# What is the Most Dishonest Place in the U.S? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 27, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678 "2013-07-27T16:39:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/21 "2013-07-27T21:37:28Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > My local store says, quite clearly, ‘UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA’ if I put two items down but only scan one. Or, if I scan something and don’t put it in the bag, it says “PLEASE PLACE ITEM IN BAG.” Both of these draw the attention of the aforementioned checkout person. One of the local stores I have to be very careful in winter because my coat zipper always ends up on the weigh part of the belt. It took me about ten times nearly going crazy to figure it out because once it screamed’ ‘UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA’ I turned to look, thus pulling the zipper off the belt. “There is no UNEXPECTED ITEM. There is one fucking item there!” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/22 "2013-07-27T21:43:52Z")
The _Skip bagging_ option usually triggers an alert to the checker at that bank of self-checkouts. For produce sold by the unit as opposed to the pound, there’s a tolerance built into what the scale will accept as the correct weight. Produce is graded and sold according to size, so the PLU# will “tell” the system what the acceptable weight range is for the item. With produce or other items sold by weight, you have to enter the PLU# to weigh it, supplying the correct weight for the carousel. Everything else in the store has a SKU# (stock keeping unit number) that has such things as the dimension and weight for that item as part of the profile. The bar code that you scan removes the item from inventory and communicates the weight to the carousel. Most of us have a vague understanding of this, but it took a few years development for retail to come up with a system to reduce the need for as many cashiers. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/23 "2013-07-30T16:37:31Z")
The United States Capitol it contains all the Senators and Congressmen of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/24 "2013-07-30T16:51:59Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I’m shocked it was that high. In DC’s defense, a lot of the people who paid were commuters and tourists. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/25 "2013-07-30T17:59:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Three states – Louisiana, Arizona and Mississippi – failed to rank because not enough consumers participated. “I aint goin near that free tea thing. Must be a trap!” ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/26 "2013-07-30T18:05:40Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > In DC’s defense, a lot of the people who paid were commuters and tourists. That is true. There is no way that 80% of the people here are honest. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/27 "2013-07-30T19:09:49Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > do they have an expected weight for each item? Of course, it’s an elementary part of every warehouse-management and shipping-management system. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/28 "2013-07-31T14:53:46Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > And all of the stores I’ve been to with self-checkout have at least one employee watching over them to assist people, and certainly to look out for cheaters. I sure some people _do_ cheat, like entering a produce code for an item that’s much less per pound, but the _appearance_ of supervision is probably enough to keep the great majority of people honest. The produce thing is difficult because a camera shows an image of your produce to the self-checkout employee (who is keeping an eye on 4+ self-checkout lanes). To cheat at this, you’d have to be stealing expensive produce that _looks_ like cheap produce (e.g. organic apples versus conventionally-grown apples). For other items, the bagging system checks weight: if you toss an item in your bag without scanning it, the system will tell you to take it out of the bag and scan it. Through sleight of hand, maybe you could scan a cheap item and then bag (without scanning) an expensive item of identical weight. You could also just cram shit into your purse or sweatshirt, i.e. shoplifting. In either case, you are taking a risk by doing so. Many people are risk-averse: they avoid stealing only because it presents an unacceptable risk of adverse consequences. When that risk is removed (as in the Honest Tea experiment), we find out who is truly honest and who is merely law-abiding. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/29 "2013-07-31T15:13:51Z")
That’s a good point, maybe people don’t steal at the self checkout because those that would just shoplift. The penalty is the same, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/30 "2013-07-31T15:50:08Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > As a bona fide City Girl, I’m always amazed, amused and a bit humbled when I come out to the countryside and there are fruit and veg stands, firewood, paving stones and more, sitting on the side of the road with a little cash box and a sign saying how much to leave. Wha—? Why—? How–? > … Honor-system stalls/booths/stands are still somewhat common in rural areas of the US. I’m sure that virtually all of the stalls have been scammed at _some_ point or another, but mostly people pay. Yeah, I always pay. There’s a campsite that my church always goes to every year and there is an honor-pay cooler full of ice bags and an honor-pay firewood shed. Never scammed them. All of us know that if too many people start stealing, then the stall will disappear and we will have to run into town (15 miles one way) for ice and firewood and nobody wants that. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/31 "2013-07-31T16:55:31Z")
There’s a self-checkout method used at Stop & Shop that relies even more on people being honest. There, you can scan and bag your own groceries as you shop, and then you just pay at the end by handing in the scanning device to a clerk and paying the total. Occasionally they will do a spot check and match up several items from the receipt to ones in the bags, but they never actually go through everything and there is no conveyor belt scanner. It’s incredibly easy to forget to scan something/misscan an item, etc just _accidentally_. It’s really almost completely just based on people being honest. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/32 "2013-07-31T17:27:35Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I am quite certain that the self checkout stands at grocery stores work on weight. Otherwise, they’d just be the little scanner device set into a regular old countertop instead if into that elaborate stainless steel dissection table. I think this is right. I bought a few pots of mums last fall and each one triggered an alert because they had just been watered and were the wrong weight. ---
**Author:** ![Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crocodiles_And_Boulevards)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/33 "2013-07-31T17:45:32Z")
As an example, at one of the big box groceries, my girlfriend and I accidentally stole a bag of candy once. We went through self-checkout, but my girlfriend had placed her purse on top of the bag of candy in the child seat area of the cart. We didn’t realize we still had the candy until we were in the parking lot and she took her purse out of the cart. No alarms sounded or anything. I imagine that the efficiency of the self-checkout lines and the reduced man hours make any losses through theft acceptable to the store. We returned to the store and checked out the candy appropriately, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/34 "2013-07-31T17:56:14Z")
My first guess, based on decades of personal experience, is the same as what’s been said here - Not only Washington D.C. but anywhere where government and money intersect. Power and money when wielded with morals and restraint can work small miracles. But, isn’t the temptation a fierce master? ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/35 "2013-07-31T18:23:35Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I’d be interested to see a breakdown of their study by urban vs. rural areas. I’d be highly surprised if you could get away with running a business like that in the city. But it would be a pleasant surprise, too. There are a lot of businesses in NY and other big cities that work along similar lines. Fruit stores, for example. And a lot of candy store type places have newspapers outside. > [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > My first guess, based on decades of personal experience, is the same as what’s been said here - > > Not only Washington D.C. but anywhere where government and money intersect. Power and money when wielded with morals and restraint can work small miracles. But, isn’t the temptation a fierce master? What percentage of the DC population is actually politicians and government workers? I’m sure a lot more than most other places, but I doubt if they’re nearly in the majority. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/36 "2013-07-31T18:30:06Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > What percentage of the DC population is actually politicians and government workers? I’m sure a lot more than most other places, but I doubt if they’re nearly in the majority. [29.2%](http://www.gallup.com/poll/160337/alaska-hawaii-follow-highest-gov-employment.aspx) 25.5% and 22.8% in Maryland and Virginia, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/37 "2013-08-01T02:59:56Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Oh, you know. Just think about it. > Except that many of them now have an option for “Skip bagging”, which renders that useless, except as a technological decoy for raising your paranoia. Where I shop, if you “skip bagging” three times, it shuts down the machine and alerts the human employee who is manning the self-checkouts to unlock the station/make sure you aren’t stealing. Extremely annoying for all involved. You can subvert this by setting things you don’t want to bag on the scale under the bags without putting the item into a bag. Usually, if I want to use my own bags, it’s easier to use the regular employee-staffed checkouts. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2013, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/38 "2013-08-01T04:19:18Z")
About 5 years ago, someone gave me too much change and I didn’t figure it out until I got to work. I fussed about having to go back to return the money. It really surprised me that many of the people who heard me fussing thought that I should just keep the money. I thought they were honorable and honest people. SG, who I thought would be on the “keep the 10 bucks” side of the fence, agreed that I should return it. Even sadder was the manager’s shock and surprise when I returned the money. I lost a lot of faith in humanity that day. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/39 "2013-08-01T15:03:20Z")
[![](https://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d97/Clothahump/WretchedHiveOfScum_zpsfb609972.jpg) ](https://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d97/Clothahump/WretchedHiveOfScum_zpsfb609972.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678/40 "2013-08-01T18:29:00Z")
I remember hearing about this experiment, unless someone did the exact same thing in the last couple of months. Except when they were talking about it on the news they said that it was optional as to paying or not. Maybe they did two different surveys at the same time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-dishonest-place-in-the-u-s/664678.md?page=3)