Best Free Stuff?

“I care about fast food chains – there are a lot of good jobs there and the owner’s of the corporations are millions of retirees, among others. Once again, I guess I’m just ignorant.”

Jim Skinner would be proud.

shop4freebies

^ free samples of various junk. I believe there are a number of these sites out there, just get ready to fill up your spam folder as a consequence.

There is No "Free"

The cost of these extras are built into the price. And the more it is abused, the higher the cost will be.

These businesses make these items available to their customers and some customers abuse it, which increases the operating costs of the business. Increased operating costs result in increased selling prices.

The owners intention is for their customers to take a reasonable amount to use with the meal they purchase, not to take extras home to stock their pantry (or gear closet); not matter how you rationalize it.

So let your moral compass guide your decisions and actions.

from apr thru jun 2010 mcdickies made 1.2 billion USD net income …

if you think a few BPLers or even a whole bunch of poor unemployed bums taking a few extra packs from them will cause them to go kaput … i wouldnt worry about it … lol

think of it as yr contribution to increase the prices of happy meals so much that all those poor kids cant afford to eat them anymore … thus forcing them to lose weight

OMG … the horror !!!

Nick… I like how you put it about "moral compass". It's been interesting reading this and quite revealing too. I was surprised/shocked at how defensive some got when, by definition, it is pilfering/stealing no matter how minute.

Then again, I'm a business owner and a bit of a stickler for doing things in a way I feel guides my "moral compass". I completely and utterly annoyed a clerk when she charged me for a lesser item (peanuts vs almonds) and I noticed it on my receipt a half hour later. I walked back to the store and had her charge me the difference. I did this once when another store charged me for currants rather than dried blueberries. It was about a $15 difference. I rarely eat in fast food places and even if I did I wouldn't load up on condiments for a variety of reasons.

Good thing I didn't bring up the environmental, tree-hugging, planet saving issue of packaging waste… lol… or I may have started a riot.

Edited to add…

PS It's good to have a friendly debate… and to try to see the other side of things (which I try to do in these situations).

> from apr thru jun 2010 mcdickies made 1.2 billion USD net income

That money is used to pay dividends to stockholders and reinvest in the business. The corporation makes more money if it sells more condiments to the franchise owner. It is the person who owns the franchise that pays for the stuff people take, not the corporation. Business 101.

Edit: McDonalds has paid a dividend every year since 1976, and it has raised the dividend amount every single year since 1976.

> if you think a few BPLers or even a whole bunch of poor unemployed bums taking a few extra packs from them will cause them to go kaput … i wouldnt worry about it

It is not going to make anyone go kaput, but the franchise owner will make less money. Why would we advocate hurting the franchise owner?

> think of it as yr contribution to increase the prices of happy meals so much that all those poor kids cant afford to eat them anymore … thus forcing them to lose weight

It is not our responsibility to force any kid to lose weight. That is a parental responsibility. Not a rationalization for anyone to pilfer goods in a manner not acceptable to the person providing those goods.

At what point does an individual draw the line? If taking something that the owner did not intend, in my book it is stealing. Maybe not legally, but ethically and morally wrong. Each person develops their own ethical system. We want to hold businesses to high standards, I think we need to hold ourselves to high standards also.

About that environmental, tree-hugging, planet saving issue… some would say utilizing a data center (fastest growing, most inefficient use of power on the planet) to offer input on condiment snatching would be a touch wasteful.

There is always a morally higher ground ;)

Last time I looked there is a huge difference between stealing and using for/paying for power consumption.

And… and how do you know that I'm not on an off-the-grid, solar or wind powered system? Or that I am not running my own servers and such? Assumptions… assumptions. But let's address my tree-huggability.

I'm not off-the-grid yet, and I was merely teasing you, but I am also extremely energy conscious and have a plan to be off the grid within the next 5 years if all goes according to plan.

I use a hosting company for my paperless Canadian adventure "magazine" that has "green" policies. I don't use dedicated servers because I think it is friendlier on the planet to use shared space. I run an almost paperless office. I don't drive to work (okay – I work from home – lol). I don't know how to drive so I walk, cycle or use transit to get where I need to go from Monday through Friday.

And, if I use condiments… they come from my kitchen and are put in a reuseable container. I've picked up more than my share of these plastics left by careless hikers that it's ridiculous.

I try to avoid non-reusable plastics and foils (such as those little condiment pouches) whenever possible. Not saying that I don't use them but I try to avoid it if I can. I watch the amount of packaging I generate and choose to reduce and reuse rather than simply fill a recycle bin.

I buy local as often as I can (our home is 800 metres from the Farmers' Market) and I try to eat a vegetarian diet at least 4 nights a week.

I could go into more personal ways that our family is planet-friendly but the food section is not the place.

I daresay that I have a pretty lean carbon footprint compared to most.

I try to choose the morally higher ground in my endeavours. I don't always succeed but I feel that being just, fair, moral and ethical is important and it is something I intend to instil in my children.

Servers, off the grid or not, are dirty power. Unless one is using these devices as pure personal revenue generators and zero recreational application? Wasteful.

Since you come to BPL, which was the original point, you're not hosting via an off-grid server – you're utilizing a data center to give incite about condiment snatching. Depending on the price of kW hours localized to the given center, prices will adjust accordingly to accomodate the habits of user behavior. This is the intrinsic relationship of all things that yourself and others have touched upon.

Whether it be the copper in your generator, the silicon in your power monitoring devices (or interface of choice) or the fact that your online community dynamic utilizes data centers that are the world's largest power hogs… it is an indirect or direct promotion of inefficient power consumption.

Accountability is something I will instil in my boys at the appropriate age.

This debate almost has me wanting to get in my behemoth of a truck, tear down to McD's and use their free wi-fi to post. While stalking the condiments behind the counter, plotting which ones I will liberate.

I will post updates as they happen.

Bawhahhah.

Seriously folks, step back and take a breather. Lord.

hehe, too funny Sarah. I am hoping you have the smoke stacks and gun rack for that monster truck…

The scale at which a morally higher ground can be used to judge becomes ridiculous.

Obtaining extra condiment packages can lead to a life of much more serious crimes. Even if obtaining extra condiment packages itself causes minimal harm, it is a dangerous activity because it is a gateway crime that usually leads to the practice of much more serious felonies like larceny, selling crack, armed robbery, extortion, and even homicide.

I sure hope that pilfering and stealing isn't something you teach them Craig… as you seem to condone that. I'm simply amazed at how some people have such "gray" areas. It's pretty black and white to me. Then again, it's all pretty indicative of what our society has become. Illuminating discussion.

being that my entire fiscal existance is wholely dependant on the evolution of energy efficiency? I'll sleep ok with my level of "green" & moral directive in application.

I condone nothing, especially finite examples of moral superiority steeped in subtle hypocrisy.

Please don't take this personal Laurie, I can play rather rough and tend to forget where the distinction for politeness lies when trying to make some lame point.

Its isnt theft … Lol

is there a price tag attached? …. Did u buy anything …. Is there a sign that says customers only

dont classify people who take extra packets as thieves … when they are obviously there for people to take and use

we all know how much those corporations care about people ;)

if u think its theft then get on yr moral high horse and make a citizens arrest

Laurie,
You have accused me of being a thief. Until you produce evidence of a law, or precedence, which declares the acceptance of extra complementary condiments as an illegal activity, your accusation is unfounded. I have never seen a posted sign or received any verbal instructions from a restaurant purveyor urging or instructing me about the appropriate amount of condiment packets I am permitted to use. Your accusation is a defamation of my character and is based solely on your opinion. I will accept a redacted statement from you as an apology.

P.S. I'm totally kidding

If I sugar coat anything it will be done with an extra packet of sugar from Starbucks.

This is good stuff. Normally I avoid these threads because I don't see the value in arguments. Laurie you're a cool lady, I've read many of your posts. Feel free to indulge me further.

Think of it this way, fast food chains rely on us the peoples tax substities to make a profit. They are not "free market" they like all corporations who rely on artifically cheap corn, wheat, soy and sugars are in the big picture publicly funded. That ketchup packit is the least they owe you.

In my opinion, the very need/desire to express or imply out loud any moral superiority ( and I engage in that in my own way) stems from insecurity. We can point out and condemn our fellow man's "gray areas", yet we all have them to some degree. Does one really feel better after expressing some superiority over someone else? Or is it just a temporary band aid, covering the fears of our own inadequacies? I don't claim to know; I am just describing what I have noticed, mostly in myself.

Think of it this way, fast food chains rely on us the peoples tax substities to make a profit. They are not "free market" they like all corporations who rely on artifically cheap corn, wheat, soy and sugars are in the big picture publicly funded. That ketchup packit is the least they owe you.

BTW, in the past year McDonalds paid $1.936 Billion in taxes.

Mmmmmm….Taters! Mcd's buys a ton of them from Eastern Washington growers btw. Maybe I should go support them in that venture while I am undercover in my quest for the CLF (Condiment Liberation Front). Now to find some skulky black clothes!

ummmm(as I am raising my hand)…I take packets all the time for condiments on the trail..Call me thief…don't care really.

very well said.

the human ego is shockingly vast and consuming in it's sublime need to impose on others.

Daniel offered, "Obtaining extra condiment packages can lead to a life of much more serious crimes. Even if obtaining extra condiment packages itself causes minimal harm, it is a dangerous activity because it is a gateway crime that usually leads to the practice of much more serious felonies like larceny, selling crack, armed robbery, extortion, and even homicide."

Actually, it leads to rifling cars at trailheads for gear. And darned little of it is ultralight!

If anything was stolen it was the point of this thread.

and I forgot to mention, that I have a rather nice, large box of condiments purchased from Minimus….Sometimes I forget something or I have run out of an item. Taking a few packets of mayo, mustard or relish will not bankrupt a large corp. I agree of the not raiding the mom and pops…I am more selective than that. I am not a cheapskate neither that lives thrifty.

Target has many wonderful comndiments to take also.

Just remember that before you use your moral compass, you need to set the magnetic moral declination for your area!

–B.G.–