Although I was never a big fan of Ross from Friends , there was one particular episode where I was 100% on his side. And that was when he flew into a rage when one of his coworkers ate his special sandwich and threw part of it away when he couldn’t finish it.
No matter how good it may look or smell, I’m a firm believer in the sacred rule that you don’t mess with another person’s food. Whether it’s their lunch or a snack on their desk, there’s no reason for me to think that I have any business eating it until it’s explicitly offered to me.
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But as too many of us know, not everyone feels the same way and until she did something about it, one woman had to deal with a brazen office thief who was even more audacious than Ross’ coworker.
Although nobody likes an office food thief, our hero found herself in a position that made this common problem even worse.
She described herself as having a lot of food allergies so if something happens to her lunch, she more or less has to go hungry because it’s hard to find anything safe in her area.
She is also a new mom which not only means that she needs to eat more while breastfeeding, but also that she’s often tired enough to forget her lunches and snacks.
So when she first experienced the thief’s handiwork, she thought it was just a result of her tired brain forgetting things.
But she knew it wasn’t just her when she got the flu and had to leave work for a week.
When this happened, she left a nearly full box of allergy-friendly cookies like these and a couple of boxes of candy. One was opened, one was not.
As an aside, she described these cookies as “not enjoyable but are free of all major allergens, and are also $5 a box for, like, 12 sad little sand pies with some cinnamon on top.”
Sure enough, when she returned to the office, she found that all but one of these cookies had been eaten and while one candy box was gone, the other had been opened following the box’s instructions. The problem was that she always rips them open.
In her words, “Who OPENS a new box of something?? And opens it DIFFERENTLY than the person they are stealing from??”
Sure enough, when she returned to the office, she found that all but one of these cookies had been eaten.
Although one candy box was gone, the other had been opened following the box’s instructions. The problem was that she always rips them open.
In her words, “Who OPENS a new box of something?? And opens it DIFFERENTLY than the person they are stealing from??”
Naturally, she took the matter to her boss, who only made some vague promises about checking whether the security cameras in her wing were still functional.
As you might expect, this didn’t inspire a lot of confidence so she procured a nanny cam of her own purely to watch the snack bait that she was about to set.
Since it was around Valentine’s Day when she did this, she decided to include a set of themed chocolates with her usual array.
And when she returned the next day, she saw that the thief hadn’t even tried to be subtle and ravenously chowed down on the snacks (including some of the Valentine’s candy) before dumping the wrappers everywhere.
Since it was around Valentine’s Day when she did this, she decided to include a set of themed chocolates with her usual array.
And when she returned the next day, she saw that the thief hadn’t even tried to be subtle and ravenously chowed down on the snacks (including some of the Valentine’s candy) before dumping the wrappers everywhere.
And when she played back the footage, she discovered that the culprit wasn’t any of her immediate coworkers but rather the night custodian.
And just as the evidence at the scene would suggest, he shoved them into his head like he was Cookie Monster. Screenshots from this video were sent straight to the woman’s boss, who agreed to send a strongly-worded email to the cleaning company barring that person from their office.
He also asked her to remove her unauthorized spy camera, which was fine by her.
She would later discover that not only had she thwarted her snack thief but she actually protected some of her female coworkers from harassment they had experienced from him.
When she told her husband what she had done, she said his reply surprised her.
As he put it, “You know, I think this is the first time I’ve seen you stand up for yourself. I’m proud of you.”
h/t: Reddit | [deleted]
She would later discover that not only had she thwarted her snack thief but she actually protected some of her female coworkers from harassment they had experienced from him.
When she told her husband what she had done, she said his reply surprised her.
As he put it, “You know, I think this is the first time I’ve seen you stand up for yourself. I’m proud of you.”
h/t: Reddit | [deleted]
