3 ms·
The book "Freakonomics" details a similar bagel-selling system, where they would put bagels in the break room of workplaces, and you would pay on the honor syst
by rossdavidh 7y ago
The book "Freakonomics" details a similar bagel-selling system, where they would put bagels in the break room of workplaces, and you would pay on the honor system. After years of collecting data, the owner realized he had been doing a real-time, real-life experiment on how honest people are. You don't know WHO took without paying, but you can tell HOW MANY of your bagels were paid for. There's analysis of how it varies by time of year, type of workplace, etc. Fascinating.
- mpfundstein 7y agoMind telling tthe findings? :-)
- lawrenceyan 7y agotl;dr Most people are generally honest, and act accordingly. A few people will consistently take advantage of the system, which slightly lowers the average.
- emiliobumachar 7y agoFrom memory, one thing that surprised me was holidays. Thefts decrease in the days before a holiday that's basically just a day off for most people, but thefts increase in the days before a holiday that has a strong tradition for getting together with the extended family.
- orblivion 7y ago"I just spent 400 bucks on Christmas presents. I can't afford to pay for this bagel." ... ?
- saddestcatever 7y agoI've always wondering if this was a money issue (ex: how expensive holidays can be), or a stress issue (ex: distracted about the 20 things that need to get done today before the inlaws arrive / deadlines because of employees being out of office)
- edmundsauto 7y agoAt first, the deposits didn't cover costs. They tried a number of different options to encourage better compliance, the standout finding was that just putting up a printout of a pair of eyes (even drawn) increased compliance.
- rossdavidh 7y agoIt's been a while, but I seem to recall that honesty skyrocketed in the months immediately after 9/11, then gradually came back down to normal. I also seem to recall that the professions which made the most money were NOT the ones with the highest compliance, which is not all that surprising, but still...
- Waterluvian 7y agoI worked somewhere that did this. Every month there was much more money left than bagels sold. We gossiped about this for a while. Eventually an anonymous note was left (paraphrased as best as I could remember): "Some people are forgetful or hungry or in a rush. I don't want these times to sour this workplace because people grow to think someone is stealing."