I am susceptible to influence – particularly food influence…which is why I hate being at the store on taste-testing day. You cannot covet that which you know nothing of. That is helpful to the easily influenced – what you don’t know can’t fatten you.

I think market research must show that these taste-testing booths greatly boost sales as I have come upon them more frequently as of late. I am usually militant in avoiding them when they are manned by a person. I must confess that the unmanned ones in the bakery section usually draw me in, but at least with those I can sample and typically move on without buying. I try and get in and out before any one sees me.

There was the one time when I was trying to discreetly grab a piece of M & M cookie out of the sampling display at Sunmart and managed to knock down with my fanny an entire row of cookie containers that were stacked on a nearby table (why is it that Sunmart puts those tables so close together?). It caused quite a stir and I found it personally quite ironic that God felt obliged to signal to me right there in Sunmart that given the present size of my fanny I probably did not need to even sample another thing. I have not sampled another thing in the Sunmart bakery area since that unfortunate event.

I think my success to date in avoiding the bulk of taste-testing influence has been based on the fact that I shop alone. I typically shop with coupons and have a focused agenda, so I can afford no distractions. This approach works well for me. I also try to never shop when I am hungry as it always ends in an extra pound or two at the end of the week. Being on a mission and having no appetite to satisfy usually pulls me through unscathed.

Last week I slipped a bit on both fronts when I took Cheyenne with me to Sam’s Club right before lunch time to quickly pick up a few things. I did not know as I walked into the store the challenge I would be facing.

Our visit to Sam’s was on Friday. I am not sure if that is the official taste-testing day or not, but there were at least seven food-tasting booths set up. First it was the energy bars – which were quite tasty and helpful to give us strength for the challenge ahead. Then it was the crackers, the ravioli, the Chex mix, the bacon and the roast beef (I think I missed a couple in this list…it was all a blur).

Had you been there to witness this event you might have believed that I never feed my child. She zeroed in on every taste-testing booth in the way that an Air Force bomber zeroes in on a target. She was on lock and load in Sam’s and there I was right beside her since she didn’t want to approach the booth on her own (she is aptly named- as she is, in regard to strangers, quite shy).

Cheyenne wanted to buy everything she tasted to include the ravioli – Chef Boyardee ravioli – which prior to this she had emphatically classified as, “Disgusting!” Yet, there in the little cup with the tiny spoon the half a ravioli gained new appeal and she begged for the special four variety Chef Boyardee pack that Sam’s was hawking. Well, I might lose my senses on some things, but I was fully aware that the ravioli would lose its allure absent the booth, little cup, tiny spoon and small sample size.

I also was able to hold firm on all the other samples, but for the roast beef which really was about as good as I have ever tasted. Unfortunately, just having Cheyenne along resulted in a number of purchases that normally would not have occurred (at least not in Sam’s volume size). I think I am now prepared to feed the neighborhood kids snacks hourly for a month.

What can I say, it’s difficult to resist the “Puhleeese mom…you’ll be my favorite mom ever!” Now I am semi-intelligent and I recognize that I am her only mom and that I have heard this promise at least a dozen times a week for the past six years or so, but I was already worn down by all the energy I put into my taste-testing buying resistance and I had no energy left to fend off the child’s requests.

When we finally rolled up to the checkout line a good hour after we went in for a few things I realized I had failed on my standard mission, but was somewhat gratified that I had evidenced some small restraint on the taste-testing items. I looked around while we were waiting in line and I noticed that many others had fallen prey to the taste-tested items. Indeed, the man in front of me in line had a sum total of five things only one of which was not a taste-test item. Apparently, he came in for just one thing. Clearly I am not the only one that is easily influenced and pssst…I think the marketing folks know that.

So, if you find yourself in need of string cheese, Gardetto’s snack mix, cheese crackers, Rice Krispie treats, Pop-tarts or fish sticks give me a call…I think I can accommodate requests at this point. I won’t be sharing the roast beef though – it was well-earned.

Day fifty of the new forty – obla di obla da

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