Seriously, who does this!?

[Kimmyt]

So this morning I didn't have time to pack a full lunch, so I grabbed an apple, a pack of yogurt, and a granola bar. Put the apple and yogurt in the fridge for lunch then ran off to do labwork for a few hours.

I get back around 11:30 and go to get my apple and yogurt out of the fridge, and my apple is gone! It had only been in there since 8!

I was furious. I mean, what if I didn't have any other lunch money with me, and that was all my food for the day?

I mean seriously, who takes someone else's food??

[Bluetree]

Probably the same idiots who steal my flip flops when I'm out on my ride! Scurvy knaves. :mad:

[mimitabby]

that happens here too. I never put food in the fridge. I have an insulated lunch bag and keep it at my desk.
It isn't that i don't trust people, it's that the fridge at work often stinks so bad.... so i never open it.
but from time to time i hear about some poor soul whose stuff gets ripped off in there.

[Haudlady]

That's just nasty, Kimmy... :eek:

DH had a lunch thief at his work - he started bringing his food in a cooler and keeping it under his desk. They discovered her about a month back... she was escorted out by the police (a big deal in our little city)! The sad thing is that is wasn't someone who 'needed' the food... aparently it was an obsessive behavior, and she didn't even eat everything she took!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Kimmy,
Maybe just putting all your food in a paper bag with your name on it in the fridge will make it more of a taboo to snatch an apple.

[Kimmyt]

Yeah, I should be doing that anyway, but on days when I just bring in a few little things I just throw them in there. It's usually pretty empty and only a few people use it, so that's why I'm so shocked that someone took it!

I was so tempted to put a little piece of paper on the front of the fridge that said, "Thou shalt not steal" but I didn't want it to be construed as religious or something so I just sucked it up and bought lunch.

Anyway they were really good apples, so crunchy and yummy... now I'm getting all depressed again. Anyway I ranted loudly about it for a few minutes so hopefully whoever did it will feel remorseful.

Maybe I should troll the trash cans in the area looking for cores.... :)

[Pax]

Kimmy,
Maybe just putting all your food in a paper bag with your name on it in the fridge will make it more of a taboo to snatch an apple.

That's what I started doing with my lunch, when someone decided to open the bag (closed up WITH MY NAME ON IT) and take my orange out, I about went postal. Instead I made a large colorful sign that told my co-workers "I brought extra oranges today so whoever has been stealing them out of my lunchbag doesn't have to feel the need to sneak, just grab one out of the bowl on my desk". For some reason no one took my oranges after that. :)

[Dianyla]

Start planting apples with worms in them. :)

[snapdragen]

Brownies made with ex-lax.:eek:

I had someone steal the shrimp off my leftover shrimp and pasta. I go to get the box out of the fridge, and there are tomato sauce finger prints on it. When I opened it, all the shrimp had been eaten! I got revenge though - I had an awful cold! The next week, the woman I suspected was sick too.:p

[Pax]

... I got revenge though - I had an awful cold! The next week, the woman I suspected was sick too.:p

Bwaaahaaaaaaaa! :D

[jobob]

I got revenge though - I had an awful cold! The next week, the woman I suspected was sick too.:p
I love stories with happy endings. :D

[Dianyla]

I had someone steal the shrimp off my leftover shrimp and pasta. I go to get the box out of the fridge, and there are tomato sauce finger prints on it.
Someone actually opened up your food to pick off the choice bits and leave the rest?

Wow. Just... Wow. :confused:

[snapdragen]

Oh yeah. And they did it to someone else's pizza. The box was sealed with tape, they opened it, and ate all the pepperoni off the pizza.:eek:

[mtkitchn]

Picking stuff off other people's food? Oh my gosh, that is the sickest thing! What is wrong with people? Thank goodness for little cooler bags that I can keep away from others.

[Duck on Wheels]

Happens in every shared fridge. There's always a thief. My dad once suggested that I try to protect my study-break milkshake by putting the cup in a paper bag with a big clear label "DO NOT TIP! URINE SAMPLE!"

[mimitabby]

Happens in every shared fridge. There's always a thief. My dad once suggested that I try to protect my study-break milkshake by putting the cup in a paper bag with a big clear label "DO NOT TIP! URINE SAMPLE!"

I like! I like!

[Bikingmomof3]

Happens in every shared fridge. There's always a thief. My dad once suggested that I try to protect my study-break milkshake by putting the cup in a paper bag with a big clear label "DO NOT TIP! URINE SAMPLE!"

I love it! :D

[crazybikinchic]

back when I was young and had absolutely no money, I gave my last 20 cents to the person who was going to Grandy's. For those that do not know, they have wonderful rolls. I had them get me 2 rolls to go with my pineapple that I had for lunch. The wonderfully nice dentist that I worked for got to my rolls before I did. I was very angry. Not only did he not appologise, he did not give me the 20 cents or anything. He did get grief from the other women that worked for him, but that still didn't put any more food in my tummy. One of the many reasons that I am no longer in dentistry.

[CycleChic06]

I hate when people eat my food! It was happening to me for a while, someone kept eating my yogurt, even after I began putting my name on it and even after I put it in a bag with a piece of paper stapled to it with my name on it! It's unbelievable what people do and soooo annoying. There's no way around it, unless you buy one of those mini fridges and keep it under your desk...

[MyLitespeed]

When I use to work at the office, I would keep small snacks on my desk to munch on during the day. Well one salesman would always come by and see my snacks and help himself. I really felt like making some snack and putting pepper or Bitterapple spray on it and then let them have it to eat. Then when they mention how horrible it taste, tell them that's just the way you like it! They won't bother it again.

[KnottedYet]

Someone at my work accidentally ate another woman's yogurt. She offered the other woman her yogurt (diff flavor) but armageddon followed. People are now EXTREMELY careful of what yogurts they eat from the work fridge.

Another woman had her toothbrush stolen from her drawer in the staff room. Ewwwwww, who would use a stolen toothbrush?!?! :eek:

[GLC1968]

There's no way around it, unless you buy one of those mini fridges and keep it under your desk...

That's what I did!

I was on a strict diet awhile back and one of my treats was strawberries. I had paid way too much to buy some gorgeous ones last January and someone had the gall to eat them out of my lunch bag in the fridge at work. I was so pissed because there was precious little I could eat at the time and I had to go hungry because someone else was greedy. :mad:

I ended up borrowing a tiny fridge from my mom and have had that here under my desk ever since!

[mimitabby]

When I use to work at the office, I would keep small snacks on my desk to munch on during the day. Well one salesman would always come by and see my snacks and help himself. I really felt like making some snack and putting pepper or Bitterapple spray on it and then let them have it to eat. Then when they mention how horrible it taste, tell them that's just the way you like it! They won't bother it again.

I will confess to having eaten things in little dishes on people's desks. At my office, it is an invitation, and usually if the desk owner is there they will say; oh, have some of my chocolates or whatever.

But the dentist taking food from a poor employee and all you people stapling your lunch bags shut and STILL getting ripped off? That is incredible.
I will continue leaving my lunch bag at my desk. i don't believe you need a refrigerator, I carried sack lunches to school, and now do the same at work, we're talking 50 years of experience! and i've never gotten sick from my lunch!

[li10up]

I had a frozen meal in the freezer at work. Someone acutally had the nerve to open the box, microwave the meal, eat it and put the dirty "dish" back into the box and put the whole thing back into the freezer! I hope it made them sick!!!

[Lifesgreat]

Regarding your missing apple, perhaps a sticky note attached to the apple with "For Snow White" written on the note would be a deterrent? :p

[CycleChic06]

I had a frozen meal in the freezer at work. Someone acutally had the nerve to open the box, microwave the meal, eat it and put the dirty "dish" back into the box and put the whole thing back into the freezer! I hope it made them sick!!!

Are you serious? I'm sorry, but that is so freaking hilarious! I mean, they went through all that trouble to put the empty tray back in the box and in the freezer...it's sad, yet really really funny. Do you have any enemies at work??

[bikerchick68]

rub the apple in the fridge down with a Habanero pepper... just bring an extra that is for YOU to eat. One bite and they'll stop stealing apples. ;) If they rub their eyes which WILL water from eating a bite... well. That's what they get :D

[LBTC]

This Dilbert cartoon nails it perfectly:

http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert-20070318.html

:D :D :D :D

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[Kimmyt]

hilarious! :D

thanks for helping me smile lbtc!

[Kitsune06]

I had to do that once. Once. Being a security guard I was getting *real* sick of having all my stuff stolen out of the break room, but we can't have cameras on the fridge etc... so I packed a lunch with meat that had been in the fridge awhile (where the color was a little off) and had dbl chocolate chip cookies w/ exlax.
It became a bigger issue than I'd intended, but very apparent that this gentleman would take my lunch and share it with other people (or at least the cookies).

We had three people making 'emergency' runs to the lavatory, and the gentleman who, I suspect, was the main thief, had to run home early for a new pair of pants. :eek:

My manager thought very much like I did, and knew exactly what had happened.
"This never happens again" he said "but isn't revenge sweet?"
"Yessir." I replied "A very moving experience"

[Deanna]

Thankfully, we don't have this problem in my office - maybe because we're a small company. We have the opposite problem - people leave food in the fridge until it rots. Very gross. We once opened the "crisper" to find a spinach bag with nothing but liquid left in it.

[smilingcat]

rub the apple in the fridge down with a Habanero pepper... just bring an extra that is for YOU to eat. One bite and they'll stop stealing apples. ;) If they rub their eyes which WILL water from eating a bite... well. That's what they get :D

At my last place of work, they ended up placing hidden camera in the ceiling. The guy was so blazen, he was appearently opening everyone's brown bag and if he didn't like what he saw he would put it back. Sometime he was tasting everyone's food. Then he would pick what he wanted. WHAT A PIIGGG!!!

But seriously, I like the habenero on apple. You wouldn't be expecting it. And oh my!!! on your eyes. ooo instead of candy coated apple. Replace the cinamon in the candy part with habanero oil. He would like that.

And oh yes the fridge always had rotten curdled milk. and abandoned tupper wear with extra-terrestrial creatures growing in it. hurl....

I've been tempted to put not so nice thing in the fridge like a week old chicken left over...

And yes at my office we have a vacume-cleaner/garbage-disposal/bottomless pit/see-it-eat-it-diet guy.

The guy has no manners and no social grace. comments I've experienced from him, "Aren't you going to eat it?" as his fork is ready to stab a piece of food on my plate during company luncheon. Maybe this is why he doesn't have a GF ever. And I think he is in his forties. NO REDEEMING QUALITY!! Any leftover from company luncheon, he grabs. He's been warned but to no avail. I work in an engineering company. Engineers are CHEAP and lacks manners.

No, I bring my food in a small collapsable cooler (fabric with plastic liner and some sort of thermal layer woven in).

Shawn

[Offthegrid]

I feel so lucky. I've never had my food stolen on me at work. (Heaven knows what I'd do if someone took a piece of my $4.49/loaf slice of gluten-free bread.) I, on the other hand, am guilty of leaving food in there to rot only to find it during the quarterly fridge cleanouts. Oopsies.

[CyclChyk]

When this has happened to me, I sent an email out to all the people in the office explaining "fridge ettiquette" and noted what was "swiped" of mine. To this day, I have never had anything else taken unless the person wanting it has asked me for it. I think making the person aware that YOU are aware, even if you don't single anyone out, makes them more considerate of their actions.

It worked for me anyway.

[susiej]

Engineers are CHEAP and lacks manners.

Nah, they just can't be bothered spending money on anything but their "toys" (unless you get a foodie one, then they drink $100 bottles of scotch and will drop $100 and up per person for dinner). And they are very direct and look at niceties as a waste of time, rather than the grease that keeps society running. :D He probably finds you as incomprehensible as you find him. ;) (Isn't that what they say about wild animals?)

I should know, my father was an engineer who loved his 20-year-old polyester and I write code for a living.

[chickwhorips]

see if this link works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRkiouh5NEI

it should be for the office linebacker. i can't see it because i'm at work and the "man" blocks youtube, but hopefully everyone else can enjoy the little show. it will make you all feel better!

[FreshNewbie]

Hmm I have a different problem. I brought in some really good natural peanut butter along with some bread and put a sticker on it "do not throw out". Guess what next day it's not there. Don't think someone would eat it, my guess they threw it out anyway. What a dissapointment to sit at work and crave P&J sandwich and find that you have none in the fridge.

GRRRr

[CyclChyk]

I had to do that once. Once. Being a security guard I was getting *real* sick of having all my stuff stolen out of the break room, but we can't have cameras on the fridge etc... so I packed a lunch with meat that had been in the fridge awhile (where the color was a little off) and had dbl chocolate chip cookies w/ exlax. It became a bigger issue than I'd intended,

*sigh* KIT - you are my hero :p

[TxRider]

Reading about this got me thinking about an incident that happened to my father years ago - same idea, someone kept stealing the snacks he brought in his lunch on a daily basis.

Well, he and another guy at work had gotten tired of it, so they took a Snickers bar, opened it really carefully along the seam so you couldn't tell it had been messed with. They took a knife and cut the candy bar in half & then filled it with jalapeno seeds, put it back together, put it back in the wrapper & into the refrigerator.

Later that day, the guilty party walked into the room & opened a Snickers bar ... needless to say, it wasn't long before he ran to the other room for a glass of something to wash it down! The seeds are the hottest part of the jalapeno & this guy, of course, wasn't expecting it!

My dad never had to worry about losing his food anymore! :D

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Just my own thing I guess, but I can't get into the idea of putting bad stuff into food purposely to make someone feel ill or physically distressed, even if they are swiping the food. And what if that food was swiped and taken home from work and given to an innocent old person or a child? :(
Isn't it better to just put a note or have a general office meeting or start a rumor about a tiny hidden camera being installed if it doesn't stop? If that doesn't work just keep your food in an insulated pouch in your desk or something.

[Haudlady]

I have a job interview on Friday, and I'm trying to figure out how to ask if they have a lunch thief!!! :confused:

I would have to increase my requested starting salary to make up for the effective loss in income due to an inflated grocery bill! :rolleyes:

[Deanna]

One of my least favorite questions in interviews is "Do you have any questions for us?". This may be your opening! Asking "What about refrigerator security" in a serious voice would make you memorable:D