Putting items in your calico bag before you've paid for them?

[Robert Poste's Child]

Mm, but if you try it in Lidl I bet they'd wrestle you to the ground.

[cella]

civilservant Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Passiflora Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > to report what was going on but

> > was met with complacency by the co-op workers.

>

> what 'was' going on?

> a man was putting things into a container which

> wasn't a shopping basket

> that's all

>

> did he then walk out without paying?

>

> if the shop staff weren't bothered, is there an

> issue?

>

> what a self-righteous attention-seeking to-do from

> the OP

Surely there's an issue? There seems to be a complacency about shoplifting with some on here.

[nxjen]

There. Was. No. Shop. Lifting.

[Zebedee Tring]

There was a Monty Python sketch about The Society for Putting Things On Top Of Other Things. Perhaps someone should form The Society For The Prevention Of Putting Things Prematurely Into Calico Bags Or Other Inappropriate Bags.

[cella]

If you reread I was referring to Passiflora's comment. There seems to be an air from some posters of needing to stay out of it if shop staff don't seem bothered. You also cannot say with any certainty that no theft took place. There have been other threads on here about the seemingly complacent views by supermarkets and their security staff towards open theft. Surely we are better than that.

[rendelharris]

cella Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> There seems to be an air from some

> posters of needing to stay out of it if shop staff

> don't seem bothered.

How about staying out of it if the shop's official policy is that people are allowed to put their shopping in their own bags instead of baskets or trolleys?

> You also cannot say with any

> certainty that no theft took place.

Even BusyBody admitted that they saw the person paying for their items at the checkout. Come to that you can't say with any certainty that any person we see leaving a store hasn't pinched anything, perhaps a vigilante group should be formed to search everyone as they leave and force them to account (in a "firm but polite manner" of course) for everything in their bags?

[Earl Aelfheah]

I use a big black sack with 'swag' written on it to do my shopping.

[JohnL]

rahrahrah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I use a big black sack with 'swag' written on it

> to do my shopping.

striped shopping jumper too.

[edcam]

That particular poster appears to have a few issues, judging by a brief glance at their posting history. Probably best not to feed the troll.

rendelharris Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> cella Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

>

> > There seems to be an air from some

> > posters of needing to stay out of it if shop

> staff

> > don't seem bothered.

>

> How about staying out of it if the shop's official

> policy is that people are allowed to put their

> shopping in their own bags instead of baskets or

> trolleys?

>

> > You also cannot say with any

> > certainty that no theft took place.

>

> Even BusyBody admitted that they saw the person

> paying for their items at the checkout. Come to

> that you can't say with any certainty that any

> person we see leaving a store hasn't pinched

> anything, perhaps a vigilante group should be

> formed to search everyone as they leave and force

> them to account (in a "firm but polite manner" of

> course) for everything in their bags?

[cella]

edcam Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> That particular poster appears to have a few

> issues, judging by a brief glance at their posting

> history. Probably best not to feed the troll.

>

> rendelharris Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > cella Wrote:

> >

> --------------------------------------------------

>

> > -----

> >

> > > There seems to be an air from some

> > > posters of needing to stay out of it if shop

> > staff

> > > don't seem bothered.

> >

> > How about staying out of it if the shop's

> official

> > policy is that people are allowed to put their

> > shopping in their own bags instead of baskets

> or

> > trolleys?

> >

> > > You also cannot say with any

> > > certainty that no theft took place.

> >

> > Even BusyBody admitted that they saw the person

> > paying for their items at the checkout. Come to

> > that you can't say with any certainty that any

> > person we see leaving a store hasn't pinched

> > anything, perhaps a vigilante group should be

> > formed to search everyone as they leave and

> force

> > them to account (in a "firm but polite manner"

> of

> > course) for everything in their bags?

Strangely I was thinking the same about your challenging posting history...

Maybe be a bit more compassionate before you post simplistically about mental health.

[cella]

rendelharris Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> cella Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

>

> > There seems to be an air from some

> > posters of needing to stay out of it if shop

> staff

> > don't seem bothered.

>

> How about staying out of it if the shop's official

> policy is that people are allowed to put their

> shopping in their own bags instead of baskets or

> trolleys?

>

> > You also cannot say with any

> > certainty that no theft took place.

>

> Even BusyBody admitted that they saw the person

> paying for their items at the checkout. Come to

> that you can't say with any certainty that any

> person we see leaving a store hasn't pinched

> anything, perhaps a vigilante group should be

> formed to search everyone as they leave and force

> them to account (in a "firm but polite manner" of

> course) for everything in their bags?

That would be a little extreme maybe. It just seems that there's been a shift in attitudes by some customers that it's down to the store to challenge them if they think theft has occurred rather than just adopt a cooperative approach for the very short time they are in a store. Stores do seem to be more resigned to writing off some theft but we all end up paying in the end. It's the "nobody is going to tell be how to behave" sense of entitlement I don't like.

[JohnL]

edcam Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> That particular poster appears to have a few

> issues, judging by a brief glance at their posting

> history. Probably best not to feed the troll.

>

> rendelharris Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > cella Wrote:

> >

> --------------------------------------------------

>

> > -----

> >

> > > There seems to be an air from some

> > > posters of needing to stay out of it if shop

> > staff

> > > don't seem bothered.

> >

> > How about staying out of it if the shop's

> official

> > policy is that people are allowed to put their

> > shopping in their own bags instead of baskets

> or

> > trolleys?

> >

> > > You also cannot say with any

> > > certainty that no theft took place.

> >

> > Even BusyBody admitted that they saw the person

> > paying for their items at the checkout. Come to

> > that you can't say with any certainty that any

> > person we see leaving a store hasn't pinched

> > anything, perhaps a vigilante group should be

> > formed to search everyone as they leave and

> force

> > them to account (in a "firm but polite manner"

> of

> > course) for everything in their bags?

I remember how many wealthy people in a certain Tesco (except me obviously LOL) used to enter the wrong type of apples in the till to save a few pennies (I couldn't believe it when a colleague on over ?100K did it at lunchtime).

It actually made the news when Tesco blamed the posh apple thieves for a profit fall :)

[rendelharris]

cella Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> That would be a little extreme maybe. It just

> seems that there's been a shift in attitudes by

> some customers that it's down to the store to

> challenge them if they think theft has occurred

> rather than just adopt a cooperative approach for

> the very short time they are in a store. Stores do

> seem to be more resigned to writing off some theft

> but we all end up paying in the end. It's the

> "nobody is going to tell be how to behave" sense

> of entitlement I don't like.

But Cella, as above, Sainsbury's at least allow people to use their own bags to store their shopping as they go round, so if someone's doing that and someone else comes up and starts telling them to stop it, it's not "a sense of entitlement" to tell them to get lost when the first party is doing nothing wrong and transgressing no store policies.

If you want a real sense of entitlement, look no further than the OP, who appears to believe that owning a couple of shares in a store entitles her to be badgering people who are perfectly legitimately going about their business and ordering them to behave in what she regards as the "right" way!

[cella]

With the Ops original post I suppose I just picked up on her emotional stance of having various small businesses with maybe customer theft possibly contributing to them not working out and her feeling she didn't want to stand idly by in other stores.

[rendelharris]

cella Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> With the Ops original post I suppose I just picked

> up on her emotional stance of having various small

> businesses with maybe customer theft possibly

> contributing to them not working out and her

> feeling she didn't want to stand idly by in other

> stores.

And if you see someone nicking stuff, of course you should report them to security or indeed, if you feel safe to do so, challenge them. That doesn't mean you have the right to pompously and impertinently badger someone going about their shopping in a perfectly legitimate way that is sanctioned by the store.

[Sunlover00]

I put items directly in my shopping bag as I?m usually pushing a buggy so can?t carry basket easily, whereas I sling bag over shoulder and do my shopping. I get that people might think I?m stealing but if there are concerned about it, then ask to see my items and receipt - I?d happily oblige.

If a fellow customer challenged me about it, I?d tell you where to go.

[colville09]

Well the calico (or tote bag) movement is obviously gathering pace like a secret army. Really Maria, the craft shop, is displaying a book of tote bag designs to make in it's window.

[jimbo1964]

Brilliant thread.

[jimbo1964]

Crikey.. I'm a middle aged greying man and dress fashionably. I often take my own shopping bag to the coop and use it as I shop rather than use the basket (if I only need a few things usually wine, beer ,chorizo and chocolate). It's an orange Tate Gallery bag though so I'm not the culprit in this story. I think if an oddball busy-body asked me not to do this I'd probably tell them where to go.

[Jennys]

I have from time to time seen several people openly shoplifting in the Co-op and members of the shop staff saw the shoplifters as well but did nothing. The shoplifters didn?t have calico bags though.

[siousxiesue]

I defiantly took my M&S carrier in to the M&S store today, and filled it up, waiting to be noticed! To be honest, it's so busy no-one took any notice and I was allowed to carry my shopping to the checkout and pay for it without any botheration..

[edcam]

As I said earlier, this is peak ED Forum. The OP and Cella being the winners thus far.

[cella]

edcam Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> As I said earlier, this is peak ED Forum. The OP

> and Cella being the winners thus far.

Why not just own it and move on rather than this defensive poor mans divide and rule.

[Mick Mac]

I still think the best part of this thread was the shopper's reaction to being questioned. "I'm ok with it thanks" :)

I asked him to not do this but to use a shopping basket like all the other customers. (or words to that effect). I was assertive but polite.

His very calm reply was ?I?m ok with it, thanks? and to continue putting items directly in his calico bag.

[jonnywalker]

This is the most East Dulwich conversation ever.... don't stop