Aibu to hate food waste and ask you not to do this?

[AnnoyedRetailWorker]

See username; I work in retail.
Most of my job on the shop floor is restocking and cleaning, so I see this quite a lot (pretty much every shift).
Customer picks up eg a chicken, walks around with it for a bit. Decided they no longer want it, leaves it in random aisle. If it's a fridge, that's not so bad though annoying. But if they've left it in say, the canned foods aisle, or the DVD aisle, then it will have to be thrown out because we don't know how long it's been sitting there when we come across it. Just this week I've thrown out...

2 packets of bacon, 3 packets of sausages, a whole chicken, 2 packets of chicken breasts, a kilo of frozen prawns, 4 salmon fillets and a bag of frozen nuggets. None of which are safe to sell if they've been sitting out for god knows how long.

It's a crying shame to waste this food and it also effects profits and as such, can effect staff, as large or frequent losses can mean they cut back on staff. Which may mean a loss or reduction of hours or extra staff not being hired for special events (like Christmas) and the existing team particularly salaried staff being worked to the bone because it's cheaper than hiring a temp. Losses like this directly contribute to that.
Aibu to ask you as a customer to NOT bloody do this?!

Unfortunately those who do this do not care and therefore your wise words will fall on deaf ears (eyes?)

I hate this so much. Just absolute lazy fecklessness.

I mean the dumping food wherever you feel like it, not your post or your opinion (with which I heartily agree).

Maybe stores could provide a fridge and freezer close to the tills for the 'dumping' of items when people change their mind, or realise that they don't have sufficient funds? I'm sure that at least some of the problem is that once you reach the tills, people don't want to schlep back to the fridges or freezer section.

I'm glad to hear you bin it. I once saw an assistant in M&S pick up some prawns th at had been left by a customer at the tills as they had changed their mind (the cashier didnt know when) and say that she was going to put them back on the shelf.

I agree; it's selfish, rude and wasteful. If you're elderly or disabled or whatever, maybe you could give the product to a worker at the shop to return for you, so you wouldn't have to "schlep back to the fridge or freezer"

If you're able bodied, though, you have no excuse.

YANBU. How can you be so bloody lazy that you can't take something on which you've changed your mind back to where you got it??

Maybe the supermarkets could have clearer signs say on the fridges to say items must not be left out of the fridge or something - it won't change lazy/entitled people but it might raise awareness in those who just didn't think.

(The sole exception is the "a decision was made here" meme, which does make me laugh)

Fekko, how is that any different to a customer wandering around with the item in their trolley for half an hour before changing their mind and putting it back in the fridge/freezer?

I am always concerned about the tubs of ice cream covered in thick crispy flakes of ice because that ice means they have been in an environment where they were warm and then frozen again. Probably fine to eat but I don't buy them.

And then there are the items abandoned at the checkout, and just left there.

Ice - because she had no idea how long it had been sat there!

And yes - Just put the stuff back!

I frequently see people buying hot chicken in Asda/morrrisons, eating it as they go around the store and then leaving the packet on the shelves (and obviously not paying)

EggysMom no-one has to schlep back to the fridges or freezer section.

You just say to the cashier, "Oh I'm really sorry. I no longer want this".

They press a button, call another member of staff and they pop it back where it came from.

I once took chicken breast back to the fridge item when I had picked up the wrong item which was detected after I scanned it.

I didn't mind. It was my mistake. Didn't take me two minutes to return and it meant it wouldn't have been thrown out.

Fair enough not everyone could do this especially if they are in a rush but it can't hurt to leave it in a refrigerated area or hand to a staff member and apologise surely

Agree with you, OP. Some people just don't care about anyone or anything other than themselves.

For fridge items there really is no excuse, even if you are in a rush, elderly or even mobility issue as there are fridges everywhere! Just put the item back in the first fridge you see if you can't walk to the correct one.

Of course there are always the supermarket warriors who think it is clever to put random items into other peoples trolleys...

I should imagine that adds to food being dumped when it is discovered. He