Trader Joe’s pro tip: Don’t be greedy with the free samples

A few days ago I was in Trader Joe’s and, as usual, the checkout line was chaotic.

I was standing behind a lady dressed in a neon spandex getup who kept darting out of line to grab groceries, which was annoying because I was left to push her cart forward in the line each time she left.

I was only mildly bothered by this, but when we got to the free samples table shit got real.

The general population regards students as bottom feeding free loaders who take advantage of anything free. That wasn’t the case this time around.

The store was offering little cups full of salad from one of their salad mixes, and when she saw them her eyes lit up.

You would have thought she’d been fasting for a week. She rushed over and grabbed two cups and scarfed down the salad. Then she went over and grabbed two more cups and ate those as well. I guess that wasn’t enough, because she rushed over and took three more cups and lined them up in her cart.

“It’s my lunch,” she said to me. “Might as well eat while you’re in line.”

I had no response.

I didn’t get the impression that this lady was starving or low on cash. She was just greedy and took a bunch of salad because she didn’t feel like paying for a meal. I should have said, “Look ma’am, if every person was like you and took seven free samples, the system would be unsustainable and stores would stop offering them.” The whole thing bothered me because it illustrated the way so many people take way more than they need without even thinking twice.

Check yourselves, people: free samples aren’t that exciting.