I ran to the store today to grab some milk and cold cuts, and watched a man pop two olives in his mouth from the olive bar. My DD saw him as well, and said " Mommy, can I have one?" I told her no, that it is considered stealing to eat something without paying for it.

Got me thinking.

I think it is stealing to eat walnuts, olives, bananas, etc at the grocery.

I also think it's stealing to take napkins, straws, condiments, etc from FF places. Enough for your current purpose is fine, but I have seen people EMPTY sugar caddy's at sit down places. I also watched a woman put salt and pepper shakers in her bag at Applebees a few weeks ago.

To me, it's all stealing. What do you think??

Yes, of course it is stealing. The only thing I would do is take home small packets or napkins if I'd ended up with extra by miscalculating how much I would be using, since they would otherwise be thrown away.

Technically all of it is stealing. I know that there have ben times when i have had a crying or cranky small child with me who wanted a cracker or coookie before I paid for the box. In order to maintain my sanity, and to get my shopping done, I have on occasion opened the box to give the child a treat and then pay for the box when I go through the line. I have always tried to bring little treats with me anyway, but sometimes I have not, for various reasons. I think that it is stealing if you eat something that is priced by the pound like most produce and salad or other "bar" type items and bulk items. If we all scarfed a couple of items off of the salad bar, they would cost more per pound than they already do I hate it when people steal sugar, salt, etc. but I do sympathize with the poor and people on limited incomes, even if I do not agree with what they do Some restuarants keep packets of sugar behind the counter for that reason.

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I agree with you , it's stealing.

While i do agree its stealing i have to be honest with you i do try a grape before i buy them and there has been times i dont buy them if they are to sour but i only try one. i never ate a banana or gave my children food with out paying and i dont take what i dont need at a fast food place

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ITA..If you didn't pay for it and you're not offered a sample "it's stealing"...Far as napkins & condiments some employers go overboard handing these out..I ask for Ketchup & Salt and I swear they give me a huge handful each time.. when they hand me a large amount I take one out of their hands and say "thank you this is all I needed".

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Angels may not come when you call them, but they'll always be there when you need them.

I agree that you shouldn't take the banana, grapes, etc. and eat it before paying. Unless, like at Krogers, you can weigh ALL of the item and get the price sticker and then eat one and pay for all, including the one eaten. Like another poster, I've picked up a bottled water or box of crackers and let my kids (or myself) open it and eat/drink it but we always pay for it.
The condiments: I have many times ended up with too many ketchups, mustards, etc. Normally though it's at the drive thru and they've put way too many in my bag. I would never intentionally empty the sugar caddy or take the salt and pepper shaker.....if they can afford to eat out, can't they afford to buy a bag of sugar or box of salt? Why steal it? Just my opinion though.

ETA: I would never eat the grapes or apples, etc. anyway because I would HAVE to wash them first, LOL!

Stealing! I have given the screaming kids bananas before but did pay for it.

I just called my mom and was telling her this story. She said last year she took my grandma to costco with her on a shopping trip. My mom put a box of Sweet N Low in her cart, and my grandma said " You can BUY Sweet N Low??" My mom said she wanted to die right there. She said " Of Course Mom!" My grandma said " Oh, I just take it from Too-Jays ( Deli) when I go there." 86 years old and the woman never knew you could actually PURCHASE Sweet N Low.

I agree on the tasting the grape thing- I could NOT eat them without washing them- even for a taste. Blech. ( See my post on " Is your house clean. )

My child eats his way through the grocery store - it's the only way we get through it. BUT - we get the free cookie at the bakery, then they give him a piece of cheese at the deli. Then typically he opens a box of something but I pay for anything he opens! He did eat a banana once and I had them weigh one twice at the checkout.
I do think it's stealing to just take stuff. I also will take any extra napkins though - or they will throw them away (I hope!).

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Mom and Dad are die hard KFC buffet patrons. They have seen, on more than one occassion, people load up on chicken at the buffet, take the load back to their table and put it into ziploc bags.
And you wonder why buffets are so expensive!! Of course, that's a whole different thread to be started.

Well, call me a thief because I will not buy grapes unless I taste one. I use to not and would return the grapes once I got home and found they were not of quality. It was a waste of my time, gas and money to return them. I also know the risk of e. coli, etc. oh well

sandy

yes I believe it is stealing but since I have worked in the stores as a demonstrator for the last 3 yrs you see lots of people especially older people take things like 1 or 2 olives or whatever I just figure 1 of 2 things they dont know any better or they really really need something right now to eat for say diabetics or like myself I have super low blood pressure & sometimes if I dont eat something super sweet at that very second I will pass out & it has happened before but if I am in a store & get this feeling I will pick up a bag of candy prepacked & open it & take something out I pay at the register I got this way after I had my 2nd daughter I rarely open something in the store but sometimes I will but I always pay for it.

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mom of 3 greats girls

grapes are the ONLY thing I think is not stealing (but maybe that's because I do it). I can't buy grapes without checking for sourness as well. It's 7 miles back to the store if they are gross and that's a waste. For the record, I DID ask the manager of the store and was told it was okay. Maybe it's because I am a regular...I don't know.

I grew up living next to a senior citizen that went out for breakfast every Saturday. She took EVERYTHING off the table! I mean all the jelly, salt & pepper, silverware, napkins, sugar...everything. I always thought it was weird if you went over and all her stuff was restaurant stuff. Mom said it was because she was on a fixed income and *that generation* thought that anything on the table at a restaurant was part of the meal and free for the taking. I don't think mom was far off because it seems that a lot of local places that cater mostly to seniors DO NOT leave condiments on the table.

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Is it because grapes are small and easy to sample that makes them okay for people to eat in the store?

I know I frequently get home with apples and oranges that aren't as sweet as I would like, as well as cantalope, honeydew, and watermelons... and sweet corn... and tomatoes... and several other things. But it wouldn't occur to me to taste test those... kwim?

I think if I was worried about the grapes, I'd probably buy them, sample one in the car before we left, and run back in and ask for a refund if they weren't good. We buy grapes pretty frequently, and I think I've only gotten sour ones once, so I wouldn't feel right sampling what would've added up to several "free" bunches over the years to avoid that one icky bunch.

I do think it is stealing, I don't care for ketchup, but do like salt, it bugs me when I go through a drive through not to get even one napkin. When my 2 eldest were smaller I did if needed open a package in the store and let them snack and pay for it. My bf when I was a little girl, her mother would let her kids eat through the store and then put it back, and the irony of it all, her dad was a Winn Dixie Mgr. That is stealing. Really taking anything you have not paid for is stealing. I don't taste the grapes cause like Cici says you have to wash them first, so I never thought of doing that. I have had them weigh a banana twice at the checkout though.

I do believe most people are honest, and I really don't think that most people even give a thought to the extra they take, we are society of wastefulness and overexcess. It is being self indulgent or an entitlement mentality. It could also just be simply ignorance ( ignorance is a lack of knowledge ) in how small excess effect all businesses. I had a small business and we decided when we went to online selling not to add a .13 delivery confirmation to a package. This saved us $1300 last year, lost packages were just refunded, the cost of refunding was much less than the additional costs. When a business like McD's, decided they are loosing too many ketchup packages due to misuses of the product, they don't save a thousand $$ they save millions, and if a customers leaves because they don't get ketchup, guess what? The loss of the customer still does not compare to the savings. So they will take the loss.

I do believe that if you asked people personally if it was stealing they would say yes, however they just don't really "think" about it when they are doing it.

What about hotel toiletries? Do you consider taking them home as stealing?

cj/

Hotel toiletries? Not at all.

When you pay for the room, you are paying for those consumable items.

Obviously, it would be wrong to snag a handful from the maid's cart on your way out the door...

Well that depends on if you are living in a hotel or not....LOL okay maybe not everyone has lived in a hotel so that might not be funny. I still have hotel soap, as the hotel was closed to the public and going to auction. I did not however take the sheets or pillows or even a lamp. My girlfriend whose father happened to own the hotel did need 15K to put down on her farm and sold all the furniture in the place though.....really long long funny story.

I do not consider that stealing as those items are put there in the exact amount the hotel wants you to have for your personal use. If they are used or taken home it does not matter. The cost is factored in, however if you do go home with the towels, washclothes, bath mats and robes....well then that is stealing.
Most people travel with their own tolietries and I think those things are put there for convenience.

Stealing and should be persecuted to the fullest!!!!

Seriously, this is something that gets on my nerves so badly. You can always ask your produce staff for a sample to see abou the tast e of the item. I know that they say this at Publix.

Now for toiletries it is not stealing to put the ones that are in your room in your suitcase and then have them replenished each day. I have a friend who travels 5 days out the week and gets 5 days of tolitres (he donates all of them to our church's food pantry). He has asked about this and the staff told him that they must replenish the items each day and cannot use them. I do not know what chain he stays at but this is what he was told.

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Yes, I agree it is wrong.
I have watched people eat out of the bulk food section. They let their kids do it too!
They use their hands and snack on the nuts and candy. I never buy any of the bulk items unless they are wrapped items.

I have asked other people I see tasting if grapes if they are sweet?: I won't taste them till they are washed.

I saw a banana peel laying in a display box today at Kroger. Our produce is weighed at the register when you check out!

I dont know maybe it's just me, but taking something that isnt mine, that wasn't offered to me or that I wasnt about to pay for is stealing. I admit, I've gotten the bottled water and drank it and given the cashier an empty bottle to ring up lol

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I have OCCD
Obsessive-Compulsive Coupon Disorder!!!

We have a store here where you can buy things in bins. Who do you see reaching in the bins with their hands. Not the kid but older people. I saw one lady with a huge bag of macadamia nuts. She ate handfulls of them through the whole store. It's not bad enough that they are stealing but they are sticking their hand in the food that I might want to buy.

Oh man,

I have to be honest here. I travel a LOT for my company and I have an obsession with Hotel Toiletries..it is a bad one. lol I don't know why I have it, but I do. I love the shampoo's and lotions the most! When I stay at Marriotts, they usally either have BBW or Neutrogena toiletries. Oh my Goodness!

Yes, I can be seen passing by the maids cart on my way out and snagging a few extra for my overnight bag (but mainly for when I stay at places that don't have nice toiletries..like Fairfield or Comfort Inns/Sleep Inns). But most of the time I do ask the maid if I can have some extras..and most times they will load me up with them (soo cool). LOL
I am sure a darn bottle of each of these items wouldn't be much more than $6 each..but you know.. ... the small bottles are just so darn cute and handy!


I am SO guilty.

One woman I worked with, said she would take the packets of coffee that she didn't use and saved them for her camper for when her and her family went camping. She said it was perfect for their small coffee maker.

Ohhgodd- My husband works for the post office. When he goes to postal school in Norman, OK they have the neutrogena products. They are terrific. We die lauging how long an "empty" bottle of Neutrogena shampoo will last. The shampoo is fairly thick and clear so when you use the bottle it looks empty, whenyou come back a couple of hours later it is half full! Anyway, the olive thing- don't they have the toothpicks and little cups at your olive station? Dierbergs does and they expect that you will have a taste. And, I never buy bulk when the containers are the kind that one can stick a grubby paw into. I will buy from the ones the "dispense" the stuff into your bag.

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Lyn Clarke

This subject came up a few years back and I can tell you what a few of us did to *test* what would have cost to what it did cost.

A few members went into their local stores, got a bunch of grapes and weighed them up. Took 1 grape from said bunch and weighed them again, there was NO diffences in the weight at all.
However, I dont eat graps nor do my kids ( most of the time anyway ) so this isnt a problem with testing or not. We buy bananna's all the time, but I dont shop with kids in tow, so also not a issue with me.

Since I have did this test, I dont see where 1 grape will matter to the price Vs not tasting it, Now if you ate a bunch of them, YES that would be stealing to me. Bananna, well if you have kids in tow and want to give them or her/him 1 pick a Bananna equal to size and replace it, but giving it back to cashier at check out.

I have and still do lots of time grab a drink while shopping and drank it. I pay when i check out.
I have also eatten off loafs of french bread ESP if i happen to get it right out of the oven. but since its a loaf what does anyone care if i eat from a stick of bread thats marked 1.09 LOL.

I have seen more than 1 time people that go to the deli and orders spicy wings/nuggets and eat and lay the container down on a rack in the store. Ekk, sorry but thats stealing no 2 ways about it. I have also came across open packages of cookies, cheese, crackers, candy. Stealing no doult about it.

Buffets, Well here you cann't take even the scraps home with you. However, I have seen the snowbirds that have loaded their purses with sugar, and dressing, ( We all wonder if up north they dont have salad dressing there LOL. )
Another thing that gets to us here is when they come in and order water and lemon, THEN USE SUGAR to make lemmonaid WTH ?? Why ?? this is STEALING to me, since every single place here offers lemmonaid but yet the snowbirds will not buy a 1.00 glass, if they use the sugar to me this is stealing by the same means as if they stole the sugar and took it home.
Now if they drank the water and lemmon w/o the use of sugar then no problem.

Napkins, Straws ect, Yes i have at times taken extras, I know my kids will get something on them before we get to where we are going, so no dont feel bad about getting a few extra napkins on the go, if I was to sit down inside and got a few extra napkins what would it matter, I still would have used the same amount either way. Straws, Ever been in a car when a 4 year old has rammed her straw to hard and it bent ?? I have !!, either you take the drink away and listen to her cry or you take the lid off and she spills it. Better yet, ever pulled off from a FF and open the bag only to find there are no straws or napkins ?? BTDT.. since we eat a tthe same places just about 99.9 % of the time, I dont think I have done anything wrong, as I have taken extra napkins and straws and I have also not been given napkins or straws b4 too. Now I dont DONT do this every single time, so please dont think I do LOL. but if I go inside to order I will grab 1 or 2 extra straws, If i dont use them i put them in my cubby hole and use them later. same with napkins if they dont get used that time they will be used later at some point.

I have also been to FF places that seem to think i need 100 Napkins or 15 straws LOL.If i happen to notice b4 driving away I will try my best to hand them back, But usually I have already left and get down the road to find this out.

We eat at a place here that has a Buffet, I have had waitress tell my kids to take their candy ( they have it on the ice cream bar, to eat over ice cream or just place in a bowl to eat )Once its left the Ice cream bar and not eatten its tossed in the trash ( Or i would hope it was LOL ), So they tell my kids to wrapp it up and take it with them. But to load up on the candy and take home, HMM NEVER, I would,DIE if 1 of my kids did that LOL.

Me and my family along with another couple of my oldest daughter went to same place 1 night, the friend of my oldest ( My oldest is 24 her friend married with a child so shes probably in her mid 20's also OLD ENOUGHT TO KNOW BETTER ) she asked for exrta hot rolls, which normally wouldnt be a problem as they will bring as many as you like, However, this girl takes the rolls wrapped them up and stuck them in her purse, I also fainted right there, I told my oldest daughter never again would she be invited out with me as she was NUTS for taking the rolls. I about croked !!

I guess, Some people dont see anything wrong with taking things not normally offered to you in a meal, However I do esp Rolls LOL

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MyCoupons Is #1 for Holiday Shopping

Very interesting responses...
I do believe taking anything that you did not pay for or when a product will weigh less at the checkout is stealing.

I have to disagree with the notion that using sugar to make your own lemonade is stealing. I always order water w/lemon (I don't drink pop). I have never put sugar in my water it seems gross. But I can't imagine that it tastes the same as a true glass of lemonade. I know around here you get a small lemon wedge, surely not enough to make lemonade. They are consuming the product in the restraunt and paying for a meal. The sugar is left out for the customer to use on or in whatever they choose.

It is interesting to me that stealing is in the eye of the beholder...it is okay to take extras because you know you will need it eventually, yet it is not okay to use a product that is set out on the table for you to use.

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#3 Gone To Race In A Better Place...

yes it's stealing! I'm beginning to think my kids are abused or something... none of them have ever been able to eat anything before we pay for it. LOL
Seriously with my luck the "grape police" would say something to me if I even thought to taste them LOL

I can't believe that I'm the only "low life" here
I sample the grapes - one or two - and don't bother washing them first.
I sometimes take a cookie from the cookie club bowl (meant for children), too.
And I take hotel toiletries and coffee supplies for my military care packages.

There, I said it.

cj/

I'm with you...I have never opened a package for my kids to snack on in the store....

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#3 Gone To Race In A Better Place...

Stealing!

Tops allows the kids to have a banana, apple or orange just like the cookie club.

If I'm doing a bigger shopping trip and my kids are with me I let them get a donut when we're half way through the store as long as they are good (which they always are unless they're over tired, then I try not to take them with me). I pay for them when I check out. When DS was about 1 he was on a frozen waffle kick, he ate them frozen. If I had alot of shopping to do I'd open the box and give him one other wise I wouldn't of been able to finish shopping. I've always paid for what they ate.

One store usually has samples sitting on a little covered platter, I only let the kids take one. I've seen adults and kids stand there and eat them all, which is wrong. Although I have had "lunch" a time or two at Sams Club. They have so many samples by time you have a sample of each you're full and don't ned lunch. But I know a person that goes in just to eat the samples for lunch, they never buy anything, which I think is wrong and couldn't do.

If we end up with extra napkins or packets, I'll take them because otherwise they are thrown away.

I do take shampoos, lotions, soaps from hotels. The cost of those items are figured in the cost of the room so it's not stealing. My Mom was a maid at a little hotel, when construction workers or hunters stayed there she couldn't take the maid cart outside, other wise they'd take all the tp, boxes of tissues, matches, and soap. They always put an extra roll of tp in the rooms but eveytime she cleaned their rooms the open roll and the extra roll were gone, so she stopped leaving them the extra roll. But everyday she had to put a new roll in because they took the opened one. I can't believe what people take. Beside the usual towels, they take batteries from smoke detectors and tv remotes, lightbulbs, pillows, blankets, alarm clocks, glasses, ashtrays. One construction crew cleared the rooms of pretty much everything, the company got a very large bill. The company called to find out why and were given a very long list of items that were taken fromt he rooms, the company wasn't happy and the following week a different group of people came, never seen the people that took all the stuff so I'm not sure if they were fired or what.

wow,I never let my kids eat while we are shopping..
but i guess we have a habit of not eating between meals....i jus saw a women the other day ,giving a whole can of pringles to a toddler ,and that kids was stuffing those chips so fast...ok easier ,on the mom ,but gee,not healthy...
And i have 3 kids ,and yes I went to stores with them(1 in the car seat,and the 2 other ones were clinging onto my back pockets and would follow me every where like that,I jsut had to say "pocket",and their little hands who grab my pockets),but no tantrums.my friends are amazed ,that I can go with them to toys r us and not buy one single thing..
to answer the question ,it is stealing to take anything you dont plan on paying for...
my mom always said(qui vole un oeuf ,vole un boeuf) which means whoever steal an egg , is stealing an ox(hey it rhymes in French).but the point is ,no matter how small it is ,it doesn;t matter,it is just stealing.

OK, I have to admit that I have *stolen* a grape or two over the years. But, that's it. Honest. Oh, and I do take the little coffee packs from hotels. Especially the decaf....nice to have a little when my decaf friends pop in.

Also, I was scooping bulk walnuts once and an older gentleman was standing nearby. He began talking to me, and commenting on how good the walnuts were. (Is there such a thing as a bad walnut??) While he was talking, he continued to chew and talk...spraying spittle into the walnut bin. He grabbed another handful...gotta be sure, you know...and continued to eat and talk and spittle. I put a twist tie on the bag of nuts I had in my hand....and then set them down. Eewww!

I was taught that if you take even a pencil from a very rich company, work for or not, it is stealing.

I always ask the produce person if the grapes are sweet, and what's good that week, they are always helpful.
I have read, in the past, of people being arrested for thieft. Some supermarkets might look the other way, but smaller markets are less tolerant.

Long ago I saw this dirty little boy ( Dad wasn't much cleaner ) with a runny nose eat out of the bins. I have never bought anything from bins again.


When you check into a room, ask at the desk if the shampoos are for the taking.

I say stealing because the same drink is offered at a PRICE, but the person will not buy it, rather they ask for lemons and use the sugar to make the same lemon aid for free using the sugar. If you wanted lemon aid why not BUY it rather than ask for FREE water and FREE lemons ? I dont think it was the owners intent to have people come in ask for free water and lemons then consume the sugar on the table to make their lemon aid that the owner already offers for sale. It has gotten so bad at some places that the owners are NOT giving free water they are charging .75 for the glass because they already know in snowbird season they will make lemon aid using a product that wasnt intented to be used for free making something they sell already. I do rank this right up there with self serve drinks, If you ask for water then thats what you should get , not help urself to a cup ful of drink from the self serve fountain.



Nope, I still dont think taking 2 or 3 extra Napkins is stelaing from them. What would be the diffrence from me sititng down using 2 or 3 extra napkins Vs me getitng 2 or 3 extra napkins as I'm leaving out ? Not like I'm taking HANDFULS of napkins or straws, If I asked for extra napkins from the person behind the counter they would be given to me, But since the napkins and straws are located right at the drink fountain it's just as easy for me to get my own than to ask someone in the middle of rush hr lunch to hand me extra. If this is not acceptable, then I guess the next time I buy from said place if I pull off and I dont have any napkins or straws I'll return ask for a refund since these items are added into the cost of said meal/ drink also ask for my gas back since i had to turn back around drive back LOL.

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MyCoupons Is #1 for Holiday Shopping

Our Local Winn Dixie stopped carrying the candy bins ( Brachs candy ), My mother watched a little boy and his brother eat candy from the bins, she said they would eat a few from here, reach back in grab a few from somehwere else, she finally told the seafood person what they were doing and he told them they couldnt eat from the bins. Gross to think the next person going in after the same candy will have gotten the drop backs of little hands right before they go there.. Poor things, they probably didnt understand it wasnt there for the taking and thought it was a free candy machine for them. Of course the parents should have been watching and teaching them better.

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MyCoupons Is #1 for Holiday Shopping

If the store wanted you to have "free" samples... they would put them out for the consumer.
*HINT* HINT* HINT*

and occasionally they do so you KNOW the grocery store knows the difference between sampling and stealing.
Why don't customers?


When the store purchased the item from it's supplier, did they pay for 100 % of the product or 98% of the product? ----


And if a patron thinks... ahhh one little {{insert product here}} isn't going to make a difference, How many customers does this particular store have in a year?--- times many makes that little sampling a whee bit more serious.

The store has to inturn raise prices so I and other patrons that don't sample have to cover the stoploss of it all.


X
Who wrote this without reading everyone else's replies......don't think I'm speaking specifically to anyone above... just the public in general.. I used to be a front end supervisor at Kroger many years ago. This was a topic of discussion then too!

I guess we are looking at it from two different sides...but I do agree if you ask for water and then fill up your cup with pop=stealing.

People that order a water with lemon and use a pack of sugar to sweeten it are not stealing... being cheap maybe, but to say they are stealing is IMHO off the mark.

I think many restraunts are now charging for water because more people order it.

Word to the wise (that I learned the hard way) when dealing with fast food places always check the bag before pulling away from the window...then you won't have to worry about any items being missing.

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#3 Gone To Race In A Better Place...

When mine were younger, and we were going to be shopping in the store for a long time, I took along a snack for them from home. Often, it was just a small tupperware container of Lucky Charms and a no-spill supper cup of milk. It just wasn't in their frame of reference to think that the food in our cart was available for consumption until we were back home in our own kitchen. I don't ever remember them asking for anything from the store shelves to eat "right now."

I guess there are two general perspectives from which people approach these issues:

1) Are the people who currently own that item (the grocery store's grapes, the fast food chain's plastic spoons, etc.) going to miss this item if I decide I want it? Will they suffer any financial harm?

2) Am I entitled to make that thing my own by eating it/using it/taking it from this establishment without the owner's knowledge and without compensating the owner?

I've always approached it from #2, feeling it's not whether they'll notice or miss it, but whether or not I have a right to decide I should have what belongs to someone else... no matter how insignificant the item is.

I know some people who used to "steal" from the phone company. When the daughter would dirve back to college after having been home for the weekend, the mom wanted to know her daughter got back safely, but they didn't want to pay for a phone call. Upon arriving back at her dorm, the daughter would call home, collect, and ask for herself. The mom would get a call from the operator, saying, "You have a collect call from Lisa. Will you accept the charges?" The mom would decline them. They probably used the phone company to make 75 non-calls over the years. They also would go into a quick stop, get a pop, all stand around and drink it, maybe get another refill and drink all of that... and then fill it up and pay for it.

Oh goodness! haha! You made me spit coffee!

What you said is SO TRUE about the Neutrogena bottles!! haha!!!


BTW, my Kroger store has the samples on the olive bar (cups and spoons to try them). I buy off of there quite frequently, so I have no issues with getting a few olives while I am loading up on the Baba Ghenuij (or however it is spelled! LOL)

Hotel toiletries left in your room are amenities included in the price-I recently stayed at a Hilton in Washington D.C. and they had lovely Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries that I took home with me but I did not take any from the maid's cart. Same thing for the coffee packets left i n the room for your daily use-I don't see anything wrong with taking those home if you don't use them. I wish I could be as organized and disciplined as some of the mothers on this board who always remember to bring a snack or whose children will not ask for anything in the store, but I am not so I feel that as long as I am paying for it at the register, I see no problem with giving a cracker or something out of a box or bag. I spend lots of money in the grocery store, and would never put an opened box back on the shelf. As far as lemon and water and adding sugar to it, I have two views about this. One is that most places have nasty, chemical laden lemonade that does not have any real lemon juice in it-if stores and restaurants want to charge for the cup and the lemon, that would be a solution. The other view is that yes some people are cheap or on a limited income and I see nothing wrong with adding sugar to the water and lemon, especially if the person has purchased food.

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Jocelyn



My babies are the joys of my life and keep me young:
The twins,Tatiana Gabrielle and William Joseph , 1/29/97, and baby boy, Jared Lawrence, 8/27/02.

This post reminds me of a gentelman I saw at WalMart eating a package of hotdogs!! Blech! But at least he did hand the open package to the checker to pay for them!

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Allie

Just saw this on the subject of Ketchup packets:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/38836

I've always felt like you shouldn't eat/drink anything before you pay. The only time I have not done this is at our local Marsh, when my dd is shopping with me and she gets a cookie from the bakery. My dd is not really into sweets but the bakery ladies know her and offer her one and so she takes it. But then we get to the produce section and she tells me she would rather have a banana. So I do get a bunch of bananas and weigh them all and get the price sticker on them and then take one off for her to eat. But I still feel guilty doing this even know I am paying for it. That's just the way I was brought up. But I am so fornuate that she doesn't like sweets that much that I do want to continue to encourage her love of fruits so I do it. It doesn't happen all the time, only when the bakery ladies aren't busy and happen to see us. I actually try to avoid the bakery area.

Jenn

Yes, it's stealing.

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No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9

I think it's stealing as well~

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Smile and the world smiles with you!

Tami ~*~

I always test the Jelly Bellys before I buy them in bulk at Target. I only scoop one of the flavor or flavors that I am buying and test it to see if they are fresh. (I do not reach in with my paws.) I am not about to buy $6.99/lb jelly beans that are stale, which my Target has a habit of selling.

I have purchased many, many bags of jelly bellys only to find that they are so hard and stale that I cannot eat them. This is ridiculous. I don't think that I should have to scoop them out, pay for them and then check them and return them. My time of going through that process is worth the weight of the guilt. I think that is the cost of doing business or bad business in the past. I do only test 1 bean per flavor that I am buying and I think that is reasonable good-faith for the purchase.

Techinically it may be stealing but where do you draw the line is the question. Take a napkin for your hamburger but you just remembered you're going to the woods and you grab a couple more just in case. Stealing? Maybe technically. Wrong? No in my opinion.
You go shopping and try a grape to see if it's good. Maybe technically stealing but they do expect it and if you knew how many they throw away you would see even if every single person that walked by the grapes took one it would not cut into the profit. A bunch of grapes that is downright wrong.

I think a lot of what's right and wrong comes down to intent. We can only judge for ourselves what is right or wrong for us.
As far as your daughter goes you did tell her the right thing. Right now she is young when she gets older she will learn to make the distinctions for herself with the good lessons you have taught her.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I know that since they came out with the SPLENDA packets in recent years, many coffee places (Starbucks, especially) keep them behind the counter!! Even our local 7-11 does this - he said that the Splenda costs them about 4 times as much as Equal. They don't keep them in the self-serve place because people were just taking them in bulk!

So if you don't see splenda, ask. They probably have it behind the counter!

I'd say that rather just judging right from wrong for ourselves, as the potential 'takers,' that the very best, most honest and integregous thing to do would be to simply ask the owner/manager/worker if you can have a sample. If whatever it is you want to buy belongs to them, I'd say the thing to do is just ask them if they are willing to let you sample before you decide whether to buy.

I know I hear people (relatives mainly!) saying they don't want to buy things that are sour/stale/bad, but they don't open the bread to check for freshness... don't open just one tube of Pringles to try just one... don't put just a squirt of a fountain beverage in a cup to see if the mix of carbonated water to flavoring is just right... don't test the peanuts... don't open the bags of flour to check for weavels...etc.

Anything we buy carries a risk of being a bad product when we get it home. I've not understood what is particularly 'special' about products that are easy to sample that makes them open to consumption without compensating the product's owner, guilt-free. A store will always take a bad product back, and while it's a hassle, it's the way with which I'd feel most comfortable conducting myself. That, or if I was truly especially worried about a potentially bad product, just asking if they cared if I sampled prior to purchasing.