# This grocery employee really loves her deli meat. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020 "2018-09-08T20:17:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2018, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/21 "2018-09-09T18:58:38Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve heard a lot of the small hamburger places would let employees have a free burger and Coke. > > Knowing they’d be thrilled the first week or two. Then quickly lose any appetite for food they were around day after day. There’s unlimited free sodas for workers at the local Coke distribution warehouse but the cans have to be unworthy of leaving the warehouse (i.e.: dented or not completely full). ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/22 "2018-09-10T00:19:55Z")
OMG, where to start. Let’s do the math. 8 years of a store security officer would be $50K a year with benefits or $400,000. As pointed out above the deli workers give away a free slice to every customer for every selection and then some if the customer wants to try something. on top of that they sample out various products every day to the tune of many lbs of product. In addition to that they throw away the ends of all those meats because they can’t slice it. On top of that they throw away all the heated items after so many hours. the amount of edible items hitting the trash is substantial. Many pounds of meat goes into the trash can each shift. The cooks would often sample stuff out to the staff because we had to work extra hard for their mini events with no compensation. I had the misfortune of working at a Deli when I was between good jobs. I’ve dug ditches before and greatly prefer that to working a deli counter. I would be there for 2 hrs and swear it was 4 even though we were busy which usually makes time go by faster. I would do my level best to find myself in the back washing dishes. It was a low paying job with high turn-over. They had no room for being picky when hiring even when the economy was down. Many people quit after a week. $9,000 over 8 years is what the store would have given out to the employees anyway (as samples) because they tend to shop at the store they work in for convenience. A mind-numbing exercise in stupidity by management. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/23 "2018-09-10T00:47:35Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Although, I did find this version of the [story to be most enlightening.](https://trendinghits.xyz/deli-employee-accused-of-stealing-13000-work-of-ham/) > How many languages was that translated through? I liked the “work of ham” myself. I can see a soaring sculpture, beautiful to behold…made of ham. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/24 "2018-09-10T01:09:42Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > It’s hard to fight human nature; **easier to put reasonable limits on it.** Back in the Stone Age, when I worked in fast food, the chain offered a pretty generous employee discount, say 50%, instead of free food. I think that’s a reasonable limit. Same thing at a chain drugstore, employees received a discount of “cost plus 10”, which meant the store’s cost of the product encoded on the price label, plus an increase of 10%. Also very reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/25 "2018-09-10T03:09:34Z")
I worked at a couple of restaurants in the '80s, both gave me and my coworkers free meals (cheaper ones - a burger or chili, not steak or shrimp) which was appreciated, and seemed like sensible policy - I was well fed while working, and not motivated to figure out a way to steal food (which probably would have been easy enough) if I were the sort of person inclined to go that way. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/26 "2018-09-10T03:54:47Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > How many languages was that translated through? My guess is from English to one other language and back again. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/27 "2018-09-10T08:09:50Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > In addition to that they throw away the ends of all those meats because they can’t slice it. At our store the ends are, to the extent possible, converted to things like ham salad and chicken salad to cut down on waste. > [@](#): > > On top of that they throw away all the heated items after so many hours. the amount of edible items hitting the trash is substantial. Before that point my store cools them down and sells them cold, again, to cut down on waste. Once they’re wrapped, labeled, and cold they can be purchased with food stamps and get snatched up VERY quickly. We have people who know when these packages are set out and are waiting for them, so some of them are on the shelf only minutes before purchase. > [@](#): > > It was a low paying job with high turn-over. They had no room for being picky when hiring even when the economy was down. Many people quit after a week. That’s true of a lot of retail work. > [@](#): > > A mind-numbing exercise in stupidity by management. Yes and no. Yes, we know a bit of stuff gets eaten. No, because it can really add up over time. Which is why my store had a store director fired a few years ago for stealing food, much less the deli workers. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/28 "2018-09-10T10:31:37Z")
There’s a big difference between giving customers free samples (hopefully leading to increased business - including ‘word of mouth’ recommendations) and having employees eat the stuff (especially if customers see them doing it.) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/29 "2018-09-10T10:49:16Z")
> [@](#): > > During the two days police investigated, loss prevention reported a huge jump in bakery losses, represented primarily in donut loss. … ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/30 "2018-09-10T14:01:41Z")
Brings forth memories of [the ham incident](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgAQApJdUOE). ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/31 "2018-09-10T14:24:53Z")
> [@zombywoof](#): > > I worked at a couple of restaurants in the '80s, both gave me and my coworkers free meals (cheaper ones - a burger or chili, not steak or shrimp) which was appreciated, and seemed like sensible policy - I was well fed while working, and not motivated to figure out a way to steal food (which probably would have been easy enough) if I were the sort of person inclined to go that way. I worked at a Chili’s once upon a time as a busboy, and they didn’t care if we (busboys/wait staff) had fountain sodas or tea stashed away in the back, or if we kept a basket of chips/salsa handy for snacking. Now my other racket probably wasn’t sanctioned- I’d give the bakery driver a coke in a to-go cup every morning, and he’d give me a couple of packages of still-warm from the bakery little chocolate or little powdered sugar donuts. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/32 "2018-09-10T14:29:25Z")
When I worked at a local deli the policy was free food on the job, and even perhaps 1/2 lb of cuts to bring home. This is when I was in high school and getting paid min wage, so a nice benefit as back then buying a sandwich would cost more then a hour’s labor (and I can make it how I wanted). But one thing they didn’t like was me eating the cashews, it seems like that was a expensive product, and the owner got a bug up his butt about that one item - no biggie, and another 1/2 lb of roast beaf to take home instead of that $0.99 pack of cashews, go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/33 "2018-09-10T16:20:48Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > OMG, where to start. Let’s do the math. 8 years of a store security officer would be $50K a year with benefits or $400,000. While I accept that there is a need to scout for real honest-to-god stealing, etc., comparing the cost of paying $x10 for someone to watch over the staff for snacking on $x1 doesn’t make economic sense. Reminds me a of an office I worked in once - there was a junior doofus who didn’t have much to do. And there was a senior doofus who oversaw the junior doofus, among otheres. Once the senior doofus came up to report, “I watched junior doofus all day and all he did was shuffle paper!” To which I replied, “And all you did was watch junior doofus!” ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/34 "2018-09-10T17:49:27Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > When I worked at a local deli the policy was free food on the job, and even perhaps 1/2 lb of cuts to bring home. This is when I was in high school and getting paid min wage, so a nice benefit as back then buying a sandwich would cost more then a hour’s labor (and I can make it how I wanted). But one thing they didn’t like was me eating the cashews, it seems like that was a expensive product, and the owner got a bug up his butt about that one item - no biggie, and another 1/2 lb of roast beaf to take home instead of that $0.99 pack of cashews, go figure. It’s not the $0.99 pack that was the issue. On a per pound basis, cashews are usually more expensive than deli meats. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/35 "2018-09-10T18:33:22Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve heard a lot of the small hamburger places would let employees have a free burger and Coke. > > Knowing they’d be thrilled the first week or two. Then quickly lose any appetite for food they were around day after day. > > I couldn’t snack on ham every work day for 8 years. That’s too much of a good thing. My second high school job was at Chick-fil-A. We were permitted a full meal - sandwich or nuggets, fries, a drink, and ice cream - at the start of every shift. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/36 "2018-09-10T23:26:36Z")
McD’s offered a sandwich if you worked a full shift when I was there in the stone ages before the most recent stone ages. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/37 "2018-09-10T23:57:51Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > At our store the ends are, to the extent possible, converted to things like ham salad and chicken salad to cut down on waste. > Before that point my store cools them down and sells them cold, again, to cut down on waste. Once they’re wrapped, labeled, and cold they can be purchased with food stamps and get snatched up VERY quickly. We have people who know when these packages are set out and are waiting for them, so some of them are on the shelf only minutes before purchase. > That’s true of a lot of retail work. > Yes and no. Yes, we know a bit of stuff gets eaten. No, because it can really add up over time. Which is why my store had a store director fired a few years ago for stealing food, much less the deli workers. Eating the items going into the trash is not stealing. It adds up to nothing. It’s great that your store took almost expired meat and repackaged it and it benefited people on a budget. That’s a great idea. The store I worked for didn’t do that. Everything put out for sale started as a fresh item. The exception was ham. If it was within date we would cook up the ends with green beans and serve it on hot items line. We sampled food all the time. We did it in front of the manager. We also bought the items we liked just as if we were human beings shopping at the store. And by sampling everything we were able to better sell it to customers. “if you like that try THIS”. “It goes really good with THAT”. “Oh and we have some artesian crackers that are super with that cheese.” It was just good business. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/38 "2018-09-10T23:59:28Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > At our store the ends are, to the extent possible, converted to things like ham salad and chicken salad to cut down on waste. > Before that point my store cools them down and sells them cold, again, to cut down on waste. Once they’re wrapped, labeled, and cold they can be purchased with food stamps and get snatched up VERY quickly. We have people who know when these packages are set out and are waiting for them, so some of them are on the shelf only minutes before purchase. > That’s true of a lot of retail work. > Yes and no. Yes, we know a bit of stuff gets eaten. No, because it can really add up over time. Which is why my store had a store director fired a few years ago for stealing food, much less the deli workers. Eating the items going into the trash is not stealing. It adds up to nothing. It’s great that your store took almost expired meat and repackaged it and it benefited people on a budget. That’s a great idea. The store I worked for didn’t do that. Everything put out for sale started as a fresh item. The exception was ham. If it was within date we would cook up the ends with green beans and serve it on the hot items line that day. We sampled food all the time. We did it in front of the manager. We also bought the items we liked just as if we were human beings shopping at the store. And by sampling everything we were able to better sell it to customers. “if you like that try THIS”. “It goes really good with THAT”. “Oh and we have some artesian crackers that are super with that cheese.” It was just good business. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/39 "2018-09-11T03:20:46Z")
in 5th grade we went on a series of field trips and one was to a Safeway bakery and when we asked she said if you worked in specifically the bakery you got al you wanted for free which was heaven for the first year until it was the same thing every year …shed been there 13 years and just the smell made her ill sometimes us kids couldn’t think you could get tired of free cookies cakes ect …. they said the same thing when we went to sees candies ….although they said they did try the new stuff and holiday candy but the everyday stuff got tiresome after a month or two …… ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/40 "2018-09-11T04:25:07Z")
If I worked there, I’da put them into bankruptcy behind my Prosciutto consumption. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020.md?page=3)