Be honest, zero judgment - how often do you steal from supermarket self-checkouts?

[Alwaysthelastone]

My theory is, “decent, up-standing” people do it a lot more than they’d ever admit. Let’s try to stop this thread descending into judgement and criticism of people who are just answering the question honestly. Otherwise they just won’t be honest. No judgement from me, as long as we’re talking large chain supermarkets only. I’ll admit that I sometimes forget to weigh fruit & veg, get to the till and can’t be bothered going back so don’t bother paying. Occasionally in the past when money’s been tight I haven’t paid for a few of the more expensive items like laundry detergent, nappies, the odd bottle of wine. But we’re talking 3 or 4 times I year. I’m not some sort of serial shoplifter and I consider myself a decent person (although I’m sure I’ll swiftly be told I’m not on here 🤣) anyway, would be interested to hear how often the mostly upstanding, middle-class MN population really does it…

Never. You are a thief OP

Never.

Never. I think you would have to be a pretty awful human being to think it is ok. The only exception would be if someone is desperate and has no money.

Middle class, but not really well off. Never done it. Ridiculous thing to do, what are we, 12 years old and stealing lipstick from Boots as a dare?!

Hilarious attempt at self-justification.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of thinking stealing is ok if someone has had a lifetime of abuse and survives by resorting to petty crime, you are not one of those people. No-one needs to repeatedly steal bottles of wine. So what are the "complexities" in your case, that would make it fine to tell your kids it's ok for you to steal (not "nick" or "sneak out", which are just attempts to make it sound jokey) from the supermarket?

You're not a social justice warrior, just a boring, greedy, common or garden thief who contributes to higher prices for everyone else.

And, since you do (and attempt to justify) what you teach your children is wrong, a hypocrite. I wonder at what age you will think they are ready to be taught that stealing is ok if Mummy says so.

Never. Why would I steal?

Really? I got caught stealing lipstick from Boots in 1983 aged 16. I got a police caution. It put the fear of God into me. I’m now 60 and have never repeated it. I’d hate the thought a minor offence as a teen would still cause people to judge me.

but to answer your question aside from the offence 40+ years back I’ve never stolen anything.

You seem quite immature tbh.

Exactly. People who know what they are doing is morally wrong suffer from cognitive dissonance. So, they create an internal narrative to justify their behaviour and absolve them of shame. In ops case, it’s the classic “it’s only xyz”, “everyone does it” and “they can afford it”. None of which remotely change the fact that Op is a thief. She just doesn’t want to face that.

Never.

Never, now. I once went back into a Tesco to pay for chewing gum I realised I'd accidentally walked out with. I have to live with myself after all!

When the chips are down, I've discovered, your own self-respect can be all you have left.

However, one time in my life I did steal something. It was a blouse I needed for work experience when I was 15. I had a neglectful childhood and had nothing to wear (wasn't allowed to wear my schol uniform for work experience). I felt guilty for years and years.

but that’s because they’re at an age where they can’t understand the complexities of different types of stealing

Stealing is stealing and is wrong however you dress it up. I am seriously questioning your moral judgement, as are most posters on this thread.

The cameras are really good now. In Morrisons they come over to check if your own belongings are actually yours. Couldn't get away with stealing if you wanted to.

I never have - for the obvious reason and I'm pretty sure I'd get caught.

Now if a price was suspiciously low or a voucher seemed to take too much off, maybe I'd err on the side of what benefits me, but that's about it.

People stealing from supermarkets is one of the reasons prices increase. Shoplifting costs the retail industry around £4.2 billion annually and it keeps rising. We call loss shrink and shoplifting is the biggest cause of shrink in retail. There are other factors such as damages, miscounts etc but theft will always be the main cause. If you think supermarkets will take the hit for that then you are just kidding yourself to justify your actions.

Never. I once took my colleague to the supermarket at lunch and she stole a cooked chicken. I was mortified.

We went to Morrisons when they had to pack it for you and put the sticker on it and the lady put a sticker on it that didn't have a barcode, she did the same with my chicken. When I went to scan it I couldn't, so I flagged someone down to help. They came back with two stickers and said there was another lady who had a chicken, when I looked round my colleague had bolted. I paid and left and my colleague was hiding behind my car.

Ive never been so embarrassed and I didn't know what to say.

I have another colleague that boasts that he and his wife steal every week from tesco by the scan as you shop. They scan the cheap supermarket version and then put the brand name in the trolley. They do it weekly and have no shame. I just couldn't be that person

I also find it interesting that OP is trying to use moral disengagement and blame shifting to deflect from their actions. Suggesting posters on MN are the problem for being so judgemental and pearl clutching. They are really struggling to own their behaviour and accept that most of society views it as a morally reprehensible thing to do. They are clinging to the idea that more people must secretly do it so that it makes them feel less wrong.

100% this.

Make your own cards if you can't afford to buy them. There is always a more honourable alternative to theft.

I don't steal ever. I haven't gone back if I've later found a garlic bulb or something tiny in the trolley though. I don't drink so stealing wine doesn't appeal.

Absolutely never. This is a crime.

Any years ago, I worked in a bank as a cashier. A customer cashed a cheque and I gave her too much money by mistake. We’re not talking a huge amount, I think it was £50, but back then, every sum was accountable. I had to go through every transaction I had processed that day and it was found out who it was who benefitted from my error. The manager contacted her, but she denied she had received the overpayment - again a wealthy individual, but thats no excuse.

As a result, I was disciplined and it stayed on my record - I was 17 and had just started in the role and I do appreciate it wouldn’t be dealt with the same way now, but it also unfairly called into account my own honesty.

My point is; for every theft, no matter how big the organisation, someone has to pay for it, so it’s never a victimless crime. Some people seem to have no morals or qualms because they don’t see the face or understand the consequences their dishonesty might have on a member of staff, who actually might have their own issues and struggles too.

Do you think shareholders take the hit on stolen goods then OP? Of course not, the rest of us do. Most thefts are committed by the same tiny percentage of the population.

Never, and I wouldn’t dream of doing it anyway, but I thought that you couldn’t - the items are weighed when you put them down, so that the computer will know if everything has made it to the other side and been paid for?

And also, you’re probably being watched on CCTV by security from the office (I hope so).

What a horrible experience @JohnPrescottsPyjamas

Side note: greetings cards from charity shops are cheap and perfectly nice.

Omg what an amazing job. I would have loved to have done that when I was a student or just younger in general

This is me too haha