Grocery stores say it happens all the time, some shoppers even admit to it.
The subject of eating while shopping before paying for it has sparked nationwide debate after a Makiki couple was arrested for eating a sandwich before paying for it.
It resulted in the couple’s daughter being taken away by the state while they were in police custody.
"Maybe like a bag of chips or something or like a drink depends on if there’s a lot of people or lines or something, yeah I don’t see a problem with that," says shopper Steve Powell.
"There is no policy that prohibits consumption of merchandise in the stores, but customers are expected to be able to identify and pay for the consumed merchandise before leaving," says Susan Houghton, Director of Public and Government Affairs at Safeway.
Foodland Super Market, Ltd. says "Our recommendation and preference is that customers pay for items before they consume them to avoid any confusion or appearance of theft."
But the story of a Makiki couple arrested after eating a sandwich in Safeway and forgetting to pay is striking a debate whether eating in stores is right or wrong?
"That’s not right, it’s not yours till you pay for it, in the meantime it’s the stores property," says shopper Trish Martin.
"I’ll pop an occasional grape or something but I won’t be eating sandwiches or drinking cokes inside the stores," says shopper Matthew Gray.
"To me that’s not really nice to do that to the store, I rather just buy the stuff and eat it after," says shopper Branden Kaneko.
Amy a Kailua woman who asked we not show her reveal her full identity says she too made the mistake of allowing her children ages 10 and 13 to eat doughnuts while shopping at a Windward Safeway, forgetting to pay and as a result they were all arrested for 4th degree theft.
"Having my children be arrested, taken in a police car to the police station, finger printed, put in a holding cell is not something I would ever imagine," says Amy. "They said they had a new program in place where there was no tolerance."
She says she did not intend to steal the doughnuts and offered to pay for them.
Safeway declined to comment on Amy’s arrest. The company dropped its theft charges against the Makiki couple, Amy intends to fight her case.
So will she allow her kids to eat again while shopping?
"In the future will I do it? Absolutely not," said Amy.
The Honolulu Police Department says once a store reports a theft they must make an arrest.
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See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
