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The Soda Snatcher

So, I found and confronted someone who is taking my cans of soda out of the office fridge.

For over a year now, people in my office have noticed that things disappear from our office fridge. Not constantly, but often. Possibly the worst theft was that Sharon had some frozen meals go missing (something like a healthy pocket sandwich). Stealing a student's food? That's low. I may have had some frozen dinners stolen, too.

Ryan actually had slices of ham stolen from his lunch. Slices of ham. He knew how many slices he had, and someone came in over night and stole slices of ham.

Who are the thieves? We suspected it was people who come in for classes. These are usually teachers at area schools. We've contacted the other centers that share our building, and they were appalled that there were thefts going on. Since they're here when we're here, we figured it wasn't them.

My cans of soda in the fridge have been a frequent topic. When you are rich enough to afford a 12-pack, people figure you can spare a soda or two. but that hasn't stopped people from taking the last can of soda, if you give them the chance.

A foot away from the fridge is a soda machine. So it's not like there aren't alternatives available.

Last week, I was at work late, and the teachers were out of their class. I went to the kitchenette to clean my coffee cup and there was a guy sitting at the table with a young woman, and he had one of my cans of soda on the table in front of him.

I walked over to him and said "Excuse me, but did you get that soda from the refrigerator."

To my half-surprise, he said he did. I guess I was surprised he would be so unembarrassed about it, or that he would freely admit it.

When I told him it was mine, he launched into excuses like "I was dyin'." I indicated that there was a soda machine right next to him. He said he didn't have any change.

I asked him "Don't you think it's strange to go into someone else's refrigerator and take their stuff?" He claimed that he replaces what he takes. This guy was a serial soda snatcher! I knew this wasn't the first time a can went missing from this 12-pack. The details are boring, but I could tell that the same person had tampered with the 12-pack, and learned from previous experience.

I asked him "How do you replace them?" I was incredulous. It's not as though it's easy to buy individual cans of Coke Zero Cherry. I have to get them in a 12-pack. He told me that after class he buys one and brings it with him to the next class. I call "Bullshit." I probably should have said that to him, but I was somewhat flabbergasted at his answers.

He told me that he didn't realize it would upset anyone. I told him that people ask permission before taking other people's things. He reiterated that he was "dyin'." The young woman he was with just sat there through this whole thing. i wonder if she was embarrassed for him.

I was a bit angry at this point, and I don't like to continue conversations when I'm feeling angry, so I walked off to tell Sara and Ryan the story and cool down. When I came back, he was gone. I kinda wish I'd gotten his name, or his picture for the blog. Or even told him to keep his grubby paws off our office fridge. But I was basically gob-smacked.

Word got back to this fellow's instructor, and she told me that it's a Tuesday/Thursday class. She wants me to identify him when he comes into class on Thursday. I wasn't at the office last night, so I couldn't do it then.

Can you believe the nerve of some people? You probably sense that I do not believe his "I replace the sodas" claim. We've seen many cans and bottles go missing and never seen them spontaneously reappear. The times people have been caught, they've either given someone a dollar, or an excuse. I think this guy gave an excuse so he wouldn't look like a complete jerk in front of the girl he was with, but he has definitely not replaced anything in the past. Perhaps he will now that he's been caught.

As for me, I don't know if I'm going to keep anything in that fridge without putting it in a locked box first. I'm not keeping soda in there anymore. He (and others like him) will have to steal someone else's stuff from now on.

Posted by James at October 22, 2008 8:41 AM
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