Worker surreptitiously ate $9,200 worth of deli meat, reports grocery

boing
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As someone with experience doing this exact kind of job…

If she knew it was against store policy for employee consumption beyond what a supervisor gave her to sample (which was generally how we became familiar with the product) then, yes, it’s a firing offense. Mine was a union shop, and this is exactly the kind of thing they wouldn’t lift a finger to help you on, justifiably.

However, if there was even an informal company culture of this, and she had no warning, then the company is acting horribly. I prevented someone from getting fired once, when she grabbed me at random to play witness to her disciplinary hearing, when instead of just silently observing that they were being “fair”, I pointed out that what they were trying to fire her over was taught to me as an unofficial practice when I was hired (before her), and that management knew about it.

As for wastage, it is huge, and sickening. But that’s not an excuse, here. Maybe we need to change those practices, but that will come at an institutional level. And yes, I know the heartbreak of being in food stamp level poverty and giving away free food to someone whose jeans cost more than you’d make in three months. Because our store policy was to give away the leftover prepared food to anyone other than staff. Want a $4 chicken pot pie, made fresh today? Here you go, just let me mark that NC for you. (We compromised by giving them to people who worked at the Starbucks next door, as often as we could get away with it. They reciprocated as often as they could).

It sucks, but I have to say, I am not surprised. In an industry where they will fire you for being thirty seconds late back from a break, this is well across the lines.

Is it right? That’s a different debate. But it’s common.

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Well, we do know she really likes ham. how long could you hold out if they were tempting you?

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Just signed up to say it’s so nice to see people supporting the employee.

@petzi I’ve read all your replies and won’t comment on how I feel about them, but the maths you are being asked to clarify is that the 3 to 5 slices of ham she took a day cost $4.42.

Since you seem reluctant to do this, I have.

3 to 5 slice is of ham averages out to 4 - that’s $1.10 per slice in your estimation.

Presuming these are wholesale prices we are talking about, since if we are to call this theft, it should be the price of the property stolen, not the potential amount that you could make off it instead.

So let’s do this, the maths:

2 slices of ham per ounce, according to this link (1), but let’s just go with one slice an ounce, because why not?

There are 16 ounces per pound.

This website states 66 cents per pound (2).

so 4.125 cents per ounce large slice.

4.125 * 4 = 17 cents.

0.17 * 260 = 44.2
44.2 x 8 = $353.60.

So, with the assumption of 4 slices of ham with each slice weighing an ounce each, going at USDA wholesale prices, that’s $353.60.

Getting fired from your job after 8 years loyal service for eating under $400 dollars worth of ham over 8 years? Priceless.

It’s likely legal that she was fired. America has horrific employee protections. Making someone unemployed for eating 3-5 slices of ham a day when they have worked for you for eight years seems like an awfully dickish thing to do. You are welcome to continue arguing the legality of it.

(1) https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/124421-how-many-slices-of-deli-meat-in-1-oz/

(2) https://www.pork.org/facts/stats/consumption-and-expenditures/wholesale-usda-prices-for-pork-sub-primals/

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Seems like a missed opportunity to send out hex-edge baking sheets to all the franchises, and ship the prebaked product to match

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Agreed. My math works out to $4 per day.

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I was surprised they never came out with a kids meal option where you get a half-biscuit and some milk/oj. Probably the only reason is that if people ordered a lot of them you would run out of ends and have to bake up full sheets of biscuits.

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You can be terminated for any reason or no reason. It may not make economic sense to undertake the costs associated w/ training a new employee when a write up would suffice. You also run the risk of firing an employee who occasionally has a slice of ham (which many customers get via samples) and end up with someone who is much worse for the bottom line. You also run the risk of other long time employees wondering if they’re next to be fired for bullshit reasons, and move on to better employers.

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The stealing shit is high horse nonsense. This woman was being a good capitalist, exploitation is a learned skill, taught in spades.

:musical_note:The boss makes a dollar
I make a dime
That’s why I shit on company time🎵

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Repost:

It’s getting to the point that I hate this topics like this because lately they all seem to devolve into a bunch of classist bickering, exposure of some people’s personal bias, empty virtue signaling and the tendency of some towards zealous authoritarianism.

I think that may be the rub that has so many people here irate.

In America it’s often like this:

If you ‘steal big’ (and you happen to be White) you often get a golden parachute, but if you “steal little” (And you happen to not be White) you often get the worst punishment possible.

It’s the inherent disparity that is so disturbing.

And then there’s this consideration… maybe, just MAYBE… healthy sustainable societies can’t be built on the tenets of materialism, unchecked greed, and avarice.

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We simply dont have anything close to the full information. And, as such, all this math is not incredibly useful.

I took the route of using the $9200 figure and didnt use the “3-5 slices and salami”.
You and many others ignore the “$9200” and only use the “3-5 slices and salami”.

And yet both these figures seem to come from the “loss prevention manager”.

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Then you’re using demonstrably incorrect numbers and ignoring actual facts, which is irresponsible, poor logic, and dishonest.

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Hello!

Both figures likely came from the loss prevention manager, whose job it is to minimise loss.

I would imagine any metric that their job is monitored on would be monetarily based, and not ham based. As such, if they were to make an error in their favour, I would imagine them to over-embellish the cost involved (more difficult to dispute as you could easily cost it up in several different hyper-inflated ways, similar to a lawyers bill), as opposed to the numbers of slices of ham involved (which the employee likely does know and can easily dispute, as they ate them).

I’m sorry that you do not find this maths useful.

Let’s work towards something productive. What are you hoping to achieve? Your point seems to be that what they did was illegal, and that you agree, and (I am presuming) feel it should have been punished, and that the punishment is accurate and fair? Is this correct? The police agree it’s illegal, so if that is the case, congratulations - you have already won. Your opinion is currently the law.

Perhaps it would be more productive to discuss what we believe should happen in these cases.

Do you feel that it should be illegal? What amount of food at workplace consumption do you think should be allowed? Do you think the relative worth of an employee of eight years is greater then three to five slices of ham a day?

Do you feel that it would be terrifying to be pulled from your place of work after eight years, interrogated by the police, fired, and then be written up in the local paper as a criminal for eating three to five slices of ham a day while working at a deli? It basically seems like a kafka-esque nightmare.

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Final response:

If the police say “she used 5 slices of prosciutto a day and took home 2 salamis a week” and the total was $9200, you have used demonstrably incorrect numbers and ignored actual facts, and have been irresponsible, illogical, and dishonest.

If the police say “she ate a cheap ham sandwich a day” and the total was $920 (that was allowable, due to company policy), I have used demonstrably incorrect numbers and ignored actual facts, and have been irresponsible, illogical, and dishonest.

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I’m well over this heated discussion and confess I skimmed much of your post. BUT you get a like for giving me the notion of a ham-based metric. I shall henceforth apply it to everything. Thanks!

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You would think people were talking about bacon. Choose your hill people.

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Or bicycles.

Or knife sharpening.

Or, gasp… hot dog condiments!

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I almost edited my post to “bacon or condiments” lol

Decided that might break this thread.

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You say it like that’s a bad thing…

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Very true.

Ok, Hold my beer. (please?) :slight_smile:

I like to dip bacon in the mayonnaise jar.

[runs away]…

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