People eating food they haven't paid for....

[maddiemookins16mum]

....It just really bugs me. To the point of utter revulsion.
In a supermarket, grown adults opening a pack of 4 pork pies and happily munching their way around the shop, only to toss the empty pack to be scanned as their shopping goes through. Why do people do that, have you ever, and why??? (DD had to wait until the car for her gingerbreadman biscuit from Waitrose).

When ds was a bit younger ( under two ) and i knew he would get grumpy I made sure I had snacks and toys with me.

In doing this you would be one of the judged too. because although you brought snacks, judgey-knickered people would assume you had simply plucked whatever snack from the shelves. And the security may think you had done this too when seeing your child with an empty packet which could make it a bit awkward

I have had dirty looks for allowing DD to eat a fruit bag that she had got with her meal in Wetherspoons just up the road while shopping, as shop sold fruit bags too (albeit, different packaging but judgey-knickers do not look closely enough to see that, just roll eyes, whisper and death stare)

I hare to see adults/older children eating as they walk about anyway - it's just repulsive.
I don't know how some people cope with daily life when they find things like this so distressing!
I wonder at what age it switches from being acceptable to repulsive, and does it make a difference if the person is standing but not walking?

Children eating a bit of fruit or bread i cant get worked up about

Adults eating as they go round...well i have never seen that but as long as they pay for it...

Adults not paying and depositing empty packets willy nilly where the fuck do you people shop!!!!

Never actually done it myself, but honestly want to now after reading how many are so twitchy about it

I have never washed fruit in my life. I give my toddler a fruit pouch at the end of the shop as he gets a bit lairy otherwise It's for the benefit of the other shoppers. It's my gift to the world!

If I see people eating whilst going around the super market I always assume they will just ditch the packaging and not pay. I'm sure this is not true of everyone but after working evenings in a supermarket and tidying the shelves at closing time I never had one shift where I wasn't picking out empty food packaging stuffed in the shelves. It never bothered me before but I can't help thinking the worst when I see it now.

That must cause problems for you and the staff though as when you put the item down after scanning it the weight is checked. So presumably you have a member of staff running over to confirm all these empty packets?

No, it has never queried the weight I'd always just press down on the scale anyway...

What I have done before is grab a sandwich, pay at self service and then eat it on my way round once I've paid, leaving no litter as I nip outside and put the litter in the bin before resuming my shop.

And is someone seriously suggesting eating in the street is uncouth??

On my lunch break from uni the distance from the building I study in to the shops in town is such that with my asthma and walking speed I can get to the shops but immediately need to head back so as not to be late - so I eat my sandwich on the walk back.

First pregnancy I collapsed in the supermarket and subsequently vomited on the floor.

Second pregnancy I knew to carry an apple round with me. However, on one occasion, I ate the apple but still needed another. I picked a bag of pre-priced apples and ate one.

This prevented vomit in the aisles and, of course, I paid.

My point is, you have no idea of other people's reasons for eating in the supermarket. If you want to get your knickers in a twist, why not start with the millions of people around the world who'd sell a kidney to feed their families.

HTH

I m not sure why but I think it is not a good thing to do - it is a bug bear of mine too . Would people do it in marks n spencer or another food hall or is it just in supermarkets . ? I have always taught my children that in shops it's not yours to take until it's paid for . Surley it's ok to teach children ( for example ) how to wait ?its not yours to eat .
You can take own snack in bag if likely to be hungry .

Jesus Christ - some people really have an issue with this.

Drama queen central on this thread.

Also laughing at people being outraged on behalf of the checkout assistants.

They have worse things to deal with than scanning an empty packet, believe me.

In an ideal world we would never forget to pack a snack, but shit happens, sometimes people just forget.

I personally think it's a bit rude. Have something to eat/drink before you go out, unless you have a medical condition it's not really necessary is it? I'm sure no one is THAT hungry or thirsty that they really can't wait until they've got to the checkout

For an adult to feel the need to scoff pork pies going around the supermarket, that's a bit uncouth.

For little kids eating a biscuit? Fine. I always have snacks in my bag but the stuff in the trolley is always more exciting somehow. I don't see the problem and I'm surprised that some people are so passionate about it....

This thread is absolutely bonkers. It never occurred to me that eating outside of ones home was considered vulgar. How the Jeff do you people manage at picnics? What do you pass someone having a sandwich on a park bench? A packet of crisps on a train? What if I stopped in the street to delicately nibble (not munch!! God forbid) a packet of pistachios or the like? Is that still beyond the pale?

This actually fits in nicely with a thread a couple of weeks ago about people who take snacks to collect their children on the school run - so many people were utterly outraged. Fortunately some people didn't give a flying fuck, so my faith in humanity was restored, but someone on the thread pointed out that those outraged seemed to be attaching a negative moral value to snacking or grazing (as opposed to three meals a day and no snacks). Interesting, yet batshit crazy, concept.

It's clearly not 'disgusting' from a hygiene point of view to eat in a supermarket - otherwise how do you rationalise all the sampling of stuff that goes on? This just requires common sense, instead of blanket hysteria. If you're gnawing a raw chicken - potential health hazard. Similarly, if you're not paying for stuff - that's a problem. But if you are eating something discreetly and you subsequently pay... what the fuckety fuck is the problem? ? No one has successfully explained why it is 'disgusting'.

My DC graze all day

I bet they don't at school. If they can manage to sit through a couple of lessons without eating at school, they can cope for an hour going round a supermarket.

blimey, i worked in a Well Known grocery store on the checkouts for 10 years until i quit to look after my Autistic DS full time last year.

You know what? We really don't give a flying fuck as long as you don't rip the barcode and hand it to us to scan.

Funnily enough, a lot of us are also parents, have probably done it ourselves and do understand that sometime you or your kids are hungry/thirsty/cranky and might have been caught short.

Its really really not a huge deal.. please don't feel sorry on our behalf!

I like that pregnancy is an excuse for doing stuff you yourself disapprove of and find disgusting.

I may get pregnant again, that's 40 weeks of eating in shops, robbing a bank because I'm pregnant and need more money, nicking a park bench and putting it in the garden because I need to sit down, push a monk down a well because I'm thirsty, drive up the dual carriage way on the wrong side as it gets me home quicker.....

Oh the fun I'll have.

Obviously no one else eating in a supermarket has an acceptable reason for doing so because they are not pregnant.

As I won't show immediatelyso I shall carry a laminated 'permission to uncouth due to gestating' card.

vim just back from shopping,got the kids some chickem pop things for their dinner, checked with the lady if it was ok if they ate them going round, she said yes. thatll do for me

Lolling at some of the hysteria!

I've had a sandwich on quite a few occasions when pg. I usually do the supermarket after work so I'm hungry, and just can't wait sometimes when pg.

I give my 2yo a little bag of bread sticks often when we are going round. He's really good, but can get a bit antsy after a while. I usually have the bags with me though, but I'd get a pack of the shelf and pay after if I felt it was necessary.

I wouldn't give him food in the car on the way home as I worry (too much I expect) about choking. So we all make different choices OP. No biggie.

This thread is hilarious! Some people need to feel lucky they have no actual problems to worry about.

My children take advantage of Tesco's free fruit stand when we shop, although some families take the piss with it and let their DC's take armfuls of free fruit which is a bit off.

I don't do it but the only time I've ever known a shop care, it wasn't actually an item bought there! Over summer whilst it was really hot I bought DS a bottle of water in Sainsburys (own brand so obviously from Sainsburys!). 10 minutes later at another supermarket self-service I had "You know you have to PAY for your child's water!" called out very patronisingly from the assistant nearby.

It was one of the most satisfying experiences I've ever had to turn round and call back in the same tone "Yes, I did, it's from Sainsburys!" while indicating the Sainsburys logo on the bottle. I admit I'm incredibly petty

Honey Can I get away with it by crying homophobia whenever someone tries to stop me?

I work in a shop and it would piss me off if they couldn't pay. We have people picking out pick n mix and the card gets declined so then I have to bin the sweets