diff --git a/z.sh b/z.sh
index ae704c7..7b3d045 100755
--- a/z.sh
+++ b/z.sh
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ z() {
  local datafile="$HOME/.z"
 
  # bail out if we don't own ~/.z (we're another user but our ENV is still set)
- [ "$(ls -l "$datafile" | cut -d' ' -f 3)" = "$USER" ] || return
+ [ -f "$datafile" -a "$(stat -c %U "$datafile")" != "$USER" ] && return
 
  # add entries
  if [ "$1" = "--add" ]; then