Is this theft?

[stvdv]

So, let's say Mr. And Mrs. @Revoltingest eat a meal at taco bell every day of the year, and each time they do, they grab a handful of the small ketchup bags for free, so they never have to pay for ketchup at the store for their home, and they consume an extremely large quantity for their daily hot dogs and fries and such.

The cost on a daily basis adds up no doubt , for taco bell to enable their ketchup and hot sauce depravity affliction/addiction!

At what point does that make Mr. And Mrs. @Revoltingest guilty of theft, if ever?

If it goes to court a judge might ask:
1)Whose property is it, who owns it?
2)Do you mind if others take your stuff unasked?
3)Did it say "free to take home"? or to use there?

A Christian might say:
1)Do (not do) unto others what you do (not) want...

Robin Hood probably would say:
1)...

God might say:
1)....

Note: If you would die from hunger, unless taking those bags it seems "way of nature" to take these bags (survival instinct)

 

[stvdv]

No I wouldn't

Then, if you're emotional fine with it, then it seems fine for you to take them

The customers are already paying for it via food costs by shopping their. It's calculated already.

That feels to me like "mentally trying to talk a wrong right". This is a "feeling matter from the heart", not about calculations from the brain

Unless you meant "I'm fine if my customers would take my bags, because I would raise my price...the more they take the higher the price"

But if prices go up, they leave your shop and buy it elsewhere and you run out of business

Did you calculate this too

 

[stvdv]

The cost on a daily basis adds up no doubt , for taco bell to enable their ketchup and hot sauce depravity affliction/addiction!

Where would customers go?
The cheapest place, but no bags to take
The expensive place, and take as many as you like

I think the price of these bags cost maybe 3 cent. Below story of a business man makes sense in this context.

You were right, the costs indeed add up

When I owned a small restaurant, we paid about 3.5 cents a packet for Heinz. We switched to Sam’s Club and got the house brand - maybe 2.5 cents each. The problem was people would ask for multiple packets - would think nothing of asking for ten packets. (We were primarily a takeout restaurant) By far the ketchup packets were the highest cost item in our fries - potatoes were 6 cents for a small order, the bag was a penny or two, salt negligible. We switched to pumps filled with ketchup from number 10 cans. Our ketchup costs dropped 90%.