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?

Like Beamish, like the olden days, or as my 20 something DD ask can you remember doing that! Cheeky buggers, I can’t admit that the local shop as a child everything was behind the counter! But it was more like ‘ Open all Hours’ tv show

Supermarkets near me now open the boxes to check because of this.

Plus, if the issue with the eggs is that you end up with different ones from the ones you paid for (and the box said you were getting); surely the spouse-swapping equivalent would be in being led to believe that you were marrying one person and then getting home and finding you'd actually wed somebody else whom you never intended?!

The Order of Service said it was the wedding of you and Tom Hiddlestone; but you go home afterwards and find Piers Morgan scratching his balls and eating Wotsits on your brand new marital sofa

I am on the Pedantic spectrum and would point out that Shoplifting isn’t the correct terminology, it’s Theft from a Shop. In the same way that Joyriding isn’t correct, it’s ‘Vehicle Taking without Consent’. Shoplifting and Joyriding seem to reduce the seriousness of the crime in the eyes of some people.

That said, in this case there are two levels of loser, the poor people who unknowingly buy a package stating ‘posh eggs’ but with inferior eggs inside and, if the original act is noticed and the store rectifies it, then ‘we’ as purchasers are all losers because retailers have to factor this into their prices.

Again, that said, please don’t beat up the shop/supermarket staff. All Police and retail owners will tell their staff not to intervene, due to the increase in perpetrators becoming violent and using weapons. I recently saw a TV programme where a security guard was stabbed by a thief taking £20 worth of goods from a B&M. He nearly died but thankfully saved initially by some switched on Police officers and then medics.

Blame the degradation of society, addictions, and organised crime. And no, I don’t know how this has happened nor how to reverse it.

Why didn't you get store security involved? You saw what they were doing, a few paces over to the security guard would have at least highlighted what they were doing.

doing nothing is not a good option. Coming on here and talking about it is really limp. And it's told a load more people who didn't know about this scam.

we are all paying for these acts of theft in higher prices.

I personally think that supermarkets will end up using facial recognition at the doors. That way, a thief can get away once, unchallenged, as nobody wants to risk their health or their life in apprehending them; but they can transfer the image from the CCTV that captures them stealing and add it to their 'barred' list - so everybody's face is scanned when approaching the entrance and, if somebody on the barred list is detected, the shutters immediately come down.

They could extend it to anybody they wanted to bar as well, not just thieves - people who return a suspiciously high volume of purchases, those who abuse the staff, those who poo on the floor in the middle of the aisles (adults - and yes, this does happen). As long as they have photo/video proof of the reason in their data banks and there's no suggestion of discriminatory barring based on protected characteristics, who could stop them?

Actually, they're probably more likely to approach it from an 'opt in' angle, whereby all would-be customers have to register to be allowed to come in and agree to have their faces scanned before they're green-lighted to enter - and then lose the privilege if they 'offend' in any way. Kind of like a Clubcard before you can go in to the shop at all, rather than just to get special offers and coupons.

Once one shop did this (amidst initial community backlash, I'm sure), all the thieves would go to other shops that didn't have it; meaning that the ante would be upped and, before long, every shop would either have to have it or get all of the thieves from the whole region coming in every day. It's not how I would like society to be in the least, but I can see it coming regardless.

omg I might have called out on them.

I agree with most of this and to a certain extent I am now getting more comfortable with supermarket delivery now we are mostly housebound.
Every generation says this but I'm pleased I'm not starting out in life.

DP is a police officer. One time we went to a Tesco, intending to go up the travelator. As we stepped on to it, he noticed two young men, each carrying a basket full of bottles of spirits. very definitely not heading to the tills. DP also clocked that the emergency exit doors were open.

He immediately started calling over to the security guard, and when he was ignored, ran back down the travelator directly to the security guard. Unfortunately, even though it only took a few seconds, the two youths had already run out of the handily-open emergency exit.

The security guard literally shrugged his shoulders. Not worth the effort of breaking into a run, or even a slightly speedy walk, even though there must have been a couple of hundred pounds' worth of booze in the baskets.

I think if they won't move for goods worth that much, they're probably not going to even listen to someone telling them about egg-substituters.

What is the point of the security people nowadays, they don't do anything.

A rubbish deterrent. But they are not allowed to do anything, and don't get paid enough to risk themselves anyway.

The security I've saw in Markies are pro active and don't fuck about.
Will vary from place to place I would imagine.

Seriously??? How on earth would buying the cheaper eggs they paid for impact their lives? I can't say I have ever noticed a difference in any of the eggs I have ever purchased.

Honestly I can't believe that anyone could defend this sort of thing.

Thankfully I live in a small town (not in the UK) and this sort of thing is unlikely. For a start there are always supermarket staff in the various aisles putting stock on the shelves or packing shopping, but I have never seen anyone stealing - and I am there several days a week. I'm sure it goes on, but not in the blatant way I read about it on here.

I’m glad I shop with Ocado

Me too!

If the OP HAD said something,she probably would have received a mouthful of abuse. Or worse.

I used to watch people do this 20 years ago - it’s always been super common, I’ve never understood why egg boxes are t sealed

If you're going to steal, this seems like a stupid thing to steal...I mean you're just exchanging an egg for another egg. Whats the point?

Doesn't seem worth the risk of being caught or shamed to me.

I always open the box and check none are broken before I put them in my basket. I thought that was a pretty normal thing to do.
Considering the price of them now, I want all 6 to be whole.

I agree, but the price of free range eggs at Tesco varies from 20p per egg to 50p per egg. Maybe feeling they are getting 50p eggs for the price of 20p eggs is enough for some people.

Our local jb hifi (Australian chain selling small electronics etc.) has to lock down everything including the phone charger cords because theft was so high. Rebel (sports store chain) has such high theft they called it out in their annual results briefing. It’s everywhere and it’s all ages.

I recently saw someone in M&S rip off the cover of veg or some sort of ready meal, and replace it with a discounted label that was out of date that day, so basically getting fresher product but at the discounted price that was going out of date that day! CF!

I was walking down an aisle in Waitrose the other day and saw two men using their arms to clear a shelf directly into a shopping bag.

One of the men went on ahead, while the other put the handles of the bag over his shoulder.

As I turned the corner at the end of the aisle, the man carrying the bag headed out the door, alarms going off.

It was clearly a well rehearsed routine.

Nobody looked up, nobody batted an eyelid and I don't think that anyone else noticed.

I sure as he'll wasn't going to get involved in this day and age. What would be the point if telling staff after the event either? The alarms went if and no member of staff even seemed to look. They have CCTV that I'm sure they can look back on to see where the stock went.

I went back to look at the shelf. £30 pots of face cream. Probably £400-£500 worth out the door.

The gall and front of these people!

But, there is no consequence any more. The police don't come out for stuff like this anymore as there aren't enough of them! I think there are 6 police officers on shift at any one time serving two large towns and a few surrounding villages near where I live!!!

I’m listening to a debate on LBC at the moment about an employee at Waitrose who was sacked for tackling a shoplifter. They were saying if no one can do anything about it, then people will know they can get away with it, and the very fabric of society will break down. Perhaps this explains why shoplifters are so brazen.

How are shops supposed to insure against shoplifting if they are expected to just stand by and left shoplifters walk out the shop with anything that takes their fancy?

As time goes by, it feels like this world is becoming a more and more shittier place to live, and this is just another reason.

Exactly. I would have expected verbal abuse if they were confronted. That's absolutely shocking behaviour. What the hell?