Honestly, sometimes people get distracted and forget to pay. I know this sounds absurd but it happens. I am not making excuses for these alledged thieves. I know it happened to me at one time and realized I unintentionally made a mistake. I quickly returned to the place, paid the bill and apologized to them for walking out without paying. Yet, as Tboy said, theft is a serious issue as it does negatively affect retail/restaurant industry. SO should I have been charged for making an innocent mistake even though I returned to the place and paid my bill?
The thing is, was it an innocent mistake or was it intentional? Only you know for sure, the owner/operators don't know that. The difference is, you went back and paid your bill.....but if the restaurant manager came out and caught you, then he'd most likely press charges. I don't know if the couple in the story had the chance to, but if they walked through the checkout lane, paid for all the other groceries, walked out the doors and immediately turned around to go back into the store and pay, then that is different. But if they were caught in the parking lot, or down the street, who knows whether they actually intended to pay or not?
Another example: You go into Canadian Tire. They have a bunch of things on sale that you want to purchase but didn't get a basket. You want that nifty electric tape measure and your hands are full so you put it in your pocket. You walk out of the store and get into your car. You get nabbed. Did you steal the tape measure? You may not have intended to, but you did.
Just like my illegal right turn example. You may not have seen the sign, and didn't intend to break the law, but you did.
Now if everyone in our society always told the truth, and the owners could determine whether you were intending to pay, then ok, an honest oversight. But until we come equipped with a BS light on our foreheads, when you leave the store with unpaid merchandise, you're guilty of shoplifting......
One thing I just thought of in regards to the story: really? BOTH the husband AND the wife forgot about the sandwiches? Do they both have altzheimer's? I could understand maybe ONE of them possibly forgetting, but both? Ummm if they have that big of a memory problem, maybe they shouldn't have eaten the sandwiches before paying for them?
I'll tell you a story (don't I always have one?):
I was working on a big project and had to get a bunch of shit done before I left for the day so I skipped lunch. I normally don't eat breakfast so by 5 I was fricken STARVING. There was a sobey's nearby so I stopped in because they have decent enough sandwiches. I mean, I was so hungry I was going to start chewing on my pencil. Did I eat the sandwich in the store before paying? Nope. Picked up a sandwich, picked up some chips to go with it. Went to the cooler and grabbed a drink. Stood in line for 10 minutes with that sandwich calling my name.....But I tell you, it was half gone before I got to my truck......
🍎🍎SUNDAY@GOE🍎🍎*MARIA + ZOE + IVY + MARINA ~~~🍎🍎INCALLS/OUTCALLS