to think eating products before you pay for them at the till is uncouth?

[lastfanjoinparis]

OH and I disagree. He thinks eating a packet of crisps then handing the empty packet over at checkout to scan is perfectly acceptable but I think this is a no-no.

Where do you guys sit on this matter?

It's not legally theft until you actually leave the store without paying, if I remember correctly from (a) working in retail for a very long time and (b) being caught shoplifting as a teenager

When wee, my DCs would eat a punnet of blueberries or open a packet of biscuits on their way round Lidl, but only if I actually had the cold hard cash to pay at the end (I would never chance it at the end of the month!) My priority is getting out of the supermarket as quickly and painlessly as possible and Lidl staff don't care if my DCs are starting in on the weekly shop so why should you or I?

Grapes however are usually paid for by weight, so that's clearly OK as you can't know the weight of what you ate so it is stealing (and I know from bitter experience that stealing is Not a Good Idea).

Oh and now my DCs are 3 and 6, they know they have to wait and they're fine to do so. Letting them snack on the shopping when they were little hasn't made it hard to say no now they're older; they've just had to become more inventive about how to be twats in the supermarket.

It's slovenly

My dd doesn't wander around eating at home so proceeding to open and to kwoff a packet of biscuits whilst traipsing around the supermarket ....no chance.

I was never allowed to as a child and it's one of the few views I share with Mrs scoop senior

My youngest dd always used to sit in the trolley eating the inside of a baguette, we used to get to the till and she'd have her arm inside it up to her elbow!
No-one in my family has ever done it over the age of 2.

But not everyone IS eating their way round the shop, so the 'more staff' argument is moot.

face again, sorry. That's my point exactly - not everyone does do it. If it became the norm, then more staffing would be necessary.

Yes, Blue, and I think what you're saying is that needing more staff would be a problem (correct me if I'm wrong).

But not everyone does do it, so more staff are not needed.

We're not disagreeing, as far as I can work out.

Or do you think that the existence of some people on one thread on one forum who eat in the supermarket means that there will be a sudden explosion of crumb-dropping degenerates in supermarkets the country/continent/world over?

But not everyone does do it, so more staff are not needed.

Does this mean you think that if everyone did do it, then it would be a problem? So it's only 'not a problem' because most people refrain from doing it, thereby minimising the impact of those who do?

btw this really isn't something that I give a lot of thought to in RL, I'm just struggling to see your POV.

If I were a grocer, I would get twitchy at people eating food before they paid for it. It's just another procedure that I have to train people in, more opportunity for shrinkage, more people for me to bring back into the security room to show them eating X and not paying for it.

I'm not keen on walking around eating in public, so I don't do this in grocery stores. Moreover, having a security guard confront me about eating something would mortify me in the extreme. And let's face it, the only supermarket eaters who are not getting some security guard flack are the ones who look middle class.

I opened my aldi choc bar while walking around and had two squares.

I wanted to see if it was nice enough to buy more. I of course would have paid for the one I ate some of even if I hated it ;)

It is really rude you wouldn't go in a beauty store and start putting on mascara and foundation before you've paid, nor would you go round in a clothes store putting on clothes before you have bought it.

It really unhygienic and it makes you look greedy I'm guessing none of you rinse your fruits before buying them...

it makes you look greedy

I don't care if randoms in a supermarket think I look greedy and I'd never look at someone and think that about them. Says much more about you than me, IMO.

Blue, I don't really know because I can't imagine (or see the point of imagining) EVERYONE eating food in every supermarket all the time.

And I think it's quite funny that people think it's 'rude' but then quite happily admit to judging people who are doing it. That's not rude at all ...

Have fun eating cow shit and who knows what else greedy bastards the fruit is dirty and so is the supermarket.

Actually, I have put shoes on my children before I paid for them and just gave the tag to the cashier.

I have also put hand cream on while waiting to pay for it when the shops was super busy and my hands were sore.

Greedy and uncouth, me!

You're meant to wash fruit before eating it now?

greedy bastards

Eating a bag of crisps or a piece of fruit in a shop is ruder than calling people things like that?

Yes you are supposed to wash fruit and vegtaables that should be common knowledge, well you are certainly right you are you are being abominable not to mention loathsome and greedy and uncouth.

Vegtables

Oh dear. Thought that would ruffle your feathers more

That was too easy.

Vegetables :)

I never wash veg. I don't eat fruit.

What would ruffle my feathers?

You seem quite passionate about this subject. Especially with calling me uncouth, a greedy bastard, loathsome and abominable.

Anyone who calls entire strangers 'greedy bastards' for doing something that has no effect on others can NOT pretend to be hard to ruffle ???? this would hilarious if it wasn't actually quite depressing in light of its pointlessness, another beautiful day out there...

In Tesco's today I saw a family munching on chicken legs they'd got from the hot section

I must admit I judged! LOL at judging people being rude. EVERYONE judges others, it's called being human.

And yes they did look greedy.