I was standing in Costco this morning, checking out their new Adidas super-undies when I overheard two preteen girls standing on the other side of the aisle.
“What if she notices?” I heard the first girl say.
“She won’t notice. I promise. I do it to my mom all the time.” The other girl said.
“How can you not notice a big coat in the cart? I don’t think it will work,” the first girl said.
“You just shove it in between some cereal or milk or something so she can’t see it, then when she’s not looking put it on the belt thingie between some big stuff,” the second girl said.
“Have you ever done something that big?” the first girl asked.
“Well, no, but it’s the same thing no matter what it is. Moms don’t pay attention to what’s already in the cart. I promise,” the second girl replied.
“Oh crap here she comes! What do I do?” the first girl whispered.
“Oh give it to me, I’ll just do it,” the second girl quietly demanded.
And that was the last thing I heard.
Dan Pearce, Single Dad Laughing
PS. This blog post has also been recorded as a podcast. You know, if you’re into that kind of thing.
Costco (at least the one I used to go to) checked everything on the receipt against the items in the cart visually. That crap would not have made it out the door, and my child and the 'friend' would have been banned from Costco with me ever again.
@modernmom23 They meant putting it in the cart before paying, and putting it on "the belt thingie" to pay, and then put it in the cart.
The mom would pay for it without knowing...
LOL I like this. Have none of you ever done anything like sneak something into someone's cart? One of my closest friends in the world does crap like this to me nearly every time I take him shopping with me. He and my kids have made a game out of seeing if I catch them. The last time he went with me I found 2 bottles of Colon Cleanse pills in my bags when I got home. The time before that, I had a bottle of Midol....luckily my daughter thought I had been being thoughtful and had picked it up for her
Super undies! That's all that matters, really.
that is funny. i don't think i'd notice till i saw the coat on her in a couple days and i'd be like where did you get that??
Well duh, Like I said to ChrisC, of COURSE we use these moments to teach... Nobody thinks the MOM should just laugh and let the girls get away with it. We laugh at the story because we're all parents and we're all facing the same challenges with our kids. Mine tried sneaking stuff out of the store when they were small too- actual shoplifting, taking a pack of gum or opening a candy bar without paying. I marched them right back and made them apologize and pay (and of course they did not get the treat). One incident with each child was all it took- they learned fast that stealing is not ok, and I have two pretty honest kids. They don't do it because they're bad kids. They do it because they're young and inexperienced and need to learn. No need to get your knickers knotted... you teach them, and move on with life and some day it becomes a funny story you tell your grandkids "I remember this one time when your mom tried to pull this..." lol
I work for a popular retail store...this is what I overheard in the toy department one day while stocking the toys.
Little boy: Daddy, I want bubble gum.
Dad: No! I told you! Today we are buying beer!
Ladies and Gentlemen, Father of the Year!!!
I would have followed to see if their plan worked!
Dan, I don't have time to read through the posts and assumptions of what the girls were trying or not trying to do, or what was right or what was wrong. Point is, it was funny that the one girl pulls it on her mom at Costco all of the time and gets away with it because people purchase so much there all of the time. I call Costco the Hundred Dollar Store because you can't get out of there without spending $100.
I'll share a funny story. I was at work and a co-worker said that she was going to go to Costco, this was her first time and I remarked, "oh, the Hundred Dollar Store" and she said, "WHAT??" and I explained it to her and she told me no way that was true. She came in the next day and said, "I'm blaming it all on you!" and I looked at her confused and asked, "what?" You have to realize that people blame things on me all of the time so I needed clarification and when she told me that she spent more than $100 at Costco, I just busted out laughing because she just joined the ranks of the rest of us suckers. :-)
Call me naive if you want, but I read the exchange totally different.. Pre-teen girls, a big coat in a cart, sticking something between cereal boxes.. (obviously a big coat would be noticed between cereal boxes).. So I read it as they had something "embarrassing" underneath the coat, that they wanted the mother not to notice, so they were going to try to sneak it in between boxes of cereal.. So I was thinking possibly a box of women's feminine products (a small box can be hidden between cereal boxes) and they did not want the mother to see it... So i was thinking they were hiding the box under the big coat in the cart (a mother would wonder why their coat was in the cart, so yes a big coat would be noticed and the mother would make them remove it from the cart, exposing the product under the coat).. For some reason, I did not automatically think something sinister of the conversation, nor automatically think they were trying to get a coat but rather something hidden under the coat.. Just an opinion, that is all.. Unless I missed something...
My husband does this all the time! I go to Costco and it ends up costing $100+. I look at the receipt and it's always something really expensive (like batteries or vitamins) that he threw in the cart that puts the bill over the edge.
Uh, yeah no. I'm a mom -- I notice EVERYTHING that goes in that damn cart.
Yes Dan I follow your reasoning. These kids were not criminals, just scatter-brained teenagers. We still need to recognise that even stupidity is not a crime.
My 5yr old regularly tries to sneak things into the cart while shopping. I have snuck them back out of the cart on several occassions and love when we're home and unpacking and he'll ask something like "Mom, I thought you were buying kinder eggs? Where did they go? I wanted to share them with brother and sister..." you know, making like good intentions were involved. lol
My kids wouldn't dare pull a stunt like this. I work hard for my money and my kids understand that if they want in on that money, they have to work hard for it too. The girl who was egging the situation on seems a bit manipulative.
that link says your site is offline .
Have been thinking of getting rid of people who requested my friendship through friends... or we were in a class years ago but have no further contact. Just barely over 200 ppl in my list. No need to have more.
@Eliza Bassett I think you're on the wrong blog. ;)
I agree with ChrisC's comments. Teach them young to be honest in all things. I'm not registering to comment on your blog page, sorry. :)
I smuggled some cherry Luden's cough drops out of the local supermarket when I was 6 years old . . . in my panties. I never got caught, but I don't look at Luden's the same.
That is awesome. I work at Costco and you would be surprised what people don't notice. I accidentally charged a woman for a $1500 diamond ring once and she paid and walked away. It was her son who pointed it out to her after they had already paid. I felt bad, but really, who doesn't notice an extra $1500 on their bill?
that random comments of Penguin are awesome :D i would have laughed personally. if my kdis did this id probably notice when i went to pay or ya know when i saw it ebing bagged. kids cna be such dum dums :D
That is so amusing.
Ok I cannot believe you did not stick around to find out the outcome for one thing but then to share it so we all hang in the wind really sux...
Kids do try to pull that sort of thing, What's important is to call them on it, even if you're distracted. I've had that problem with my daughters. I've told them to just ask, it's better than trying to sneak something by me, which is really, quite nearly a lie, of sorts. Feel free to visit my blog: http://mysocalledmarriage92.blogspot.com/
Macon
Oh my daughter used to do that all the time. Once I walked out the store without paying for it. When we got to the car I realized it was in her hand. So I went back to the store and explained the manager and paid for it. i watched her closely thereafter. As she got older she got sneakier and i always ended up buying more than I wanted. So I started leaving her home while I did the shopping lol.
1) My daughter tries to sneak stuff into the cart from time to time and I think it's funny. I'm not sure if she's ever won at this little game or not. If she has, I can't remember so it's not that big of a deal. 2) There weren't trying to stuff the jacket under their clothes and sneak out with it. They were trying to pull one over on mom, get her to pay for something she didn't know she was paying for. This is not stealing. It's not something you strive to teach your children, but it's also not criminal or damning.
Got a good chuckle reading this, both the post and comments that followed. If you wouldn't of ran the risk of being charged with stalking (or a possible pedophile), it would've been awesome to have found out what the outcome turned out to be. Bet you think of this every time you put on those super undies, lol!
too funny. this is how kids learn; trial and error. when i take my daughter shopping, she gets her own basket and gets to fill it up with things she WISHES she could purchase. before heading to checkout, we sort through all her things and i make her decide on the one thing she can purchase (must be under $5). she then takes EVERYTHING back to the shelf and we leave with her choice. (the $ comes out of her pocket, too....which means she sometimes puts it all back).
My husband does this with sugared cereal and snack food...
My daughter did this on time when she was about 3. She got 3 jars of sugar free sweet pickles. I didn't even know they made them in sugar free, sweet pickles aren't gross enough on thier own? lol We made her eat one and shes never done it since. lol
I was shopping one Christmas at a pharmacy and a young man was helping a lady buy some cologne for her husband, he says to her we have a new scent from Hummer - the lady was indignant - what did you just say - he get's all embarrassed , red as a beet and quickly is trying to explain that the Hummer the cologne is named after is a vehicle. OMG, I almost died.
So what I am getting from several others comments are that since you did it, and others do it, it is okay. Personally to me that part of what is wrong with society and how we have raised our children over the past generation.
Is it funny to over hear, and mention it in a blog? Oh yes. However, as a serious discussion topic (which it has become) it begins a steep slope. Sure it's cute when it is something small - look what I snuck in the cart, but what happens as it progresses? Personally it isn't a really big leap for me to see someone that gets away with this 20 years down the road leading a large company and having learned that it's okay to take what you can get away with, as long as someone else is paying for it.
Reality check? It's teaching someone basic honesty and integrity regardless of the size so that we develop a sense of right and wrong. Bad examples abound in our society today from the smallest petty crimes to corporate greed that has destroyed countless financial lives.
I have two small boys, and though I wouldn't freak out on them or start yelling, it would be a teaching point for the day.
@ChrisCheek I don't think anyone is saying it's "ok"... I think they're saying it's not the same as shoplifting- taking without paying at all, and nearly everyone said if their kid pulled a stunt like that they'd be talked to or disciplined in some way.
Sure, it's funny, because it's an example of what kids get up to, but of course any responsible parent is going to call them out on it and there would be some type of consequences. Learning honesty and ethics is a process, and we need to take moments like these to teach our kids.
Laughing when we read something like this is just an acknowledgement that we're all parents and we're all facing the same kinds of challenges with our kids. If Mom handles the situation appropriately, those girls will learn from the experience and grow up to be just fine.
Ok, partly why it's funny is because it's true. Mom's get overloaded trying to get in and out of the store in one piece. I myself have come home with things I know I didn't put in that cart.
What's really funny is that the girls make the inference that if it works with small things, it will work with a giant coat that probably covers the whole "belt thingie." :) that is hysterical
Tweens and teens kinda scare me...LOL
I keep trying to get the podcasts but it keeps directing me to the Tiny Fist in the Wind post....am I doing something wrong?
Ah geez, I seen what I was doing wrong, seriously, if I knew how to use this thing called a brain I could be SOoooo dangerous! :)
Maybe "amusing" would describe it better. But I do see the humor in it.
This is hilarious to me. young people don't think about the future, they live in the now. I'm sure I had sometimes when i put something in the cart when i was younger. its not like they were stealing, the mom was going to pay for it, so nothing illegal there. as for the action of putting something in the cart...I did that yesterday grocery shopping with my wife. When we got home "she says, When did you grab that?". Its was a loaf of fresh baked bread, nothing too crazy, like a coat.
@Sammy13 I have two kids, and although my 2 year old likes to try to grab stuff it's usually my husband that sneaks in extra stuff like snack cakes. tisk tisk!
This would never happen with my teen daughter. She doesn't ever want to wear a coat. It's just not fashionable.
Ok, that was funny. Cause lil teens are dumb. When my daughter was two she slipped a bra in the cart. Husband says "did you pick this up?" Me, confused, "no". Daughter "s'mine. I needs some boobies" just as non-chalant as could be. I CRIED I was laughing so hard. But these little girls trying to hide a coat behind milk??? Thats just not well thought out at all.
Yeah... moms don't watch their budget and wonder why there's something extra on the counter that they didn't put there. :p
snicker...pfffttt....hide it between the cereal or something big...That is funny. Devious minds of preteen girls....I'm guessing that is not going to go over very well...LOL
LMAO Yep bet that went over like a lead balloon. Nice try girls! If that works then that mom is way to busy!!!
I have to laugh at this as I had this happen to me just this weekend! My daughter is 2 and pulled the same trick on me. We were shopping and I had her in the shopping cart, I had parked the cart in the baking isle behind me as I was looking for a new baking tray. I turned my back for 2 seconds and in those 2 seconds my daughter had picked up a box of barney cupcake mix and hid it between the rest of the groceries and we carried on shopping. We got to the till and start unpackng the cart to find these cupcakes. All we could do was laugh. Of course I bought it as it was too cute the way she smiled as she lifted the box and said "look mommy I take barney home!" And proceeded to laugh!
Absolutely, Sue!!
Any mom that wouldn't notice deserves to be tricked!
I would have followed them around to snoop and see if the coat was purchased!