This past Saturday was the eighth week of Burlington Farmer's Market. The day-trippers have me plum worn out.
It was "Chew Chew" weekend, supposedly the last, ever; it brought a boost for local tourism, a few more cheese buyers, and an influx of "Grazing-types".
Many food vendors offer samples for people to try, especially if what they have is unique; carrots, for example are not sampled out, but farmstead cheeses are. The Granola Guy does it, the Cake Lady does it, and the prepared food vendor next to us, Folk Foods, does it, too.
I offer tastes of all our aged cheeses, as the flavor profile can vary each week. My samples are small squares the size of peas; they break and fall off a toothpick if you try to stab more than one at a time. It's key to have some portion control when sampling, or you wind up giving all your product away.
Over the years, most of the people who tried my cheese have bought some, but about two percent of all visitors to my booth have been Grazers; of those 98% are tourists, a small remainder are students; the common factor is that they have no intention of making a purchase.
(They are quite different from people who don't anticipate buying, but can be enticed by an amazing product.)
Pure Grazers fall into the following categories:
A Professional Grazer will complain that the samples are too small, and that I don't offer accompanying free bread and crackers. Some have even taken these items from other cheesemaker's booths to eat with a piece of cheese from our table.
Opportunistic Grazers call out for their friends/relatives/children's children to come over because there are "...free samples over here!"
Drive-by Grazers grab a sample and walk on, and may return again and again, until the dish remains empty.
Allergy-free Grazers will eat anything without asking what it is first, as though our table were located at the end of an aisle at Costco; a few each season will spit the cheese out into their palm, and look around wondering where to wipe it off. One has tried to hand it back to me!
The most common Grazerspeak at our stand, while eating samples is: "I'm on vacation and can't buy anything". Number 2 is: "My doctor won't let me eat cheese unless it is fat free/salt free." (So, just plain "free" is okay?) The third is: to say nothing. Or to continue to talk to their friends, or on a cellphone without acknowledging us, as though they were helping themselves to hors d'oeuvres at a free buffet.
I realize that I am in a venue where product sampling is entertainment - it's all part of the day, it creates a festive atmosphere. It drives sales.
But there are those who would seek to take advantage of a generous nature, and they might want to consider the courtesy of a smile, and offering a "Thank you," even when away from home, or while on vacation.
