Sampling of Bulk products

I observed a person sampling different items out of the “bulk” containers. He was reaching in with his hands, then putting the item in his mouth. He did that several times, each time his fingers where touching his lips and then he reached back in the container for another sample. Maybe you could put a sign up for the people not to reach into bulk food containers.

One of the advantages of offering bulk foods in our stores is that customers can sample products before they buy them. Of course this sampling needs to be done in a manner that does not contaminate the product and the best way to accomplish this is by asking a staff member for assistance. Unfortunately, as you witnessed, there is the occasional customer who does not sample product in an appropriate manner. We have posted signs in the past, encouraging customers to ask staff for assistance when they want to sample product. However, we have found that signs tend not to be as effective as we would like in communicating important information. I spoke with the department manager in the Bulk Foods department, and he assured me that he will continue have his staff keep an eye on customer sampling practices and speak with customers when necessary. I would also encourage customers themselves to speak up when they see others sampling products in an inappropriate way.