The Tale Of The Accidentally Purloined Bag Of Potato Chips

/ Ally Bean

LIKE MISCREANTS EVERYWHERE I’M GOING to say this wasn’t my fault because, as I will explain below, it was an accident.

Nothing pre-meditated about this.

Just a minor tussle involving a fast-moving me and a fussy computer in the U-scan checkout lane in the grocery store that lead to an unanticipated situation.

You see…

It was late afternoon and I was using the U-scan checkout lane in Kroger.  I like the self-checkout lane because it’s usually faster than waiting in line for the traditional checkout.

Plus, and I’m bragging here, I am very good at finding the little UPC codes on what I’m buying, expertly swiping the code across the flat UPC barcode reading screen, then tossing my purchase into the reusable bags I swear by.

• • • 

HOWEVER ON THIS PARTICULAR DAY in my zeal for checking out of the store, while grabbing a bag of potato chips out of my shopping cart, I twisted around in such a way that my crossbody purse did a little flying leap away from my body and landed on the flat UPC barcode reading screen.

PLOP!

Then for reasons known only to the computer, it immediately jumped ahead to the part of the transaction that asks you how you’re going to pay for these items.

But I wasn’t finished inputing all my items.

So being tired and in a hurry, without thinking much about it, I laid the bag of potato chips, not properly swiped, on top of the stuff already packed in my reusable bag.

Then I focused my energies on coaxing the computer, Little Miss Touchy Screen, to allow me to continue shopping. I was victorious, because I know all about that ⬅️ key that lets you keep buying stuff.

I input a few more items, the rest of what I wanted to buy, then paid for my purchases using a credit card, grabbed my bags, and walked to my car where I placed the bags in the trunk.

I drove home.

• • •

BUT AS I DID SO I had a slow realization, the sort that sneaks up on you in the most unlikely places, like at a stoplight while you’re waiting for it to turn green, that it was possible I had accidentally stolen that bag of potato chips, a small bag I assure you, from Kroger.

And you know what?  When I got home I checked my register receipt and well… yep I stole a bag of potato chips… like a thief… a perp… which I am not… except maybe I was.

And here’s the thing because all perps have a thing, if interrogated by the Coppers I’m gonna squeal on my accomplice in this unfortunate situation. IT WAS THAT DARNED COMPUTER’S FAULT for getting flustered.

I mean what kind of wuss is that thing?  It wasn’t like I hit it with the heft of a heavy leather Hermès Birkin Bag, now was it?  It was only a lightweight nylon baggallini Uptown Bagg, a sleek crossbody.

Honestly, I didn’t mean to do this.

You believe me, right?

~ ~ 🛒 ~ ~

A few other *oops* stories about *situations* at Ye Olde K. Roger…

In Which Ms. Bean Is An Accessory After The Fact, Maybe [2018]

Carelessness, Coupons, And Cake– OH MY! [2017]

The One About The Friend, The Dog & The Suburban Grocery Store Salad Bar [2014]

~ ~ 🛒 ~ ~

248 thoughts on “The Tale Of The Accidentally Purloined Bag Of Potato Chips”

      • No. Asking about the flavor was my way of saying that your accidental purloining of a bag of chips was not of great significance to my view of you.

        I still hold you in esteem . . . but I’m keeping an eye on that leaping purse of yours!

        Liked by 1 person

        • HA! Oh you made me laugh with this one. As an officer of the court I’m glad you’ll still hold me in high esteem, not report me to the authorities. As for that purse, I’m keeping an eye on it too. It’s cute, but sneaky. A jumpy little thing

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  4. I did the same thing recently with a small loaf of bread. By the time I realized, I figured it didn’t make sense to go back and ‘confess’ about the $1.89 steal. But I felt guilty, so I donated $5 at the next charitable opportunity, to balance out the karma and all, lol.

    Liked by 4 people

  5. I’m sure this has happened to everyone at some point. Where I go, the weight sensors can tell if you put something unscanned on the scanned pile so I’m surprised beepers didn’t go off with police running to take you off to jail! 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    • Kate, our U-scan lanes used to have that feature, too, but a few years ago the system changed and became indifferent to weight measurements.

      Now it’s all about getting you to tell it your Preferred Shopper Number so it can keep tabs on all you buy. If you don’t it has a conniption fit and someone shows up to nudge you into giving up your number… for your own good, of course. 🙄

      Liked by 2 people

      • Ok, that hasn’t happened here yet. We are gently nudged by the computer to use our shopper card but we have the option to “skip.” The weight feature was a pain because sometimes it didn’t work and insisted you added something you didn’t. Then the staff would have to override it.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. I’m going to jump right past the chips, which I feel you’ve earned for the free labour you provided to the grocery store, to say that I loathe self checkout with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns. I go to extraordinary lengths to avoid them at all costs. If they are there for the convenience of the store and not the customer (and they do often are) it really makes me crazy.

    Liked by 5 people

    • Arlene, I like your reasoning. It makes sense in its own “they owe me for doing their job” way. I can see that. I know many people dislike the self-checkout lanes. You’re not alone. I did read, but have yet to experience, that there’s going to be a hybrid lane wherein you scan your stuff, it goes down a conveyor belt like in a traditional lane, then an employee packs your bags for you. THIS I GOTTA SEE IN ACTION. I can’t imagine how this will be helpful for anyone involved. 🫤

      Liked by 2 people

  7. Loved this – all of it – including Nancy’s query (above) ‘what chips?’. I’m with her. Maybe because they weren’t anything exotic it lessens the crime? Not sure — but I appreciate the story, the imagery, the Birkin vs. Baggalini fun. I read your post to the hubster — tickled both of us on this dreary morning. Oh – and if necessary, we’ll swoop in to post bail for you, okay? 😉

    Liked by 3 people

  8. Yeah, you stick with that story, of course I believe you! Lol i did that once with cat litter that i had stuck under the cart and forgot about. Today, wIth the price of cat litter that would probably be a felony!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Martha, laughing here. You’re right about the price of cat litter now. Our little furry friends are long gone, but I do go down the pet aisle occasionally and see that the prices are through the roof. 😳

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  9. You will never be able to enjoy those potato chips. Nor the next bag you buy in the same flavor. You’ll have to switch brands, only then you will remember why you switched brands every time you eat them and the taste will be as dust. You’ll move to tortilla chips, instead, but the ghost of the purloined chips will follow you, haunting your every bite.

    Liked by 2 people

    • AutumnAshbough, you’ve taken this situation to its logical, melodramatic, conclusion wherein I rue the day I made this horrific mistake, never able to face any chip again. OR,maybe, the story goes the other way and I’m no longer desirous of chips, lose weight, and have a better cholesterol reading. Had you thought of that? 😉

      Liked by 2 people

  11. I love this story – because you are a master at story-telling and as you laid it out, I wondered, how was it that she realized it? Ah, the creeping knowledge as you drove.

    The other day I was checking out with my kids at the craft store. It was with a checker but we unloaded the cart to give her our items. When I went to put things in the car, my daughter found a spool of thread we hadn’t paid for because it was wedged in and we didn’t hand it up.

    I soooo badly wanted to go home for nap time and give them an extra 2.59 next time we were in but with two little sponges in tow, I couldn’t justify it. So I bundled them back into the store, stood in line again and paid.

    I wish I hadn’t realized I had paid until I was driving home…. So I say, enjoy those chips and this great story that goes along with them!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Wynne, your story is one that I hope is happening all around. You’re right about your little sponges and how they need to absorb adults doing the right thing. That being said, I frelate to your tiredness about going back into the store. I was almost home when I began to wonder, and all the way home when I confirmed my suspicions. Plus no sponges here, so I went full on miscreant. The chips were tasty, btw.

      Liked by 2 people

  12. Honestly, I might feel guilty for a moment or two- then the nefarious me would take over and I’d say ‘what the heck” and eat the bag of chips with zeal! Something you bought that day was likely overpriced. The chips are Krogers way of acknowledging that they jack up prices needlessly. Right?

    Liked by 1 person

    • Deb, I knew you’d have the perfect way to frame this situation so that I’d feel no guilt about what happened. You’re right, I should accept Kroger’s kind gesture giving me, the customer, something free for my loyalty to them.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Of course, if you quickly devour the bag of chips (always easier if it is Sour Cream n Onion) scrunch (a discrete, quiet ‘scrunch’) the bag into the size of a coin, nonchalantly toss it into a waste container, there is no evidence…ergo, no Perp. I rest my case…Ally (unless this is your alias…..🥸)

    Liked by 2 people

  14. Ally, I only hope that you can continue writing your blog while in prison. Your anecdotes light up my mornings. They are so relatable! I bet those “stolen” chips tasted great!

    Liked by 3 people

    • Laurie, I hadn’t thought ahead to how I could keep writing a blog in prison, assuming I have access to a computer… and an internet connection… and the energy to write about anything. More to consider. The chips were delicious– and a treat around here. [To be clear not because I stole them but because they’re not healthy.]

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  15. First off – well deserved ‘bragging rights’ Ms Bean!
    Secondly, blame it on a Senior Moment…that’s more believable to the younger staff than a computer glitch, AHEM.
    But I will add, accidentally walking out with an unintentionally unpurchased item has happened to me from time to time – in my younger years I earnestly pursued going back and making it ‘right’. Now? A less than $5 kype is not worth the gas to get back in the car and make it right IMHO. Just sayin’…
    I do like the idea of adding some $ in the checkout charity donation jar as a sort of penance, though.
    😎

    Liked by 1 person

    • Laura, I like how you think. OF COURSE IT WAS A SENIOR MOMENT. That’s what happened, I’m sure of it now that you remind me of it. I thought the charity donation jar idea was a good one, too. Kind of an “all’s well that ends well” thing.

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  17. I, too, prefer the self-checkout line and take some pride in my scanning and bagging skills. I much prefer the way I bag my groceries to anyone else (similar to loading the dishwasher), and so I always choose the self-checkout lane if feasible. I will say, I do have to weigh the satisfaction of bagging just the way I want to against the annoyance of the computer that repeatedly thinks I haven’t bagged an item or have removed an item. Ours still have the weight feature, and it drives me bonkers. Given everything large corporations are doing/have done in the world, I would feel no guilt about such a small, honest mistake. Eat those chips with joy.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Rita, I agree about how it is great to bag your items in the way you want them bagged. It makes it easier, faster, when I get home to unload. Occasionally our system will get snotty about me moving items around in the bags, but not like it used to. Something has change in that regard. I’ll admit that I did enjoy the chips, knowing that in the whole scheme of things what happened was small potatoes [pun intended].

      Liked by 1 person

      • You must be near a fancy Kroger 😉 Ours are VERY persnickety, and I have been known to snap at my spouse for touching any items already bagged, out of fear that the machine will think I’m attempting to purloin something and shut the whole process down until an attendant can swipe their all-powerful badge and get things moving again. Still, I prefer to self-bag. It’s an introvert thing as much as a control-my-groceries thing.

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        • Ah yes, the attendant with the all-powerful badge who keeps things moving along. For us that attendant is required when we buy alcoholic beverages. No one, no matter how old you are, may purchase any beer/wine/liquor without first being approved. It’s odd, considering how gray my hair is, but laws be laws.

          Liked by 1 person

          • It’s a new rule in ours that they must enter ID information for every one purchasing. I used to get away with using my face as proof of being over 21, but now I must also show a driver’s license. At the risk of sounding like someone far over 21 (which, I am) I miss the days when we had more trust in people to do their jobs correctly. The systems we put in place that tax everyone in order to avoid the problems caused by very few. (I was a kid who hated the tactic of punishing the whole class because of 1 or 2 other kids’ rule-breaking.)

            Liked by 1 person

            • We went through a time when anyone who sold you alcoholic beverages had to see your driver’s license then put the number into the computer BUT retailers balked and complained because it took extra time for all transactions. SO now the law allows the attendant/cashier to do a visual confirmation and immediately hit the button that says you are of age. Still stupid, but much faster.

              Liked by 1 person

            • Violet likes to say whenever that happens that blanket punishments like that were ruled illegal under the Geneva Convention. I have no idea if it’s true, but I love that they use that in defense of fellow students. (I’m also the odd introvert that loves having groceries bagged for me. I did it as a job as a college kid and it’s wonderful having someone else do it for me. Scanning on the other hand I do enjoy!)

              Ally, I did a similar thing with a greeting card. I had a whole stack and the envelopes were connected/linked. But I rationalized it with the thought they probably have just as much loss with self check out as with employees. And they save the wages.

              Liked by 1 person

              • Katie, you were a bagger! Oh that sounds like a perfect college job. I like the whole Geneva Convention concept, btw. I need to throw that into a conversation at some point.

                Greeting cards are so easy to accidentally not scan– or pay for. They stick together in a bunch, slide into the side of things when a single. I wonder about employee theft, too. What I inadvertently took is nothing in comparison to what I’m guessing is a consistent problem for any grocery store.

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  18. Inquiring minds want to know: did you go back to the store and pay for the chips? I’ve never had your experience because I despise equally the information-gathering cards stores use and self-checkouts, and never use either; I’d rather pay a few cents more for each item and deny my information to the stores. The one time I did go back to a store was the day I got an extra $20 in change. Once I got past thinking about my windfall, I thought about the possibility that the checker was going to have to make up the shortfall in her register, and felt bad.

    I do watch the checkers ringing up my purchases, because more often than you’d think the shelf price and the price in the computer’s database are different. And, yes, I’ll argue it. If the shelf price is $.89 and it rings up as $.94, that’s one thing. But if the shelf price is $1.49 and the computer claims it’s $2.39, you can bet that line is going to come to a full stop while the price difference is clarified. Shelf price always wins!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda, I did not return to the store to pay for the chips. I feel that Kroger can absorb the cost of my HONEST MISTAKE. Also, the traffic at rush hour to get back there & back home would have taken me an hour, which I wasn’t willing to waste.

      I enjoy doing the U-scan thing most of the time. I know many people refuse to engage with the machines and I get that. They’re not the most cooperative devices on earth. I’ve also noticed price discrepancies while in the traditional checkout lane and called the store out on it. I adore your last line: Shelf price always wins! So true

      Liked by 1 person

  19. I must admit I came across my first scan-your-own which wasn’t designed to check on your via the weight of your shopping the other day. It was at the rather up-market end of the shopping experience. I’m not familiar with Kroger, is it likewise?

    I hope you enjoyed your ill-gotten gains 😉 😀

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    • Deb, Kroger is the largest grocery store chain in the US and is in the process of buying the 2nd largest chain. In other words, it’s huge and operates stores under a variety of names. Some of the stores are upscale while others are bargain stores with everything in between. I’d say our store is nice, but not an upscale one. I now wonder how the U-scan works in the fancier stores? Guess I’d have to travel the country to find out.

      The chips were tasty.

      Liked by 1 person

  20. A similar thing happened to me and I’m sure there are others who have been through this a time or two. Kinda goes with the times I suppose. I found myself at home with an unpaid-for gallon of milk. Oops. I took it back and paid for it a little while later.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Johnny, it was an odd experience because the realization slowly dawned on me– and by then I was home with no intention of going back to the store to buy one small stinking bag of chips. You are a far better person than I to go back, but milk does cost more… so I might have done that, too.

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    • I’m with you, I’d go back and pay for it. Our checkout story is from Costco, where they don’t have self-checkouts (or at least didn’t last time we went in person…), but one time we were going to buy a vacuum. At the checkout, we told the cashier we were actually going to pass on it, paid for the rest of the items, and headed out, leaving the vacuum cleaner with the cashier. There’s a person who stands near the exit and checks the customers’ receipts. He asked us: where’s your vacuum cleaner. Somehow, we didn’t pay attention and they charged us for it. He sent us back to get reimbursed. Boy, am I glad they had those folks checking receipts (the vacuum cleaner cost more than a gallon of milk x potato chips :))

      Liked by 1 person

      • Endless Weekend, our Costco has a self checkout lane. I wonder why yours doesn’t? Be that as it may, I’m glad you didn’t pay for something you didn’t buy. Shopping can be a trial, of that I’m sure.

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  21. I’ve had so many issues with self checkout that if that were to happen to me, I’d say I damn well deserved a freebie. This coming from a very honest person.

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    • Bijoux, I take your point. When the U-scan self checkout first appeared they were a nightmare. But a few years ago they were upgraded in our store and usually do their thing without any trouble. Or maybe I’ve gotten better at swiping the UPC sticker across the screen? Anyway, I too consider myself an honest person, but in this particular case the chips are a freebie, courtesy of K Roger, my old friend.

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  22. My husband came home from the grocery with a free package of paper towels and had a similar story, minus the purse of course. I’m inclined to believe you both as you’re trustworthy souls. And heck, I always blame a computer when possible.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. This used to happen to me regularly; I would take my kids into the grocery store in a stroller and I would tuck all my purchases into the bottom basket. But there was also a small mesh pocket at the back where I tended to put things like soy sauce or other breakable items that I didn’t want sloshing and banging around in the bottom.
    On multiple occasions, I walked out of the store, saw the item, and turned right around and went through the checkout very sheepishly.

    There are other times I have been under-charged or something didn’t ring through properly. I don’t lose much sleep over that because, like other commenters have mentioned, I also find I regularly get overcharged for things (e.g. a sale item doesn’t ring up on sale). Sometimes I notice it early enough and get them to reverse it but often I don’t clue in until I’m home. Overpaying for an item drives me CRAZY. Not the output of money, but the fact that I expected to pay X and ended up paying X+$$$. Drives me nuts!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Elisabeth, I find that when I’m grocery shopping I’m in the zone, focused on getting exactly what I need. Granted I didn’t *need* the bag of potato chips, but everything else I bought was for a specific meal. My point is I understand how you could forget to pay for something tucked away– and how you’d go back in to buy it IF you realized it when you were still near the store.

      Years ago it was a different story, but now I don’t get overcharged often. I pay attention, of course. Kroger does a good job of showing the price on the shelves then using it to ring up at the register. I’m sorry your store isn’t like that. I’d be peeved, too. 🤨

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  24. Ally, I bet you are a loyal shopper and as such, perhaps this is like a “free gift with purchase!”

    I feel this pain because once I input the wrong code for apples and I paid for less expensive apples than the ones I intended! This is what happens when you get cocky about the self-checkout. I felt QUITE bad for getting organic produce and paying regular price.

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    • Nicole, I am a loyal Kroger shopper so I’ll take your advice and consider the bag of potato chips my “free gift with purchase.” Nicely rationalized.

      I’d feel bad, too, if I didn’t put in the proper code like you did. HOWEVER I can see how that could happen, even to the most meticulous shopper so you shouldn’t beat yourself up over it. I hope you enjoyed your apples. I hear you got ’em at a good price. 😜

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  25. Like you, I like the U-check out line but can easily lose my train of thought when the computer decides it doesn’t recognize a product or when I have to search for a produce code for an unstickered item. You post makes me wonder how many things I may have take home that didn’t appear on the receipt. It is definitely the computer’s fault.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Jennifer, I’m glad you understand how this all the computer’s fault and that I was a victim. Yep, that’s what happened. I, too, wonder how many items I’ve previously forgotten to ring up. Until this happened I’d never given it a second thought.

      Liked by 1 person

  27. Stop, thief! I have a horror of being accused of stealing in a store since I sometimes don’t ask for a bag so I’m carrying the items. I keep my receipt in my hand and wave it around like I’m on a float in a parade. Are you going to feel guilty eating those chips? 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Margaret, I like the idea of you waving your receipt around like you’re on a parade float. I can understand why you do so when you don’t use a bag. No guilt whatsoever about eating the chips. IT WAS AN HONEST MISTAKE.

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  29. Things have a way of working out. More than once I have noticed on my receipt that a touchy computer scanner has charged me TWICE for an item of which I only walked away with one. So, I would say that bag of chips is honestly yours. Even if you were never charged twice previously, you can just say that you are using ‘Donna’s Credit’! 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  30. Cute comments, here.

    Not as bad as Poe’s “The Purloined Letter” because no murder was involved. I prefer the “human” checkout if no one else is in line, but self-check will do, on occasion, because there’s usually an associate standing by if I get stuck.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Marian, commenters here are the best, so funny or insightful as the case may be. Good point about the self-checkout. IF there’s an employee assigned to it, THEN it does go faster… as long as the computer doesn’t betray you. Just saying

      Liked by 1 person

  31. LOL, gotta love self serve check outs. Similart experience wioth Safeway. I bought Chicken from the Deli and they put 2 UPCs on the bag. Welp I enjoyed some free fried chicken. Don’t worry, these things happen adn its all about intent. You didnt intend to enjoy a free bag of chips.

    Liked by 1 person

  32. My husband stole something accidentally once, though I can’t remember the details, and then got home and called the store and they said “Thanks for being so honest, you can keep it!” Clear conscious and a free whatever-he-stole FTW!

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  33. I’m like Rita. I love to bag my own and have a hate hate relationship with the weighted scanner. I have, on a few occasions, forgotten the 20 pound bag of flour. Don’t ask and then I won’t have to perjure myself. Fortunately never when my sponges were with me. This was a delightful little quick read while on my blogging MIA time.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Bernie, I agree with Rita, too. I like to bag my own groceries because once I get home I can unload quickly and efficiently. Don’t you love Wynne and her little sponges? That’s a perfect way to refer to the little kiddos. Thanks for stopping by to read and comment. Enjoy your MIA time.

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    • M, I have yet to do that, forgetting there’s something on the bottom of the cart, but I suppose it’s only a matter of time. You were right to leave it in the cart. Better than me I guess, never paying for the bag of potato chips. Miscreant that I am.

      Liked by 1 person

  35. A few thoughts…I’m sure you are not the only person this has happened to, and possibly with something more expensive than a sack of chips, and possibly not accidentally. Also, as I understand it, the retailers are making a huge profit and using inflation as an excuse to raise prices so they can afford to absorb the cost of a bag of chips – probably use it as a tax write off anyway. You are doing their job by using self-checkout so consider it your paycheck for the day. I dislike self-checkout for many different reasons, don’t get me started. That said, I did return to Safeway once when I got $5.00 extra in change but that was from a real person.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Janet, good points. This situation was an accident– and I, too, wonder if it’s just possible that Kroger can effortlessly absorb the cost of my mistake without batting an eye. If grocery stores have eyes, of course. You’re right that I am doing the cashiers job by using the self-checkout, BUT it’s faster than waiting in line and sometimes I’m impatient. Like you if I ever received the wrong change from a real person I’d take it back immediately. I wouldn’t want someone to be penalized for a mistake like that when they cashed out at night.

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  37. I believe you, Ally. I was at the grocery store and got mixed up and stuck an item I hadn’t scanned in the bagging area, because I had two items in my hand (having scanned only one). This is why I should not be trusted at the self checkout lane. I get too distracted trying to hurry!

    Liked by 1 person

    • L. Marie, you’re onto what happened with me, too. I was distracted by the goofy computer prompt and it was busy in the store and I was tired but trying to hurry… and then there I was at home realizing what I’d done. Honestly if it’s not one problem it’s another, isn’t it?

      Liked by 1 person

  38. I hate the self checkout. I’m always offending the machine in some way. Plus I hate when it scolds me for moving something in the bagging area, or removing something in the bagging area. That danged bagging area is not large enough to handle my load of groceries, so we do not get along.

    All that to say, these things happen and that’s what the world gets for using computers in place of humans. To err is human – to screw up as a computer is expected, in my estimation.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Ernie, I know many people hate the self-checkout and I understand why. I agree that the bagging area is too small. Ours only has a place for four bags then nowhere to put large items like bottles of water or laundry detergent. Then what are we supposed to do?

      I understand human error, my own included, but if a machine is going to be bossy then it better not irritate me. They’re supposed to be logical, right? Yet…

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  39. I like using those as well but you do need to keep an eye on them! More than once I have had them accuse me of theft (and one time of not paying – I had the receipt in my hand!) and I’m sure they might accuse me of not keeping my cupboards neat and tidy if they could!

    Liked by 1 person

    • To finish my comment (I accidentally hit reply before I was ready – or was that an example of sentient tricksterism on the part of WP? 😳 These machines and programs these days!) I hope you enjoyed the bag and ate them before you got home. 😉

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      • Lynette, I’m laughing at the idea of being scolded for not keeping cupboards tidy, yet I suppose it could happen. Nosy, uncooperative, computers are everywhere. I’m sorry you were accused of theft. Seems a bit extreme especially when you had receipt in hand.

        I ate the chips after I got home and had time to process what had happened. They were tasty.

        Liked by 1 person

  41. Ah, yes. This was not your fault. You are right to blame the scanner. They’re so fussy!
    This has happened to me on multiple occasions.
    Once, the guy at the drive-thru did not ask me to pay, which I realized on the way home. I tried to call customer service to pay. They did not let me, and instead sent me gift cards to compound my guilt.
    Twice since August, I have taken my girls shopping at the Target near campus and walked out with unpurchased goods on the bottom of my cart — a case of water at one point, and a bottle of laundry detergent the second time. I have since become Mimom-on-alert to accidental theft, because going back to the store and through the line to pay for forgotten items is too much for me, and I can’t have my integrity slacking in front of my kids. Gah.
    Also, many years ago on a cold winter’s night, my oldest daughter needed some specific colored shirt she didn’t own and we went to Target STAT for the specific colored shirt for the specific event. I paid for the shirt she chose. I did not pay for the one hanging on the end of the cart, which I didn’t notice until I was unpacking the car. We did not keep the shirt, we left it hanging on the cart and put the cart in the cart corral. It was cold. I had four kids. That one’s on Target. It was RIGHT THERE in the front!
    Anyway, I’m an accidental thief on multiple occasions and you only have this one chip sitch. I think this may be related to law of averages, but I welcome you to the club. Guilt is complementary, refreshments available on request.

    Liked by 1 person

    • joey, I knew I could count on you to be on my side. They sent you gift cards because you forgot to pay? Oh that’s the sort of upside down business thinking that requires a stiff drink to comprehend. Good business, maybe…? Guilt, definitely.

      As for what you did at Target I think that was honorable, under the circumstances. I’d not have gone back into the store either, kids in tow. The kids saw you not steal, that’s enough.

      I felt guilty at first when I realized what’d happened at Kroger, BUT the more I thought about it [and rationalized my behavior] the more I realized it was just an unfortunate mistake, nothing really criminal about it– and then I ate the chips. 😋

      Liked by 1 person

  42. I believe that’s classed as compensation for duress.

    I once bought some board games from Kmart and as I walked away, it occurred to me that the payment wasn’t much. In this case I was using a real person and she had not scanned one of the games properly and it hadn’t gone through. I went back and told her and paid for the game. I’m still amazed at her shocked face that I’d actually come back and told her I hadn’t paid for it. Even the OH reckoned it was their fault and I should have kept it. To me it was stealing and it would have bugged me forever. But a $20 game is different to a $1 packet of chips.

    Did the chips taste like guilt to you?

    Liked by 1 person

    • MOSY, I take your point. If what I was not buying cost anything much I’d have immediately gone back to rectify the situation. BUT a bag of chips, delicious ones I might add, didn’t seem important enough for me to go back. Right or wrong I stand by my decision. Such is life.

      Like

  43. That was a funny unintentional shop-lifting moment. We mostly shop at the co-op where there are no self-checkouts. But we sometimes shop at the local Safeway and are figuring out how to actually get those barcodes in the right place for swiping. It’s interesting that the word swipe also means to steal.

    Liked by 1 person

  44. Been there; done that. Like another Intelligent Commenter above (whose comment I tried to Like, but wasn’t allowed to, for some reason), I didn’t feel guilty when it happened once I discovered it. Why?
    1. I provided my own free labour.
    2. I am a loyal customer.
    3. I always donate plenty for charities at the register (food bank, United Way, etc.)
    4. I always use my own bags, thus saving them money.
    5. Grocery stores are making plenty off of us.

    I sound like a terrible person, I know. Plus, it’s not like I/you robbed a jewelry store or did it on purpose. Enjoy your snack, and do a kindness for someone.

    Liked by 2 people

    • nance, I do like your logic. You’ve nailed it in spades. I try to do the right thing when ringing up my own purchases, but MISTAKES HAPPEN. That being said, I will do a kindness for someone in the name of potato chips. Good idea.

      Like

  45. Something always goes wrong when I try to use the self-checkout. I bag the stuff in my own bags but the computer often tells me that I did not bag it so I don’t use the self-checkout much.
    I think you should scan the next bag of chips you buy twice so you pay up, Sister! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  47. Ally, I think you are in the clear here – clearly it’s the computer’s fault and even if the lawyers were to try to argue their case against you it wouldn’t do much since the “evidence” has been disposed of.

    Liked by 1 person

  48. Yes, I believe you.

    I stole lemonade. At a fast food place, I asked for water and was given a cup. The lever for water was hidden behind the lemonade button. If course, I hit it and ended up with lemonade which I didn’t want. Grown son said the cops would come to get me. In seconds two or three policemen sat at the next table, and son have me knowing looks and raised eyebrows the whole time we were eating. Even now, more than ten years later, he will tease me about the incident. At least we both know what really happened, and a camera did not try to tattle on me.

    Liked by 2 people

  49. Oh, this made me laugh out loud! So fun! I could just picture you turning so fast that your purse flew and slapped the screen silly! LOL And it reminded me of my own thievery in 2017, not too different from yours. We had just arrived from an overseas trip and I was feeling under the weather so I went to the store to get ingredients for someethnic comfort chicken soup. I had my purse on the shopping cart, I guess with the zipper open, and I must have put a vegetable as big as a tennis ball in it. I didn’t know until I got home and saw what was in my purse! I accidentally stole a 50cent produce! People were telling me if I felt bad enough about it, I could just give the store 50cents next time I’m there. I decided it’s better not to bring my thievery to their attention and just do better with presence of mind always.

    Liked by 1 person

    • M, I like your story and understand how it could have happened. Tired after a big vacation, not feeling great, just wanting some soup. Makes sense to me that you’d put a vegetable in your purse. Ha! I love your way of saying my purse slapped the screen silly because that’s exactly what happened. As for ‘fessing up to the grocery, I’m with you in that I’ll do better with presence of mind in the future– and just move on. After all, IT WAS AN ACCIDENT and they happen.

      Like

  50. I have to unfollow you now. LOLOLOL! I am notorious for unknowingly grabbing someone else’s cart. How do I do that???? I usually push it to the other side of the store and then FREAK OUT! Of course I race back to mine while looking for people with similar items. So embarrassing.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Susie, oh no, don’t do that, please keep following. I assure you IT WASN’T INTENTIONAL and I feel [sort of] bad about it. I am laughing out loud about you grabbing the wrong cart and then making it your own long enough to mosey to the other side of the store. I can’t say I’ve done that. Heaven knows I get distracted whenever I go grocery shopping, so just give me time and I’ll do that, too.

      Like

  51. I am sure this has happened to all of us at some point, totally unintentionally. Seeing as this is a confessional post of sorts, I’ll fess up to accidentally stealing a can of Danish oil in the lower basket of a pram with my baby daughter. A crying baby and sleep deprivation made me forget all about it. I felt too ashamed to return it.
    I love the karma reconciliation one blogger employed above. Beautiful.
    I don’t like to use self-checkouts but am forced to do so, as there is usually only one human checkout open, with several customers with trolleys packed mile high with a month worth of feeding. My impatience creeps in.
    But we are doing the store’s job for them! I like the idea of a packer- at least that is one job for a human employee until they mechanize that too.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Amanda, I understand how it came to be that you stole the item from the grocery store. I’d hazard a guess that many a sleep-deprived parent has done the same thing. No forethought or malice involved with a theft like that.

      I don’t mind the self-checkout lanes because, like you mentioned, to wait in line behind people with carts piled high, well– it’s not a good use of my time. I get fidgety. Plus I do like to swipe those little UPC codes over the screen. I feel productive, albeit I am doing the grocery’s work, but somehow I rationalize that.

      Like

  52. If you haven’t thrown out the package yet, I’d bring it with me next time and scan it then. Problem solved. Otherwise, I’d have to grab another off the shelf, go through the human line, (ugh. If there’s no CMG, what’s the point?) “buy” it, then hand it back, explaining. They probably don’t care very much, as stuff likely walks away frequently, but my conscience would bug me.

    Like

  53. Yup. I believe you. It’s good to be honest, and I might take the chips back if I noticed on my way out the door (if I wasn’t in a big hurry and the lines weren’t too long.) But let’s get serious. It was a bag of chips, and it was an honest mistake. And they may have unconsciously cheated you sometime.

    I can’t think of anything I’ve taken without paying (I may have just forgotten), but I do remember the time I left my purse in the supermarket shopping cart and drove home without it. When I called back, they’d saved it for me. And then there was the time I left my credit card in a restaurant, and they saved it for me. They didn’t even make me feel stupid when I picked it up. Meeting up with so many good, honest people makes you want to be honest too.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Nicki, thank you. I am grateful for your support. I briefly thought about driving back over to Kroger, BUT it was rush hour and I knew it’d take me an hour to get there, go inside, stand in line at the service center, pay for the chips, then drive home. I just couldn’t do it.

      I hadn’t thought of it in years, but one day I found a woman’s purse in a cart in the cart corral at Kroger. I IMMEDIATELY took it inside and handed it over to the person in the service center who was on the phone with a frantic woman who’d left her purse in a cart outside the store. I can only imagine how she felt. As for honest people, we exist and they exist, and we influence each other for the better.

      Like

  54. On one occasion, my wife and I get our cart out to the car and start to load our groceries into it. It was at that point we found an eyeliner product my wife picked out in their makeup section. It was so very small neither of us saw it to put on the conveyor belt for purchase. Considering how many times we were overcharged for their sale items over the years and had to go over to customer service to rectify a problem…instead of it just being solved at check-out…we just figured it was karma flowing back in our direction. Call it even!🙂

    Like

    • Bruce, I hear ‘ya. It seems like any mistake like the one you made, or the one I made, is smalltime considering our loyalty to a particular store. Plus I have to believe that there are times when they overcharge us, not willfully, but by accident when whoever programs the prices into the computer makes a mistake. There is error on both sides. Let the good karma flow my way, please.

      Liked by 1 person

  55. My, my, my, little thief. I’m considering unfollowing you but then I believe in forgiveness and grace so I won’t. 🙂 I’ve told a checkout person that they forgot to charge me for something, even gone back into the store when I realized it. If I’ve made it home and then realize that something didn’t get charged, I just leave it, although if I remember correctly, once I mentioned it the next time I was back at the store and they said to forget it. Back in the day when I used to pay cash for things and I’d tell the clerk s/he gave me too much change, they always seemed amazed which is kind of sad. Now if you give someone cash, they can’t make change without referring to the computer. Sigh.

    On the other side, I’ve had a sale item ring up the wrong price, told the person, had them thank me and say they’d let someone know, and gone back again only to find the store hadn’t changed the price. Makes you wonder.

    Like

    • Janet, I appreciate your forgiveness for what was truly and honestly an INNOCENT MISTAKE on my part. If I was dealing with a cashier, a real person, and realized what had happened I’d have gone back to the grocery store to fix it. I wouldn’t want an employee to somehow be held financially accountable for my error. But this was just me and stupid computer having a tussle.

      While in a quick stop place while buying a 6-pack of beer I gave cash, a $10 bill, to an employee and I was pleasantly surprised by how this young woman knew how to make change. Some people still can do it, but you’re right they are few. As for the store not correcting the erroneous price… yep, I do wonder.

      Like

  56. I BELIEVE YOU! I used to be scared to use those self-checkouts because I really felt like they were much slower than the cashiers (granted, if you got a slow one obviously the self-service is better) so I’ve come along way now that I use them readily HOWEVER, when I do use them, I always feel like I’m under suspicion of stealing LOL so every other item I am putting in my “bin/bag” I am doing it with exaggerated motions (almost surrendering to a cop the way I’m dropping my groceries in to the bag) LOL….

    Liked by 1 person

    • Jenn, I don’t know that it’s always quicker to use the self-scan lanes, but I favor them because there’s no chit-chat with the cashiers and the baggers. For an introvert that is a hidden plus about U-scan lanes. I know what you mean about feeling like you’re under surveillance while you use them, though. Ours have cameras pointed at you and you’re on a TV screen suspended above the area. YOU ARE BEING WATCHED. Except, obviously, when it’s super busy and you are a notoriously upright citizen who makes one teensy mistake with a bag of potato chips… and no one notices including yourself.

      Liked by 1 person

  57. The question is, was it one of those 50 cented temptation bags near the register or did you accidentally steal the party size bag? And what flavor was it? Enquiring minds want to know!

    I don’t like the self check out just for this reason. I fear doing that! Now I don’t care so much if it’s Walmart. Walmart has double charged me, charged me for the wrong item, and currently has shoppers who have no idea how to choose produce. But I’d hate to do it to my small, local grocery.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Zazzy, it was one of the smaller bags found on the snack aisle, not a tiny snack-size one, not a huge party one– and it was plain ‘ole Lay’s Potato Chips.

      I get what you’re saying. Considering this was at Kroger, the largest grocery store chain in the US, I don’t feel too badly about what happened. If it’d been a small local grocery I’d have gone back to pay for the chips. It’s all about context, I guess.

      Liked by 1 person

  58. We all handle these ‘oops’ moments differently. I was schooled by the nuns, so I would be handing over the price of the chips the next time I went in. I always figure I have enough life events on that ‘heaven or hell’ list that I sure don’t want to be bothered with a bag of chips. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Judy, I understand your logic and I’m sure the nuns would be proud of you. They taught you well and you did the most noble thing one could do in this situation. The nuns didn’t get hold of me until I was in graduate school [a Catholic university] and by then I was lost… so I ate the chips without paying for them.

      Like

  59. Pingback: The Story of Life – Surprised By Joy

  61. I once somehow was undercharged or got something for free from a grocery store, and in my guilt I asked the checker about it the next time I was there. She said, “Oh, don’t worry about it, you’re here all the time, I’m sure we’ve overcharged you at some point.” HA!

    I wonder, did the chips taste extra delicious, knowing they were ill gotten and therefore somehow more exciting? Or worse, as your guilt set in? I once got someone else’s gourmet sea salt caramel chocolate things, perhaps the person in front of me (my favorite grocery store still unloads your cart for you AND bags the groceries, so I take no blame for this). They were DELICIOUS. Partly because I’m sure they were just well made and sugar and so on, but partly because they were illicit…

    BTW, that little picture that pops up when I put in my email to comment…it’s 16 years old. I consider updating it sometimes, but why?

    Liked by 1 person

    • J, I think in any retail store business plan there has to be a certain leeway allowed for regular shoppers who cause no trouble, then accidentally forget to pay for something small. It’s not like my mistake was intentional or will bankrupt Kroger.

      I like that you got some yummy candy for free, not your fault it appeared in your life, AND am amazed that you shop in a grocery store with such service. We have a more, shall I say survival of the fittest, shopping experience around here.

      I like your picture. You looked great then and I’m sure you still do. Icons like that little picture are fun, but not necessarily meant to be like your driver’s license photo, updated every four years. 🤷‍♀️

      Like

      • Ally, there is only one grocery store chain like this still around here. Thankfully none of them have gone fully automated yet, though I hear of that happening. Our local Safeway has the self check out. I try not to use it, I don’t want to encourage it, because it’s often ANNOYING and it puts checkers out of work. I do use it once in awhile though, if the other lines are too long. I’ll admit that it can be kind of fun to use when everything works properly, though.

        Liked by 1 person

        • I remember a few small local grocery stores that were very helpful, but they’ve disappeared around here. I agree that the U-scan can be annoying and I also agree that when the scanner works it can be fun. Such is life, always a paradox.

          Like

  63. Fun post Ally Bean. I recently returned a cushion to the store – refund was done on my credit card, all good. BUT I left with the same large ish cushion under my arm – was literally about to walk out the store door! It happens! I love plain Lays too – plain salted come in a yellow bag – same there?

    Liked by 1 person

    • Susan, that’s funny how you accidentally tried to leave with the cushion after the credit was done. I get that, though. I could see me doing that, I get so lost in my thoughts. As for the Lay’s Potato Chips same bag here, same product I suspect. Rather tasty 😋

      Liked by 1 person

  64. lol I love your question at the end. I believe you! I’ve done that a handful of times now. With me, it always seems to be with produce that I missed and is somehow still in the cart (but not my shopping bag) when I walk out of the store and load everything into my car. It’s one of those really oops moments. Twice I walked back into the store to pay for it, but once I did not because I was in a hurry! – Marty

    Liked by 1 person

    • Marty, I believe you when you say that you paid for that which you purloined when it was convenient for you to do so. You’re a better person than I, inadvertent taker of chips, eater of said free bounty!

      Like

  65. I’ve never been a fan of self-checkout but I’m learning to deal with it. We primarily use online ordering and store pickup for our groceries. Occasionally we get an item or two that aren’t ours so I can blame it on Kroger, LOL. Of course, the “best” time was when they gave my whole grocery order to another customer.🙄 They were able to contact her before she got home so she had to turn around and come back to the store to hand over my groceries and get her own.

    Liked by 1 person

  66. I applaud your skills at locating the UPC codes on products so easily. As someone who, you know, has been stocking these items for almost a quarter of a century now, I still have to flip the stuff around about 20 times to find the code when I’m using the self-check. It’s a shame Kroger’s out a few bucks over a stolen bag of chips…. knowing how razor thin margins are in the grocery industry, they’re probably filing for Chapter 11 as we speak…. but they moved out of my neck of the woods back in the 80’s, so I won’t miss them. Well, I do miss Kroger’s chocolate chip ice cream….. best of any of the store bought brands when I was a kid.

    Liked by 1 person

    • evilsquirrel13, we all have our gifts in this life and I’m darned good at finding those UPC codes on anything then cajoling the scanner into reading them. I know that Kroger isn’t everywhere in the US but they’re working on it. Have you read about Kroger buying Albertsons? If the FTC approves that deal, it’ll give your employer a run for its money, though I doubt if it’ll impact you directly. Other than having the ability to buy Kroger ice cream again.

      Like

      • We don’t have Albertsons here either. We do have a Ruler, which is Kroger-brand Aldi’s (no idea if they have the ice cream, never been in there). As for my employer, I have a feeling we’ll eventually put ourselves out of business over misplaced priorities, like keeping our shelves actually full.

        Liked by 1 person

        • I’ve only been in an Aldi a few times. They’re as far away from where I live as the closest Walmart or Trader Joe’s is. Never heard of Ruler. Your employer will do fine, regardless of what they do. They’re not called the Evil Empire for nothing!

          Like

    • mamalisa4, yours is a suggestion that while good, does seem a bit extreme in this case. IT WAS AN ACCIDENT & I’m sticking with that story. Plus one small bag of Lay’s Potato Chips ain’t gonna bankrupt Kroger. My bad, but they’ll keep on going strong.

      Like

  68. I DO believe you, and I’ll undoubtedly testify FOR you. I wouldn’t feel too guilty because I’d bet money that you’ve been overcharged for something at least eleventy times and didn’t realize it.

    Many, many years ago, I accidentally stole a crockpot from Target. It was on the bottom shelf of the shopping cart…but the funny thing is, I accidentally left it right there on the bottom shelf of the cart at the cart corral. I didn’t realize what I’d done until I was home, much later.
    I’d never make it as a criminal.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Suz, thank you for your support. If I need a character witness I’ll call you. I imagine you’re right that I’ve been overcharged occasionally.

      I adore your crockpot theft that wasn’t at Target. I can imagine me doing that, too. I get focused in the store finding what I want, then totally focused on getting home when I’m in the parking lot. I’d make a bad criminal, too.

      Liked by 1 person

  69. Unlike you, I never use the self-check line, either at grocery stores or CVS or …. anywhere. Because Frankly (even Beverly, or Charley) I’m SO TIRED OF HAVING TO FIGURE OUT HOW DIFFERENT COMPUTERS/SCANNERS/MACHINERY work. I want and I insist on a real person to check my goods, give me a smile, and hand me my receipt.
    So, that said, good for you, self-checking. Except by doing that, someone who needs a job is not checking your potato chips for you.
    But yes, it’s the computer who is the thief, NOT you. And to be clear, I bring my own reusable bag too. I’m green, but not self-check green.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Pam, I like using the U-scan machines when they don’t have a bad attitude. I take your point about how tedious it is to try to figure out any computer system… then the system changes without so much as a howdy-do. I don’t know how many jobs are lost to self-scan lane, but there’s something to your concern. Of course, it might be that no one wants to be a cashier so there’s a shortage and the self-checkout lanes keep customers happy. As for the unfortunate situation with the bag of potato chips, I’m taking it as a learning lesson teaching me to slow down– and shop when I’m not so tired.

      Liked by 1 person

  71. I think any cop worth his salt would let the chips fall where they may in a situation like this.

    Besides, who among us hasn’t accidentally left a grocery store with an unpaid-for item on the bottom rack of the shopping cart? Or, worse, paid for said item but then forgot to load it into the car? It all balances out in the end.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Mark, nicely said. Also, I agree with you that it all balances out. I didn’t mean to not swipe the chips which lead to me swiping the chips. And ain’t that something!

      Like

  73. There was a funny video circulating on social media awhile back about a seagull that walked into a store by standing in front of the automatic doors which allowed him access. He’d swipe a bag of chips or any other snacks that were hanging on the lower racks and he’d hustle back out in the street and stab the bag open with his beak and chow down. That was intentional. Your treat was not received with malicious intent. 🙂 That is a funny story Ally. I was at Meijer and had one of those multi-roll of Bounty paper towels, the triple-sized rolls and was trying to find the UPC code.
    The paper towels package was bulky and awkward and it scanned it three times.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda, I’ve not seen the seagull but that sounds hilarious. I mean why not do what you can do to get chips… when you’re a bird. You scanned something that rang up three times! I rather like that, from a funny point of view. Again, why not?

      Liked by 1 person

      • Yes, that seagull nonchalantly strolled into the store on a regular basis, either opening the door on its own through the sensor, or relying on someone to go in or out of the store. It especially liked the regular Doritos. (I’m sure it was pretty thirsty afterward, but it didn’t go in for pop.)

        My Meijer remodeled in 2021. Before the remodel, if you chose to, you could scan in as many items as you wanted in a regular checkout line, not the smaller U-scans for a limited amount of items. After the remodel, that nicety was eliminated because there was too much pilfering. I know one of the greeters as she is married to a security guard at our office building. The six-pack of huge triple rolls of Bounty paper towels is awkward to scan. I was maneuvering it around and scanned it three times and didn’t realize it. I thought the total was high, but I was shopping in the morning before work and had to get going and I had a lot of other items, which, on a work day, I just take the bags in the house and deal with them later unless they’re perishables. I looked at my bill online at mPerks later and called Meijer. They just told me to go to the service counter and they’d remove it from my credit card next time I was in.

        Liked by 1 person

        • Oh to be a carefree seagull on a mission! Our Meijer only has the smaller self-scan lanes, I’ve never dealt with a regular size one. I’m happy to know that Meijer made things right for you. Honest mistakes happen.

          Liked by 1 person

          • The seagull on a snack mission made me smile!

            I miss the other way of scanning – the smaller self-scan lanes are better for smaller loads, but now each cashier has a packer, so that makes it faster. I was pleased with that – the honor system. They didn’t even ask my name to leave at the desk which also surprised me.

            Liked by 1 person

  75. Pingback: Just a silly mistake: Oct. 23 – A Silly Place

  76. So many connections. I love Baggallini. Three cheers for reusable grocery bags. I’m driving a dealership loaner car now while my car is in the shop and I forgot to take my reusable bags out of my trunk so now every grocery run is tinged with guilt. Finally, I was a cashier in high school, so I’m right with you on being a whiz at the checkout lane. And incidentally, I was a bagger before I was a cashier, so at the risk of sounding arrogant, I’m a darn good grocery packer as well. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  78. Hi Ally – once again you let us feel like we were right there with you in the check out lane.
    and my mother would have gone back right away to pay for the chips – and for me – it would depend on the situation – and I did have an item come home with me earlier this year – a little white knob that was under two dollars. and so on my next trip to that store, it just worked out where I had to by one more and so I asked the lady to ring me up for two – and the funny thing is that she never asked why – ( one of those cashiers without a personality – hahaha)
    also, I love the cross body purses – even though it seems they might at times act up – lol –
    —

    Liked by 1 person

    • Yvette, there’s a time when I’d have gone back immediately, but those days are over. I’m older and live farther away from the store and have adopted the attitude that “these things happen” so one must move one. Also the next time I’m in the store I’ll put $$$ in one of the collecting for a charity jars. It’ll balance my karma.

      Liked by 1 person

  81. I avoid self-checkout. When I’ve tried them in the past, I always wound up having to ask for help. So I avoid them. And yet.

    One of our local stores actually uses cashiers to run self-checkout. I’ll have a few items and be wandering, looking for an open checkout lane when I hear “Ma’am! Ma’am!” I turn and there’s a nice young woman motioning me over to the self-checkout counter where SHE proceeds to check out my items. Go figure. But that’s the only way I’ll use one 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    • Marie, with someone helping you that’d be a nice way to use the self-checkout lane. It makes sense because it keeps shoppers moving along, paying for things, out the door quickly. And would also guarantee that bags of potato chips aren’t accidentally acquired by lame-brained shoppers. 🙄

      Liked by 1 person

      • A funny thing about the last time I used, that is, was assisted in using the self-checkout: since I was also purchasing wine, the very nice and efficient cashier had to ring the wine up separately on a different machine. I don’t know why, but she had to punch in a bunch of codes on the first machine, then lead me over to the second one and punch in more codes as well as scan the wine. Thank goodness, she knew what she was doing!

        Liked by 1 person

        • That’s not how you buy wine around here. All machines are willing to sell it to you. That does sound like a different way to do things, but like you said someone else did it for you so YAY.

          Liked by 1 person

  82. OMG that after-the-fact moment of realization – you described it perfectly, Ally. Everything kind of slows down and it takes a second for your brain to register and sometimes you’re even in denial, but ultimately you acknowledge whatever happened really happened. That little bit of shock is almost just punishment for the crime. Also, I don’t think I’ve seen “purloined” since my last visit with Edgar Allan Poe (which was a long time ago). Great word!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Dave, it was the darnedest thing, I was sitting at the light and gradually realized I’d just done an *oops* with that bag of potato chips. In that moment I thought about turning around, but convinced myself I might be wrong about taking the chips so I should go home. I was wrong. And yes “purloined” is a word we don’t use enough.

      Like

  84. ROFL!! That’s funny! I never have trusted the self check out computers. On the few times I have tried to use them they mess up somehow which leaves me standing there hoping someone who understands it will come sort it out and the whole point of using it to be faster is totally lost.
    I’ll stick to using a real person as often as I can, but you watch out for pesky computers at the Kroger store! If you need a character witness I’m your gal! 😂😂😂

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    • Deborah, I understand your reluctance, At first I didn’t like the U-scans and avoided them, but once I braved up and learned how to swipe [as in across the barcode reader, not as in steal] I got into it. I still use the traditional lanes with a cashier when I have lots to buy, though. Thanks for offering to be my character witness. I appreciate it.

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