Colleague stealing my noodles

[doitinadayswork]

And replacing them the following day with a pot noodle

The noodles in question are a Korean brand, very tasty. You can actually get them in B&M

I have a colleague who takes my noodles if I hadn't had time to stop and eat that day

And she replaced them the following morning with a pot noodle (argh).

I told my manager who said we like to 'give and take' in this department and was it really such a huge deal? I said she isn't replacing what I got though

AIBU here? What on earth do I do? She isn't one to cross, the thief. She is quite vocal and a higher band who could make me miserable if she so chose to do so

This is ridiculous on so many levels.

Don't leave them where she can take them
If you know who it it TELL HER to stop stealing your stuff (her leaving a pot noodle back is irrelevant, she is stealing your stuff
Tell the manager theft in the workplace is not acceptable

What others have said. Either lock them away in your bag, desk or a mini safe, or lace them with soap if not laxatives. Also, your manager is pathetic.

Do not continue to put them in the communal area. I wouldn’t put notes on food etc either, I’d just drop it. You have to work there, she’s vocal, the management think this culture is okay etc. You won’t do yourself any favours.

There’s really no need to store them in a communal space anyway, just leave them in your bag until you want to eat them. That’s what I do. I only put things in our staffroom if it needs to be refrigerated.

It’s bad she’s done this but I’d have to just let it go and keep my noodles in my bag going forward.

How many times has this happened? And what noodles are they?

Your manager sounds quite mad.

What happens when you go to eat your noodles and they aren't there?

If your manager keeps lunch, go and eat hers, then tell her you are followimg her advice.

Pot Noodle is no replacement for those noodles OP.

I remember the day my boss finally fired this guy who'd been taking the piss for ages. We all saw him leaving carrying bags of food out the door.

What we didn't realise until later was that he'd emptied the full staff fridge and freezer and stolen everyone's food. 😂

Well they must be fucking delicious to cause this drama so which ones are they?

Ugh pot noodles are horrible I'd be annoyed.
Can you handle spice? I'd be swapping them out with buldak spicy noodles.

Just speak to her?

Ask if she's going to eat your food can she replace with a like for like.

If she likes yours so much, ask her for money towards a communal noodle supply.

YANBU.

It's stealing and I would also be pissed off with a pot noodle replacement...yuk!

Why do you not just keep them in your bag or desk (if you have one) though! It's not like they need to be kept in a fridge.

A crap manager, quelle surprise. As PPs said, you'll just have to keep them in your bag so your colleague can't get them. You shouldn't have to, of course, but you do.

Another one asking for details of these noodles please!

Your colleague is being cheeky and replacing with an inferior brand

I think if it was just a one-off, I'd be annoyed, but not the end of the world. If it's happened more than once then I'd keep some in an available place with a very hot sauce / lots of salt / something that won't harm anyone, but will taste vile. May make her think twice about doing it again.

I’d peel one back, fill it with dried chillis/chilli powder and glue it back. Write your name on the side/top. Won’t have any reason to complain.

We used to have a biscuit table at work. We all bought biscuits except our manager. Who was taking them home at the end of the day! So we started keeping them in a colleagues desk.
He actually muttered about lack of biscuits and going to HR! (Worst person I’ve ever known).

Did she do it once or continuously? Once, I would probably ignore, if it’s every day then yes speak to her.

The cheek! If you are at work about pass out with hunger then you ask if anyone has spare noddles and offer replace. You don’t take someone’s lunch then replace randomly different item expect them not to care or notice. Are you sure you aren’t eating someone else’s lunch by mistake?

Are they Soba noodles OP? Cos if someone stole my Soba noodles Classic I would injure them!

You can buy fake dog poo on Amazon (DS has some) stick some in the next pot of noodles you leave in the office.

😂, I admire his gumption. People are absolutely bonkers.

Would ye aye 🥴

OP ‘what on earth do I do?’ obviously don’t give the woman access to steal your food. No reason for it to be in the kitchen. Since everyone is too scared to tell the woman to stop stealing, change your own behaviour.

Did she do it once or repeatedly?

If it's once, just say it to her. If it's repeatedly then say it to her and keep them in your bag/drawer/locker as appropriate.

Genuinely can't believe you bothered your manager with this.

I wonder if your manager would have thought you taking a computer and replacing it with an inferior model was also in that spirit of give and take.

YANBU, pot noodles aren’t even in the same league as the (not even expensive) Korean noodles. My husband once replaced some with Sainsbury’s own curry flavour. BLAND.

@doitinadayswork
I would leave a pot noddle there instead for her to steal.

Presumably you have a reason that they need to be out of your bag. Do they need to be in the fridge? If so just bring in a cool bag and ice pack and keep your noodles with you.