I’ve never understood the mentality of people that take stuff out of the office fridge. We’ve had minor problems over the years.
One time it was a lady in housekeeping and she’d eat right out of the leftover plate. A coworker started noticing her portions the next day were much smaller. It’s kind of gross, but it’s sort of understandable. Housekeeping barely pays minimum wage and some of these people have a house full of kids. Money is tight.
The ones I can’t understand are our coworkers. They get a solid middle class wage. They aren’t missing any meals because of poverty. Soft drinks are the biggest problem. Put three in the fridge and one will disappear. Or your bag of chips in the break room will mysteriously empty out. Our boss will bring it up at a staff meeting and the thefts will stop for awhile. You learn to only put one can of soda in the fridge at a time.
Is this just left over childish behavior? What’s up with not leaving someones food alone?
They do it because they think they can get away with it. Put notes on your food declaring that its been contaminated, or better yet if it won’t spoil don’t keep it in the fridge. When I lived with house mates, after eating half my small pizza I would seek out my house mates with the left over pizza. “Hey Steve, Pat check this out” and lick the left over pices feverishly while making nom nom sounds. Container full of chicken ball? Pop one in your mouth, drop back in the container and shake.
If its sealed with no name and has been in there for awhile its fair game to me. But u know its a different story if it happens to you. I’d put a couple laxatives in my food if it were happening to me. Cant take life too serious, live and learn
Wow - people are pretty passionate about this! A lot of my friends at work bring in big boxes of oatmeal, I’ve both had some of mine taken and taken other peoples, it’s no big deal and nobody freaks out. We’re pretty open and honest about it though so I don’t know if that helps.
No-one steals proper food or drinks that I’m aware of but if I use someone elses butter or honey or vice versa I don’t think it’s the end of the world. And now that I think of it - one of my colleagues and I would nick crackers out of each others drawers if we were working back late and just leave a note - again no biggie.
I don’t know if this sort of “sharing” counts as food thievery, it would piss me off if someone helped themselves to my sandwiches or something I suppose.
Ok - confession time, I’m heavily pregnant and sometimes I’ll just get super hungry out of nowhere - well the other day I found myself cruising the fridge at work, I didn’t take anything but I did think about it!
What are you going on about? He’s not talking about messing with someone else’s food, he’s talking about booby-trapping HIS OWN food. It only becomes “someone else’s” food if they STEAL it from him.
"So you admit you do something that would piss you off if someone else did it to you. "
(as in stole your food)
“Fucking with someone elses food is beyond low.”
(As in stealing their food)
I think.
Anyway, food thieves are shitty. BangBang, and others, it’s one thing if you and your coworkers have an agreement. Taking food that doesn’t belong to you and that someone else is looking forward to is a jerkish and asshole thing to do. Moreover, it’s thievery! I’d not leave my food around with people like that.
And being pregnant is so not an excuse. If you want some food, ask for it, or go buy it.
Put your food in a locked box. They have a Fridge Locker for that purpose. I don’t know if I would get that one since you can see what’s inside it. I think I’d get a locking metal box instead. Put Spiderman stickers on it and say it’s your lunchbox.
Sheesh! I know it’s not an excuse, I’m just saying that the other day - for the first time in my life - I actually found myself standing at the fridge door and checking out the contents
It was a WTF are you doing SMH moment and I had a bit of a chuckle at myself and shut the door. If I thought it was ok I would have done it, I was just sharing because OP asked why people did it and it’s the closest I’ve personally been, maybe the thieves are just thinking about how hungry they are at the time, and yeah, that’s pretty jerky.
If it has no name and date, it’ll get thrown out where I work, so I guess it wouldn’t be a big deal if you discretely swiped something, especially on clean-the-fridges day. Who’d know? Then again, why not skip the theft and buy your own? Coke habit? Just plain stupid?
I’ve never had a problem with food getting stolen, ever. Maybe I’m just lucky but it probably helps that I don’t bring soft drinks or packaged food. If I was going to steal some chow I’d probably go after a candy bar in a pretty, pretty wrapper before a mystery sandwich in a plastic bag.
The story about the cleaner eating the leftovers is gross and sad at the same time.
When I read the thread title I had the mental picture of some TV characters loading minifridges onto the back of a truck.
Food stealing at work happens for the same reason that people make big messes in the community kitchen at work and throw their recycling in the garbage when the recycling bin is right next to it - people are shit.
I haul my little soft cooler to work every day. I put a frozen soda bottle of water in with my food and stuff is cold all day.
If I put stuff in the community fridges, I’d assume theft would happen. There have been memos posted in the breakroom about food theft so I know it happens.
Had it done to me, and done it myself - no biggie. If somebody is working late and finds some of my food in there, their welcome to go ahead - and I’ll do ditto. Of all the problems in the world I think a little “borrowing” of foodstuff in the workplace is a minor thing.
I never keep leftovers in the fridge; I only bring in what I plan to eat that day (with an occasional exception). Never had a problem. People will usually leave a single unopened item of things alone.
OTOH, I’ve never worked in a place where food theft was a problem, even when we shared a fridge.
It’s kind of gross, but it’s sort of understandable. Housekeeping barely pays minimum wage and some of these people have a house full of kids. Money is tight.
