The checkout clerk stared at my Tic Tacs like they were from another planet. He put them side by side and frowned.
"One of these isn't ringing up," he announced.
"They came from the same box," I said. I pointed to the display right beside him.
"The bar codes aren't the same," he said.
Eventually, he shrugged, scanned one a second time, and then tossed them both in my bag.
After I had arrived home and put everything away, I settled in for a reading hour. I reached for the Tic Tacs.
One of them had been opened and was half empty.
I looked at the bar codes. They weren't the same. The guy had been right. But he hadn't noticed that one was half empty and opened. I hadn't noticed because he'd had his hand wrapped around them while he frowned at the bar codes.
My guess is someone "traded" out one they'd been eating on for a new one. If they'd simply opened one and eaten from it and put it back, the bar codes would have been the same. I tossed the opened one - who knew what could be in there, or where that had been.
I was out a $1.09. Not much in the grand scheme of things, but still.
These are the days when one must be ever vigilant. Check the expiration dates on every item picked up, examine packaging, ensure that things look right - whatever that means.
Technically this person did not steal from the grocery chain. They stole from me.
Scams aren't the only reason to be super careful in the store. As you said, "Who knew what could be in there, or where that had been." I was in my 20s when somebody terrorized Chicago by placing cyanide-laced bottles of Tylenol on store shelves. I still check packaging as I put my groceries away. We can't be too careful.
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