Social Experiments

Today, at my Blockbuster job, I did two experiments to which I hypothesized the good in people by creating a scenario to which my co-worker would be proven wrong. She stated the ubiquitous “Give an inch, take a mile” philosophy that tends to overcome the general population when it comes to deals and sales. Blockbuster is closing so I told a customer she could go through the racks and take DVD backer cards (mini-poster things) that normally we would sell for 75 cents each. I said, “a few” and “a handful” for free. My co-worker and I watched her. All the while, I’m professing that the customer would do the right thing and not take advantage of the freebies I was giving her. My co-worker contested thoroughly that the customer was going to take a lot more than she was offered.

Five minutes later, the customer came up, said Thanks and left. I looked in her hands and she took at least 100 backers. I looked at the shelves that had the backers on them, and they were disheveled. A hundred is not a few! I also had to go back and straighten the mess the customer had made when she went through the racks. Insult to injury.

In further thought, I expect this experiment endanger my job when this customer comes back tomorrow demanding more free DVD backers, to which my manager will say, “Who said you can have them for free!?”

Yup, I’m screwed. Good thing we’re going out of business, aye? :)