This Person Accidentally Shoplifted, And Here’s What People Are Saying She Should Do
Obviously, people can have many different motivations for shoplifting, and — due to current inflation — a big one is simply that some people can’t afford the things they need. According to a recent survey from LendingTree, one in five people admitted to shoplifting, and over 90% of recent shoplifters blame the economy.
“I did this once at a big box store. I got my cart out to the car and realized I hadn’t rung up a certain food item. I can’t remember exactly what it was, but I think it was worth around $3. I went back into the store and told the customer service employee working the self-checkout area where I had been that I had accidentally forgotten to pay for this item and would like to do so now. She looked at me like I was crazy and proceeded to get two other employees who then all treated me like dirt. I was spoken to and treated like I had intentionally stolen from their store. I ended up paying for it, and although I am glad I did the right thing and would do it again, I can see why people may not bother if they were treated in the same disrespectful manner that I experienced.”
“I had this happen in Walmart also. I had bought a pair of shoes and other items for an overseas trip. When I got home, I noticed a small item was in one of the shoes. I checked my receipt and saw it wasn’t on it. I didn’t have time to go back to the store, so I sent a letter of explanation and a check to cover the item (plus the 7% sales tax) and mailed it to the store. When I returned from my trip, I found a letter from the manager thanking me for my honesty, my check, and a gift card. I was astonished!”
“I was a retail manager for many years. One day, a staff member paged me and said that someone wanted to talk to me. It turned out that the woman had stolen something from the store in the past. She was trying to turn he life around, using the AA steps, beginning with apologies and restitution. She handed me some money, which she said seemed to be about what she had stolen. She also said that she’d ‘face the consequences if necessary.’ I told her that no one else had ever done that and that I had no desire to punish her for her past actions. We shook hands, and I gave her a hug. I told her that I hoped she was able to continue on the right track.”
“Definitely, you can. I’ve done this myself, and I went back to pay for it because I’m a karma freak. You will have a few people who think you’re stupid for being honest, but then you will have people who will be shocked and appreciative of your honesty. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t think everyone who doesn’t go back is a bad person or dishonest. The energy it takes to physically go back sometimes simply isn’t worth the good karma points, lol. If I had the energy and intended to purchase the item (and had the money for it), I’d likely sleep better if I did the right thing, ESPECIALLY IF MY CHILDREN ARE WITH ME TO WITNESS IT!!! That’s the most important thing, I think: teach others about honesty.”
“That happened to me at a local supermarket. I got to my car and was loading the items I bought into my trunk, and I suddenly realized there was a bag of oranges that hadn’t been rung up. I brought them to the checkout with the rest of the items, but the oranges were at the bottom of the cart, I had overlooked them, and the cashier hadn’t noticed. Fixing it was entirely simple. I took the oranges back into the store, approached the cashier who had just rung me up, and told her, ‘I’m very embarrassed by this, but I just noticed that this bag of oranges wasn’t rung up. I swear I didn’t do this on purpose. I’d like to pay for them now.’ She complimented me on my honesty and I paid for them. That was that. Results: I know my conscience is in good working order.”
“It happened to me and when I went back, I got a lecture from the customer service representative. No thanks.”
“I did a similar thing at Target but I scanned ALL my items, bagged them, and just never scanned my card. I didn’t realize until later when my mind replayed the scene. The next day I went back with all those items. I went to the manager, explained, and then he reviewed the digital receipts from the previous night between 7 and 8 p.m. There was no record of my card being scanned. So I paid for everything, and the whole time, the manager was shaking his head, saying, ‘I just can’t believe you came back. You could have easily not paid for this, and no one would have known.’ Now every time he sees me in the store, he gives me a little nod, and I don’t know if he’s thinking, ‘That was pretty cool,’ OR ‘You are so crazy’ lol.”
“I had an item fall into the bottom of my cart and didn’t notice it until I was loading my items in the car. I immediately returned to the store to explain and pay for the item. I was detained, and the police were called for a $10 item. I showed my receipt for over $200 worth of items that had been rung out not 15 minutes before. I was treated like a criminal by the manager. When the police came, they listened to what happened and were annoyed they had been called for this. I was allowed to pay for the item and leave. I never went back to that store because of the way I was treated. I’d spend over $1000 there monthly, so, their loss.”
Very interesting. Have you ever accidentally shoplifted? What would you do in this situation? Let us know in the comments!
