The Ethics of Free Samples

A few weeks ago, the topic of the "Ghetto Latte" was discussed on the Accidental Hedonist blog. For those who don't feel like following the link, a "Ghetto Latte" is made by ordering an iced Americano from Starbucks and then pouring in milk or half-and-half from the condiments bar, thus creating a drink with the same components (essentially) as a latte, but for much less money. So, Ms. Hopkins asks, is this okay? Is it "stealing"? She says "no" (as do most of the commentors), but it made me wonder about free samples. I take free samples all the time. I love them. I taste without having even the slightest desire to buy the actual product. Sometimes I'll even stop into Whole Foods for the sole purpose of grabbing some crumbled oatmeal cookie chunks (which are always really good--a lot of cinnamon?) and maybe browsing the aisles a little. But sometimes I feel bad about this. Greedy. Gluttonous. Cheap. But it's there for us, right? So, this is the question I'm putting out: Are there ethics to free samples? Do you ever feel guilty taking two chunks of sliced asian pears from the Greenmarket instead of one? Will you sample five flavors of ice cream even though you knew all along that all you wanted was chocolate?




-Jenny