Community Chat

[Preds]

First off it was rude to reach for a second sample. Was the Food Demo worker an older person? Did she/he actually grab the person or just reach out and "touch" the person as to say "Just one sample, please!" Did they have to deal with others taking many samples prior to? I've seen people at Sams' make a darn meal out of the sample stations. It's made us not even try the samples because I feel so sorry for these people trying to promote something and be bombarded the way they are. Can't even imagine what it would be like in a WalMart.

[scotttie]

No store employee or sample person should ever put their hands on a customer no matter how irritated they are. If corporate hears about this episode both the food lady and the manager will be in hot water.

[Free2be]

Once the customer picked the sample off the table, it's too late to do anything about it. If one only is the expectation, the demo person needs to say "one per customer".

As for families "lining up", it's my opinion that an underage person's opinion of what foods are purchased has value to both the family, the store, and the production company. Is there a resentment that a family might be getting a free meal? That's laughable.

[VanSleepy]

She shouldn't have grabbed her arm, but it may not have been so much about a second sample. They probably don't want the public's hands in the food area, and the employee has to pass it out.

[scotttie]

Doesn't matter why. You never lay hands on a customer.

[VanSleepy]

On 9/13/2014 scotttie said:

Doesn't matter why. You never lay hands on a customer.

Yes, of course. I said she should not have done it.

[happygolfcartrider]

There are food samples in our Walmart every week end now and it is beyond ridiculous the people that stand there and keep putting their hand out for more. AND the family situation is laughable, sometimes there are 8 or 10 in one family in line. Funny, funny, funny.

[minkbunny]

Actually I was expecting more of a meltdown - perhaps the demonstration lady pushing her cart over, knocking a display of ranch dressing down at the end of the aisle, pushing over the watermelon pyramid - kicking them out the door as she went screaming from the store in rage.

Grabbing the customer's hand was not nice but neither is being greedy. Had the shopper really really liked her first sample, she could have bought the item being offered during the demonstration. These are demos folks, not buffets.

[toodles11]

I don't get samples at Walmart, but I do at Costco. I have taken seconds at Costco, usually when I'm trying to decide if I like it enough to buy that much of it.

The sample lady was out of line. If she touched me, I would be touching all of the samples.

[Elstongunn]

On 9/13/2014 Free2be said:

Once the customer picked the sample off the table, it's too late to do anything about it. If one only is the expectation, the demo person needs to say "one per customer".

As for families "lining up", it's my opinion that an underage person's opinion of what foods are purchased has value to both the family, the store, and the production company. Is there a resentment that a family might be getting a free meal? That's laughable.

I think perhaps a tabletop sign that states "Only one sample per person, please" might help, and if someone is so rude as to reach for more samples the demo person could reiterate it verbally.

I agree that the demo lady should not have "grabbed" the customers hand or arm, but my ire is more for the customer who reached for more.

I also agree that kids in the family have a large say in what food is served at home, and that they should be able to take ONE sample. I see nothing wrong with that.

As far as how the store manager handled it, I think he used his best judgment and see nothing wrong with just asking everyone involved to calm down and not escalate the situation. If the customer was indeed "grabbed," I'm sure she'll file an assault charge. The manager probably knows if the demo lady is a good employee or if she is consistently volatile with customers.