Throwaway account because I was dumb enough to interact with a coworker via my main account (trust me, I don’t need to be lectured on how stupid that was).
I worked for 2 years in a large corporate grocery store chain for just above minimum wage, because I was told by people I once loved that it was “more than enough to get by on if I managed my money properly.”
Anyways, I finally quit last month in order to preserve my mental health and take some time for myself (as expected, management cried and begged for me to stay without offering any tangible monetary incentive to do so).
Today, I walked back into the store, straight back to the electronics section (where I worked) and told the employee working there that I’d like to purchase an iPad (I didn’t know the guy from my tenure of working there). He unlocked the case and gave me one, and I told him that I’d like to pay for it up front because I had some other items I needed to pick up at the store that day.
I walked away with the iPad, and filled up my cart with several boring, nondescript food items. As I perused a remote aisle of the store, I tucked the iPad inside my jacket and went about my business.
I check out all the groceries, and head out the door. Of course, the alarm goes off, but I made sure to look surprised and apologetic as I let some poor, mindless soul (that was once me) quickly glance over my cart and receipt before giving me the casual go ahead to go on out to the parking lot. I wasn’t surprised in the slightest how easy it was.
Moral of the story: A $500 slab of technology is still just pennies compared to the abusive and toxic experiences that large businesses subject their hardworking employees to on a daily basis. Take back whatever you can from predatory companies- it doesn’t matter at all if you have worked there or not.