WWYD - convenience store mishap

[sam_gordon]

And what happens when they're putting them on the shelves and drop the same vase ...does it come out of their paycheck? If customers are allowed to "handle" merchandise, most stores expect *some* loss over the course of time.

As the customer, I would still be responsible, whether it's an accident or not. Just my opinion of course.

 

[GAN]

As the customer, I would still be responsible, whether it's an accident or not. Just my opinion of course.

Negligence is complicated

 

[Magical2017]

I'd expect to pay, and would probably offer. I know that at some places when we have paid for an ice cream cone and one of my kids dropped theirs, they usually have replaced it at no charge. Adults make mistakes too, but I would pay.

 

[Procrastinate]

Right up there with the folks who eat most of the hot dog on the way to the checkout, have all their cards declined, and have no cash.

Not the same thing at all and have never and would never do that. But a dropped hot dog is a normal cost of business. I would clean it up and apologize, but I would not expect to pay for it. If I buy it then drop it outside, then that’s on me.

 

[Hubalorian]

If you're in a store that sells vases... you pick one up to admire it, and it slips through your fingers as you put it back on the shelf, dropping to the floor and breaking. Should you pay for it?

What's the difference?

There is probably a do not touch sign on the vase, or a break it you buy it sign. If there is a you drop a hot dog sign then I’ll pay for it if I drop it

 

[White Cat]

I wouldn’t be buying hot dogs in a convenience store. So it wouldn’t happen. But in your senario you should pay for 3.

 

[GoingSince1990]

The fair reimbursement for the loss would be the cost of the spoiled ingredients, not the full retail price of a hot dog.

 

[tvguy]

Not the same thing at all and have never and would never do that. But a dropped hot dog is a normal cost of business. I would clean it up and apologize, but I would not expect to pay for it. If I buy it then drop it outside, then that’s on me.

Also depends on how the employees are monitored by the owner. My wife worked at a snack bar where they not only had to count out the money in the cash register, they had to count soda cups, hamburger patties, hot dogs and pizzas and if 100 hot dogs were sold that day, 100 hot dogs had to have been rung up and paid for, what ever hamburger patties were gone had to match the sales, sodas, etc or the employees had to pay for it.

 

[LoveDaisy]

I was recently in a car accident going to pick up a pizza and never made it. I went the next day and paid for it. While I don’t eat hot dogs if I was making it for someone else and dropped it I would clean up and offer to pay.

 

[RedAngie]

My company didn’t charge for accidentally dropped food. That $1.69 hot dog cost us about 35 cents, including the bun, package, and an allowance for condiments.

Food was dropped by both customers and employees all the time. Yes, in some stores food spoilage accounts were suspiciously high, but it was just the cost of doing business.

@tvguy, your wife worked in a toxic environment if the snack bar owner was that ridiculous.

 

[dpswift]

I wouldn't pay for it ...it's a cost of operating a self-service area. They understand there will be some loss -in fact, if an employee saw it happen more than likely they would tell you not to worry about it

Very true. For a hotdog I would expect them to eat the cost. In food service there is room for mistakes. I once broke a watermelon in a grocery store. I asked for a bag intending to purchase it but the manager picked it up and refused to let me pay.

If it were a piece of glass in a china shop I would definitely expect to pay. However again some loss is figured in so I might not have to. But having worked in food service I know accidents happened

I also worked in a big box store. We had many guests that would happily tell us of things that they had broken so that we could clean their mess. They had no plans to pay nor were they asked to.

 

[dpswift]

Right up there with the folks who eat most of the hot dog on the way to the checkout, have all their cards declined, and have no cash.

Seriously people shouldn’t be eating before paying, however after working several years in food service I know that even people with excellent credit can have their cards turned off without realizing it. Always give people the benefit of the doubt.

 

[_19disnA]

Well at least you aren't asking our opinion on putting the one you dropped on the floor back and pretending it never happened !!!

 

[Disneychick13]

This scenario happened to me. We were in a bigger convenience store so I don’t even know that they saw it happen. Same thing, dropped a hot dog on the floor and threw it away so I went to the register with one hot dog. I told them that I dropped one on the floor and threw it away. They did not charge me for it but I was prepared to have to pay for it (same as if I broke something).

 

[Sweettears]

Seriously people shouldn’t be eating before paying, however after working several years in food service I know that even people with excellent credit can have their cards turned off without realizing it. Always give people the benefit of the doubt.

Unlikely coincidence to affect several different cards

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Why is this even an issue? Of course I pay for it. The one that hit the floor is Mother in Law's hotdog.

Well at least you aren't asking our opinion on putting the one you dropped on the floor back and pretending it never happened !!!

I never thought of that. Good thinking for when MIL isn't with me.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Also depends on how the employees are monitored by the owner. My wife worked at a snack bar where they not only had to count out the money in the cash register, they had to count soda cups, hamburger patties, hot dogs and pizzas and if 100 hot dogs were sold that day, 100 hot dogs had to have been rung up and paid for, what ever hamburger patties were gone had to match the sales, sodas, etc or the employees had to pay for it.

It is illegal to make employees pay for accidents in the state of California.
https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Deductions.htm

A.

No, your employer cannot legally make such a deduction from your wages if, by reason of mistake or accident a cash shortage, breakage, or loss of company property/equipment occurs. The California courts have held that losses occurring without any fault on the part of the employee or that are merely the result of simple negligence are inevitable in almost any business operation and thus, the employer must bear such losses as a cost of doing business. For example, if you accidentally drop a tray of dishes, take a bad check, or have a customer walkout without paying a check, your employer cannot deduct the loss from your paycheck.

There is an exception for willful misconduct or gross negligence but it must be proven before said deduction is made.

 

[Sweettears]

It is illegal to make employees pay for accidents in the state of California.
https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Deductions.htm

A.

No, your employer cannot legally make such a deduction from your wages if, by reason of mistake or accident a cash shortage, breakage, or loss of company property/equipment occurs. The California courts have held that losses occurring without any fault on the part of the employee or that are merely the result of simple negligence are inevitable in almost any business operation and thus, the employer must bear such losses as a cost of doing business. For example, if you accidentally drop a tray of dishes, take a bad check, or have a customer walkout without paying a check, your employer cannot deduct the loss from your paycheck.

There is an exception for willful misconduct or gross negligence but it must be proven before said deduction is made.

I believe this is true in most states if not all

 

[Ms.Minnie]

As an act of goodwill, the convivence store shouldn't ask you to pay for an accident. It would go a long way to let it pass and may encourage return business. Also, unless the cashier saw the hotdog hit the floor how did they know that you had 3 hotdogs and not just two? If they did see the dog hit the ground, they should have acted to have the mess cleaned up and not expect the customer to do it. I myself would have cleaned up the mess but really the store should take care of the mess especially if they want to pay for the dropped dog. I do like the idea of taking the dropped dog home for pooch, wash it off at home, cut it up and it makes a nice treat for the pup.

 

[TinkAgainU]

I wouldn't pay for it ...it's a cost of operating a self-service area. They understand there will be some loss -in fact, if an employee saw it happen more than likely they would tell you not to worry about it

I'm in the "pay for it group" but must say ... when you offer a self-service area you are going to have accidents ... my theory is they didn't train the (free - me) staff well enough lol. So if they say they are charging me for it, I politely challenge (mentioning I cleaned up the mess) and let it go if they say must charge me.

Notice we are talking about a Hot Dog. But if you want to switch up this question, assume a dealership asked you to move a car that was blocking yours to get out, and you accidentally bumped a pole doing $2,000 in damage to the building - now, what is your position on self-service?