This afternoon, I was in the check-out line of my local Piggly Wiggly when the young chap bagging my groceries notified me that the barcode label on a package of deli cheese had been mangled by the conveyor belt. He showed me that the label came right off the package. I told him thanks for letting me know, and that's fine, which triggered the following exchange.
Bag boy: "You're lucky because it was already scanned."
BW: "What if it wasn't scanned? With no label, guess that means it's free."
Bag boy: "No, you'd have to go get another one with a label."
BW: "Well, what would happen to this one?"
Bag boy: "It would go into 'Damaged Goods.'"
BW: "What?! The cheese is perfectly fine. It just needs a new label, and you can sell it to someone else."
Bag boy: "Nope. Damaged goods."
BW: "What happens to items that end up in Damaged Goods?"
Bag Boy: "We throw them out."
BW: "So you'd rather throw out perfectly good cheese than give it to me for free?"
Bag Boy: "That's the policy. But it doesn't matter anyway because you're lucky yours was already scanned."
BW: "Actually, I think I'm unlucky. I'd rather come back later on and rummage through your garbage bin full of Damaged Goods to get it for free!"
