film measures up.) Ackerley makes a fine case for the ways in which dogs are much more civilized than humans, including eating habits.

jesteinf wrote:Obviously there's a tremendous number of people (animals?) out there who are walking around while eating. There's a whole reality show built around the concept.

LMAO!

I've occasionally eaten while I've shopped because I've always felt that as long as I'm going to pay for what I've eaten, it's ok (that means, I wouldn't eat anything that needs to be weighed, etc.). That's how I comport myself and I've never run into any resistance or conflicts over it. If an employee ever confronted me about it, I'd simply apologize and ask how I could immediately remedy the situation. It's not my store, so I don't set the rules. The right to eat something in a store before paying for it is not protected, as far as I know.

I don't really see this as a moral or ethical issue, though. It's simply a matter of logistics.

=R=

Kennyz wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:I still can't bring myself to open anything in a store, ...

I guess certain things are just too hard to resist though.

Now that Kenny has resurrected this post, I realize you never received an answer to your question--maybe this bump will help sort out the mystery of the "sac"

My wife frequently grabs a bottle of water or Diet Coke in the store and it annoys the bejeezus out of me (I'm the designated rule-abider in the family). We always pay for it, but it still makes me crazy that she can't wait (and having grown up without cup holders or beverages in the car I'm still perplexed as to why beverages are necessary on a 15-30 minute outing, but that's for another disgruntled post....)

happy_stomach wrote:My sister and I were taught never to eat anything at a grocery store before paying. I don't think Mama happy_stomach ever said it was like stealing, but however she did explain it, we took away that it was a very bad thing to do. I guess more uncouth is what she meant.

The question has been asked, why is eating in grocery aisles gauche, or uncouth, or barbaric, and after thinking about it for five minutes, I think I know the answer. It's the same reason eating food in your seat while attending legitimate theater is barbaric (no matter that theaters now permit and sadly encourage it for the sake of a buck). It demands the question, "Seriously? You're that hungry that you can't go the next hour without eating?" It betrays a lack of control over impulse, a triumph of immediate gratification over all else that suggests the infantile.

Really?
Eating at a live performance diminishes fellow audience members experience because it's distracting.
Grocery shopping is not quite such an immersive experience, at least for me.
One reason I can think of is that I don't want someones Cheeto-y fingerprints all over the groceries I'm going to buy.

riddlemay wrote:It demands the question, "Seriously? You're that hungry that you can't go the next hour without eating?" It betrays a lack of control over impulse, a triumph of immediate gratification over all else that suggests the infantile.

The only thing I can ever remember (partially) consuming in a store before paying is a bottle of water. I'm loathe to pay for water (I filter), but occasionally I find myself out on extended errands without my Sigg bottle when a sinus/dry mouth condition kicks in. I'm miserable when this happens, but it's easily alleviated with a few sips of water. If I can find a drinking fountain, I'm happy, but if I can't, I'll crack open a water in the aisles and--yes--I'll pay for it. So, personally, it has nothing to do with being that hungry or lacking impulse control & everything to do with, "I could go home & skip this errand, or I could just sip some water at the store & get all of my errands done in one trip."

I often see people eating or drinking things while in stores. While I have no objections to the Mom who cracks open a bag of Goldfish to pacify a young kid, I so get annoyed by the people who are munching on the by-the-pound items, since we all pay for food they're essentially stealing. There are other times when I see people eating things--the hot dog guy would fall into this category--where I get the impression they hope to conveniently forget to tell the cashier about what they ate while in the store. So in this original example, I'd vote guilty.

riddlemay wrote:It demands the question, "Seriously? You're that hungry that you can't go the next hour without eating?" It betrays a lack of control over impulse, a triumph of immediate gratification over all else that suggests the infantile.

LOL, guilty as charged. I also leave the seat up.

=R=

I also think it's a generally a good idea to eat before you go shopping, otherwise you wind up with about 50 gallons of ice cream at the bottom of your shopping cart.

Independent George wrote:I also think it's a generally a good idea to eat before you go shopping, otherwise you wind up with about 50 gallons of ice cream at the bottom of your shopping cart.

My ice cream usually is on the top of the cart because I hit the freezer section last.

I don't open packages of food while I'm in the grocery store but I don't think there's anything wrong with it if people pay for it. If I was thirsty, I would have no problem opening up a container of a water and putting the empty in my cart to show the cashier. I generally try to grocery shop 'full' to cut down on extraneous purchases. I guess I feel like the stores can police that behavior if they don't like it--it doesn't affect me in the least. How is it any different than eating a sample left out by a grocery store? Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Paulina Market, City Provisions and many other stores have samples and I happily munch away. Should customers find a ledge or a picnic table to consume samples? And some stores (e.g. Whole Foods--coffee bar) are set up specifically so you can buy food and drink to consume while you shop.

I'm pretty sure Fresh Farms has carts with cup holders, and that fresh juice stand is right in front. I can't remember - I think Dominick's and Whole Foods have carts like that too.

I have opened things in the store, but rarely, and most often it's water or a sodie. I don't eat usually because I tell myself I can wait until I get back to work an hour later and I wouldn't want someone else's spit-tinged fingers on the merchandise, so I don't do it either.

boudreaulicious wrote:

Kennyz wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:I still can't bring myself to open anything in a store, ...

I guess certain things are just too hard to resist though.

Now that Kenny has resurrected this post, I realize you never received an answer to your question--maybe this bump will help sort out the mystery of the "sac"

I'd like to know that too!

Another log on the fire > http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/apr/27/shawn-vestal-stolen-hot-dog-99-cents-baffled/
The story thickens, this was not a "hot dog" it was a German sausage. The police wrote in there report that the item taken was a “bronze” German sausage.

I don't eat while I shop. My Mama says...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UT3FFhqCnU...its a good idea to eat before you go shopping so your not all hungry while shopping and buy junk you don't really need. Also I try not to have many if any brewski's before i go shopping to.

Seebee where do you shop @?

Pie Lady wrote:I'm pretty sure Fresh Farms has carts with cup holders, and that fresh juice stand is right in front. I can't remember - I think Dominick's and Whole Foods have carts like that too.

I have opened things in the store, but rarely, and most often it's water or a sodie. I don't eat usually because I tell myself I can wait until I get back to work an hour later and I wouldn't want someone else's spit-tinged fingers on the merchandise, so I don't do it either.

Those juice stands/Starbucks require you to pay at the stand and then walk around. The cup holders are a convenience (my wife occasionally walks in with a beverage), not an invitation to consume as you shop.