Imagine saving a delicious dessert for after you’re done with a tiresome task and find that the food is no longer there. It can really make you want to cry. Now assume that it happened at work.
You bring something to eat, put it in the fridge, and when the break comes, the food is already taken by someone else. This is exactly what happened to Reddit user Steelsnapdragon, but she was lucky enough to catch the thief red-handed.
Furthermore, she had the guts to embarrass him in front of others, although not everyone understood her feelings at the moment and didn’t approve of her reaction, so she went to the internet to find out if what she had done was inappropriate.
An employee publicly embarrassed her coworker for stealing her food, which most people would relate to, but not in her workplace
The Original Poster (OP) said she started a new job in a small studio where she eats lunch at about 1 PM while most of her colleagues go at about noon. One day she decided to go at the same time everyone else went and while she was making herself coffee, the woman noticed her Tupperware was in the sink with no food inside.
She then turned around and saw that her prepared meal was on a plate in front of a man she was not acquainted with. He had already heated the food in the microwave and was just about to eat it.
Being hangry is a real thing, people do get irritated on an empty stomach and actually get in a better mood after eating. That is probably what happened with Steelsnapdragon as she got mad and wasn’t afraid to confront the thief.
The OP was making herself coffee when she noticed her tupperware in the sink
The woman went to him, sat down on his side and took her food from him. Even before the man had time to react and say anything, she started eating it, to the disbelief of everyone sitting at the table.
The man got his voice back and had the audacity to ask what the woman thought she was doing taking people’s lunch like that. The OP wasn’t going to back down and continued with her sarcasm, commenting on the flavor of the food that she remembered being better when she first cooked it.
At this moment, the man finally realized that the woman sitting next to him was the person whose lunch he stole and the OP shamed the man for being so impudent for stealing someone else’s lunch and then being annoyed when that person took it back.
The thief didn’t have any good comeback and was just stuttering under his breath. He said that he didn’t know the food was OP’s, which is not an excuse, as it wouldn’t have been better if he took any other colleague’s food.
Turns out, a man who didn’t even work at the studio had already heated her food and was sitting down to eat it
It seems that the man was really embarrassed as from the story, it is clear how uncomfortable he was and that he didn’t find the words to even apologize properly.
Steelsnapdragon was really annoyed and continued the spectacle for the people in the dining area, thanking the thief for warming up her food for her. Of course, it was all said with an attitude, but after this, the man walked out and the whole room remained in awkward silence for a while.
The OP went to the man and yanked the food and the fork from him, following with some sarcastic remarks
From the people who saw the scene, there were 2 who thought that she was too rude and could have handled the situation better. As the event left the OP in a bad mood, she wasn’t very polite with them either and a couple of people in the comments actually pointed out that the OP is probably a woman and that is why she was judged for not being nice enough.
It is hard to tell whether the storyteller is a woman or a man but by looking through other things she has posted, it is clear she is indeed a woman. Other Redditors guessed she was because people often expect women to be polite, submissive, and not confronting in front of a man, and sadly, they guessed correctly.
When the man realized he took someone’s food, he muttered something and walked away
We asked Steelsnapdragon if there were any updates, but since the event happened only on Wednesday, there is not much to tell. She told us, “I didn’t report the thief. I felt my reaction was enough and we don’t have any HR/he works for another studio in the building.” Although she did explain what happened to her boss who seemed to accept her behavior at that time.
We also wanted to know if the comments made her see the situation more clearly and seeing that the comments were mostly supporting her, she felt relieved that she didn’t overreact at the moment. “After the comments I read, I felt a lot more validated in my response as I’ve had some mates tell me I have a knee-jerk reaction to things sometimes. I am a quiet person generally but get loud quickly when I feel someone has overstepped, which I did here.”
Surprisingly, the OP’s colleagues thought that this reaction was not called for and thought she could have been nicer
When something like this happens, you become wary of leaving your things unattended, but with food, it’s kind of hard not to use the fridge. The OP said she will still be leaving hers in the common fridge but she said she will be putting her name on the lunch box as she has noticed others doing.
The OP herself thinks that the man overstepped and she felt that her reaction was normal as any
In the end, the OP doesn’t regret reacting like she did and thought that she wasn’t being too rude and that she treated the man like he deserved because after all, food is sacred and theft is a crime. She just wanted to know if there are people who support her as those 2 coworkers clearly disapproved.
Redditors disagreed with the said coworkers and thought that she actually handled the situation epically and respected her for having the courage to be so bold and direct as it’s what a lot of them would want to do but wouldn’t, actually.
What do you think of the OP’s reaction? Would you have reacted differently? Is food something to be upset over? We would like to hear your opinions, so leave them in the comments!
Other Redditors supported the OP and said that she did what anyone would want to do but would not have the courage to
