People openly stealing in Greggs

[Xraytime]

Whilst I was in the queue for a coffee, 4 different people came in and took several sandwiches, doughnuts and drinks.

They were not together.

I feel like Greg’s need to put every behind the counter, I can’t see how it’s sustainable long term.

I see this at different Greggs aswell but there will normally be just one person. Today was shocking.

The thieves are likely to have guns to.
As a former sales assistant I really wouldn't want to be shot thank you very much.
The company I worked for had a staff member slashed with a knife. I can't remember if they survived. I don't think they did because it was on the national news (this was years ago).

Of course stealing is wrong, but I am thinking about how hard off you have to be to risk the potential embarrassment of getting caught and a criminal conviction over stealing a budget sandwich or a doughnut

Nail on the head.

It's nice for the Lefties to think those stealing are homeless/poor, but it's not the case at all. A lot of it is just lawless dross who do what they want, when they want. I was in our village Co Op yesterday lunchtime and three loud mouth "thug" type people came in, grabbed sandwiches, drinks, and sausage rolls/pies and just walked straight out again. Back to their scaffolding van! The shop assistant was watching them.

The country is becoming like a third world hell hole with low level crime, litter, traffic offences, etc., and the police aren't remotely interested in anything other than "easy fixes" to tick their boxes. The longer it goes unchallenged, the worse it will get.

Spot on. UK has become a shit hole.
They’re not all hard up poor. They’re opportunists. People take if they know they can get away with it.

The thing is that they KNOW they're not going to get "caught" nor a criminal conviction because they know that police won't get involved unless the value is over £200. The worst that can happen is that the shop may ban them, but that's easier said than done as most smaller shops won't have security staff on the door!

I once stopped to buy fuel and finished up buying a wrap from the Greggs stall and it was surprisingly good.

I doubt these are the sort of people who don't have any sense of shame, usually they are quite proud of their success at thieving.

I doubt it.

Don't you understand the difference between sales and profit??

Exactly this . People do what they know they can get away with. Law and order is breaking down.

Would you all feel the same if it was a mum stealing food for her kids lunch?

The same happens in Pret don't you know! I've seen it with my own eyes!

There’s always videos of people filling large shopping bags with stolen food in Greggs. Always men.

Greggs need to put all food and drinks behind the counter otherwise the prices will skyrocket.

True. I've worked with homeless people. The public feed the beggars very well. They steal food to sell to people who give them money for..... DRUGS!

Seems to happen a lot.

I’ve seen this 4 times recently and I’m not often in Greggs! So it’s eveh single time I’ve gone. I would not judge if it was someone homeless but it was a man on his latest iPhone who apparently worked just down the high street and did it weekly if not daily. They don’t bother stopping him.

also watched someone stealing from boots yesterday with a buggy and pretend baby screaming at them to not touch her hidden baby eg stolen goods. They finally got the items off her (couldn’t believe it) but she just walked off free down the high street as the police said they weren’t going to bother coming to the boots staff. Felt so bad for them

I know that retail workers are told not to challenge shoplifters, in case of violence, but the sheer barefaced robbery that is going on is appalling.

The moral code is definitely breaking down and I struggle to believe that much of the thieving that goes on is because of poverty. There are food banks and whilst I know it’s not straightforward to access them, there are organisations and supermarkets up and down the country providing free or very cheap food.

Some thieves may be desperate. I think most are either stealing to order, or chancers.

I think you should be less bothered about people stealing from a huge corporation, and more concerned about the fact you are eating Greggs!

Yes in sales which is how much money they take in total but doesn’t include the cost of making the items, paying the rent, paying the staff etc

sales does not equal profit, I’m sure you can understand that?

I've found myself wondering lately, what do the police actually DO? I realise they are understaffed like many industries but all I hear is that they arent able to do this or that due to lack of resources - everything from smoking weed to shoplifting to anti-social behaviour seems to go unchallenged and it really depresses me. I'd love to hear from someone who could explain why it's like this, surely it cant all be due to lack of money.

I was abroad recently and it was so noticeable how much better life felt - and so depressing coming back to the UK where everything seems to be broken and dirty with litter everywhere and a general feeling of being unloved.

Don't be a snob. It's food. Ordinary food.

Most of us don't need the threat of police or being shown up to behave. Most of us will stand in a shop if the assistant is out the back, waiting for them to come out so we can pay.

Some of us need a constant threat of punishment in order to behave. If that punishment isn't there (the police washing their hands of shoplifting) then they will obey their outlaw instincts.

It starts young. Most pupils will behave without the need for punishment. Some need the threat of punishment . If that punishment isn't there (the teacher being told not to use effective discipline) then they give in to their outlaw instincts.

They become the adults who operate outside the law because the only thing that would stop them is fear of consequences and there aren't any.

Most of us don't need fear of consequences but the group who do will expand as ever growing numbers realise that they are free to do as they like.

They will pull us all down-in past generations they were contained but now they're off the leash. Depressing and even more depressing to see some hop on and make excuses.

Did you honestly expect, even if we had a Labour government committed to real social change, they would have managed to fix everything in a few months?

Thing is, if anyone is hungry and desperate there are options. Food banks. Approaching members of the public - most people would be delighted to actually buy someone food rather than give them money knowing it's possibly going on drink or drugs. There are soup kitchens. Various religious organisations do free food for the poor.
No-one needs to steal. And while it may be humiliating asking for help, is it really worse than being seen publicly stealing?

If you see footage of the brazen thieves, they're not desperate, hollow-eyed single mothers or little old ladies. They're swaggering, black-clad youths with masks up. The staff are told not to stop them because they'd be in genuine danger of being assaulted or stabbed.

The genuinely poor are mostly just suffering quietly, turning their heating off and eking out their food supplies, while the entitled parasites just help themselves to whatever the hell they want.

@BettyButtersBatter yes because where do you draw the line and most doing it aren't in that situation - if it's that dire then go down the legal route, food banks, end of day food apps- I've been in pretty rubbish situations many years ago and never stole food - doesn't matter if it's Pret or Greggs.

in past generations they were contained but now they're off the leash

Yep. In the past, people had some semblance of shame too. Not anymore.