Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/02/14/slovenia-member-of-parliament.html
“I must have stood some three minutes by the counter,” the 54-year-old later said to a reporter.
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Back when I was a shoplifting teen, it never would have occurred to me to say that I was testing their security, when I was caught (and I was caught).
“Good job guys! Welp. See’ya!”
I guess wisdom really does come with age.
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We’re #1. We’re #1
I find myself wondering if he bothered to try communicating with the staff, or just stood there expecting to be noticed.
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Important people always assume they will be noticed. Because they are important, dammit!
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All customers at a counter should be noticed. It is the staff’s job. You shouldn’t have to say anything. He wasn’t standing at the counter with a sandwich for fun.
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We can probably all relate to being unnoticed while trying to pay for something at a store and thinking “…I could just walk out of here…”. Of course I’ve never done it, because, society.
This guy probably worked himself up with his righteous indignation to the point he actually walked out instead of asking someone for service (even if he shouldn’t have to).
I don’t think you’re saying this, but it should be noted that he doesn’t have a right to the sandwich just because he made an honest 3 minute attempt at paying for it.
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I have to say I’ve been tempted, when the whole staff seems too busy to take my money, to decide it’s Free Stuff Day.
But not that tempted.
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When I was in my 20’s and working a shit job (well. . . shittier than the one I have now anyway) a co-worker told me how he had been eating free at the local coffee/sandwich chain.
The first time was an accident-- the setup of the counter and refrigerated yogurt/fruit case funneled him past the line at the register, and he was halfway though his sandwich before he realized he hadn’t paid. So he did it again the next day. And so on. For a year. Then they finally asked him “Hey? Did you pay for that?” and he apologized, paid for that one meal and never went back there again.
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Agreed. But not all customers who aren’t noticed decide to “test security” by walking off with what they wanted to buy. That takes someone special.
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We all want to be important at the store. That’s why we pay retail.
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He looks like Miracle Max from Princess Bride.
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But was there a seating area? He could’ve sat down, ate a sandwich, and then slowly walked away, claiming he forgot to pay. How many times has that happened?
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the monster!
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So was he in Slovenia, where the rule should be that you finish 2 bottles to wash it down, grab a third, offer to pay, do something to bump-pay the register, and it’s yours? Or Switzerland where you need to wait 0:03:32 for that to be the case, except on Hijab Huesdays when it’s 0:04:31?
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I did the exact same thing at our school buffet when I was 10 years old. The sandwich tasted of nothing but remorse and I never did it again. That early experience probably prevented me from becoming a serious shoplifter later on like some of my school mates.
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He should have taken bribes, stolen a billion dollars, given his family jobs in government or colluded with a foreign government and he would have been home free. Seems to work elsewhere.
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Back in the day when I used to pay with cash, I would leave my money on the table before walking out.
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You know, I don’t know the culture, or the specifics, or anything else about this.
But this seems like a stupid, thoughtless mistake more than anything else. I wouldn’t want a neighborhood kid’s life messed up over this; I wouldn’t want someone to loose their job over something like this; why would I want a congress critter to loose their job over this?
Have him appoligize, pay the store 100x the value of the sandwich, and that’s enough.
Especially with a MP who has been elected to office: the population chose him, and he should remain their rep until they tell him he no longer is.
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It’s really an indication that he doesn’t have the temperament for a life of public service.
If he thinks nothing of committing a blatant act of theft for something as minor as a sandwich then why should anyone believe he would be able to walk the straight and narrow when the stakes are orders of magnitude higher?
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