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?

Goodnight, you too!

I fail to see why people aren't able to go an hour without food any more. Do people not eat at meal times and shop in between these times? If you chose to go shopping at a time you'd normally be eating, what is the harm in waiting a little while longer? If you really can't, why don't you have something beforehand?

Why would you reward a toddler having a tantrum with food? What is wrong with feeling a bit hungry and waiting until a more convenient time? Nobody is going to starve to death during a shopping trip. And so I fail to see as there's any reason to do this other than being entitled and greedy.

"I want it and I want it now". Not just from the toddlers, but the adults who agree that the little darlings must have it now otherwise they might need to actually do some parenting and the inconvenience of that gives them the right to do as they please.

I think everyone needs to get off they're high horses. Many people suggesting they would give they're child a toy without paying or a drink or even have a drink themselves but HELL NO NOT FOOD!
I say why not?! As a child my mum use to take us to asda to do the shop & as a single parent the shop takes a while, me & my sister use to go get a hot pie out of the bakery & eat it whilst shopping, of course we paid for it. & now with my son I usually let him have 1 thing whilst I'm shopping (he usually sits in the trolley & eats grapes) and yes again j pay for them but why not?! We're not harming anyone, it's keeping him happy and quiet, don't walk round drinking your water because God forbid you drop to the floor with dehydration if you don't get a drink in the supermarket! It's ridiculous. My child is well behaved he knows it's 1 item and not to open everything, that's when I think it's not right putting 10 things through the checkout opened but to say it's horrible or uncouth or any of the thing suggested is unjustifiable in my opinion...but hey that's my opinion

I can't believe the ridiculousness of this thread, and the things that people find important or offensive! As I have said earlier, my little boy (who is autistic and obsessed with sliding doors, so needs a distraction and a reward for keeping away from the doors) gets to choose a snack or sandwich at the beginning of the shop and eat it while we go around, that is the only way we are able to shop with him. And yes, I have also used wipes, even nappies and EVEN, on one memorable day, a pair of child's trousers, in the shop, before I have paid for them!

I can't believe I have been away for a day or two and this thread is still active.

But it's still very funny how offended everyone is by it.

I'm not sure people are offended by it. I'm not sure people give a great deal of thought in RL to lots of things they end up discussing on MN.

When I have seen adults eating in supermarkets whilst going round,it has registered fleetingly, in the same way I fleetingly notice an adult dropping litter, throwing their drink cans out of the car window at traffic lights, or sitting with their feet on the seats on the train. I don't go home and stress about it and after this thread finishes, probably won't give it another thought until I see someone else eating chicken in the supermarket, when again it will register briefly with me.

I guess the reason that I am interested in the thread is not the eating in the supermarket issue itself, but more the issue of social change - in the past, people would not have dreamed of starting to eat things they had not paid for, in any kind of shop - but now, some people see it as totally reasonable, despite the fact that numerous people who have worked in supermarkets confirm that the stores really don't like it happening. The thing that interests me is that increasingly there are people who are not interested in the broader social picture/consideration of others, but who are very sure they can do what they like when they like. And the justifications are interesting too - lots of people explain the giving food to children in terms of keeping them quiet in the store - well people have always had to take children shopping, nothing has changed there, but in the past they didn't feed their children going round. And they certainly didn't feed themselves, but simply waited the hour or so it took to shop.

There's something in society now that means people think they shouldn't have to wait and their children shouldn't have to wait for anything. If they want it now, they believe they should have it now, as some kind of a right. It's just interesting. Many threads on MN are interesting, more in terms of the broader picture of society that emerges, than the individual issues themselves.

I have done it a lot especially with drinks. If you would rather see me passed out on the floor of the shop, then judge away. I am not diabetic, but blood pressure drops suddenly. Sometime i will grab a chocolate bar, sometimes a drink, sometimes a packet of sweets. I pay every time for them, and never once has anyone commented on how wrong it is, or even given me the hairy eyeball for doing it. I have even sat down in an aisle before and eaten my wares.... Never has anyone said "oh my god you are so uncouth". Most people say something like "Are you ok, could i help you with anything, would you prefer a chair"

Totally agree with Chocolate Wombat.

And actually, with a couple of exceptions, I've noticed that the people who tend to get genuinely riled on these threads are those defending their right to eat before paying.

Brilliant post chocolatewombat

I agree, that was an excellent post from ChocolateWombat

Is it such a huge problem though? If it was there would be huge signs in the supermarkets wouldn't there?

I don't see what harm my one year old chewing on a breadstick did to anyone, and it wasn't because he couldn't wait, it was just routine to get in and out IYKWIM. He's 15 now and fine with waiting to eat.

Medical needs aside I don't know why adults need to eat in a supermarket it but I have hardly seen that anywhere TBH.

At my local supermarket children are allowed to help themselves to the older fruit to eat whilst shopping. It's fab until we're back in the UK and DS doesn't understand why he can't scoff the produce.

I don't think it's a problem as such but I do think it's a symptom of the society we're in, where when we want something we simply have to have it at once and can't wait. Obviously not the same for a baby if they're needing something to placate them, although if it was turning into a routine I'd just bring something along with me if I knew they'd want a nibble.

Totally disagree with your post ChocolateWombat. I think the reason people used to wait and not eat was more to do with deference to a perceived authority. There was probably a lot less choice in where they shopped - so they needed the shop more than the shop needed them. Now it's the opposite - the consumer has the power and as such the expectations have shifted.

I think your points and most of the 'why not just wait' posts are a bit dog in a mangery.

I'm sure people did shop with screaming bored toddlers before, but why continue to just for the sake of it? If the shops really cared or wanted to stop it they would. But they realise the weight of public opinion is against them and they really really want our money.

Why is the MN answer to this: 'Make voting compulsory. Won't someone think of Emily Davidson?'

If I was forced to attend a polling station on pain of a sanction - a fine, rotten tomatoes, death? - I would put my X anywhere except the sanctimonious 'none of the above' option out of sheer bloodymindedness and see what happened.

Some people might find that objectionable. But what do they think of the people who would choose a box, any box, and probably the first one? And what would they do to them?

Do you want your election decided in that way?

In that case I might change my name to Aaaaaaaaaabeloved (Abigail) and stand as a Member of the Conswervative Party.

Oops. Wrong thread

Chucking litter out of the window, putting feet up on a chair etc are not the same as they impact on others in a way that eating around a supermarket does not but I think ChocolateWombat was comparing them as symptoms of the same problem, the decline of manners in society? I could be entirely wrong though!

I mentioned them together, simply as things I would briefly notice and then forget pretty quickly - I was pointing out to a PP that things like eating in supermarkets don't OFFEND me, because I don't give them enough thought for them to upset me. I was simply saying all of the things I listed would be things I would briefly notice people doing.
mrsKoala, I agree that there has been a shift in perceptions of authority. People used to feel that when they were in a shop, they were in the shipowners territory and that the shopowner was owed some respect. You are right hat many people no longer see it like this, but somehow as their territory, in which they can behave as they wish. And I agree that shops have become more accommodating towards customers and less 'stuffy' to make customers feel more comfortable. The question is where people draw the boundary and decide what is and isn't acceptable.
Some customers will behave as they did in the past, others might decide it is okay to go to the shops in their pyjamas, or to eat the merchandise before it is paid for, or to eat it and not pay for it, or to drink beer whilst going round the shop, or to swear loudly, or to be abusive to shop staff or..........there is a whole range of possible behaviours - each person might draw the line at what is reasonable somewhere else.
The point I was making is that some people feel more entitled to behave exactly as they wish, wherever they are - there is little thought for whether other members of the public or the shop owners appreciate the behaviour. Perhaps in the past people were to subservient towards authority, but there is a line between the balance shifting a little and people becoming disrespectful towards others in society. When people put their own immediate needs first, without a thought for anyone else, it is the shop workers, cleaners, street sweepers and general public who can be affected.

And finally, I'm not sure that 'the weight of public opinion is against them' (the shops, preferring people not to eat before buying) - the vast majority of people still don't eat going round the supermarket. It is still a minority thing and that is the reason why it has attracted attention. I suspect though that it will be an increasing thing, if there continues to be growth in the attitude of 'what I want, I do, exactly when I want it, without thought for others'

OP, YANBU. And ChocolateWombat, I agree with everything you have said.

Completely agree with both of ChocolateWombats posts. Stuff your faces all you want, nobody here is going to stop you. Why do you need public approval for it?

I say the more people that do it, the better - then it will become a problem that supermarkets won't ignore and they'll put a stop to it altogether.

I'm still pondering the poster who says that her child can have 1 thing and goes on to defend it, before then saying that he can't have 10 things. Makes no sense. Either trolley-troughing is something you'll do, or you won't.

... and yes, chucking accusations of EDs or behavioural disorders around is really bad and only the very stupid would do it.

This had all the potential of a good-natured thread, albeit 'them and us', but a few are determined to make it a 'thing' and it really is a trivial matter. Do what you like, people will think what they think and that's their right too.

I was wrong then! I'd be incensed if I saw someone chuck rubbish out of a car window, can't claim that and litter bugging to be things I'd barely notice but someone eating the supermarket I wouldn't care. I once ate an apple after I'd paid for it, does that count? What about the scanning system, can you eat something after you've scanned it thus entering into an agreement to pay for it or is it simply the 'greedy bastard' element that is winding people up?

What's all this talk of "justification" for eating in a shop? Calming children, medical reasons etc? Ridiculous. I do it just cos i fancy a snack while I'm shopping. Nothing to do with being unable to wait. Just don't want to wait. No one else's business. Who gives a shit?

And by the way seeing people drop litter absolutely disgusts and enrages me

Oh really?

Because I've heard excuses for dropping litter too. 'Keeps people in jobs', 'I can't find a bin and I'm not taking it home, I don't want to'. Added to which, 'No one else's business and who gives a shit?'.

It illustrates ChocolateWombat's posts beautifully. Societal shift with knobs on.