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That's a very interesting Freakonomics-ish experiment! I've worked in a company where they left a fruit basket for people to pay whatever they wanted - the outc
by herval 17y ago
That's a very interesting Freakonomics-ish experiment!
I've worked in a company where they left a fruit basket for people to pay whatever they wanted - the outcome of the fruit lady, in that case, was pretty good (people overpaid a lot).
In another company, the cleaning lady used to bring cookies. Until she stopped since people were not paying (and taking all the cookies)
Wonder if that's because people tend to pay for non-processed/industrialized goods (like eggs or fruits) but would rather steal processed goods (such as cookies)? Nah, disregard my theory... :-)
- pyre 17y agoCookies are more addictive than fruit for most people. They probably disappeared so quickly because more people were willing to take more than 1 or 2 cookies. While people that took a fruit or two were willing to pay (or over-pay) for what they took, people that took multiple cookies were probably only willing to pay for the first cookie or two (if at all). Also, I'm of the view that most people that would be willing to 'steal' in such a situation are people that are less attracted to 'eating healthy' (i.e. less attracted to the fruit and more attracted to the cookies).
- derefr 17y agoIn other words, eating fruit was positively correlated to conscientiousness, while eating cookies was negatively correlated.
- ars 17y agoYou have to read about Paul Feldman, more often written as Paul F. aka "The Bagel Man". http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/06/magazine/06BAGEL.html http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/06/magazine/06BAGEL.html
- petercooper 17y agoI'd hazard a guess it's less scientific than food types, etc, but more about people's relationship and scenario regarding the cleaning lady vs the fruit lady. There are a number of social reasons why one might get donations and the other not (superiority, personality, how the produce was portrayed, how the initial "deal" was defined, where the produce was left, etc).
- billswift 17y agoMore likely just a difference in workplace culture.