Social media is abuzz over a completely unique incident involving a customer in a hurry and an unmanned cookie stall in a posh mall in Mandaluyong City.

The customer, which shall remain nameless since she already took down her Facebook review/recommendation (or lack of it), publicly posted on July 5 saying she doesn’t recommend The Manila Baker after the incident. She wrote, “Wanted to buy cookies in their unmanned kiosk at Podium. After waiting for 15mins, I got cookies& messaged their Fb account to pay thru cash. The reply was berating messages instead. Not surprising as another previous review called the owner arrogant.”

The post, which included screenshots of the customer’s exchange with The Manila Baker (TMB), showed that she voluntarily informed the brand about her actions and immediately offered to pay.

The customer continues, “I am not expecting gratitude for my voluntary honesty but professional communication is a minimum requirement of any business. Never buying here again.”

She informed the brand via Facebook Messenger: “Hello, I was in your Podium branch at 2pm to buy cookies but there was no staff in kiosk. Waited till 2:15 and still staff has not arrived. Sorry I was in a hurry so I got 2 boxes of cookies, can I pay by Gcash?”

The brand replied, “Hi there, to clarify you just got (2) boxes from the kiosk?” adding that the staff left a ‘we will be right back’ sign before leaving to run errands at the bank and go to the restroom.

The disbelief was palpable.

Beware, these cookies are so good they can override your good judgement! The Manila Baker

After the customer sent her payment, TMB replied, “Hi confirming payment.Thank you for informing us that you got 2 boxes of cookies from our kiosk but PLS next time, just message us online if you are in a rush and our staff is currently running an errand. If this was a different situation and nobody informed us our staff would have been charged with the P800. I do hope you know where we are coming from and understand why this cannot happen again.. thank you”

The public post gained over 16,000 reactions and more than 5,800 shares before it was deleted by the customer. Some members of the F&B community shared their take on the incident.

Trailblazing “sorbetero” Ian Carandang, who owns Sebastian’s Ice Cream at the same mall, shared his disbelief, saying, “As someone who has a shop in Podium, this story is SO WILD. She takes stuff from the store because the employee is in the washroom (with a ‘we'll be right back’ sign) and SHE gets mad that the shop is pressed?????”

Chef-Restaurateur and content creator Edward Bugia called for rationality in the face of a harrowing cookie emergency. He wrote, “Parang napaka obvious naman na wag mo gagawin ito. Gang, be patient, be kind, ok? Let's not be entitled brats like the person who posted.”

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While it’s weird that the OP (original poster) shared the exchange in what seems to be an attempt to gain sympathy online, she soon realized her plan backfired when almost everyone sided with TMB and reminded her what theft means. And while TMB’s Brown Butter Salted Choco Chip Cookies do look insanely delicious, it’s not a valid excuse to take stuff from an unmanned stall — it doesn’t matter if you fully intend to pay later on.

The day after the incident, The Manila Baker posted on their Facebook page, “Sooooo that happened 😅 On behalf of our entire Kitchen Team & Sales staff, pls allow us to express our gratitude, MARAMING MARAMING SALAMAT for your support and countless encouraging messages it’s really overwhelming! Honestly, we just want to continue serving you all unique, freshly baked, premium and delicious desserts, so again, Maraming maraming SALAMAT”

And if you're wondering whether the woman unknowingly committed a crime, the answer is yes, she did, according to Lawyers Online PH. 'Yes. The customer committed the crime of theft. Even though she offered to pay for the cookies afterwards, the elements of theft are still present. The elements include taking someone else's property without consent, with the intent to gain, and without using violence, force or intimidation.

So, moral of the story? Never take anything from an unmanned stall despite your best intentions and do not post it on social media lest you want to incur the wrath of the public.