Have you or have you seen someone open an item in a grocery store to consume it prior to checking out?

I’ve done it with candy and soda. If my blood sugar gets low I’ll have a seizure so I’d rather just avoid that if possible. I’ll chug the soda while I’m in line.

I don’t care when they eat the food as long as they pay for it.

i’ve done it too with soda or milk. I paid. nobody looked wierd or said anything

I’ve done it with bottled water or a small snack like a granola bar. I just saved the wrapper/bottle for the cashier to scan. No one reacted even a little strangely.

I’ve only done it with a bottle of water. Took one out of the 24 pack because I was really thirsty. Don’t even have to scan the bottle since it was part of the pack.

I’ve done it with some munchies (I was hungry) and I paid for them at the check-out. No reaction.

Hasn’t everyone? Sometimes I’d cook a steak in my cart if I had a grill. It definitely helps your budget if your hungry. By that I mean if you’re hungry you start buying everything so easing the pangs makes your buying more sensible. Generally I try to avoid shopping when I’m hungry. I always pay for everything though.

I do this once in a while. As long as it gets paid for, who cares? I eat the food at a restaurant before paying, no difference,

@stranger_in_a_strange_land Good point.

With kids it is almost a given! What do you hate worse, a customer who runs an open box of animal crackers across the scanner or a screaming out of control child in the grocery store?

@Judi You’d think the parents would come prepared with their own food though.

I’ve always wanted to do it

Not a problem if you pay for it. Seen it happen numerous times.

Customers do it all the time. As an employee, I would be fired if caught by uptight (does anyone else use that word anymore?) manager, even if I am standing in the checkout line. How this makes me different from a customer is beyond me. But, my store policies are very strange to me anyway.

@erichw1504 Do you have kids or have ever taken care of kids on a long term basis? There’s a whole lot that ideal caregivers would do differently, but there’s no such thing as a real-life perfect one.

I always enjoy a box of Good & Plenty when I go to Wallgreens on the house. I worked for AAFES in Vincenza, Italy in the early 80’s. I saw Italians put stereo systems in the dumpster so they could pick it up later. I guess it was seen as the cost of doing business in a foreign land.

My roommate does that, but only with pre-packaged foodstuffs. Once, she actually had to put the empty bag on the belt to pay for it. I thought that was funny. She must have been really hungry.

I do it all the time.

Sometimes, the Goldfish stash in the diaper bag runs out, and the cookie from the bakery counter just doesn’t last the whole way through the store. I was getting the Ritz crackers on BOGO anyway, so opening one pack wouldn’t do any harm. ^_^

@BluRhino
I can see that. As an employee it’s much easier to steal and they don’t want to set a precedent that it’s acceptable. With shoppers they are kind of powerless but probably don’t like it either.

Hm. I don’t believe I’ve ever done that. I’ve put on shoes that I’ve bought and worn them to the check out line and had them scan the box, but never food…..now I feel weird!

Yes, I don’t really like it and I’ve never done it because legally you are consuming something that doesn’t yet belong to you.

I have done it many times and never have had a cashier get bothered over half eaten stuff I buy. Mostly it is after I get stuff at the deli counter my kids will eat half of it before we get through checkout. I think it is fairly common!

@princessbuttercup Well, by that reasoning, you should pay for your food at a restaurant before you get it!

@erichw1504 it’s no big freakin’ deal. :)

I have seen it,but never do that.Ever.

@jmah I never said it was. I’ve done it myself.

Nothing wrong with that. Except for those who put it back after they’ve tried it.

I’ve not done it but I don’t care if someone else does. I have, however, ripped open a bag or box as soon as I get in the car!

My auntie always does that with her Frapuccino’s, she can’t resist a good coffee :)

I sometimes do this with drinks, rarely food…if it’s food, then it’s a snack to occupy my son. I always pay for it, so I don’t see the problem.

@Judi the animal crackers were always my treat of choice when doing the grocery shopping. My little ones knew if they were good then they could have them while I shopped.
I always checked out the empty box with my other groceries.

@wilma My kids never got anything! We were that poor. It was kind of cool, because I never had to worry about temper tantrums from being denied candy or cookies or whatever. They never even asked for them.

aww, @Val123 sorry, but then your kids were well behaved without the bribe, so good for you and them!
Some day, I’m gonna get the box of animal crackers and eat them myself while I’m shopping. I’ve been saying that for 30 years

I grab a drink and open it almost every time I go grocery shopping. There is a large cooler full of them right at the entrance. The cashier has never said a thing. I have never done it with anything else, but I think other prepackaged foods would be ok.

I think it is wrong when people eat fruit and then say “I ate a banana, just charge me twice for this one.” Bananas are priced by weight; how do they know the one they ate wasn’t larger?

What really irritates me is when I see an open package left in the wrong place with a few cookies or whatever removed.

@Supacase Ew! I’ve never seen that!

I’ve never done it but I’ve been tempted to on many occasions. I always seem to go grocery shopping when I’m hungry and my eyes are always bigger than my stomach prompting me to to buy more things than I need and too many things that aren’t exactly healthy for me.

@Supacase I’ll admit, the fruit thing bothers me as well. And they hand the eaten fruit to the cashier! What the heck?

I’ve never done it with food but I’ve opened a box of tissues and used one before I paid for the box. I’ve also opened a bottle of water before it was paid for.

@casheroo I’ve never seen that either, but THAT sounds gross!

@SeventhSense

http://www.cybersalt.org/images/stories/cleanlaugh/b/barbecuefreegrill.jpg

LOL. We’ll have to get a portable gas model.

The wife and I shop at a regular place and often grab those pre-made plates and eat while we shop- so the answer is yes.

My mom used to let me eat a doughnut so I would shut up when we were in the grocery store. I would eat it before the checkout, but we would always tell the cashier. I don’t see any problem with it as long as you come clean, and tell the truth.

I don’t do it too often, but sometimes. I’ve also opened packages and given out samples in the check-out line. It happens all the time with a particular soft drink. Either the cashier or the person behind me will ask if the product’s any good, so I open the package and give them the can. Likewise with this one kind of cookie the bakery makes; I’ve handed out samples to the cashier, bagger and person behind me before. I carry a package tissues at all times, so getting the cookie out of the plastic container isn’t unsanitary.

@TehRoflMobile
Did it work?

I carry a Diet Coke or a bottle of water with me in the grocery store all the time. I’ve had the cashier thank me before for paying for it, so I guess a lot of people must walk out without paying. I just hand her the empty and she scans it. I’ve done it with grapes or sliced deli cheese too, but that isn’t something I do very often. Usually only when I’ve made the mistake of shopping and I haven’t eaten.

During pregnancy, chocolate milk. I paid for it and have no qualms about it.

I’ve seen people with small children open a pack of something to shut the kids up.

@downtide I open up a pack of somethin’ when my kids acted up, but it wasn’t candy or food!!

Eating food before paying for it in a grocery store in the Philippines is rare. Some supermarkets actually have signs that prohibit it, for the simple reason that some people who enter our supermarkets really can’t afford to pay for anything. An unfortunate reality, but there it is.

I don’t bring this up to raise some geopolitical guilt issue, but only to say this: For many people in these modern times, buying food is no big deal anymore, and that’s wonderful. I hope we stay mindful, though, that in some places in the world, buying food is still a very very big deal.

I’ve never done this. I’m gonna make it my mission today (christmas 2010) to go into wal-mart, grab some chips, and start munching until I get to the line. I’m gonna get in the long line, not that sissy 10 items or less one, and eat till my hearts content. Then I’m gonna pay. I’m also gonna look at the camera like a child with cooler ranch season on my face!!!:)