I'm not talking about burglary or robbery, but "casual" theft, like when people steal office supplies from work, take enough napkins at a fast food place to last a week at home, take stacks of paint chips from the hardware or home improvement store to make craft projects out of them (somebody does have to pay for those), and things like that. We all take various items that are offered, but I think we should try to take only what we need, applicable to our purchases. Do you consider it stealing to take a bunch of stuff for other purposes or just to save money?
I'm not fond of taking office supplies. When I used to work in an office, it just didn't feel right. I mean, I might take a pen, or a couple paper-clips, but nothing that I would be ashamed of. I take napkins from fast food places, not enough to last a week, but for maybe a day. I'm grabbing enough to make sure if there are any food mishaps on the way home with my take-out, I'll be covered. I do take extra ketchup, or sugar. But I don't go overboard with things. Do I consider it stealing? Not in the amount that I take things, but there are some people who might really go gung-ho and take way more than they should. I kind of understand that, we can all fall on hard-times, but if a person is taking a lot of stuff when they don't really have to, just because they are being stingy and don't want to spend money, even though they have it, I think that's stealing.
I don't even ask for extra napkins or condiments when I eat in fast food stores. I just take home what is left of the ones I get. But I'm sure there are some people who would take advantage of such situations that you mentioned. Not cool, but hey, they're the ones who will get embarrassed anyway if someone sees them doing that.
I don't go overboard, but take what I need. I don't mind taking extra napkins because I do use a lot and I like to have them on me in case of spillages more than anything. It's better than people who don't use napkins and use the back of their hand to wipe their mouths. If it's a small place I won't take too many, but a huge place like McDonalds, I don't mind. I've taken the odd pen and also pad of sticky notes, but as I used to work out of hours all the time I would need the sticky notes and write down things and then stick them on my paperwork. I don't feel bad, because I needed them and why take a couple of sheets when I can take the pad and need it possibly?
Stealing is a strong word. More like, I took advantage. Covertly taking advantage of office supplies to save up on costs used to make me feel guilty. I didn't really steal anything. I just used stuff like ballpens, white inks, glues and bond papers as though I owned them. I even used the office printer to print drafts for my thesis paper. Now that I work for a KPO firm, I can no longer get my hands on office supplies. I simply make do with my own resources.
Theft [no matter how much we'd like to sugar-coat it] and try to make it feel less objectionable, still it is a theft. Claiming that I've never taken something "which wouldn't be missed" would be a lie. However whether I used the stuff to make a gift which later was given to someone, that I can't recall. All that is in the past though. Right now, even if the allure of saving money is rather enticing, I'd rather not give someone a gift if I can't: a) Afford it. b) Want to save money and the only way to do it is [by] stealing office supplies.
Yes, I've taken extra napkins, ketchup, etc. when I was low on funds and wanted some ketchup for my hot dog at home. I'm not proud of it and I don't do it all the time. There are times when all you can afford is a pack of hot dogs and some ketchup helps to break up the monotony.
Well, I always take an extra napkin just in case I need it. I don't bother taking sugar, ketchup or anything like that though. I must confess I once stole a toilet roll from work. It was the week before payday, I had no money left and my supplies of everything were really low. I'd run out of toilet roll that morning so I brought one home from work that night. Yes, I know it was stealing but the only other choice would have been to go without. No thanks,
I do that sometimes, I have no shame in admitting. Specially if the place I went to was more expensive than I think it was worth, I will do that occasionally. Also I like to take stuff if they owe me change. For example I went to Starbucks and the lady didn't have change so she said she would "owe" me 10 cents... I took some extra sugar packs to make up for the change!
You know I never thought of it quite that way before, that it really is, no hands barred, theft, when you take an item that you are not entitled to from a store, fast food outlet or workplace. And yes, I am guilty of it. I have taken garbage bags from work (they're expensive) and picked up extra napkins when eating at Burger King if I'm running out of TP at home and I want to thank you for bringing this costly habit to my attention. It is no better than any other kind of stealing so why should I make excuses for it. No wonder things are jacked up astronomically. They have to make a profit while all the while having to make up for shoplifting and to top it off, sleazy theft like taking too much of something. For everyone who is so anti shoplifting, think about what you are doing next time you take those extra condiments or eat that handful of grapes before you get to the checkout. Myself, I will be watching myself for those little indulgences and over the next month or so I am going to calculate what it is worth. Mine alone won't be much but if I times it by 1000 I bet it will add up.
II don't think I take more than I am entitled to. My bank offers free pens so I take maybe an extra 2 or 3 when I am there. I think if they felt they couldn't afford to give away the pens they wouldn't do it. I don't clean out the pen cup while I am there. I might take a handful of napkins at a fast food place, but I am paying pretty high prices for what I am getting so I think they can afford to fork over a few napkins! I used to have a friend in HS who would take an entire napkin dispenser...for instance...now that is what I consider stealing!
This happened last Saturday in my trip to Vietnam with my husband. We went to an ice cream parlor and after ordering, I noticed the 5 packets of perfumed wet napkin that looked classy. Hastily, I took them all and put them inside my bag. After eating the ice cream, I got one of the classy napkin and used it. Oh, great, it was a really good napkin. When we asked for the bill, the attendant said the napkin is not for free. So I had to pay... for all the 5 packets, hahahaaa.
I am for taking as much freebies as you want wherever you can get it, but I think I would draw the line at stealing office supplies or something similar. I wouldn't feel right stealing from a business even if they are a big business. I'd maybe be okay with it if I were working for a billion dollar multinational company, but at that point I'd probably be paid enough not to care about getting extra paper clips. I think taking a small amount like maybe a pen or two or a couple of clips for home use is okay but when an employee abuses it I feel guilty.
Well, now I feel kind of bad. I wasn't trying to "scold" anyone really, just pointing out that somebody, somewhere, does have to pay for that stuff. It's not really "free." I can certainly understand if someone took something out of necessity. I've been down to the wire at times myself. What inspired this post was a craft someone had made from those paint color cards at the store near the paint. The instructions were to just go take a bunch and make things out of them. It just didn't sit right with me. I can see taking *some* if you are actually going to buy paint, and then using those, or asking for the old ones when the new ones come in. I just can't see cleaning them out to make a craft, lol.
My dad just did this during my mother's recent stay at a hospital post surgery - he came home from that place with so much stuff it was ridiculous, from soaps and shampoos, to coffee creamers, sugar packets, towels, pillows, cups, you name it. Normally I hate it when they do stuff like this, but in the case of a hospital, I don't mind at all because hospitals absurdly mark up *everything* when they bill you. I've seen some itemized bills where they even charged the patient $35 for the *paper cup* that they administered their medication in. When I was younger, my mom used to send me to grab a bunch of straws, ketchup packets, sugars, and other condiments any time we went out to eat at a fast food joint. There were several times I got yelled at by the employees for doing it.
It depends on the situation. If you're taking napkins from a restaurant to have more at home I don't think that's stealing. They're freely offered so if you need to, take them. I've done that before. I'm not so sure about office supplies though. That's iffy. Things from the store is definitely stealing if you aren't paying for them or taking extra or something that you're already buying. That's not right at all. There are certain situations where it's not really considered a steal, it just depends on the situation and you have to use your own judgment. Hopefully it's good judgment!
I'm pretty much the same as some of the posters here. I tend to take only what I need. On occasion, I will grab a couple of disposable knives and forks and napkins, to use later, say with my packed lunch at work. I don't really consider it theft because I don't sneak them in, I take them with the staff watching.But I do see what you mean, Zyni. Because these establishments have paid for them and it's really just meant for that one sitting LOL But somehow, I don't feel bad about it. I don't bother with extra condiments because I have those at home. Actually, a lot of places now charge for extra sauces.
I haven't, but I don't see anything wrong with it at all. Think about how much the store marks up their products every day.. think about how much they steal from us to get ahead of the competition. Think about the short cuts they take to make a superior inferior products that in some cases are just dangerous or bad for our health. They go out of their way to to deceive us. Big business steals from us.. it's their thing. Take the napkins.
Most of the time. in instances like this, people end up taking them home due to not being aware of that fact hat they slipped the items into their pockets before leaving the office etc... I have been shocked a few times to go through my pockets and find things there that I did not consciously want to be there. Sometimes it just slips your mind.
I ran into this today. I bought a spool of ribbon to make my daughter's halloween costume. We needed about 4 feet of ribbon total and should have had plenty since the spool is supposed to have 4 yards of ribbon. It cost us a whole whopping $2 to buy the whole spool. As we were making the costume and opened the spool, turns out we had only 2 feet of ribbon. Someone had either worked out the rest of the ribbon, or bought the spool, used what they needed, and returned it, pretending it was unused. It is really frustrating because now I have to go get another spool to finish my daughter's costume. But it's even more frustrating because whoever did this didn't just steal from the store, they stole from a 10 year old girl who was excited to create something today, and all for a measly $2. I hope it was worth it to them because really, if someone was at the store and truly needed the $2 to buy the ribbon I would've been happy to purchase it for them.
