Is this stealing?

[mamacatnv]

I was in the grocery store last night, in the produce section.
There was a lady with two kids - approx 13 and probably 15/16 - They were standing next to a display of cherries and grapes, casually chitty chatting with a friend Mom ran into. She and the children were eating grapes and cherries from the display, one after the other as if they were at home on their kitchen counter. These were not already weighted and labeled in their cart. They were plucking them right off the display, Mom had a produce bag where they were discarding the pits and the stems.
I find this just wrong, I cannot even begin to figure out where one is justified in this action.

I get bent at DH when he wants to sample one grape to "make sure", 30 years of training and he still periodically steals a grape I feel like produce, like just about anything else in the store is bought based on appearance, smell, feel etc. not by taking a bite.
1000's of people a day make their way thru the grocery store, what if everyone sampled the produce.

Now, I realize the one grape sample is very different from the snacking family I noted above but it got me to thinking, what are the general thoughts on the subject?

Do you sample produce before you buy?
What constitutes a sample?

 

[holden]

I watched in horror once as a woman sampled food from the buffet at a Wegmans. You know the buffet where you can make a plate for lunch/dinner, etc.? It's priced by weight. She went to each food, put a nice size portion in her hand and shoved it in her mouth.

I do consider it stealing, plus it's disgusting!

 

[DaisyJ]

I was in the grocery store last night, in the produce section.
There was a lady with two kids - approx 13 and probably 15/16 - They were standing next to a display of cherries and grapes, casually chitty chatting with a friend Mom ran into. She and the children were eating grapes and cherries from the display, one after the other as if they were at home on their kitchen counter. These were not already weighted and labeled in their cart. They were plucking them right off the display, Mom had a produce bag where they were discarding the pits and the stems.
I find this just wrong, I cannot even begin to figure out where one is justified in this action.

I get bent at DH when he wants to sample one grape to "make sure", 30 years of training and he still periodically steals a grape I feel like produce, like just about anything else in the store is bought based on appearance, smell, feel etc. not by taking a bite.
1000's of people a day make their way thru the grocery store, what if everyone sampled the produce.

Now, I realize the one grape sample is very different from the snacking family I noted above but it got me to thinking, what are the general thoughts on the subject?

Do you sample produce before you buy?
What constitutes a sample?

Yep, it sure is stealing. And no, I do not "sample" produce before I buy it.

 

[bdcp]

If she didn't buy it, it's stealing plain and simple. I'm also pretty sure I've never seen a sign in the produce section that says to sample before you buy. Sometimes there are samples of one or two items in plastic containers with toothpicks provided, but even those are disappearing from stores. One or fifty, it's still stealing. And, no I do not "sample" and I taught my grown boys the same.

 

[Mizzoufan]

Yes, It stealing. I would have let them know it's not a buffet.

 

[diznygirl]

Stealing. I've gone into the grocery store, bought bananas for my kids, then gone back in and shopped while they ate them. It takes a few extra minutes, but it can be done.

 

[lynxstch]

You should make this a poll---- Yes, I think it's stealing. I can see sampling ONE grape, or ONE cherry, but to stand there and eat one after the other, is stealing.

 

[BrianL]

Of course it's stealing. Yeah, I agree that it's no big deal if a kid eats a single grape or even if an adult wants to sample one, but only one. Most stores don't much care about that. Just standing around eating them though is pretty ridiculous. I'm surprised the store let it go on.

 

[Disneylover99]

Blatantly stealing

 

[mamacatnv]

I love that the stores have the scales in produce where one can weigh and then apply the price sticker. I used that when the kids were younger, pick out a piece of fruit, weigh it, put the sticker in the cart to be paid for and snack away while shopping. I think this is a fabulous thing and see lots and lots of parents using the scale/price sticker in this way.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I was in the grocery store last night, in the produce section.
There was a lady with two kids - approx 13 and probably 15/16 - They were standing next to a display of cherries and grapes, casually chitty chatting with a friend Mom ran into. She and the children were eating grapes and cherries from the display, one after the other as if they were at home on their kitchen counter. These were not already weighted and labeled in their cart. They were plucking them right off the display, Mom had a produce bag where they were discarding the pits and the stems.
I find this just wrong, I cannot even begin to figure out where one is justified in this action.

I get bent at DH when he wants to sample one grape to "make sure", 30 years of training and he still periodically steals a grape I feel like produce, like just about anything else in the store is bought based on appearance, smell, feel etc. not by taking a bite.
1000's of people a day make their way thru the grocery store, what if everyone sampled the produce.

Now, I realize the one grape sample is very different from the snacking family I noted above but it got me to thinking, what are the general thoughts on the subject?

Do you sample produce before you buy?
What constitutes a sample?

Well let us ask our favorite Game of Thrones authority on the subject.


Well there you have it. Yes. It is stealing.

 

[danielocha30]

yes is stealing, I have taste the grapes before but, one grape and from the bag I intend to buy, very few time the fruit is not good enough to buy it. This reminds me once I was at the grocery store and let my kids eat a candy, at the register the first item I lay were the empty wrappers and them the few items I was buying, I was short ONE dollar and told the cashier to take back something and the lady behind me didn't let me she gave the cashier the dollar, I thanked and until today I'm sure is because she saw I was being honest and was paying for those candies my kids eat.

 

[dotfurio]

I sample grapes before buying. They aren't always as good as they look

No, I can't/don't sample other produce on my own, but since grapes are easy to sample I do. With other produce if it's gross I've wasted money or have the hassle of a trip back to the store for a refund. At least with grapes I know what I'm getting.

FWIW I've occasionally asked people working in the produce department about various items, like an apple or orange, and they will cut one open right there for us to sample. So I don't think sampling is that big of deal. But standing there munching away is not ok.

 

[smiths02]

I do try ONE grape before I buy a bunch. I usually buy a few pounds of grapes at a time, so I don't think that throws the weight/price off really, I mean where I shop it is rounded to nearest 1/10 of a pound or something...not a few grams. Grapes are really the only produce that I can't tell enough by looking. For one grape or cherry, I honestly don't think the store cares. I might ask next time I go, but at the deli counter at the same store, they always cut a slice to check thickness and give it to me/kids to sample it. I've been buying the same meat at the same thickness for months, but they still offer the sample. Makes me think a grape is okay as well.

I would consider any thing that weighs more than one grape or ruins the packaging on the item stealing.

 

[DaisyJ]

I love that the stores have the scales in produce where one can weigh and then apply the price sticker. I used that when the kids were younger, pick out a piece of fruit, weigh it, put the sticker in the cart to be paid for and snack away while shopping. I think this is a fabulous thing and see lots and lots of parents using the scale/price sticker in this way.

Interesting. I've never seen that before. Our scales are just the normal ones, like these.

 

[Christy702]

I can see small children doing this, but teenagers? I can understand "tasting" one, but I would not want to sit there and eat unwashed grapes/cherries. If they're doing it as teens I can't imagine when they first started doing it.

 

[focusondisney]

Interesting. I've never seen that before. Our scales are just the normal ones, like these.

View attachment 257860

Wow. Our stores have had self weigh produce for years. You need a Wegmans.

 

[leebee]

I sample ONE grape before purchasing them. We don't always have the freshest produce up here, and if I'm paying $5 a pound for grapes, I want to make sure they are not sour or "flabby."

But yes... to answer the original question, it's stealing.

 

[soccerdad72]

Might be one of those rare unanimous DIS threads.

Seems like stealing to me too.

 

[aprilchem]

Yep, stealing. I am a rule follower tried and true, though, and I do always sample one grape when I buy them, though. We often get grapes for sale here that are terrible (I don't know how to describe it other than saying that they make your mouth feel SUPER dry when you eat them), and often when there's a good price on grapes I've found it's because they're gross. I will try one before I buy them to make sure they're not bad.