Free Manners Lesson

I mentioned this last week when I got free tickets to the Comedy Central taping, but few things on the planet bring people of the woodwork quite like the chance to get something for free. It really is a universal trait which binds all humans together. And while I am certainly not about to begrudge anyone who wants some free merchandise (like I said, I've happily used the free tickets) I think you can learn a lot about someone by how they react when offered free items. I've used this example before on numerous occasions, but when I used to work in radio and we gave someone free tickets, I was always annoyed by the people who were put-off when they found out the seats were up in the balcony section. It was as if not having to pay for something wasn't good enough - they wanted it to be free and high quality, apparently because they had never heard the saying that you get what you pay for. The other interesting aspect is discovering what amount people think a "free sample" should consist of. Some people think it is one, others think you should get at least two and some will take until they are told to stop. Occasionally I wonder if it's a nature vs nurture thing. For example, when kids are offered the bowl of candy at Halloween some of them take just one piece, while others go in and fill both hands. I can never tell if it is because they have parents who tell them to take as much as they can or if it is just instinct. I know this much - once this behavior is there they never grow out of it.

This weekend I went to the Boston Golf Expo. Like any other trade show, it is just rows and rows of vendors, trying to get you to book a trip to their golf course or buy their product which is guaranteed to take strokes off your game. However, what they really want you to do is sign up for their mailing list, because the longer the list of names the more the vendor can get from advertisers who want their ad to be included in the mailing. So, to get you to give up your email the vendors have little cards to fill out which enter you into a drawing for a trip while simultaneously signing you up for their mailing list. While your odds of winning are very low, the chances your email address will start filling up with spam mail are near 100%. To entice you to sell yourself out, most booths will have free items for your trouble - usually it's a piece of candy, but occasionally it is something better such as golf tees or a voucher for a free cart next time you come to the course. The best thing I saw was a coupon by a golf store which offered $10 off any purchase of more than $50 from their website. That's a pretty handy savings and so I made sure to add that coupon to my bag after filling out an entry form. What caught my eye was when the guy next to me took an entire stack of coupons and tossed them in his bag.

While I appreciated his over-confidence in the matter (seriously, he grabbed them like they had his name on them), this seemed very rude to me. I understand the coupons, much like hotel shampoos, were there to be taken. However, that doesn't mean you have to abuse their presence. It's like the "take a penny, leave a penny" dish at the gas station. It exist to help someone out if they find themselves a couple cents short for a pack of gum - it isn't supposed to be there so the world at large can buy you a free tank of gas. Just what did this guy need all those coupons for anyway? Was he planning to give them away as presents? Even if he was planning to buy a lot of things from the store over the next couple of months he could only use one at a time and that would mean  having to pay shipping costs with every transaction. If you have bought anything online lately you know the cost of shipping is ridiculous and I assume would actually end up costing him more than the $10 he would save. And if he wasn't going to end up using the coupons but took several of them anyway than he is just a selfish prick who doesn't want anyone else to have nice things. None of those options paint him in a very good light.

I think the reason this bothered me so much is that there was a clear money value associated with his greed. If you take a couple bags of free tees I can assume the company got a deal by buying in bulk and it only ended up being pennies per item, so even if you take a couple handfuls you aren't taking more than $5. This guy was walking away with a few hundred dollars worth of coupons and I didn't even see him fill out a card. It should be pointed out that the guy working the booth didn't even flinch, so clearly this is more my hang-up than anything. Also, I'm sure that guy wasn't the only person to abuse the free-stuff nature of the trade show. Still, it was a fascinating moment in the behavior of humans. I think that unless the people who are giving the item away says "help yourself", a person's default setting should be to only take one at a time. Not only does it not make you appear greedy, it increases the chance there will be enough for the next couple of days worth of visitors. Clearly, that guy does not share my belief. It's fine - to each their own - but I can only hope his kids don't come to my house next Halloween.