- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
Has anyone seen this story? Basically, a 30-wk pregnant woman was eating a sandwich while she was shopping with her husband and toddler, and meant to pay for the sandwich at the checkout (she kept the label). She forgot. As a result, she and her husband were arrested and the toddler was sent to social services for something like 18 hours. They wouldn't let her pay for it.
I mean, I kind of see the point of the store because she should have paid for it, but people forget things, and she tried to make it right.. arresting her? Taking her kid? That's nuts.
Wow, that is rediculous!! They should have just let her pay for it.
My mom told me a similarily stupid thing happen to my dad years ago at a Home Depot. They were buying stuff and my dad picked up a pencil they had for sale there or something to mark stuff off and use while in the store. By the end of the trip he must have forgotten about it and after paying for nearly 1k of stuff that he bought, he had the pencil in his shirt pocket and secuirty was trying to get him for shop lifting... like after dropping nearly 1k at their store, he was really trying to steal a 50c pencil! Some secuirty people are just nuts.
It seems like poor timing and policy. When the parents are both in jail, they had to put the child somewhere temporarily.
I'm sorry we have to live in a place where people can't be trusted and need to be overly prosecuted.
As someone who has worked in a grocery store where we found empty packages of things people ate in the store and never paid for,a lot, it really really bugs me when people eat stuff in the store, intention to pay or not. Want to eat it in the store? Go pay for it first then finish your shoppinng.
However this does seem extreme, however it most likely stems from the countless people who "intend to pay" and don't. I found half eatten boxes of cupcakes, wrappers from chips, candy bars, cokes, MILK half drunk and left on a shelf, open boxes of crackers, every single day things get eaten in the store and people don't pay so I could see the owners being irritated that it keeps happening.
She wanted to pay for the sandwich... This is crazy... I have forgotten to pay for little snacks i gave my kid to keep them entertained before but not because I wanted to steal... I would be pissed if they put me in jail on $50 dollar bail and took my kids for the night If I forgot just tell me Ill pay for it... This is just stupid...
Although I will say I have never walked around the grocery store eating their products, that is something I don't understand.
@atalante: What the hell?! Over a sandwich? That is so ridiculous...
There was a couple here in AZ that had their kids taken away for a while for getting pictures developed that they had taken of them in the bathtub (at WalMart - the employee called the police or CPS or someone on them). Who doesn't have pics as kids in the bathtub? It was absolutely rediculous.
@futureMrsCPT: The pictures of my daughters first bath were not developed because they were pictures of a naked baby I was PISSED...
@ MsPanda: Yeah, charges ended up getting dropped after like a YEAR. CPS had the kids for a couple of months. It was terrible :-(
That's absolutely insane!
Just let her pay for it and get on with her life. There is no reason for arresting and taking her child!
My husband is super militant about not eating anything in the store, whereas I've been known to let our toddler munch on grapes of Goldfish straight from the package while we're shopping. I guess he was just erring on the side of caution... But really, it seems like this situation could've been handled a lot better than it was.
@chasesgirl: This is what makes me want to empathize with the store, I just don't understand why they couldn't look at the situation and just let her pay. They wouldn't have lost anything. And someone was obviously watching her to catch it - why didn't they just remind her?
I can't help but think there must be much more to this. Safeway is very large company. They aren't going to waste their time and PR over $5. I wouldn't be surprised to find out if this wasn't a first time occurence, and they've been building a case. Or maybe they are just sick to death of people doing this. My FH works for a large corporate chain retail, and he says they only have people arrested if they have a case built against them, and certainly for more than $5. More likely than not, Safeway is the same way.
If you really can't wait to eat until After you have paid for the food, then eat before shopping. If you want to eat before you pay, go to a sit-down restaurant. There is no excuse to be eating food you haven't paid for in a grocery store. Even being 30weeks pregnant is not an excuse. Show a little class, folks.
Taking the child does seem a little severe and unnecessary. However, when I am in a store and decide I want a soda or anything to eat or drink, I pay for it before I drink/ eat it and keep the receipt in my pocket. Her husband could have stayed with the toddler and continued shopping while she paid before she ate it and been fine. I think stores are tired of people sampling food and people trying to pull one over on them. And what about the sandwich she didn't eat, she forgot about that one too, was it not in the cart with the rest of the food? Should we allow every pregnant mom the right to shoplift? Maybe it was a simple forgetful moment, but there might have been more to it, I frequent the same store all the time and know my cashiers, maybe this wasn't the first time they have had a problem with that family. Either way, I do feel bad for the kid and have always thought a family member should have the option of taking the child before they go to child welfare services.
Huh. Just found this story, it has more detail.
Apparently she'd been driving around a while looking for the store because they were new to the area. Also, she's a former staff sargeant from the airforce.
ETA: not driving, walking.
@kitcat12: I have done this when pregnant If i didnt eat I would Pass out and sometimes eating before isnt a option. As long as you remember to pay for it or a simple reminder to pay for it would go a very long way...
@futureMrsCPT: A few months... I guess me not getting my pictures doesnt seem as bad anymore...
@atalante: That is what we always did as cashiers, "Oh did you want to buy that candy bar still?" or something. But seriously the number of people who straight up steal (yes, eatting in the store and not paying for it first is stealing because until you pay it is the stores food, not yours) stuff is unreal! And they show their kids are okay, so then when their little delinquent children come in and walk out with stuff they don't see an issue because mommy does it all the time. It happens so much it makes me sick.
The reason I find this most upsetting is that while they're taking kids away from their parents because their parents forgot to pay for a sandwich, I personally know teenagers who have been abused since birth and tried to tell authorities, but their parents simply deny it and they are never given another thought, and the kids are seen as "troublemakers."
I work in a grocery store too, and I guess I don't really care if people give their kids something to eat and hand me the empty bag or wrapper to pay for it. Obviously not everyone is honest about this, but I really appreciate when people are honest and DO pay after eating it, so I never give them a hard time, I thank them for being honest.
@chasesgirl: I had no idea it was such a big problem. :( All I ever notice is when people leave stuff where it's not supposed to be - like bacon in the cereal aisle, for example. I'm pretty sure I've never seen someone eating.
That's why I don't eat in stores. Seriously, not trying to go to jail.
I can wait.
Crazy they should of just let the lady pay for the food, there must have been more to it. I am guilty of drinking a pop while standing in line waiting to pay (and only if I am dieing of thirst) but I don't think I would ever walk around the store eating or drinking. While understandbale it seems kinda silly to eat something before you have even bought it. I did work in a grocery store for a while.
That is absolutely insane. I can't even put what I'm thinking in to words.
Personally, I don't think there is any reason to eat food while you are shopping. You haven't paid for it so it is not yours. Maybe carry snacks with you if your children or you, being pregnant, can't wait. That being said, I do think this was overkill. It was obviously a misunderstanding so they should have just asked her to pay for the sandwiches and be done with it.
What really gets me is that this happened in Honolulu, which is where I live. Recently, my husband's friend had his house broken into (which is pretty common out here) and a lot of stuff was taken. This friend found some of his things being sold on Craigslist, tracked the guy down to a swap meet where he found more of his stuff and the cops will not make an arrest or even question anybody. They did get his things that were at the swap meet and are holding them but our friend may not even get them back. Also, they will not even look into the things that are being sold on Craigslist right now or "anytime soon" because APEC is coming here. But God forbid someone takes a sandwich!
Sounds like a security guard on a power trip. I smell a lawsuit coming.
This is just dumb. She's pregnant and was probably starving. Cut the lady some slack. Something like this happened to a friend of mine's mom. She was at Walmart and she was trying on those sunglasses that clip onto your actual glasses. She forgot to take of the last one, got distracted or something and she had them flipped up and walked around the store for like an hour, bought $300 in groceries, paid for them and they stopped her as she was going out the door. She was like oh no, I forgot, let me pay for them. They would not let her, called the police, arrested her, prosecuted her for shoplifting. She ended up losing her job because of the arrest as well. So stupid. Needless to say, they do not shop at Walmart anymore!
How could she forget? You are full of a sandwich. She stole, so ...I guess to me it kind of makes sense.
I actually know someone who got arrested for stealing a sandwich. The thing with law is, it has little to do with right or wrong or justice- the law is an unemotional standard.
I wonder how many times they've heard the old: "I meant to pay for that..." excuse? I'm not buying it that both parents forgot to pay for the sandwiches. How did they miss the wrappers after unloading the cart? Once you unload the cart, its empty. It seems more likely that they never intended to pay for them, and tried to hide them while they checked out. It's not Safeway's fault that the child was taken by the authorities, either.
Honestly, I'm pregnant and I totally understand the "I need to eat NOW" impulse.
I don't think this is really an issue of her eating in the store, this is an issue of the over-the-top reaction by the store and it's employees. Seriously, WTf is Safeway thinking arresting someone and giving their kids to social services over a $5 sandwich. Nuts. Just let her pay for the damn thing and get over it.
I worked in retail for a long time. I understand the frustration over shady people stealing and being dishonest.... but the company I worked for was lax in their return and non-prosecute policies because they didn't see a piece of merchandise as worth getting into a lawsuit over. That store manager on a power trip just cost his company WAY more money than the $5 that sandwich was worth. I smell a huge lawsuit coming.
I'm actually surprised at how many people are punished for shoplifting on seemingly little evidence.
I'm not sure about other states, but in order to accuse someone of shoplifting here in NY, you have to watch them from the moment they pick up the item all the way until they try to leave the store. If they go around a corner or into the bathroom? Your case is gone. Of course I've caught many a shoplifters in my day by just confronting them and asking if they'd like help with the item they have when they try to leave, but we were trained (I was a manager at Borders) to either let them pay for the item or just leave it there. If they leave, we would just have to fill out a loss prevention report. It's a stupid system.
That said, when someone tries to pay for it after you start accusing, by all means let them. I don't think holding a pregnant woman and her husband in jail while sending their child to social services is helpful in the slightest.
If i read it correctly, the child was not taken away because the parents were sandwhich stealers, making them unfit. It was because both parents were involved, being booked at jail, they didn't have any where for the child to go. So she stayed in care.
Why were they both arrested? Did her husband also eat a sandwich?
I've done slightly similar things (but remembered to pay). I tend to get thirsty if I'm in a store for a while, and if the checkout line is long, I'll grab a cold drink from the little fridges near the tills. The bottle is the same size whether you've had some or not, so it's pretty easy to remember to pay.
At a Safeway, one time when using the self-checkout I had a small item under my purse (it prevented it from sliding out of the cart). After paying, I picked up my purse to grab my keys and realized I forgot it. I started a 2nd transaction, but the item wouldn't scan. When an employee came to help, she treated me like I was stealing everything from my first transaction and carefully checked over my reciept. Ugh! If I really was trying to steal something I wouldn't have started a second transation before I even stepped away from the till.
@Eva Peron: But why did the child have to spend the night away from home when the parents were released later that day?
@MsMamaBear:LoL.. that's what I say, too. I can definitely wait.
Honestly, I never even knew people did this until I was grown. For like the first 20 years of my life I never knew that people ate stuff BEFORE actually paying for it in a grocery store. Then I worked at Wal-mart while in college & I got to see it first hand. Blew my mind, LoL. You're eating something that is not yours.. technically it is stealing. This is not a sit-down restaurant where you pay afterwards. LoL. If you're that damn hungry, pick up whatever you're going to eat, go to the register and pay for it, THEN grocery shop.
"police said it is standard procedure for child welfare officials to swoop in when parents are arrested."
Perhaps its it procedure to hold the child for a certain time period? I don't agree with it! but I don't want people making the connection that baby got taken away because the parents are solely sandwich stealers.
THAT is ridiculous. Maybe there's more we don't know.
The baby in the bathtub story...seriously!? They didn't develop them...that's ridiculous. Naked babies are everywhere, ie. humorous Christmas cards, etc.
I don't eat in the grocery store. I find it unnecessary at this point in my life (I can wait til I get home), but if I was pregnant and absolutely starving, or if I had a noisy kid with me, maybe things would change.
HOWEVER, at the Bee who posted about grapes and such...if it's something that is charged based on weight...your eating the grapes is technically stealing, as the cashier can no longer properly charge you. (Maybe your grapes aren't charged per pound like here though.)
I read this early this morning and I found it stupid. She is pregnant! Of course she wanted to eat something. I work at Wal*Mart and I have people hand me empty bags or wrappers all the time or I have a customer run in from outside because they forgot to pay for something that fell under their purse. Things happen. They should not have been arrested over $5 worth of sandwitches and that's that. I think they should sue for having to go through that and putting their daughter through that.
This article has indescrepencies. It says she ate one, but they did not pay for either. If that is the case- How could that be a mistake?
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| MissBoPeep | 37 |
| hisgoosiegirl | 35 |
| Mrs.KMM | 27 |
| ndreighton | 26 |
| beargoose | 25 |
| Gemstone | 24 |
| Beckster329 | 23 |
| BetterSherm | 20 |
| Rivendeler | 20 |
| KCKnd2 | 19 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| MissBoPeep | 26 |
| hisgoosiegirl | 19 |
| beargoose | 16 |
| akp0702 | 9 |
| DaneLady | 8 |
| KatNYC2011 | 7 |
| bakerella | 4 |
| delirium.megans | 4 |
| Mrs. Meowerson | 3 |
| mightywombat | 3 |
