Mlle R Grier, voleuse?

Shopping is frustrating in another country - it takes ages just due to unfamiliarity with the shops, the products, and the language, and I can never find exactly what I want...

It was made rather more daunting though when, having negotiated the supermarket in search of bluetack, raisins, AA batteries and floppy disks, and having only found the raisins and the batteries; having paid, and proceding through the exit, I was accosted by a man who flashed a *hm, it appears to be an ID card but I couldn't see it* card at me and announced he was a store inspector and please step aside to be asked a few questions... rather baffled, at first I thought he must be carrying out a questionnaire of shoppers. But it didn't quite seem to fit. He asked for my receipt and asked me a question which I didn't understand. Seeing that I didn't understand, he guided me back into the shop, trying to rephrase it - asking me something about if I'd bought (phonetic english) 'peel' (des piles). Since I still didn't understand (if you don't know the pertinent word, you don't know the word, no matter how the question's rephrased!), he then asked if I'd forgotten to pay for anything! To which of course I replied with a surprised 'non!' and had more of an idea that Something Wasn't Quite Right about this. Saying that I had had 'des piles' in my hand (eh?), he lead me to the shelves of batteries... Oh! It dawned on me. 'Des piles' = batteries, and the receipt had listed them under their brand name abbreviated: which he hadn't recognised! Relieved, I hurridly said, "mais oui, c'est le Duracel - voila, ce sont les Duracels!" and having produced them from my bag, and pointed it out to him on the receipt, all was well. It took me a while to find the 'exit without purchase' way out, but I emerged (of which I was glad) simply a little shaken.

They obviously do a good job of store security, if he'd spotted me with batteries, thought that I hadn't paid for them, and gone to the exit to accost me - but a bad job, that he hadn't spotted that I'd paid for them, & didn't recognise them on the receipt! But given that they can't keep an eye on everyone in the store, in what way did I arouse suspicion? Is it the NUCU hoody that looks dodgy? ;-)

Ah la belle vie! You're reading the blog of Mlle R Grier, suspected thief extraordinaire.