Greed doesn't pay

My normal excursion to Costco happens during my lunch hour, where I head back to the produce section for a bagged salad. This takes me past at least one sampling station, sometimes three. I try to be as inconspicuous as possible, which is hard because I’m always the only shopper without a cart and a gaggle of children. Plus, I walk fast because I know exactly what I want and exactly where it is. Nevertheless, I always grab a sample and hope the server doesn’t notice my lack of stuff (or my presence at all) because she’s surrounded by clamoring kids.

Monday’s sample was a chicken burrito. Hearty! I picked up my salad and a box of tomatoes and headed back the way I came. I couldn’t resist another bite of chicken burrito and was thus destined to shatter my relative anonymity. As I reached for my second sample, my box of tomatoes slid out of my arm and crashed to the floor, sending tomatoes in all different directions. The server was sweet about it and helped me pick them up but I think she knew. I could see it in her eyes: that’s what you get, missy, for thinking you could get by me! I man my station like a pro!

Costco didn’t charge me for the tomatoes, which I thought was nice (although really, how much could that have cost them? A nickel?) The next time I consider double sampling I’ll just think, do I really want to be that person? Of course, it depends on the sample. If it’s a meatball, I’m all in!