If You Have To Break It, You Probably Can’t Have It

I’m working the checkout of a drug store that also sells some food and grocery items. An older man walks up and puts an ice cream bar on my counter. I can tell because it’s cold and has a familiar logo on it, but it’s missing a name and barcode to scan it.

Me: “I’m sorry, but there’s no barcode on this.”

Man: “I just wanted one ice cream, but you didn’t have them as singles.”

I look again and realize that the ice cream is from a box of multiple bars.

Me: “Sir, I can’t sell you one part of the box. You have to buy the whole package.”

Man: “Then bring me one ice cream!”

Me: “The single bars are next to the boxes. If there weren’t any, then we are sold out.”

He looks annoyed and goes back to the freezer. He brings the box he opened and I sell it to him.

The very same day…

Coworker: “Hey, [My Name], can you price check these? The register says, ‘Item not found.’”

I look and, sure enough, the items are mini single water bottles that are part of a pack. I address the teenagers that are trying to buy them.

Me: “These bottles are part of a package. We can’t sell them individually.”

Teen: “But I just want two.”

Me: “Sorry, I can’t sell them to you.”

They left without buying the package, of course, so I had to go to the shelf and mark the package unsellable now that it had a big hole where the teenagers had ripped out the bottles. I still can’t wrap my head around how people think it’s acceptable to damage items and not pay for them.