I’m a shameless condiment-packet and napkin-stealer. I have a little basket full of ketchup, mustard, mayo, relish, taco sauce packets, straws, and napkins, all liberated from fast-food places. I only take things when I’m there eating - I don’t just walk in, scoop up handfuls of stuff, and walk out.
I justify it to myself by remember that I’m a college student, so somehow it’s acceptable. Plus, I’ve worked in fast-food and know that it’s hardly as if they inventory the individual packets. If you’re going to charge me three bucks for a soda that costs you ten cents, I’m going to steal a handful of ketchup packets.
The napkin thing isn’t morally questionable, I don’t think. Just kind of wierd.
Taking a couple extra everytime you eat there is one thing. I save my little packets too. Taking a handful instead of two is one thing. Taking five or six handfuls is morally questionable but in a a very “that’s wierd” way.
I must respectfully disagree with this. A restaurant supplies consumables like napkins and ketchup with the understanding that people use what they need while they are there eating, and leave the rest alone. I would say that virtually all North Americans understand this, and to take 500 napkins is indeed stealing.
Stealing condiments from a fast food is indeed petty, and it isn’t a big deal, but I believe that the thinking behind it is problematic. I believe that people need to monitor themselves, and do the right thing even when nobody is looking.
I have a stash like that, too–not to mention the Equal packets and napkins in my backpack.
One of the cute little sayings on the Taco Bell sauce packets is, “How many of these do you already have in your desk drawer?”
Good points. It’s when petty thievery becomes very common place, as in everybody does it so it must be okay, that companies have to change their policies. You’ll notice certain items at Best Buy have restocking fees now. That’s because they’re prime targets for the rent for free scam. Customers bitch and think the company is being greedy fucks, but you can really blame your fellow customers who joined the petty theif club in large numbers for the change in policy.
I’m not so sure about condiment packets. I don’t like ketchup, yet almost every time I get a to-go order or go through a drive-thru, I’m given little packets of ketchup, especially if I’ve ordered french fries. I do like salt, and if I’m eating in a fastfood joint and they don’t have salt and pepper on the tables, I may take a few more salt packets than I need or the server may give me more than I need. I assume this wastage is built into the store’s calculated expenses, just like the packets Ninja Chick’s taking.
Here’s my stupid petty theft story. A few months ago, I was at a Mensa Regional Gathering, RG for short. There were also a couple of school sports teams staying in the same hotel. On our registration table, there was a basket of blue stressballs imprinted with a globe on them which were being given to people at the RG as a premium. I was hanging out by registration shooting the bull with friends (one of the major activities at RGs) when a couple of dozen kids on the way out of the hotel trouped by the table and just started taking balls from the basket on the table. As far as I know, none of them asked if they could or what they were for, although I did hear a “Thank you” or two. Now, maybe I’m an old fuddy-duddy, but I wasn’t raised to just take things off a table which was reserved for a particular purpose without permission, especially if it was an organization I didn’t belong to. It wasn’t a big deal and we had plenty of the balls; it was just slightly surprising. I don’t think anyone objected, although I’m sure some of our more pedantic members might if they’d known. It was just evidence of a different upbringing and different priorities, or at least that’s what I put it down to.
:o Dam I never thought of that. I hearby officially recind my rant. Anybody who needs that many napkins to liquidate the inventory deserves some respect.
I’m not 100% sure, but somewhat sure. The tables were in a circle in the middle of the Y’s gym, and there was a Y staff member, a woman manning the First Republic Bank table, and me in the middle. No other adults entered the middle, but some of the slightly older kids in ninja costumes were chasing each other around and eventually started diving under the tables and running through the middle.
I didn’t think anything of it, and was really too focused on helping kids find shark teeth in our fake beach and warning them that the jaws were real and must be touched carefully so they wouldn’t cut themselves to check on the bin of stuff I’d decided not to use. Anastasaeon, that’s an amazing story. Actually almost makes me happy to hear the place went out of business.
My mom taught me rules #1 & #2 (and a variant of #3) when I was about 11 or 12 and she caught me at some petty thing. I don’t remember what the thing was now, but I do remember the rules. Seem pretty basic to me.
Then food would either become a lot more expensive, or condiments and napkins would be rationed.
Obviously they are okay with it, since they allow it to go on.
If I was losing that much money from it, I would change the system–give people individual packets of napkins or ration out the ketchup.
See a pattern? Obviously, the restaurant doesn’t care if a guy comes in and takes all their napkins. They go out of their way to provide these napkins, banking on the fact that almost everyone isn’t too cheap to buy their own napkins, and also the fact that napkins are super cheap. If enough people took shitloads of napkins, then the system would change. Simple as that.
(P.S. I have never actually done this at a restaurant. The most I’ve done is keep the leftover condiment packets that I took because I thought I needed them, which is maybe two per meal.)
I’ve actually seen those changes occur. Remember when the person at the drive through or counter would just throw in a handful {always more than needed}?
Now they usually ask first and then give out a specifc limited number.
It’s not obvious at all. Comapnies balance convienience for their customers with exspense. If the exspense get’s to be too much then it get’s less convienient for customers. Just becasue that hasn’t happened at Wendys doesn’t mean they don’t care. Working in retail I’ve seen the petty and not so petty thieves make things harder for others many times.
At a coffee shop I worked at, we used to give out frequent-buyer cards that would be punched with a specially-shaped punch. There was a man who would cut out the shape of the punch with an X-acto knife. It must have been many hours work for $6 worth of coffee.
I’ll take this one…I’ve been that guy taking the napkins many times. Its revenge, pure and simple. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been ripped off by the drive-thru people on napkins (not to mention the order itself). I order $30 worth of food and get one or two thin napkins, hardly enough for everyone. So I take them when the opportunity presents itself and stockpile them in my glove compartment. That way when it comes time to go again I’m already stocked.
