(no subject)

[serene]

This was posted to a veg list I'm on:

> Be careful. Big brother really is watching:
>
> http://thecompanybitch.blogspot.com/2006/04/banned-from-whole-foods.html

My comment, which awaits the blog owner's approval: "I am boggled at
how many people are mad at the *store* for kicking you out for stealing.
You do realize you were stealing, right?"

Comments

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

The sign says No Nibbling, for sure the person was stealing. Over-reaction at a meatball or not, sheesh!

[thekumquat.livejournal.com]

Now if they'd asked nicely first, they'd probably have been told to go ahead - but then we wouldn't be able to have this tale of woe...

[baerana.livejournal.com]

yes... that is... odd

every once in awhile I'll see some article or something on how to choose the perfect fruit and it'll say something like "the only way to tell if grapes at a grocery store are good is to try one, and they really don't mind if you do" but even that sort of "grazing" I'm not comfortable with. And at this place, there is no way you could pretend you didn't know they'd mind - the poster admits there is a big SIGN there saying NO NIBBLING! I can't believe the reactions on that board. People saying they won't go there anymore because they tossed out a shoplifter... That makes me sad.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

At the grocery store near my office, there's often someone stocking the produce dept. who will help you make selections, including cutting samples of fruit. But I would never grab my own sample.

[smashingstars.livejournal.com]

Wow. The sign said "no nibbling" and she took a sample anyway. I can't figure out how she justified this to herself.

Reminds me of Alton Brown, who used to feature Kroger's on "Good Eats". While shopping at a Kroger's, Brown had a box of Krispy Kreme donut holes in his basket, and ate a couple while browsing. That was bad enough, but he apparently laid down the box somewhere and forgot to pick it back up, making it look like he had deliberately stolen donut holes and dumped the evidence. The Kroger's guards took him in for it and he was pissed. It's why he stopped featuring Kroger's on his show.

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

You know, I have several times had my child eat stuff while shopping in the store, to keep her from going insane during the shopping trip. But we always made sure it was something NOT charged by the pound or ounce (to avoid the problem with the grapes), AND we always made sure to pay for the item at the front, presenting our empty packaging to be rung up. Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do. But sheesh--you have to PAY for it! I will admit that banning someone for a meatball is a tad draconian, but it sounds like it wasn't ONE meatball, but the equivalent of many over the years. As far as I know, WF *will* give you samples if you ASK for them. But to not ask AND not pay, is definitely stealing.

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

And I'm sure you'll get called names for it, too.

Sheesh! Nothing like someone who has entitlement syndrome!

[simplykimberly.livejournal.com]

Our local WF have signs that say "Samples, not Supper", and provide sample cups. The "no nibbling" sign made the whole thing clear, though. And regardless of the single meatball, I think that's quite irresponsible and wasteful, and many other bad adjectives to toss out a now-unusable-to-anyone-else portion of food like that. I would have more sympathy if she had tasted a single meatball, and then gone for the sushi. Still be wrong, given the sign, but ... more excusable. Probably more excusable in the store's eyes, as well.

What a waste!

I hope your comment comes through!

[joedecker.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised that you're surprised. Near as I can tell, the majority of people on my f'list think nothing of stealing when it's from large organizations (IRS, software developers, the music industry, insurance companies, etc.), this is just more of the same.

In addition to being theft, nibbling out of the food areas is also a little, well, if I saw someone grab a metaball with their fingers I'd wonder a bit if they'd contaminated the other food, if they used a utensil to grab it and put the utensil back, ditto, one reason I'd enforce a no nibbling law if I was selling groceries would be to avoid the small but non-zero effect it has on other customers comfort with the food.

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

Well, like Serene, it suprises me too that someone would feel so entitled. It also suprises me that people think little of stealing from large organizations. Fraud is fraud and stealing is stealing, whether it be a meatball or a car.

And I'm with you on the hygiene issue. Serious, serious contamination issues could occur. Yick.

[starsail.livejournal.com]

I was perplexed at the comments blaming the store. I will sometimes grab something to drink while I am shopping but always make sure I give them the container while checking out. And people wonder why prices are always rising.

[revcarol.livejournal.com]

This is something my partner does all the time. The clerks usually look pleasantly surprised by our honesty, but one guy got pretty cranky about it. We PAID for it! I'm quite upset when I see empty or partially empty packages sitting on shelves throughout the store.

I'm also angry when I see fresh meat or frozen goods sitting on a shelf, going bad, but I'm getting a little off-topic.

[deedeebythebay.livejournal.com]

*shakes head* The post...the responses....*shakes head* I have carefully taught my girls that we don't sample unless we ask first (although I admit to tasting a grape from a batch before I buy) and we follow the rules of the signs. Often, now, the girls will catch the signs before I do.

When did stealing not becoem stealing?

[artemii.livejournal.com]

those pro-stealing comments to the post are crazy. i find it so funny how people in comments complained about WF's high prices, when people like the poster are part of the reason they have them!

as people above have said, if i eat part or all of something before i go to the cash register, i take along whatever it would have been rung up with (packaging or whatever). it's not exactly a difficult concept to grasp.

[snippy]

Not only is it stealing, but she's stealing from you, and me, and everyone else who shops there. The store has to raise its prices (to the people who actually, you know, *pay* for the food they take) to cover the losses on the items people steal.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

People have even said they wouldn't go to Whole Foods any more. Talk about skewed priorities. I can't believe the sense of entitlement. And then people wonder why prices are so high. I felt like saying "Hey, pal, I *pay* for the food I eat. That's why they let me keep shopping there. If you want your food for free, there's a dumpster out back."

I have done some work for organizations that will feed people for free on food that may have been thrown away otherwise. I would line up for free food made from day-old produce before I would take even one grape that doesn't belong to me. I fail to see how anything else is defensible.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

My favorite comment is the one from the chick who went to WF for lunch and realized at the checkout counter that she didn't have any cash or credit cards. She tried to get them to take an I.O.U., and of course they were having none of it.

So she leaves, and then realizes that she can go to the bank and cash a check. By the time she gets back to WF, of course they've thrown out her lunch. She's all indignant: "They'd rather throw away food than work something out."

Uh, yeah. They'd rather not give you lunch FOR FREE because you hand them a sob story about OMG I forgot my money. And they need to throw out food that someone's handled. This shows that they're evil... how?

[maestrodog.livejournal.com]

How difficult would it have been to ask them to hold her lunch for her while she went to the bank and cashed a check? People do make fixable mistakes...I once asked a clerk to hold my groceries for me while I drove 10 miles back home because I forgot my ATM card, and they had no problem putting them behind the customer service counter for a bit while I went back to get it.

[maestrodog.livejournal.com]

Every store I've been to will cut a piece of fruit for you or give you a sample of something if you ask them for it. Heck, my wife has asked restaurants for samples of their soup and they've always been happy to provide them. Even Whole Foods has all sorts of sample dishes of cut fruit for people. I'm sure if she had asked someone behind the counter for a meatball sample that they would have been able to provide one.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

I agree, and that's been my experience, too, but even if it weren't so, that doesn't justify taking something that's not yours. And what's worse, *wasting* half of it!

[stonebender.livejournal.com]

Another person (people) unclear on the concept. *sheesh*

[loracs.livejournal.com]

In addition to the loss of the meatball, I would add the cost of the fork and container she threw away with it. All those things add up when multiplied by 10, 20 or 100 people a day in a busy store.

Her supporters might be indignant on her behalf, but I wonder how many will think twice before "grazing" at stores now. Publicity can work both ways.

[maestrodog.livejournal.com]

There was one response up there from a guy from London who was arrested for "grazing" as well, and later presented with a bill for $300 to cover the costs incurred from his arrest, including security overtime. Fitting, IMHO. That girl was lucky that ALL they did was ban her.

[dbubley.livejournal.com]

My dad used to nibble grapes, but he KNEW he was stealing. It's only privileged people that feel entitled to just take. My sister was a regular cleptomaniac. She KNEW she wasn't entitled. She took it anyway, but she KNEW. This woman is clueless, and that really pisses me off, because 10 to 1, she'd be the first to look with disdain at my sister.

Even if I win the lottery, I don't think I'm ever going to feel as entitled as this woman did when she stole the meatball. The attitude reflects where you come from.

[curiousangel.livejournal.com]

Having done grocery management for more years than I care to think about, I'll point out that there's a big difference between sampling little produce items like grapes, and grabbing something off the buffet. We encouraged people to sample the produce -- it's an excellent way to get people to impulse-buy things that they might not ordinarily have chosen. The buffet, though... that's a different matter entirely.

I've handled a few situations like that one, and I know how and why they handled it like that. If she had protested, they might not have chosen to do anything about it; she didn't have to sign the trespass warning (although they still can ban her ass from the store if they like), and she didn't have to consent to the photo. They boot you becuase they think you'll continue stealing from them, and their margins are tight-tight-tight; mainline grocery stores run about a 1.5%-2% profit margin, while a natural-foods store is typically all the way up to 3.5%.

It's the sense of massive entitlement that her commenters have that depresses me. If they think it's OK to occasionally snarf up something that isn't theirs, then how would they feel if once every third or fourth trip the store just slapped on a random $2 "because we fuckin' feel like it" charge? That would give them a chance to find out what it's like to have random losses that they can't really do anything about.

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

The sense of entitlement is beyond me. In fact, it sickens me. The comment about "sampling" despite a sign saying not to illustrates the insane amount of entitlement this person has. Also, to use a take out container and stand there and eat the meatball like it was lunch without paying for it is something I do not comprehend. I honestly have never in my life "sampled" from a store. If I drink something while shopping I bring the package to the front for checkout. If I want a sample of something I ask. And If I want a piece of candy from the Brach's bins I put my quarter in the the little sample money box. And if I am buying fruit or veggies, I make my best guess and purchase my merchandise and try it at home.

Good gods, when did stealing not become stealing? If it is not yours and you didn't pay for it it and no one gave it to you, then you are stealing if you eat it/use it.

[dbubley.livejournal.com]

I just had to go back and comment on her blog. Someone else posted about her Whole Foods having a sign that said to ask an employee for help with samples. She commented, ".....would they really prefer I ask an associate to spoon-feed me in the middle of the store?" I responded that yes, they would, that's why they provide the service. My comment awaits approval, also. These people are clueless!

I had to register to post, so I set up a blog titled "Rants from the Unentitled".

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I love that blog title!

[tesseract26.livejournal.com]

So because they threw someone out for stealing, Whole Foods is now the equivalent of a soul-crushing totalitarian government? And bunches of people validate this woman's choice to steal because she's Sticking It To The Man (tm)? And in what universe is WF, which gives its employees benefits at 25 hours/week and supports local and organic farming, The Man?!

I kept reading the comments, waiting for someone to ask, "You're kidding, right?" But no one did. I'm glad you called her out. I hope she posts it.

Weird

[firecat]

I don't know about her WF, but the one near here always has samples out of almost every fruit they have (I REALLY appreciate this), usually several cheeses, crackers, often fish, and people in the deli department will fall all over themselves to give you tastes of things. It's not like you need to steal from the one place in the store where they don't want you sampling in order to get a snack.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Reading the comments made me curious about something - is it pretty common in the US for people to be munching away on foods they've not yet bought while shopping, and then take the empty packet to the checkout? Because I can't remember ever seeing an adult eating anything in a grocery store here in the UK, you sometimes see children being given a packet of sweets while going around just to shut them up, but never an adult. Some stores do samples, usually cheeses on the deli counter or occasionally someone giving small tasters of a new product but its not that common.

My letter to Whole Foods

[sogwife.livejournal.com]

Dear Whole Foods,

I recently read an account online (at http://thecompanybitch.blogspot.com/2006/04/banned-from-whole-foods.html) of a woman who sampled a vegan meatball in your store in New York and attempted to leave the store without paying for it. She objected to being taken aside by the store's detective, having her photo taken, and made to sign a document acknowledging her banishment from the store.

I am certain this is not the first letter you have received regarding the incident. A commenter to the blog posted her own letter to your company, stating her boycott of your stores until you apologize to the woman.

Unlike that commenter, I am writing to commend you. The majority of the commenters to the woman's blog presented a sense of entitlement to the behavior that the woman had exhibited, citing the expense of your goods. It seems to escape them entirely that they have the cause and effect reversed.

I find it refreshing to hear of a grocery company that is willing to defend their right to be paid for the goods and services they provide. I once saw a shoplifter in another store take a product from the shelf, put it in his coat, and head for the door. I called out to the checker near the door, and was appalled to hear him say that the company policy was to let the shoplifter go! The shoplifter gave me a big smile, and went out the door.

Yes, your prices are often higher than similar items at other stores. I am fortunate to live close to a store with an amazing selection of inexpensive organic produce. I do not often shop your store because of this. This weekend, however, I will be making a special trip to my local Whole Foods Grocery, to do a little shopping.

Sincerely yours,
Carin Huber

[xlerb.livejournal.com]

One thing I don't think I've seen mentioned: I'm kind of offended by the “big brother” label, as applied to WF's entirely reasonable practice of keeping an eye on the inside of their own store to keep people from stealing from them; it's disrespectful to actual serious privacy concerns.

Also, even if — and I'm not saying I agree with this in any way — someone believes that WF is Pure Evil and ‘deserves’ to be stolen from, they should at least admit that what they're doing is unlawful, and understand that WF employees might be a bit ticked off to discover it.