Freebies -- never a good idea

[Pixelated]

Because I'm particularly dense tonight, this started out in the wrong section ... but I've fixed that. I think.

As I've mentioned before, I work in a store that offers (among other things) a wide variety of loose-leaf teas. We also have samples of our teas going -- usually at least half a dozen at any given time, some in huge insulated containers, others in smaller containers.

You can probably see where this is going.

It leads to two particular types of SC.

1) The types who run in two minutes before closing and go "No samples left??" No, because we've got enough to do in closing without leaving the samples up right to the last possible minute. We've been here for, I dunno, eight or ten hours! Where the fuck have YOU been all that time?? (Also, the people who do this tend to be the people who never actually buy anything, so yeah, our sympathy for you is pretty much non-existent.)

2) The sample cups hold maybe an ounce or two of tea. They are intended for people to SAMPLE. Nonetheless, we get lots of people (mostly but not always kids) who fill the damn cup right up to the brim (I always have to stifle a laugh when they then slop the tea all down their front). Some will then turn to us and say, "You need bigger cups!" No, YOU need to put a damn crowbar in your wallet and BUY a full-sized drink.

I'd like to see management do away entirely with the samples for a month or two and see if it actually made any difference in our sales figures. Yeah, and when that happens, I'll win the lottery too.

[UncleImpy]

I think I'm one of the rare living proofs of a sample making a sale. I suspect the brand you work at is where I (used to) shop, and there was a winterberry that I never would have bought...but when I tried the sample, I was all O.o GIMMEH! and bought half a pound.

[Slave to the Phone]

I've never had your experience UncleImpy, but that's because I only sample things that I'm interested in anyhow. (Or if a friend tells me that I have to try it, I'm a sucker for peer pressure.) Samples often do help me choose one brand over another, though.

The main reason I avoid sample tables like the plague is because of how many of my fellow shoppers behave when they see something that is FREE. I've never really understood it, its like all common sense is gone and that free cookie is all that stands between them and certain death.

[wordgirl]

IF it's a tea I haven't had yet, I can't buy it without sampling it. I need to know for sure that there's no hibiscus in it and a lot of times the store clerks don't know, or it isn't listed. I have even had them argue with me or tell me there wasn't hibiscus only to have me get it home and -- whoopsie.

I'm sure there is sampling abuse though. I wish there was some kind of happy medium.

[notalwaysright]

There's a tea shop locally that has a booth at the farmer's market. They offer samples, in the tiny cups, but they hand them out, you don't just go up and help yourself. Even the dispensers are not directed outward, they're pointed inside the booth. Plus, you can buy a full-sized cup if you want. I've just skipped the sample, and bought a cup because I find most teas so weak that it's hard to get a good taste just from one swallow.

I don't try any samples, anywhere I shop 99% of the time. Why? Because I don't intend to buy the product, no matter how much I like it. There are those random days when there's a sample of something that I have thought of buying, but wasn't sure if I liked it. It's rare, but it happens. Mostly I see those people at Costco as vultures, leaving their trash around the store, and in the carts, creating bottle necks while they leave their carts taking up as much room as possible. (Sorry people who are normal and just honestly want to see if something's good. I don't mean to lump you in with the SCs.)

[cindybubbles]

This is why I never see the jam, jelly and spreads stores anymore. Not even a kiosk at the CNE. Too many people sampling, and very few of them buying the stuff.

[Pixelated]

I think I'm one of the rare living proofs of a sample making a sale. I suspect the brand you work at is where I (used to) shop, and there was a winterberry that I never would have bought...but when I tried the sample, I was all O.o GIMMEH! and bought half a pound.

Yep, I think you know where I work. Some days the samples do make sales, but then there are days like today where everybody stops to sample and literally nobody buys. The only time sampling is really a draw is as Christmas gets closer, and by that point everybody's in a "SHADDUP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!" mindset anyway.

There's a tea shop locally that has a booth at the farmer's market. They offer samples, in the tiny cups, but they hand them out, you don't just go up and help yourself. Even the dispensers are not directed outward, they're pointed inside the booth. Plus, you can buy a full-sized cup if you want. I've just skipped the sample, and bought a cup because I find most teas so weak that it's hard to get a good taste just from one swallow.

Smart move by that tea shop!

IF it's a tea I haven't had yet, I can't buy it without sampling it. I need to know for sure that there's no hibiscus in it and a lot of times the store clerks don't know, or it isn't listed. I have even had them argue with me or tell me there wasn't hibiscus only to have me get it home and -- whoopsie.

I'm sure there is sampling abuse though. I wish there was some kind of happy medium.

Wow. That is some shoddy salesmanship! I will say one thing about my coworkers and even myself: we are very much behind ensuring nobody buys anything that will make them sick. The ingredients are always listed and we're more than willing to let customers look at them. I do not ever want to send somebody home with something that will send them to the hospital.

[bankworking]

I actually do buy teas based on samples. I have found I am a picky tea drinker, so I am very reluctant to buy a flavor I've never tasted. If there are samples out, I always end up buying something. Even if the samples don't work out, I'll buy a "tried and true" option. ....Which I suppose means the sales wouldn't go down from me without the samples. I wouldn't be going to a place with tea samples if I wasn't looking to buy tea, so the only difference is which tea I'm going to get.

[paxillated]

I love Lapsang Souchong! but I haven't had any for years... not since I left the Pacific Northwest. Amazon has some for sale, but I hesitate, because I haven't tasted it. I'd hate to get it home and find out that their version doesn't taste like my memories.

And I bought it after sipping a sample.