Do people have no shame any more?

[tachetastic]

I don't know if the worst part of this story is the fact that its theft or the fact people don't care.

I was in Tesco this morning buying eggs (the normal type, not chocolate) and a couple were standing by the egg display swapping the eggs from two half-dozen boxes of the fancy premium brand eggs into a box for 12 Tesco own-brand eggs. They weren't even being subtle about it. He was just standing there holding the boxes while she swapped the eggs over. He then double checked that the designer eggs she had put in the Tesco box were all unbroken, and then they put the expensive box containing the cheap eggs back on the shelf and put the cheap box with the expensive eggs in their trolley, and off they went.

During all of this I and three other customers were just standing openly watching them and casting glances at each other.

The difference in price was probably about 50p per box, so about a quid in total. But is that the point? Are the eggs so much better that it's worth a heist, or are people just so pissed off with the CoL crisis that anything they can do to feel that they are getting something for nothing is worth while?

The couple so clearly didn't care that I couldn't see the point in telling them it was theft, but when they left I moved the two boxes containing the cheap eggs to one side and left them open, so nobody would pick them up not realising they weren't the fancy eggs.

AIBU, this is fine and large supermarkets have it coming?

or AINBU, this is still theft and cheeky fuckery of the highest order?

And more interestingly, what cheeky fuckers have you seen lately who could beat this?

Oh wow. That wouldn’t even occur to me. Lol. And the lack of shame! They’re just essentially dishonest people. What more can you say?

The price of eggs is no yolk. I'm not surprised they didn't want to shell out.

Not the point of your OP, but I’m hoping that somebody else had already done the egg swap with these exact same eggs, so that the CFs actually DID go home with the cheaper eggs rather than the (presumably) free range ones, as the “expensive” ones were actually cheap ones that had already been swapped 🤞🤞

I think non-free range eggs and chickens should be illegal. (Also not the point of your OP, sorry !)

CFs haunt the supermarkets where I live. I’ve seen people brazenly walking out with bottles of wine, packs of chicken breasts, packs of cheese etc… without batting an eyelid. Also at our local Lidl there are all the plants and bags of compost etc stacked up outside the store and people literally help themselves 🤦‍♀️

So you just stood and watched without saying anything to them.

Well yes. I guess I kind of hoped that me just really openly watching them would give them some sense of shame and make them realise how stupid they looked.

If my kids had been there I would have said something to reinforce the importance of not stealing, but I honestly couldn’t see them stopping and I didn’t know where a conversation would go beyond “that’s theft”. “Yes?” “Well stop” “why?” “Erm. Because it’s theft.”

I'm not surprised she didn't. They weren't hiding what they were doing which tells you the sort of person they are.

Did you think they would politely accept any comments and return the eggs or carry on whilst swearing at the OP?

Shocking behaviour but unsurprising sadly.

You crack me up! 🐣

Heading towards a low trust society where everything gets a security tag or gets put behind a counter. Too many people taking the piss or just plain robbing them these days and there’s no enforcement. The people doing this stuff know that they are very unlikely to get caught.

I always check the eggs because of this. I buy the double yolk ones from Waitrose but you would be able to tell straightaway with those as they are twice as big as a lot of eggs

Ugh people like this ruin things for everyone. If this becomes a thing then they will start sealing up the boxes so you can't check for broken ones.
YANBU, some people have absolutely no shame.
I don't leave the house much so I don't see much CF but I'm sure there's lots of people doing low life stuff like this... Thankfully the majority of people are normal and would never even think to do this!

I LOVE that idea - worthy of a TV comedy farce, that is! Just thinking of them actively diddling themselves when they could have done nothing and been blameless in benefiting!

I don't think most supermarkets sell non-free-range eggs anymore, do they? I think having to put the word 'caged' on the box, rather than just hoping people wouldn't think about it, probably showed them up for what a horrible practice it is to be seen condoning to make a bit more profit at the expense of abject misery for sentient creatures.

I have read about this happening nowadays in the newspaper recently.

Since bird flu, the term free range is not quite what most people think.

I witnessed this is Waitrose a couple of weeks ago. I was stood right next to the woman and couldnt believe her audacity. I must admit I’m normally very outspoken but I simply went and got a member of staff by which point the woman had scuttled off.

I would not confront anyone now as I won’t risk getting spat at/hit etc. I don’t trust that the law would protect me if something went wrong. If staff are told not to get involved then I certainly won’t.

We are in dangerous times with no consequences for the feckless, the violent etc basically people think they can do what they like with impunity and they’re being proven right.

Yes, there are already more and more products now with security cages in the shops - certainly not the sort you would consider to be 'premium'. It looks really ugly and uninviting to people who do want to consider actually buying them.

I could see it ending one of two ways: either with high-tech methods that automatically scan everything each person leaves with and charges their account (without which entry will be barred); or otherwise back to the old days where everything is kept behind a counter and you have to ask the shop assistant to get it for you and pay before they hand it over.

This is true, sadly. I suppose all we can do is take the highest-welfare option available to us.

I agree that it’s the height of CFery, and I would have told a member of staff, but I do think there is a noticeable difference between different eggs.

Some people are just dishonest. 🤷‍♀️

@MrsEmmelinePankhurst I think non-free range eggs and chickens should be illegal

i agree with you on this entirely. To be clear, the eggs they were stealing were “premium” meaning from a named farm from a designer breed of chicken. Even the box they were putting them in was a free range egg box (they didn’t seem to care if people knew they were thieves but they didn’t want people thinking they bought eggs from caged hens!)

I noticed because they used a box from the display of eggs I buy from which are definitely free range.

so did you report this to Tesco staff before they left the shop?
Up to Tesco whether they acted on your info of course.

If not, I don't think you can claim the high ground re moral stance and shaming

You're right, some people don't care.

Just as you didn't care enough to discreetly tell a member of staff.

There was a man in Sainsburys last week at the scan and shop till next to me who had a mini check. He'd weighed 3 loose fennel bulbs but got a ticket for carrots which are a lot cheaper. He did have to pay for the fennel but I wonder how many people do the same and just claim to have made a mistake if they're checked?

Urgh people are just awful. You should have alerted a member of staff to what they were doing.

Considering how expensive things are, i am not surprised in the slightest! Maybe the supermarkets need to stop ripping the farmers & customers off!

It's just another form of shoplifting really isn't it and staff often just turn a blind eye. People at out local Tesco's just walk out with trays of chicken etc.