The woman says that she was surprised at the harsh treatment they were given. She says "Where I grew up in a small town it's not seen as stealing for sure." She did offer to pay the $5.00 for the sandwiches (she'd already paid $50.00) when it was discovered, but the store insisted on pressing charges.
This is a tough case. I can see where she made an honest mistake. And yet, I've seen people sample grapes. I've seen opened canned drinks left on shelves. I imagine the store has to "eat" all those costs.
My sister-in-law works for Walmart and she says you'd be shocked at what people walk out with. I remember a grocery store near us in Illinois closing because of all the shoplifting.
And yet, I see where this might have been an honest mistake.
And yet, I see where the punishment was way harsher than should be.
And yet...
I don't feel sorry for that couple. Pay before you eat! BTW, your photo of the sunset is absolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI don't think she should have been arrested, but still, I agree with Gigi that she shouldn't have eaten the sandwiches without paying for them. Too easy to do just what she did: forget. But the punishment should fit the crime, for heaven's sake!
ReplyDeleteI see people eating stuff in the grocery store sometimes and wonder if they pay for it. I'm not sure arrest in the way they did it was the right thing, but they probably have a policy they follow no matter what the circumstances. You are right, it is a tough case and it is hard to know what is right.
ReplyDeleteThis is indeed a tough call. The sensible thing to do is toss the empty wrappers in the cart along with the food. Then the clerk will see them and charge for them. Too bad if she was truly innocent, but still she is an adult, and a pregnant one at that. Bet the judge lets her off. Dianne
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I was talking about this incident yesterday. We both agree that if she wanted to eat before she shopped, she should have bought the sandwiches first and eat it, then go back shopping for the rest of her list. Long long ago when we were young parents I do remember opening a box of something because our child was hungry, of course checking out the box opened and explaining to the cashier. Never was that a problem. But I think today, given the harsh view of eating store merchandise without paying, even feeding a hungry crying child before purchasing may be too risky.
ReplyDeleteL.
I read the newspaper story. They DID buy $50 of groceries Yep, I'd put the wrappers in with the items to be purchased.
ReplyDeleteBut the store managers could tell by behaviors if they were really trying to steal the sandwiches vs forgetting. People with sneaky behaviors like stuffing and hiding items in their clothing is more intentional theft.
Makes me not want to shop at a Safeway, and it's sad that the Aloha spirit wasn't used for the benefit of the doubt.
My son used to want a banana during grocery shopping. I used to let the clerk know, and they'd see the empty peel, and weigh another new banana I was buying to compute the eaten one's value. Gone to the same store for 22 years. Aloha spirit in Kansas.
DrumMajor
they always catch the innocent ones and the guilty ones go free! That's life.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I tend to see all sides of a story and do the "on one hand, yet on the other".
ReplyDeleteI do believe the punishment didn't fit the crime here.
I have the same mixed feelings. I do feel strongly about one thing: Regardless of the intent, the trauma to the child was inexcusable on the part of the officials. Surely what happened did not warrant sending that toddler to Child Protective Services.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting story. Very sad state of affairs. You'd think with the profit from $50 worth of stuff would suffice to show good faith.
ReplyDeleteSIGH
exactly, Solomon/Kay.
ReplyDeleteand yet, her quote raises my eyebrow!
Write her up, set a court date. Jail? Only for a flagrant or repeat offender I'd say.
Aloha from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
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that's a hard situation...better to be on the right side, pay first!
ReplyDeleteNothwithstanding Hawaii's moniker 'da Sandwich Isles,' she was new here, only 2 weeks, probably thought she'd just not mention the sandwich er she was not in the affirmative in her intent of paying. But on the other hand, Safeway security guards tend to be bozos. I don't think the checkout cashier fingered her. (Yea, this is meant to be long winded.) So the security guard must have put the tail on her, for what like 20-minutes just to see if she'd actually pay for a $5 sandwich. I have insomnia and frequently shop at Safeway at 2AM in the morning and the security guard is sitting at one of those outdoor tables doing nothing. Believe me, he's not on his break. All the while there's more than a few stray shopping carts rolling around in the empty parking lot. Now, at 24-hour CVS (Longs Drugs), the security guard's side duty is to gather the stray shopping carts and return them to the shopping cart station rather than get paid for doing nothing. I don't make my money doing nothing however that's how I pay for the groceries that I buy at Safeway which pays the security guard's salary. Loafers.
ReplyDeleteAfter all the national attention, heads will roll for this store's management. Why, because financially the couple will never shop at Safeway again and the $5 loss is minuscule in comparison which is the bottom line. Safeway throws away more unsold sandwiches on a daily basis if not after so many hours sitting on the shelf just as McDonald's and Jack-in-the-Box are required to do so by the health dept. Also, this incident will led to a boycott of Safeway, at least locally to a certain extent, and that's a bigger loss or more important than some kind of moral injustice had management given the lady a pass. Wait til they add up the sale figures at the end of the month. Why in tarnation didn't Safeway just ask her to pay for the sandwich. Put the money in the cash register and that's the end to it. She bought $50 groceries which should mitigate somewhat in her favor. Furthermore the couple would have spent thousands of dollars more at the chain store in the future. Right off the bat Safeway lost $50 dollars in the process of having to refund the couple the money for the rest of the groceries.
Instead, Safeway chooses to call the cops. Do you have any idea whatsoever what happens when you call in the cops in Honolulu?! In this case the cops arrest 2 people. Her significant other is ruled an accomplice on the spot. And that's fully knowing that if the cops take her husband in, their infant will be hauled away by child protection service. For an iffing $5 sandwich. Give me a break. Think about it, if you accompanied the new arrivals there's a likely possibility that you would also also have been hauled away in the sweep. And be on national news too.
Look at it this way, if you get a husband and wife in a car and the wife is drunk and the driver and runs over a pedestrian crossing the street, the husband in the passenger seat does not become an accomplice. He would simply not be charged as such. But with the sandwich thing, the husband is a partner in crime? Oh, I get it now, he took a bite out of the said sandwich. Ridiculous.
Ron: Thanks for clarifying the situation, Ron. I really see your point now.
ReplyDeleteI'm not condoning her actions, as in, nobody's that naive. Remember the old expression, "alaah!" I use to get pastry and coffee at the 7-11 on in Waikiki on Kuhio every morning before work. It was the end of their graveyard shift and always a line because the second cashier was busy finishing stocking up before the next shift arrived. So only a single cashier and she was NOT speedy at all. And you know how it is when you're on your way to work in the morning. So one morning, the line was not moving at all, so I started eating my pastry and when I reached the front of the line there was no more pastry. The cashier only charged me for the coffee. 'And' I didn't say a thing. Heck if I didn't eat the pastry while I was in line I'd be late to work eating the pastry after I left the store. Then have to rush drinking the coffee. Perhaps, you should have inquired whether readers have done sorta something like the girl themselves.
ReplyDeleteYou make an interesting point there, Ron. I imagine if I posed that question, we'd get even more interesting answers. I've seen many mothers let their children eat something in the grocery store that they pick up and intend to pay for at the register. Common sense should have been more in play in this situation. It just got all out of hand.
ReplyDeleteThat does seem harsh but I do think she would have been more sensible to wait to eat until after she'd finished shopping - then she wouldn't have risked forgetting to pay.
ReplyDeleteif you like, read this take on the Safeway incident. (Starts from the 5th paragraph)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hawaiireporter.com/charleyworld-modern-fable-“the-safeway-shoppers-and-the-chicken-salad-sandwiches”/123
It was good to read the REST of the story. I'm understanding the situation a bit more now. It was really a sad situation. I really feel for that family.
ReplyDelete