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).

sauvignon

Ooh i took painkillers while walking round as well

Forgot that

YABU. You sound like fun OP

Oh and its not stealing unless you don't pay for it...obviously

And by that i would exclude, as merchant has, anything that needs to be weighed or similar

I have opened a drink for me before if I've not been able to wait.
I usually have something for ds to nibble on to keep him quiet, however if for any reason I didn't, then yes I would open something for him and scan the empty packet.
He's 12 months old and doesn't understand. He gets bored sitting for a long period of time, whether it's a trolley, a highchair, or his pram. I'm sure no one wants to listen to him whinge all the way around, and I can't always shop without him

OMG! You are allowed to do this! This thread has just changed my life!

I actually thought you had to take the tescos fruit out of the shop to eat it

I actually cannot wait till next saturday to try this out...

You are allowed to eat grapes out of the pre-weighed and tagged packages though? I mean it won't change the price you pay if you eat some all of them?

I have never seen this happen in Waitrose, or Lidl for that matted.

Seen it in Sainsbo's though!

I've done it before! When I have no change I sometimes open a drink or get a bit of baguette for my little one. I pay for it as I go. I'm not really sure what the issue is- it means my daughter is quietly content and not crying round the shops and I don't feel like passing out doing the shopping (very very low blood pressure - water helps prevent dizzy spells) yes I know I could bring stuff with me but no doubt the supermarket would complain!!

Probably why I do 90% of my food shop online.

PS yes I give out free fruit for kids now as you go round so can't see there is any hygiene issue if they are happy for you to do it?!

I'm intrigued...is it the lack of self control you find so repugnant or the poor manners of munching on greasy pork pies round the supermarket and touching fresh produce etc so like a cross contamination thing? I personally do not allow my children to eat something we have not paid for as I think things like this will create a generation of kids who don't have to wait for anything & won't understand social boundaries (even more so than today's teenagers) but that's just my own opinion. I can't say that I'm disgusted by people that allow their kids or themselves to do it as that's up to them and the supermarket.

lets all just calm the fuck down. It's food, so what. And also isn't mumsnet a site for grown adults? Not bickering children in a playground!!

I agree op.

Well said Jedi.

I imagine you have never eaten in a restaurant in your life, have you OP?? How outrageous would that be for you to have to order the food, eat and then get the bill to pay only at the end (after eating)???

That's a lot of question marks.

If people really cannot see a difference between eating in a restaurant and walking around a supermarket, they have problems. As has already been pointed out, in a restaurant there is only a limited number of people at any given time, they aren't trailing crumbs all over the restaurant, and the waiters can keep track of what they have eaten and what they need to pay for. It just isn't comparable to supermarkets.

And also isn't mumsnet a site for grown adults? Not bickering children in a playground!

Oh.

The OP has touched a raw nerve.

"LadyConstanceDeCoverlet

If people really cannot see a difference between eating in a restaurant and walking around a supermarket, they have problems. As has already been pointed out, in a restaurant there is only a limited number of people at any given time, they aren't trailing crumbs all over the restaurant, and the waiters can keep track of what they have eaten and what they need to pay for. It just isn't comparable to supermarkets."

Exactly. Those who think this sort of behaviour is acceptable know that too. They are just trying to create a smokescreen to hide their shame.

I think its a disgusting habit, feed the child before you go shopping, and I cannot believe the amount of use of the F word, no Chavs in M&S fortunately.

Raw nerve indeed. I think people who are doing it know that it's rank.

The restaurant argument... When you go into a restaurant and order food, you are essentially entering into the contract (that they will supply food and you will pay) upon ordering.

This is not the same as in a supermarket where the food on the shelves is an offer to treat and you enter into the contract at the till.

Totally different situation.

^^
This

Honey don't forget to feed the kids a pack of value pork pies first... And refer to them as your little smashers

I don't like it.

Buy the food, then eat it.

It's not a cafe.