My part-time weekend job is Product Demonstrator in grocery stores (sometimes warehouse clubs too). Some Demonstrators work for a demo company and demo different items each visit; some work for one food company only and demo the same product all the time. I’ve been doing this for a couple of years and would like to get some observations and suggestions off my chest!
My job is to get your attention so you come over and try a sample. If you don’t want any, just say “No, thanks” and keep walking. If you have stopped to see what I’m demo-ing and, after finding out, are not interested, just say “No, thanks.” It doesn’t matter to me WHY you don’t want to try. I will just move on to the next customer. My feelings aren’t hurt if you don’t want it!
Feel free to try a sample, hear my sales pitch, maybe ask a question, and keep going. I am happy to give them out; you are under no obligation to buy anything. I hope that some customers will try a sample, and even if they are not buying today, perhaps they will buy it the next time they are in the store.
That being said, I do have a sales quota to meet. I am being paid to be there, not for entertainment, but because the company wants to make more sales. If you take up my time, trying all the flavors I am sampling, asking numerous questions, etc. then I do expect you to actually buy one.
I keep my table as clean and sanitary as possible, following safety and health procedures. If the demonstrator is showing a tray filled with prepared samples in individual cups or plates on the table, go ahead and pick one up. If the demonstrator is handing out individual samples, let him/her hand it to you. If you take a fork out of your mouth and put it back into the samples, the demonstrator has to throw them all out, clean and sanitize everything, and start all over again. Also, don’t leave your dirty plate/napkin/fork on the table! Nobody wants to see that. I have a trash can next to the table for that purpose.
I love giving samples to your kids. If your kid tastes, and then actually likes the product, odds are that you will buy one. Easy sale! But please don’t send your kids over to me alone – I have to get your permission to give a child a sample (in case of allergies, or if you just don’t want them eating it). If you are two aisles over, I have to send the disappointed child away empty-handed and ask them to bring you back to my table. Just pop by and let me know it’s okay with you.