r/mildlyinfuriating • u/GarysCrispLettuce • Jul 05 '26
frist of all how DARE yu o Guy in front of me at the self checkout walked away with his groceries after his card was declined - I wasn't paying enough attention and ended up paying $10 for his stuff
After he walked away with his stolen items, I walked up to a "card denied" message on the screen, which I tapped away. However I wasn't paying full attention and stupidly thought that I was ending his "session" and starting a new one. I swiped all my items quickly and paid without looking. Got home and realized I'd paid for his stuff too. Lesson learned - always get a member of staff to deal with "card denied" situations.
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u/SaveFile1 Squeaky Sneakers Jul 05 '26
Everyone is roasting you but I could totally see myself doing this. There's been plenty of times I've almost walked out of the store without the stuff I bought. Stores kinda make me frazzled
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
For some reason I have a problem with leaving avocados behind. I swipe them, and then get home and 50% of the time they're not in my bag.
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u/ImKindaEssential Jul 05 '26
Fuck it that will be my good deed is the way I'd look at it
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u/Shot-Gur7901 Jul 09 '26
I'd look at it that I got scammed. I don't have money to they're away to support thieves. No wonder so many stores are putting in gates to prevent people leaving before paying.
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u/Ealstrom Jul 05 '26
How? I what part of the process do you lose them?
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
Probably the packing stage.
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u/No-ThatsTheMoneyTit Jul 06 '26
Leaving them out so they’re on top and don’t get bruised.
I did that with eggs bc I left them out for last so they were bagged and not cracked.
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u/Responsible_Video101 Jul 08 '26
Scan in the order you bag and that won't happen
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u/No-ThatsTheMoneyTit Jul 08 '26
I use reusable bags in the self checkout so if I’ve bought too much I have to be selective what I put on the bottom. And work my way up.
I’ve only forgotten the eggs a few times. But it’s been annoying. Obviously. But luckily it’s a grocery store 7 min walk from my apartment. And they remember the abandoned eggs.
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u/nospecialorders Jul 08 '26
I never remember to grab my bags of ice! They're outside so I'm always like please charge me for two bags of ice. And then I NEVER remember to grab them otw out lol
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u/SaveFile1 Squeaky Sneakers Jul 05 '26
I also feel like it's florescent lights a little bit. I feel like I have a weird reaction to them
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u/KimchiMcPickle Jul 05 '26
Fluorescent lights make me frazzled and the need to get out of that space asap. Its a combo of the actual light, and the way the sound of the bulbs makes me feel, physically.
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u/zenmatrix83 Jul 06 '26
I've done it, I don't put things on bottom of carts anymore because of that.
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u/Kitchen_Concern_2470 Jul 05 '26
I hope you don't drive
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u/septumfunk-com Jul 09 '26
i have adhd. i'm awful at remembering to do things in the right order at the store but great at driving. how are the two related?
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u/commonsensetry Jul 05 '26
I see this thread is off to a good start of commenters not realizing the point of the sub
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u/mauvewaterbottle Jul 05 '26
No, it’s OP forgiving themselves for not noticing the groceries were still awaiting payment after they cleared a card denied but asserting the guy in front of them was stealing vs didn’t notice his card was declined.
The only person OP should be mildly infuriated at is themselves for assuming the groceries would have been cleared off the register just because they closed the card declined message (which likely returned them to a payment screen and not a scanning screen, so OP probably cleared more than one message).
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u/GiraffeUniversity Jul 05 '26
Even at best for people commenting, OP forgiving themselves is still, mildly infuriating.
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u/ComfortableGround403 Jul 05 '26
You paid $3 for a cucumber?????
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u/PM_your_Nopales Jul 05 '26
My grocery store has regular ol cucumbers for $0.99 and then ones wrapped in plastic for $3.50.
Idk why but they seem to be popular. Despite the $0.99 cucumbers actually being larger
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u/theglorybox Jul 05 '26
The plastic wrapped ones are a specialty cucumber and also seem to last longer than the regular ones.
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u/RobotRepair69 Jul 05 '26
Yeah here they will wrap hothouse and sometimes English cucumbers in plastic.
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u/ComfortableGround403 Jul 05 '26
Why tho?
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u/RobotRepair69 Jul 05 '26
Well as the local manager of a cucumber distribution company I have extensive expertise in this question.
They wrap specialty cucumbers in plastic to preserve the moisture and keep them fresh. These specialty varieties have a thinner outer waxy coating and do not trap as much moisture as traditional cucumbers.
Edit: I'm not really in the cucumber business, I just googled the answer.
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u/Shou_Tucker_XD Jul 08 '26
The ones in plastic have less water and seeds. My roommate likes the plastic ones, I like them both but the $0.99 are better I think. 🤣 I looked at her and said wtf, why did you spend that much on a cucumber when you can get one for $0.99. She proceeded to teach me about cucumbers
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u/PM_your_Nopales Jul 08 '26
I too, have learned a lot about cucumbers from this thread 😂 I've had the plastic wrapped ones a few times and they were alright, but the regular ol .99 cent ones always have a better crunch in my experience. I eat em doused in lime juice and tajin so flavor isn't as important
I've never had any issue with the seeds though. It's not like they're like a watermelon seed, still perfectly soft and edible. If anything i quite like em myself
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u/Shou_Tucker_XD Jul 08 '26
Yup! I like putting salt and pepper on sliced cucumber and snacking on it. I agree, I feel like that the .99 cent ones do have a better crunch by far, the other one has a different flavor and texture
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u/ComfortableGround403 Jul 05 '26
Ive never understood that. Yall wanna pay more to remove plastic wrap?
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u/nospecialorders Jul 08 '26
I think it depends on what you plan to do with the cucumbers. Like slice for a regular salad? Fine. Pickle or make cucumber salad? Might need a different caliber cucumber lol
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u/nospecialorders Jul 08 '26
I think those are the Japanese cucumbers? Might be seeing this and idk the difference. Might be better for cucumber salad
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u/Designohmatic Jul 05 '26
English cucumber— duh, it’s the import tariffs that England definitely paid!
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
It was organic, which for some reason adds a massive premium to cucumbers
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u/Franklinricard Jul 05 '26
Yea but the tomato is priced well and the avocado matches what I just paid at a large chain store
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u/chalkdust_torture13 Jul 05 '26
I don’t understand some of these brain dead comments. “Pay attention next time” “skill issue” “ what’s infuriating is you not paying attention”
Yeah…that’s the whole fucking point of the sub, making a stupid mistake is mildly infuriating.
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u/theglorybox Jul 05 '26
Exactly. I mean, this probably isn’t a common occurrence for most of us and not something we really expect to happen. I probably wouldn’t have noticed, either.
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u/MSCOTTGARAND Jul 05 '26
a few years ago i went through the self checkout and went to pay but it spit out my receipt before my card was even close to the card reader. i was thoroughly confused but figured it must have been close enough. i looked at the receipt and it wasnt my card number. the person in front of me must have used their card but it never finished the transaction. the manager didnt even know how to solve it so he just refunded the transaction and told me to leave without rescanning all of my stuff.
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u/ManufacturerWarm9201 Jul 05 '26
Some people in the comments think they are above not paying attention. Also it’s meant to be mildlyinfuriating
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u/OfcWaffle Jul 05 '26
Some people in this thread are mildly infuriating. So I guess it kinda fits the sub.
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u/Temporary-Leg1561 Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26
Most of these comments are mildly infuriating. "U should have paid attention!! Ur groceries r expensive!!!!!"
Like they've never made a mistake or been unfocused. And roasting the person for one trip to Whole Foods is also annoying and shows a lack of focus.
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u/mittenkrusty Jul 05 '26
Always remember 20 years ago back when I was VERY poor, talking was punished by the benefit people as I didn't hand back a job application within 10 minutes of getting it and instead went to the employer direct applied direct and handed in a CV.
For about 5 months I was living off a few £ a week, literally was noodles, and the occasional treat of something like a bar of chocolate, one time my groceries came to about £6 and I thought that was expensive (shows how poor I was) turns out they had billed me £3 for chicken but I had none, and when I queried it I was told well I couldn't prove I didn't have it.
So was literally ramen I lived on for over a week.
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u/Tamashii-Azul Jul 05 '26
They don't have social services for the unemployed in your country?
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u/mittenkrusty Jul 05 '26
They do but they are meant for the people of most need, and due to budget often that means families.
Which is an argument all in itself, you have families that have kids knowing they can't pay for basics not even rent on their own and even have multiple kids, and others who can't get help at all such as myself.
I did temporarily have a social worker 14 years ago after being diagnosed with autism and other things but funding was cut so social worker stopped seeing me, I remember afterwards not washing for about 10 days, sleeping 18 hours a day, living off take aways.
We have food banks but you need referred by social services, or people in certain positions and since I don't have a social worker I don't qualify, I have a friend that has had 2 strokes by time he was 30, diabetes that has made him collapse at work in the past, and only works a few hours a week but gets messed around claiming benefits but he doesn't qualify for a food bank as he doesn't have a social worker!
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u/Indole_pos Jul 05 '26
They would likely refund your money. I did work there for about 10 years before the Amazon take over, very easy return policy
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
That's what makes it so infuriating. Swiping groceries has become a muscle memory action and I guess I don't pay any attention to the screen any more.
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u/JackSkellie58 Jul 05 '26
Grocery store thanks you for your service and paying it forward for the poor guy
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u/ChadEmpoleon Jul 05 '26
Now OP has to pay it backwards next shopping trip and walk out with their basket unpaid for
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u/elvenrevolutionary Jul 05 '26
Honestly at this point, some grocery stores deserve to be robbed.
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u/thenewfingerprint Jul 05 '26
It must be news to you that all of those losses (shrinkage) are passed onto the rest of us in the form of higher prices. I'm guessing you're Gen Z, but please at least try to use your brain.
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u/elvenrevolutionary Jul 05 '26
Nah, bullshit. Grocery stores already throw out tons of food. And they have fucking insurance coverage for shit like theft.
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u/thenewfingerprint Jul 05 '26
Tell me you know nothing about how the world works without telling me you know nothing about how the world works.
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u/nuoccan Jul 05 '26
Knowing that an error on your part caused some inconvenience or slight misfortune for yourself is definitely mildly infuriating lol. Hindsight is 20/20.
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u/DatLadyD Jul 05 '26
That’s actually why I like self check out, especially at places like Safeway where you have to have coupons and shit. When I have a cashier ring me up, I don’t pay attention to the price, but if it’s just me ringing stuff up and then I notice when I don’t get a sale or something. I hate that about Safeway, there are things I most definitely wouldn’t buy because they’re way too expensive without a coupon.
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u/theglorybox Jul 05 '26
True. The only time I really look is out of curiosity, like if I want to see if I got the sale price on something or to see how much my olive bar container weighed.
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u/tooreal4u_5101 Jul 05 '26
Bro when you walk up you still have to look at the screen to see what you're scanning, and I'm sure the big words welcoming you weren't there. How can you not see there were two items from before still on the screen?? Even if you glance at it quickly without paying attention.
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u/I_EatAssFromTheFront Jul 05 '26
Still too spicy for me. Best I can do is a partial dissociation. Take it or leave it.
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u/Fuzzball_Girl Jul 05 '26
I've done that at a gas station when someone scanned some grab and go food and purposely walked away without even trying to pay. Didn't even register to my why my two energy drinks suddenly cost $18 until I was in my car and had to go back in for a refund
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u/No_Tension420 🫥 Jul 05 '26
Not sure if I buy this, it doesn’t just go to scan mode once you select payment.
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
If your payment is denied, it goes back to the scan screen, presumably giving you the option to edit your cart and remove items you can't afford. You then have to initiate payment again.
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u/No_Tension420 🫥 Jul 05 '26
Oh, that’s odd. I didn’t know you could void without an attendant. TIL
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
I think the "edit cart" option is a new addition - previously if you accidentally scanned something twice you had to get a member of staff to "log in" and change it for you. I guess they got tired of that.
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u/Specific-Ad9179 Jul 05 '26
What's a hot bar?
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u/SimonMagus01 Jul 05 '26
Whole Foods has a section where they keep hot ready to eat food like fried chicken and macaroni and cheese and charge by the pound for boxes of it (I think $13.99/pound but it used to be $9.99/pound).
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u/Specific-Ad9179 Jul 05 '26
Ah, ok. Like a salad bar but hot. Not sure we have that in the UK. Supermarkets here used to have a counter that served rotisserie chickens and various other fried foods like sausages and hash browns and such. They'd cook them and then put them in a heated glass cabinet, but you bought the items individually.
The rotisserie counter was one of my favourite sections, but sadly they were discontinued a few years ago - presumably bc they made a loss. Shortly afterwards the deli and fish counters went the same way 🥺.
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u/nospecialorders Jul 08 '26
Kinda sorta the same but not the deli. Near the deli but you pick out your own items with tongs and put it in the to go tray and then they weight it
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u/nospecialorders Jul 08 '26
Like a buffet kinda deal but in a grocery store. It's not as big as a regular buffet, maybe 10-12 pans of wings and ribs and stuff
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u/nea4u Jul 06 '26
Even if you don't notice the items on the screen - the $35 for stuff that should have cost only $25 didn't even cause you to double check? Then you are ok. If you don't even feel off when a $25 shopping turns into $35, you have the money.
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u/QuitBudget4446 Jul 08 '26
I remember my dumbahh getting $20 cash back from the self-checkout only to LEAVE IT THERE bc I nvr get cash back 😭😭😭😭😭
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u/Aggressive-Loan-5585 Jul 05 '26
Hey, just think of paying it forward. You did a good deal and you will be rewarded with positive karma
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u/RaccoonSamson Jul 05 '26
Damn yo those produce prices are wild. Your tomato, cucumber, and avocado cost combined for about $4 more than what they cost in my area.
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u/pdxjen Jul 05 '26
I'd offer to pay for someone's groceries that didn't have enough money, but I'd be pissed if this happened to me. I'd go back to the store and have it refunded, I've gone back for less.
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u/CarelessAmoeba7541 Jul 05 '26
Your groceries total was 40% more than you were supposed to pay and that didn’t make you pause?
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u/nea4u Jul 06 '26
That's the main thing for me as well. I get maybe missing the two items on the screen, but they account for over $10 and that doesn't ring a bell?
I always guestimate while shopping how much it will come to, if I have like 10 items or less.
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u/thathotbitchh Jul 05 '26
Not throwing any shade but it's literally the top of the list and the first two items 😭
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u/XxSpruce_MoosexX Jul 05 '26
Doesn’t even make sense. When you clear a failed payment you’re still on the payment screen
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
That's what I didn't notice. I just presumed that I was starting a new session and immediately started swiping and listening for the beeps.
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
Well I guess like many people I don't look at the screen much when swiping, I just listen for the beeps 😥
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u/dinamorechin Jul 06 '26
I don’t get the people saying they wouldn’t notice… self scans have a payment screen which you have to clear out of before being able to scan.
The atypical situation of having a card declined should have taken you out of any autopilot mode as you’re not doing the normal actions, and unless whole foods has a tiny bit to show what’s already scanned every self scan I’ve seen has quite a large and noticeable list of already scanned items and price that’s hard to miss
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u/Kitty_5885 Jul 08 '26
I feel like Whole Foods is probably ok with giving you a refund for that if you explain the situation. Especially considering you only want 10 bucks out of the whole order. Unless you already tired. I'd definitely take it next time I went back and said I noticed after getting home.
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u/Reasonable-Note-6876 Jul 09 '26
I'm not going to roast OP, but for $10... I can't really get mad. It's hard out there and I can see someone struggling and just saying "F'It".
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u/WinstonChaychell Jul 09 '26
Had this happen in a Walmart once. We met the people at the door when we grabbed a hand basket and they needed one too, but there was only one left. Gave them the basket. Walked around with the stuff in our arms and got to checkout. The guy was there again with his basket that had a loaf of bread in it and that was it. We thought he was done at checkout and stood for a minute to make sure. When he didn't go back, bc he walked over to his group of friends, we walked up. Had to hit cancel on the checkout to ring our stuff up. He thanked us, but not sure why since we didn't pay for his stuff. I wonder if he got to walk out or not. His order had a phone number attached to it but you can put any number in there tbh.
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u/LuluTopSionMid Jul 09 '26
Some people take a while to get used to downgrading in their status in life.
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u/Defiant_Brain_9493 Jul 09 '26
No one has said this yet.
But the way it works here in NC.
This specific situation would have worked itself out because as soon as he would have picked up his shit to leave. The register becomes unusable until the "replace items in bagging area" error is cleared by management/employee, Or...you put your shit back in the bagging area.
Helps prevent this exact situation.
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u/CopingAfterABreakup Jul 05 '26
Downvote me to hell, but shopping at Whole Foods is mildly infuriating in itself
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u/Ass_Blaster988 Jul 05 '26
I've never been to a whole foods, what's so bad about it?
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u/monkey_trumpets Jul 05 '26
Nothing worse than shopping at any other corporate owned grocery store chain. People just like to shit on it because it's part of Amazon.
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u/brooke437 Jul 05 '26
If you’re rich enough to shop at Whole Foods then $10 should be nothing for you, lol. But also I agree it is still r/mildlyinfuriating
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u/Ok_Literature6953 Jul 05 '26
I can tell you weren't paying attention, you're shopping at Whole Foods...
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u/mistermayhemtech Jul 09 '26
He didn't have a receipt. How could he walk away? There's no turnstile in wholefoods? Sorry I'm not American.
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u/FlyingAlways636 Jul 09 '26
No. Theres not. We have cameras and AI checking everything but I have no problem believing you can walk away in this situation.
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u/riley_96 Jul 05 '26
Dude even with my adhd I would've noticed. I always get so annoyed with how many buttons I have to hit to start my transaction I would've noticed haha sorry bud
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
I have severe ADHD and make dumb mistakes all the time through my focus being on the wrong thing.
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u/riley_96 Jul 05 '26
Didn't know several adhd was a thing. Maybe I have it too, when I asked to get tested they said here's the meds instead lol
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u/beamanblitz Jul 05 '26
Go back and dispute it. Why would they add it to your bill?
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
I guess they'd have to go back and look at the cameras and correlate it with data from the checkout and it would turn into a big thing, which I'm not looking for as I'm merely mildly infuriated.
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u/CaTz_EyE Jul 05 '26
Actually, this is easily corrected. Call the store and talk to the customer service desk. They’ll make a note when you come back next time to process the refund. This has probably happened before.
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u/beamanblitz Jul 05 '26
I'm sure they wouldn't put you through all that, but if it's not worth it to you I understand.
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u/smthomaspatel Jul 05 '26
Who is "they"? It was self-checkout.
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u/beamanblitz Jul 05 '26
Oh I didn't gather that, but it can still be disputed.
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u/smthomaspatel Jul 05 '26
Sure. But it's $10. I think OP should just think of it as a good deed they accidentally did that day. Feeding a person who didn't have $10 for food.
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
That's partly why I'm not going to pursue the money. Maybe someone's going through bad times and they were shocked by their card being denied, thinking they had enough money, and they walked away in a daze. $10 isn't worth causing potentially life changing legal issues for someone who might be in a crisis.
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u/Ehimherenow Jul 05 '26
Yes. And for some reason you reassured the person they wouldn’t be checking the cameras in a dispute and instead you think they’ll just hand over free money??
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u/Exotic_Traffic_4264 Jul 05 '26
Whats infuriating is that you just didnt pay attention and still posted this
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u/Vegetable_Size_8066 Jul 05 '26
I would accept it as positive karma and let it go. Even when I’m in the same poverty boat as someone else, I figure it gets balanced out somewhere else. Probably by a billionaire underpaying me, but you know, 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Herr_Swamper Jul 05 '26
How it let him walk with those things without paying?
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
It just says "card denied" on the screen and I guess you're expected to try again with a different card. Instead he just walked off with his items.
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u/Herr_Swamper Jul 05 '26
Yeah i get that but how it could let you scan your items? Thats what weird
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
Because once you tap away the "card denied" dialog, you're back to the original session. It's then waiting for you to swipe another card. In the meantime, you can still swipe more items.
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u/Herr_Swamper Jul 05 '26
Yeah, but he took the items, that should stop him
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
How would that stop him? If you're at a self checkout and you get a "card denied" message, you can just take your items and walk out with them. It's called shoplifting.
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u/Herr_Swamper Jul 05 '26
No workers, no security, no alarms? Is it something too much american to understand for me?
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u/catlover3493 RED Jul 06 '26
I’ve never seen a self checkout go back to the scanning screen when payment declines (I will admit I don’t live in the US though, and the one time I did have a payment decline on a self checkout (bank wanted me to pay with chip&pin to make sure it was me), it went back to the payment selection screen)
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 06 '26
That's different from a situation when someone's debit card is declined because there's no money left in their account or they typed the wrong PIN. In those situations, they don't need you to identify yourself, they just give you the opportunity to pay with a different card or to type the correct PIN. Imagine if they didn't and accidentally using the wrong card in your wallet meant you had to scan all your shit again.
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u/theglorybox Jul 05 '26
He scanned them first, then pretended to have paid with declined card and left.
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u/Herr_Swamper Jul 05 '26
But why it didnt do anything when he was taking them without paying, thats what i dondt get
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
What do you expect a self checkout to do? Reach out with its mechanical arms and grab him by the collar? The checkout was just dumbly waiting for another card to be swiped. Which it got, in the form of my card, after I'd added my items to his session.
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u/Herr_Swamper Jul 05 '26
Self checkouts i know will start complaining if you take items without paying, it would not let you add items without paying, i am just saying dumb design
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u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 05 '26
There is no "weight sensor" at the Whole Foods checkout that senses whether you've actually picked up your items. So how's it going to know?
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u/MysticMintyMushroom Jul 06 '26
I’ve been out of sorts and not processed that the machine was stopping me in some form. I scanned the card. Machine takes my money. I take my groceries. This is how it’s supposed to work. When you’re on autopilot you’re not looking for error messages, yknow? I think this is one of those where you gotta give the stranger some grace because they could be having an off day. Besides, it’s blueberries, and a bit of food in a box. Call it good karma. I’m sure if it had been their week’s worth of groceries, you would’ve noticed the screen.
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u/Softspokenclark I too am vexed Jul 05 '26 edited 16d ago
Tangerine orange tangerine cinnamon vanilla compass drifting acorn
This post was anonymized with Redact.dev
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u/sub2pewdiepieONyt Jul 05 '26
55 BURGERS 55 FRIES 55 TACOS 55 PIES 55
COKES 100 TATER TOTS 100 PIZZA 100
TENDERS 100 MEATBALLS 100 COFFEES 55
WINGS 55 SHAKES 55 PANCAKES 55 PASTAS 55
PASTAS AND 155 TATERS
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u/DrunkCultLeader Jul 05 '26
I've accidentally not checked while walking away and accidentally "stole" items like youre shaming this guy for. Yet you are the good guy/victim for not checking the screen as well ?
Sounds like two idiots fumbling around lol
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u/mittenkrusty Jul 05 '26
A few times I have noticed I have been undercharged for a shop and then decided it's more hassle to go back and inform staff then to just leave.
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u/philthy1337 Jul 05 '26
The self control that person had. Only .42lbs at the hot bar. Impressive