"AITA for reporting someone for stealing my lunch because I don't know her situation?"
"AITA for hiding my lunch at work and reporting the coworker who was stealing it?"
TwixIsMyCr says:
For the past two months, I’ve been cooking meals at home and bringing my lunch to work. I work in an office where we all have our own cubicles, and the layout is large enough to be considered an "office."
In the past two weeks, someone kept stealing my lunch (even though I had my name and extension on it) and even went as far as to wash out the containers and leave a thank you note. I wrote an office email (since I didn’t know who it was) asking them not to steal my lunch, but it didn’t work.
I noticed a couple of my colleagues coming in with large lunch pails and leaving them in their cubicles. When I asked one of them about it, she said that's how you get to keep your lunch because the "lunch pirates" will steal your food otherwise.
So I did the same thing—I bought a large lunch pail, along with six of those blue ice packs to keep the food cold, and now I keep my lunch in my cubicle, hanging on a 3M hook under my office sweater.
About an hour ago, I went to heat up my lunch and sat down to eat. A coworker (we don’t work in the same department, so I don’t really know her) asked me if I came in late. I said, “No, why?” She said, “Because your lunch wasn’t in the fridge.”
I explained that I keep it in my cubicle now because I’m tired of people stealing my food. The microwave pinged, and I got my food out and began eating. She put a Styrofoam plate next to me, and I looked at her, confused. She said, “Well, you can split your lunch with me because I don’t have any.”
I looked her dead in the face and asked if she was the one stealing my lunch. She said she didn’t steal, she "borrowed." I asked, “Borrowed? So when are you going to pay me back? I’m not welfare. You didn’t bring your lunch, and we’re literally in the middle of downtown.
You could throw a pebble and hit an eatery. I work just like you, and if you didn’t bring your food, you better go buy some because I am not sharing, PERIOD!” I closed my food containers and headed back to my cubicle to report her to HR. She called me selfish. I told her she was an entitled thief and that I would be letting everyone know. So, I reported her to HR, my manager, and her manager.
I got two emails from people I don’t know, telling me I shouldn’t have reported her because I don’t know her situation. I emailed them back and told them that they, nor she, know my situation (which is pretty good, but that’s not the point), and that anyone wearing Tom Ford pumps should literally not be stealing anyone’s food. So, AITA for reporting her and not wanting to share? And AITA for keeping my food in my cubicle?
OP responded to some comments in the post:
mangoawaynow says:
NTA, might want to get a lockable lunch box tho since you told her where u keep your lunch.
OP responded:
I hear you but I don' t think she knows where my desk is considering how big my office is and we work on opposite ends of the building. She would stick out like a sore thumb if she came over to my side as she doesn't work over there.
Thewoodiswatching says:
NTA. Entitled doesn't even start to describe that woman. I'd not only have reported her, but I would have put up notices around the building with her face and name on them to warn others.
OP responded:
I was considering sending an email with her picture to the company. But I don't want to get in trouble.