In an effort to exercise more, he walks to Kroger's and eats three donuts? That's my kind of exercise routine!
Snark aside, I'm glad Kroger's admitted their mistake and remedied the problem.

I hope he gets that apology from them. Especially from that officer who didn't allow him to defend himself.

"Recently, my dad has made an effort to exercise more, and so, every Saturday, he walks down to the store and eats 2 or 3 donuts at the tables next to Starbucks and then goes to the U-scan to pay for his order."

I found this sort of funny on face value. But if he's an older guy and he's exercising for the many other benefits besides weight loss, I actually can't mock him for having a delightful treat.

Is there an unwritten rule that you have to have the 'asshole' gene to be a cop? You wouldn't see an article about Wegmans doing something like this let me tell you.

Kroger should inform this 'officer' that he is not to treat customers in this manner.

@I_have_something_to_say: What I don't get is why any business would actually confront and accuse someone of shoplifting without possessing solid evidence (ie, stuff that would stick in court if the person were actually charged with a crime) of it. It's just not worth it to accuse your customers of stealing unless you in fact KNOW that they are stealing. If this were an ongoing problem like they were saying, you would think that they would bother to actually pull the receipts, security cameras, etc to confirm their employees' suspicions.

...he walks down to the store and eats 2 or 3 donuts at the tables next to Starbucks and then goes to the U-scan to pay for his order.

It is all in the timing people. Grocery stores expect to get paid before you eat the food. Not like restaurants where you pay after.

I once grabbed a pack of non-salmonella peanut butter crackers at Kroger and ate them while I was picking up a few things. When I got to the check out, I handed the cashier an empty wrapper to scan. She called the manager who informed me that what I did was theft and that they would let it slide that time.

I proceeded to never, ever shop at Kroger again.

"Every Saturday morning, Beth's father walks to the neighborhood Kroger, eats some donuts, pays, and walks home."

Not defending Kroger, but maybe he should change the order to "father walks to the neighborhood Kroger, pays, eats some donuts, and walks home." I'd bet that they'd be pretty suspicious of anybody who is eating food that they haven't yet bought.

That said, way to go all "hard cop" over $2 worth of donuts.

I love Kroger, even if the one in my town smells strange. I'd much rather go to Stinky Kroger than my only other option, Wal-Mart. I'm happy they seem to want to make this right. I am saddened though that there is a Starbucks attached to their Kroger.

Also, that three donuts thing is probably something Dad should work on.

A little confused here - the guy eats the donuts and THEN pays for them, rather than the other way around? Is the problem that somebody saw him eat unpaid-for-yet donuts or what? (Not in any way saying this justifies the treatmetn for alleged 'shoplifting'.)

@I_have_something_to_say: People become cops because they're lacking in other areas in their life. Being a cop gives them a badge to hide behind and thus allows them to be an asshole to make up for their own personal short comings.

At least this is my opinion on the matter.

I've never liked it when people walk around the grocery store snacking on things while shopping, then (maybe) paying when they check out. I worked at a store, and every night you'd find half eaten food/used bags hidden behind other boxes or tossed between shelves.

@B:

Yeah, what the hell? I lol'd at that too!

@B: I came in here to say that. For a 'Notre Dame grad' he isn't the sharpest tool in the personal fitness toolshed.

@WolfDemon: You would think if people were watching him so intently that they would have seen him pay and then toss his receipt.

So did he actually eat the donuts BEFORE paying for them? I can see how that might confuse the security people.

@I_have_something_to_say: I have met several cops that are really, really cool people...

but yea, there are some real power tripping jerks out there.

@sven.kirk: While I agree that that would have probably prevented these problems, they kind of invited what he did by placing a "mini-restaurant" (a Starbucks counter) in their store. And they didn't make the accusation until after he actually paid, which means that he didn't steal and there was no evidence he was stealing. There is no evidence he tried to leave without paying, and in fact there is evidence to the contrary.

I think that Kroger just needs to hire some rent-a-cops that have a higher IQ than the temperature of the donuts he was eating. Blind adherence to simplistic "rules" is just stupid.

@Pigmann: The one @ my K-Roger is in the store, they completely remodeled the store to put it in.

@Johnny_Roastbeef: Yeah, they aren't exactly known for intelligence, so I can see how it might confuse them. But it's not stealing if they don't try to leave without paying.

@spoco:

Like it or not, what you (and the OP's dad) did IS theft. The fact that you don't know (or care) that you are supposed to pay for something before you use it is no excuse.

@mythago: I don't see how this is a problem. I regularly go into the store and when passing the check out stands grab a soda or bottled water and walk around drinking it. I usually pay for it, and never have any problems. Where I used to live they had these awesome little jalapeno poppers and I'd go and get an order of those and walk around eating them and then pay for them at the register.

It sounds to me like that the holice in this story just didn't see/care that he paid for the donuts after the fact.

@spoco: It's not shoplifting (which is different from theft) unless you walk past the cashiers in an attempt to leave the store before paying. I know this because I, once, was arrested for shoplifting (long story, troubled childhood, looking for escape, haven't done it since) and while the cop was doing all his paper work I read his big book of law-stuff and that's what it said. That's why, usually, people who shoplift are confronted right before they walk out, or just several steps outside of the entrance; not when they stuff things wherever they can to hide it.

@johnva: I think he was an off-duty cop. At least that's what I got. Unless it was spam, in which case yeah, he's probably not very smart.

Then again...nevermind I'll stop bashing the police for now.

@sven.kirk: I disagree, when I go shopping I normally snag a drink and proceed to shop for the items I need and when I get to the register I pay for the bottle and move on with my day.

I've never had a problem doing this, nor been asked to stop doing this at any store, including Fred Meyers (which is owned by Kroger).

@cynical_bastard: I've met a cop that was pretty cool.

@CmdX: that must be the same conditioning system their football team uses.

@B: It's 10 miles up hill both ways in the driving snow yer young whipper snapper!

And get off my lawn!

@Hedgy2136: If it's theft then why did Kroger go out of the way to apologize and ask what they could do to remedy the situation?

Well cripes, the guy comes in there every freaking Saturday. You think someone would have remembered that he always eats the donuts and then pays. Seems like the security people aren't the only nimrods who work there.

The issue is-- retireve receipt from trash (as he requested)-- OK, in the future, please pay for them first, sorry for inconvenience, end of story.

@B: Better than driving to Kroger's down the street and eating them, I suppose.

@spoco:

Good call. Calling you a thief was both rude and inaccurate. Although it's against their store policy, 'eating on credit' is exactly what everyone does in a table service restaurant.

If it's that important to them though, maybe they could post a sign reading something to the effect, "All food must be purchased before being consumed."

"I bought a doughnut and they gave me a receipt for the doughnut. I don't need a receipt for a doughnut. I'll give you the money, you give me the doughnut…end of transaction. We do not need to bring ink and paper into this. I just cannot imagine a scenario where I would have to prove that I bought a doughnut. Some skeptical friend: "Don't even act like I didn't get that doughnut…I got the documentation right here! (pause) Oh wait, it's back home in the file under 'D' for doughnut." 'Cuz we all know what 'D' is.

~Mitch Hedberg

My aunt works as a cashier at a grocery store. She says she has people who have eaten bananas and handed her the peel. How is she supposed to charge them for the banana when they hand her the peel?

@sven.kirk: You know what? That may be true, but it's still dumb to accuse the dude of shoplifting because he hadn't paid yet. I have probably picked up a bottled drink (Publix's deli lemonade and peach tea are tasty and less than a buck) and sipped it while finishing the rest of my shopping dozens of times, then paid for it with the rest of my groceries...it makes the task more pleasant and keeps you from having "RAWR hungry while shopping must buy whole store" syndrome. And I would be PISSED if someone, particularly a rent-a-cop, accused me of shoplifting because of it.

@bball123h: Donuts are clearly quite sacred to cops.

@Hedgy2136: The trouble is, that's stupid. As I pointed out above, I do this all the time at Publix, and I have never had a problem.

I don't believe it is theft, incidentally. On what basis do you say that?

@whatdoyoucare:

Charge them for a banana? I think that's what she's supposed to do...correct me if I'm wrong.

I've never been to a store that had a problem with people eating the good while shopping, and even build little cafe areas so that you eat in one place rather than dragging food around the store. Dad was eating in a similar cafe area.

As for what they can do to apologize? Let Dad rip the manager and rent-a-cop a new one over the P.A. system, at the front of the store, during business hours.

@whatdoyoucare: Depends on how it's sold. If it's sold by weight, that might be problematic, I agree, although they could probably come to an agreement by weighing a comparable banana (after all, although that's a bit stupid, they ARE trying to pay). If it's sold by "the each", then there's no problem.

@opsomath: Hedgy has no basis, because it's not theft. It only becomes theft (more accurately shoplifting) when someone actually leaves the location where a product should be purchased. What this guy did, and many other people in the US, is perfectly legal. The cop was an asshole and obviously just likes to feel bigger than people. This is so dumb. Obviously Kroger understands the law which is why they are apologizing to the man.

@NinjaMarion: I can't believe I missed this.

@B: WTF do donuts have to do with exercising? The cardivascular benefits of a long walk aren't negated by eating donuts.

It's all well and good that Kroger offered to make the situation better, but after the behavior of the manager and security guard, even with an apology I'd never want to return to the store. Loyalty like this should mean not being treated like a criminal, instead he's left to squeeze an insincere apology out of management which probably won't do anything to repair the damage done to his ego and opinion of the store.

@whatdoyoucare: Punch in the code and ring it up as 1 banana?

Many moons ago when I was a Kroger employee working in the bakery/deli, we saw this all the time. If we pulled something out of a case for someone, marked the price on it and handed them the bag, they could eat all of it on their way to the cashiers up front. If they served themselves, they couldn't eat it. We had a hand-made sign basically stating that at one point, but it was taken down.

My guess is that these doughnuts were in a self-serve case and that the old policy is still in place. That said, most Kroger employees would make sure to tell a regular to be careful about eating out of the self-serve cases. I know I would have.

But, yeah, way to make your store look like a bunch of idiots, store manager and Paul Blart wannabe.

I've never been to a Kroger, so this is only my mileage in the story, but the grocery stores where I live, I'd never think to eat the merchandise before I actually paid for it.

The situation could have been handled much better by security, but I could see where in this economy people might frown on losing potential earnings because people eat before paying.

@Saboth: I have issues with this as well because I have a feeling most do not get paid for.
I won't even let my friends do it when I am around.