# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/41 "2018-09-11T04:32:58Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Am I the only one who read the thread title as if it were a double entendre? No. I was bracing myself to read that there had been **highly** inappropriate use of salami and was just hoping that it wouldn’t turn out that the salami had been sold to unsuspecting customers afterwards. The fact that we’re only talking about a little snack pilfering renews my faith in the basic integrity and hygiene consciousness of grocery employees in general. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/42 "2018-09-11T04:56:12Z")
Working at a local cineplex in the mid-late 80s, normal privileges included free popcorn and fountain drinks as long as we used our own containers/cups. The cinema’s popcorn buckets, cups and other food items (hot dogs, nachos, candy, etc.) were counted as part of inventory. A co-worker showed me a scheme to get free hot dogs. When a customer ordered a large drink ($3.50), he would ring it up at the register as a hot dog ($3.00). He wasn’t over-charging the customer, and most would not complain about the “accidental” cheaper price. So inventory at that point would have 1 missing cup (the cup the customer took) and 1 extra hot dog remaining on the grill (that was supposedly sold according to the register). Later in his shift, while cleaning up a theater hall, he would take an empty large cup left behind, rinse it out and stuff it back into the cups area of the concession stand to even out the cup inventory. Finally, he would take that extra hot dog on the grill for himself to the break room. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOldKJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc79bd/32.png) [@GoodOldKJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOldKJ)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/43 "2018-09-11T06:58:34Z")
I worked for several years on 3ed shift for a local c-store chain. I ate all night long as long as it wasn’t prepackaged foods. Make my own sub? Yep! Hot Dogs, sausage, and uglies (burger dogs)? Sure! Chicken salad? Check! Nachos, ice cream, coffee, soda, corn dogs, cakes, breads, and even fudge. I probably ate 2/3 of my salary per week. ---
**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 11, 2018, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/44 "2018-09-11T11:11:47Z")
When I cooked in a restaurant I saw a busboy wheel his cart past the trash area where he’d scrape of the heavy stuff, then wheel his cart over to the dishwasher. He had a spot where he stopped and crammed food in his mouth. He saw that I’d seen his routine and explained after work that he only ate untouched food. He ate one meal a day, at work. He came in to work starving and left after his shift bloated. ---
**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, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/45 "2018-09-11T16:17:23Z")
When I worked in food service in high school and college, I ate like a King! One place I worked specialized in very high-end steaks. Rib-Eyes, Porterhouse, New York’s. Good eatin’, let me tell you! ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2018, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/46 "2018-09-12T04:44:59Z")
> [@Common English Bible](#): > > Deuteronomy 25:4 Don’t muzzle an ox while it is threshing grain. > [@NIV](#): > > For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Yes, I’ve got a religious opinion, and yes, I was brought up that way. > [@Broomstick](#): > > Which is why my store had a store director fired a few years ago for stealing food, much less the deli workers. That’s a supervisor, not a worker. With great power goes great responsibility. > [@scabpicker](#): > > On my first day, I saw a guy take a lighter out of a package, light his cigarette, then put it back in the package. The grocery manager saw it, and fired him. That’s a second-hand used item going back into stock. Companies get shut down for that kind of behavior. We also had a staff member fired for stealing sandwich fillings. She was bringing in her own bread, making sandwiches with her own bread as well as company bread, selling the sandwiches made from her own bread for cash, and only reporting sandwich sales to match the amount of company bread supplied. And she’d been doing it for a while. I fully understand that there are limits, and that stock shrinkage is a real cost. So are wages: when you hire employees you accept obligations to those employees, including paying wages and acceptable stock losses. ---
**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 12, 2018, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/47 "2018-09-12T05:22:45Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > We also had a staff member fired for stealing sandwich fillings. She was bringing in her own bread, making sandwiches with her own bread as well as company bread, selling the sandwiches made from her own bread for cash, and only reporting sandwich sales to match the amount of company bread supplied. And she’d been doing it for a while. Ohhh! This reminds me of this place I used to have lunch at a shitty job. It was the deli inside a supermarket. I’d order a sandwich, and the gal would say, “What kind of bread?”, and I’d say, “Russian Rye”. They didn’t have that, so she said, “Just go grab some off the shelf”. Same with the horseradish, Lowry’s seasoned salt, avocado, red onion- whatever I wanted, but it was all legit! The store inventory was on the menu! Totally custom-made sandwich, far cheaper and better than anything else around. Loved that place for lunch, but hated that job. Didn’t eat as well after quitting. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2018, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/48 "2018-09-12T07:27:21Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Its easy to tell yourself "It’s just me, a few pieces of ham, a bruised apple, why not?"If every employee did that, just think of the cost. I have no opinion on this particular issue, but I disagree with this way of looking at this. We don’t take an issue and imagine that every single person does it; we estimate regarding how many people are likely to do it. For example if we set a 70mph speed limit on the interstate, we don’t imagine what would happen if every single car in the United States decided to drive on that stretch of road at a particular time and decide that 70mph is far too fast. We determine the likely number of cars on the road at a particular time and try to arrive at a limit that way. Likewise, we should not assume that every deli employee would eat ham, let alone even likes ham, and eat it every hour of every shift. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/49 "2018-09-14T01:59:26Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > That’s a second-hand used item going back into stock. Companies get shut down for that kind of behavior. You really think he would have kept his job if he hadn’t returned the lighter to the package? :dubious: ---
**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 14, 2018, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/50 "2018-09-14T11:09:51Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Likewise, we should not assume that every deli employee would eat ham, let alone even likes ham, and eat it every hour of every shift. Have you ever _looked_ at a deli employee; I mean, _really_ looked? I have, and it’s ham all the way down. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/51 "2018-09-14T14:28:27Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Have you ever _looked_ at a deli employee; I mean, _really_ looked? > > I have, and it’s ham all the way down. What exactly are you trying to say here?? ---
**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 14, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/52 "2018-09-14T14:41:07Z")
> [@DummyGladHands](#): > > What exactly are you trying to say here?? Deli is short for Deli_catessen_. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/53 "2018-09-14T15:05:25Z")
huh? ---
**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 14, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/54 "2018-09-14T15:09:07Z")
precisely ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/55 "2018-09-14T15:14:41Z")
I used to work Produce at Safeway. I _never_ grazed on the product; I knew where it had been. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/56 "2018-09-14T15:20:43Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Have you ever _looked_ at a deli employee; I mean, _really_ looked? > > I have, and it’s ham all the way down. I think that’s a rude and stupid comment ---
**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 14, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/57 "2018-09-14T15:48:02Z")
> [@DummyGladHands](#): > > I think that’s a rude and stupid comment I agree. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/58 "2018-09-14T18:32:22Z")
> [@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. Many of the restaurant owners I know actually offer free meals for employees as a way to deter theft. The same menu gets boring fast for a lot of people. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020/59 "2018-09-14T19:33:38Z")
that’s what they count on ……sure sees candy has an all ya wanna eat policy but after a month …you wanna barf at the smell of chocolate because you’ve eaten everything 30 times ……. I used to get a 5 pound box of orange creams every year because they were seasonal and by the time I finished that box in a about 3 days I didn’t want anymore until about a month before they came back out …. now imagine that feeling for every flavor in the store ……… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-grocery-employee-really-loves-her-deli-meat/821020.md?page=2)