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As a Swiss guy, I must say I only see this in rural areas. It wouldn't work in big cities like Geneva I think (too many people living in urban areas who don't r
by sunseb 7y ago
As a Swiss guy, I must say I only see this in rural areas. It wouldn't work in big cities like Geneva I think (too many people living in urban areas who don't respect our wonderful country and that's a shame).
- dontbenebby 7y agoThis is actually fairly common in rural areas in America too. Maybe someone sets up a bunch of pumpkins, apples, etc at the end of their driveway (which in rural America can be measured in KM) and a box to put money in.
- ottowinter 7y agoI don't think Americans would measure it in KM... ;)
- Stratoscope 7y agoEven in suburban areas. In San Jose we have Phil Cosentino's J & P Farms on Carter Avenue next to the Camden-85 interchange: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.249591,-121.909198,240m/data=!3m1!1e3 https://www.google.com/maps/@37.249591,-121.909198,240m/data... https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x808e340f2c491c55%3A0xe03af2013f055a85!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNJ6fdg0u7EJlyYayRHiLHX0TQ46x9ILIMtM5E0%3Dw426-h320-k-no!5sj%20p%20farms%20san%20jose%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipNLAkClEExqM-lvfBP7ie4Ts6ntbUq-A6qBUliw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiCy46Opt3iAhXPHTQIHVL5DgMQoiowGXoECBMQBg https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x808e340f2c491c5... Sometimes there will be someone out at their fruit stand, but most of the time it runs on the honor system with a money slot where you pay for your produce.
- saddestcatever 7y agoI see this with eggs and wood a lot in the more rural areas of New England. I think it's a simple case where whatever (if any) shrinkage is still significantly less than the cost of monitoring
- jlarocco 7y agoYeah, it's a bit odd that they focused so much on the Swiss. Even the article mentions it's widespread: "Unmanned stalls with vegetables can be found all over the world. Germany, Norway, the U.S., Australia, Canada, the UK are among the countries where the honor system isn’t any novelty."
- 013a 7y agoYeah, this sounds like an article written by someone who lives in a big city and has never been to rural America. This isn't even uncommon; its pretty darn standard. Another common, similar thing you see all over (climatically appropriate) America are fruit orchards where you pay for a bag upfront and you can fill it as full as you want (or take more than the bag, or not even pay for the bag if you're dishonest).
- paleotrope 7y agoYeah but those pick your own fruit orchards are usually a really bad deal. Around here in Seacoast New England, for example apples, you are paying more for the privilege of picking your own apples then buying them at the supermarket.
- lenkite 7y agoOh this fruit orchard tradition is so wonderful! I remember going on an outing like this with my friends (We aren't American citizens) and we went absolutely nuts, going on a binge carrying and eating fruits. (We were really hungry after a long road trip). We all felt appropriately guilty afterwards and apologised.
- 013a 7y agoOh, trust me; those orchards are a cash cow. There's practically no amount of fruit you could have taken which would have caused them material damage. Most of them don't even make most of their money from the fruit; they'll usually have little shops, or processed fruit goods (jams, syrups), or food, or hay rides as well. There's one near me that does the fruit-stuff during the summer, then converts into a haunted farm-type attraction in the fall, and the owner says they make a ton more money in the fall season. The "pick your own fruit" is just to get people in the door, and they usually overcharge like crazy for the bags under the assumption that their customers (A) are gonna take a ton, and (B) will end up buying some other stuff on-site.
- Gustomaximus 7y agoAlso common in rural Australia to have this at the end of a driveway. Around me it's often firewood, fruits and honey.
- laxk 7y agoIt is pretty common in Vermont and it is not only about veggies (meat and poultry too). You can just write a check or pay by cash and take change(if you need) from the cash register which is open. It is not based on the honor system (pay as much as you want) but on decency and trust, you have to weight everything and calculate price for goods by yourself but there is no one who is watching you. It seems to me that such a system makes people show their best. Surely there is a percentage of people who may not act very well, but I believe that there are more good people anyway.
- radiator 7y agoIn Geneva thirty years ago there were newspapers for sale on the street using this system.
- hocuspocus 7y agoIt's still the case but I wonder for how long. Not because of theft but I assume the newspapers that survived are probably making the bulk of their income from subscribers. I haven't seen anyone putting coins into those vending boxes in a long time.
- zcam 7y agoWith very high fines if you were caught paying less or nothing, that helped a bit I guess.
- sunseb 7y agoYes, and the next logical question would be: what has changed in Geneva these past 30 years? Hints: individualism, globalization, multiculturalism. My father told me that when he served for our national army back then, soldiers just left their weapons alone in front of the train station while they were having a coffee before going into the train.
- lazyasciiart 7y agoOther hints: increased population, increased levels of education, more flavors of ice cream available...
- mantas 7y agoTIL increased levels of education causes lower morals
- bongobongo 7y agoDon’t forget the proliferation of smartphones and the rise of stomp and holler music. Probably.
- 7y ago
- microtherion 7y agoI've seen this on farms within the city limits of Zürich. Schwamendingen, at that, not exactly known for its civility and kindness.
- tduberne 7y agoI live in Zurich (biggest city in Switzerland), and know of several such installations in the city itself. "Cities" in Switzerland are really not that urban ;-)
- jbrazile 7y agoIn my hometown, a bit further down lake Zurich, here are two well-known such places, visible in google maps. https://www.google.com/maps/@47.234931,8.6521491,3a,75y,13.98h,89.19t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sBXNt8H5AhXZq64uhsBn27A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 https://www.google.com/maps/@47.234931,8.6521491,3a,75y,13.9... https://www.google.com/maps/@47.2063957,8.6876991,3a,60y,55.81h,88.41t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sREHrah2AfGJ2Em1uSV8raA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 https://www.google.com/maps/@47.2063957,8.6876991,3a,60y,55....
- TimTheTinker 7y ago> too many people living in urban areas who don't respect our wonderful country I think people from lots of different countries feel that way. There’s something about being connected to the land that gives one a love for both the land and the human culture connected to it. That connection to the land is easily lost in urban environments.
- kenneth 7y agoBeing from Gimel (a small town in Vaud), a lot of the stories in the article remind me of happy memories growing up. Switzerland has been struggling with an identity crisis of late as a lot of poorer immigrants from war-torn places (Albania when I was growing up, Maghreb and Middle East now) have been moving in to the cities, oftentimes not respecting our old traditions. Theft and petty crime is on the rise, and almost always at the hands of those poorer immigrants. It's led to a backlash that hasn't really brought out the best in us. It's sad to see the cohesion and trustworthiness of the Swiss society disappear, though I guess it was somewhat inevitable.
- sumedh 7y ago> oftentimes not respecting our old traditions. Can the govt do something like introduce culture lessons for new immigrants?