What I Saw in the Produce Section Today...

[Mrs. Charming]

Okay, I admit it, I've let little ones eat the food before I purchased it. Most of the time, it was a bagel or roll, and I just put an empty bag in my cart for a reminder to let the cashier know. It was always food I hadn't planned on purchasing for home, so the store had an extra sale because I wanted to keep cranky kids happy so I could finish shopping.

I've done this too, sometimes DD just gets cranky, and I need a little bribery to get through the store. I *always always always* give the package to the cashier to scan and pay for what DD's eaten. No cashier has ever had a problem with it.

 

[SAHDad]

My favorite are the people taking off the outside cabbage leaves - when cabbage cost 17 cents per pound!

That never bothered me much. Sometimes those outer leaves can hide some pretty serious flaws with a cabbage, so some people remove them to check. And we had plenty of people shuck corn when it was in season (we kept a garbage can nearby for just such a purpose).

In general, we ignored people taking a grape or two, or a couple of cherries. But some people would just go grazing down the produce aisles. . .

 

[mhsjax]

I ALWAYS taste one grape, I refuse to buy them until I taste one, I have gotten so many yucky ones. Apples don't work that way, I buy maybe 2 at a time in case they stick.

where I shop (GO PUBLIX) they always offer you a taste of the deli meat and if you have your kids with you they give them a sample. They also have free cookies for kids under twelve. If my kids are hungry and my deli meat has been weighed I will go into the bag and give them a piece, but like I said it has been weighed. The cashiers never think anything about boxes being open, in fact they will make sure that if the box is opened that you are the one that opened that you are the one that opened it and it didn't come that way.

 

[mrs_hower726]

But how do you know the person didn't have a legitimate reason to open the package and eat a few things? (I have a cousin who is a bad diabetic and if his sugar goes low, he needs something to eat fast. He doesn't have time to wait until he pays for it first. )

And as long as they are paying for it, why do you care?

If your cousin is a bad diabetic, why wouldn't he carry something on him to begin with? What happens for those times he's not in a grocery store?

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I worked at Target for awhile and defiantly knew that tons of food was consumed in store before purchasing...aka bottle soda and water, candy bars, individual snack bags

I also couldn't stand when they hand you a box opened up to ring up and go sorry I had to eat some I was so hungary. My thought is you are a grown adult and you have no self control to wait 10-15 minutes more. Same with when they give the stuff to their kids it is just teaching bad manners. It is not your property till you pay for it.

I have to chime in here. Sometimes it is not a matter of self control. I am pregnant and there are times when the nausea comes on so fast that no- I cannot wait another 10-15 minutes or I will either puke or pass out because the store is so hot. I try to plan accordingly but sometimes even the best laid plans.......

 

[Mrs. Charming]

I have to chime in here. Sometimes it is not a matter of self control. I am pregnant and there are times when the nausea comes on so fast that no- I cannot wait another 10-15 minutes or I will either puke or pass out because the store is so hot. I try to plan accordingly but sometimes even the best laid plans.......

Ohh yeah. Ditto on that one, too.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Sampling from a closed container is stealing.

I rotate the berry package to check for mold, bruising or smushed berries. I don't open the package.

If she needed to sample something, she should have asked.


And while I don't believe in consuming anything prior to purchase--this isn't even in the same ballpark b/c she is sampling from multiple containers without intent to purchase until she finds "the right one". Apples and oranges so to speak.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

It doesn't surprise me. There are some people who do that in the deli department here. They will order a pound of ham, turkey, cheese etc. and then ask to taste each one. It's cold cuts people! You buy the same brand every week! It does not change! Go buy a sandwich and leave the deli guys alone.

When I buy from the deli at publix, they do offer a sample. Each and every time. They've even cut multiple slices for my kids.

I kind of wish they didn't--just slice it up, pack it up and let me be on my way.

But I appreciate it when I am interested in purchasing an item that I've never tried before.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I've done this too, sometimes DD just gets cranky, and I need a little bribery to get through the store. I *always always always* give the package to the cashier to scan and pay for what DD's eaten. No cashier has ever had a problem with it.

They tell you they aren't bothered, but often they are just being nice. I was a cashier for years and the last thing that I would do is chastize a customer who couldn't walk the distance to the front to pay for something before consuming.

Nothing would have stopped you from walking to a register and paying for it prior to consumption.

And if you have done this often enough that it is regular--pack some goldfish crackers...or go grab a pack, buy it and let the kid snack away

There are lots of things us cashiers seem to not have problems with--but it certainly isn't a blessing.

 

[Sparx]

Its not okay to eat food in a store, especially from multiple containers. If you have some sort of hidden disability that causes you to suddenly HAVE to eat, then bring your own, paid for food. It isn't hard to carry a granola bar with you, take some personal responsibility.

 

[bettymae1121]

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I was a cashier at Target. We were fine if someone wanted to open a bottle of cold Coke to drink while shoping, or let their kids eat a bag of M&M's while waiting in line to check out. The shoper gives us the open item to scan, and it's all good. We didn't want people having a picnic in our stores, but then we didn't ever have a problem with mass consumption in-store that I ever knew about. Just the occasional hungry or thirsty customer. Honestly, if a juice box is going to keep your kid from screaming throughout the store while you shop, PLEASE give him one and we'll ring it up, no problem! Now, this was just our store and this was 15 years ago, as always YMMV.

Now, snacking your way through the produce department is way different. If you truely want a taste of something prior to buying, ask for a sample. Also most chain stores have a "satisfaction guarantee" so if you don't taste and do get a bad item, you can usually get a refund or an exchange with no hassle.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

The produce stories here are yucky, but I don't see the big deal with opening a box of cookies and giving my kid one while we're shopping. I don't want to teach my kid (17 months old) bad manners though, so please fill me in on why that is rude.

One grocery store I sometimes go to has produce for sale for the kids right at the front door--put a quarter in the piggy bank and take an apple, banana, or whatever else they have that day. They intend for the kid to eat it in the store. Other stores I frequent have snack bars, coffee shops etc. So I don't think eating in the store is the issue.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I totally understand eating one grape. Grapes can be really good or really bad. They should just offer samples all the time for grapes, but then I guess no one would buy the bad ones! I still don't do it, because it doesn't feel right.

For my kids when they were little, I always packed snacks in my purse so I wouldn't have to give them something I hadn't paid for.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

They tell you they aren't bothered, but often they are just being nice. I was a cashier for years and the last thing that I would do is chastize a customer who couldn't walk the distance to the front to pay for something before consuming.

Nothing would have stopped you from walking to a register and paying for it prior to consumption.

And if you have done this often enough that it is regular--pack some goldfish crackers...or go grab a pack, buy it and let the kid snack away

There are lots of things us cashiers seem to not have problems with--but it certainly isn't a blessing.

Wow, thanks for the life lesson.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I was a cashier at Target. We were fine if someone wanted to open a bottle of cold Coke to drink while shoping, or let their kids eat a bag of M&M's while waiting in line to check out. The shoper gives us the open item to scan, and it's all good. We didn't want people having a picnic in our stores, but then we didn't ever have a problem with mass consumption in-store that I ever knew about. Just the occasional hungry or thirsty customer. Honestly, if a juice box is going to keep your kid from screaming throughout the store while you shop, PLEASE give him one and we'll ring it up, no problem! Now, this was just our store and this was 15 years ago, as always YMMV.

As someone who hates to grocery shop, if this keeps your kid quiet - munch away. I only agree with this when you pay the same price for something if you ate out of the box. Don't agree with the produce grazing though.

 

[Alesia]

But how do you know the person didn't have a legitimate reason to open the package and eat a few things? (I have a cousin who is a bad diabetic and if his sugar goes low, he needs something to eat fast. He doesn't have time to wait until he pays for it first. )

And as long as they are paying for it, why do you care?

The fact is, if you're eating something that you're charged by the pound for, such as produce, then you're not paying for it.

Perhaps your cousin could carry some glucose gel with him, just in case.

 

[NotUrsula]

LOL, it's my sister during Cherry season!

One of my sisters LOVES cherries. REALLY loves cherries. During cherry season, every time she goes into a grocery store she munches her way through at least a pound before she reaches the register. She is absolutely POWERLESS to resist the call of those shiny, juicy crimson beauties.

She's been doing this for at least 40 years now, and I've never seen a store get upset with her for it. What she does is bag and weigh the cherries and write the original weight on the bag. By the time she gets to the register it is a bag of pits, but the original weight is written down, and she pays for that much. I always point out to her that she could have written a different weight, but she always looks at me like I have two heads, because she is the world's WORST liar. Trust me, the clerk would know immediately if she was fudging the original weight.

 

[mjkacmom]

They tell you they aren't bothered, but often they are just being nice. I was a cashier for years and the last thing that I would do is chastize a customer who couldn't walk the distance to the front to pay for something before consuming.

Nothing would have stopped you from walking to a register and paying for it prior to consumption.

And if you have done this often enough that it is regular--pack some goldfish crackers...or go grab a pack, buy it and let the kid snack away

There are lots of things us cashiers seem to not have problems with--but it certainly isn't a blessing.

I've been a cashier, too, and I never thought twice about people handing me an open box. They paid for it. I would think that if it was an issue, there would be a sign, since I don't think I've ever been to shoprite and NOT seen small children eating something, like a little box of animal crackers. Heck, I assumed that's why they sell those little boxes of animal crackers!

 

[legalsea]

I guess I am guilty of such behavior. When I am at the liquor store I like to 'sample' the wares, and so will open a bottle of wine or a can of beer and sip to see if I like it. Sometimes while shopping I will just get so thirsty I will have to open a can of beer and drink it down, or else give Legalsea Junior a beer to keep him from getting cranky.

 

[Jennasis]

Manhandling the raw food is just disgusting. That's why I don't eat any produce. No fresh veggies, and never any fruit. Barf!