No, not just regular old glasses, but cool beer or liquor promotional ones. On a scale of Hugging Grandma to the Taliban, how bad of a behavior is this? It’s not a compulsion or anything, I just collect them. Say I get a pint and it comes in a cool green Rolling Rock pint glass. Having worked in bars I know that these are gimmies from the distributors as promotions, and that the life expentancy of a pint glass is about four washings or two frat boys, so what’s the hurt if I fancy one and pocket it for use and display at home?
I know there’s that shop at the mall that sells them, but they’re between $5 to $15 each, which is goofy. Yes, I am definately stealing as I mentioned in my thread title, but who’s being harmed? The distributor for me liking their products enough to swipe one? The bar for being a pint glass short at the end of the night? Nobody really? Keep in mind that these are really given away free and my purchases offset the cost, which is what the intention is in the first place.
I’ve been doing this for years, and have impressive collections of all sorts of beer and liquor glasses from doing it. Most of them go in the collection and never get used again. If there’s a promotion where you get to keep the glass, I will do that fair and square and on the few times that I’ve felt like asking if I can just have it, the bartenders just roll their eyes and say “take it” like I’m asking if I can keep my coaster. So how evil is my pint and shot glass kleptomainia?
Definitely a venial rather than a mortal sin. If the pint glass has a brand logo on the side, there is a 98% chance the bar got it for free to begin with.
I have a pathological hatred of stealing of almost any kind. It is a severe felony in my own mind. I would, and have, ended causal friendships over similar or exact same things but that is just me. I have done many things that others would look at likewise. I don’t think it is that bad from a money standpoint but I do consider it especially sleazy. I have also known several people (all women for some reason) that steal silverware, condiments, an salt and pepper shakers even though they are upper-middle class. I can’t deal with the mentality although I understand yours much better.
Having read this response, I feel compelled to clarify that I couldn’t imagine taking one myself without asking. But I wouldn’t look askew at someone who did so in my presence.
Why not become a regular at a neighborhood bar? They’re likely to give away those promo glasses to their regulars. I also picked up a nice collection from the old neighborhood bar I used to frequent. It’s not cool to take the Halloween glasses on Halloween night, but usually the bar will let you have one in November.
I am a regular at a neighborhood bar (or three) and I’ve run a pub trivia both of which also garnered me some fine loot when it comes to logo glassware, and I tip well to begin with as well as drink nasty beer I don’t like (i.e. Leinie’s Sunset Wheat) to get the promo glasses, but I’m still going to pocket a pint here and there I’m just not sure who I’m actually stealing from. The distributor gives the glasses as goodwill, and the bar does with them as they see fit. Pint glasses (actually most glasses IMHO) are an expendable commodity in the eyes of the pub. If they weren’t, they would be made of steel. If I hustle one off to a better destiny than being elbowed off the table by a drunk, who am I really hurting?
How evil? Well, yeah, it’s definitely wrong, the OP full of rationalizations doesn’t deny the fact that it’s still stealing; Still, I’d say if you insist on keeping this practice, just tip the bartender an extra 5 each time you do it and then dont worry about it.
The glasses are not yours, therefore it’s not your decision to make whether you should ‘rescue’ these glasses or not. It doesn’t really matter who you are hurting, unless of course that is your main question.
I’m unclear what you’re asking to be honest. Are you wondering if what you are doing is moral, or do you not really care but just want to know who you are stealing from?
I’m with ya, Cluricaun. I just started my new hobby about six months ago, and I’ve got about a dozen glasses. A lot of them were temps that are just used until they break or are all swiped, (i.e. the March Madness one I scored at the end of April). Part of me feels bad because it’s enjoyable to drink out of a cool glass at a bar, and that’s one less than there was before for everybody to enjoy. The other half of me thinks its awesome that I can use them at home whenever I’d like.
I slightly disagree with the statement that they’d be made of steel if they weren’t meant to be durable; glass is much more enjoyable to drink from. Also, you must have worked at a pretty wild bar, because we’d break, at most, three glasses a night. Geez, I need to get out more.
Ugh, I went through a brief phase of this in college. It seemed fine because a lot of people did it, and the glasses were cool. Then I showed a friend one of my cool glasses, and she said “Oh, you stole that?” and I said “Yeah … no … wait… um.” I would add she didn’t even say it disapprovingly, it was just an observation! But it still made me see how tawdry it was. I am okay with chalking that up to a learning experience.
In terms of how bad a behavior … I don’t think it’s amazingly bad, like stealing food from orphans. I completely agree with a lot of the rationalizations you offered – they are meant to promote products, distributors provide them, and they are an item that everyone expects to have a limited shelf-life due to breakage or theft. THEFT. It is, however, tacky to beat the band. It’s something I associate with amateur drinkers and the fake ID crowd. My general rule of thumb for everyone is Try not to act like it’s your first time in a bar. Pocketing the glassware definitely violates that.
Do you steal the silverware and cloth napkins when you go out to restaurants, too?
Sorry, but it’s not okay. It’s not as bad as kicking puppies, but you’re taking something that doesn’t belong to you without asking. This is basic kindergarten ethics.
I’ve heard this argument from college kids who shoplift beer, and it makes me crazy. What about your own integrity? Stealing a luxury item that you can easily afford to buy harms your character, if nothing else.
Have you considered asking for them? Some items are there specifically for people to take away, some are there very specifically not for people to take away.
Stealing is stealing, and you don’t have the “but I’m hungry” justification.
If it wasn’t yours when you walked in and no one told you to take it home with you, you stole it. The fact that the bar didn’t pay for it is not justification for stealing. If it were, then any gift you’ve ever received would be fair game for anyone to take. Stop it. It’s not cool.
Having worked behind a counter, I can almost guarantee that, unless the bar is incredibly crowded, they know you’re stealing the glasses. They may not say anything about it, but it’s not at all hard to figure out. And if they’re anything like I was when dealing with shoplifters, they’ve got a pretty low opinion of you regardless of what you buy.
This thread does illustrate the psychology of thieves, however, very neatly. if you’ve ever found yourself unable to comprehend how thieves’ minds operate, how they can steal and still live otherwise normal, moral existences, this thread should show you how rationalization works. I suspect that car thieves, and burglars, and hold-up men work on a very similar principle: “They don’t really need it, they don’t actually own it, they stole it from someone else, the whole world is corrupt, etc.” Ask your elderly aunt sometime why exactly she steals packets of Sweet’n’Lo from the restaurant, or ask your Uncle Leo why he shoplifts from Barnes and Noble, and you’ll hear a variant on the same themes.
