The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-10-06
81 NihhlinC.9

The proprietor Of grocery store III tins
CITY having come across the following para
graph in n newspaper he was rca4lnS
clipped il out and sent it to Us for publIca-
ton. For his benefit, as well as for the
benefit Of all others engaged III The grocery
business. we print il, aud III doing 80 take
occasion 10 call the attention Of certain
people to it:
">omc Of our grocery men complain Of n
species Of blind biped that infcSts stores.
and are constantly nibbling around, taking
chew Of tobacco, Il bit of cheese, = lump
of sugar, an apple. or Il handful of berries,
or ANYTHING they take 4 fancy to. -Four or
FIVE Of these nihhlcTs cat Il man ZIP in year
Of two. 1t is very annoying, and is, TO say
the least of it, u species OF small! thought
lcsSncSs.'
This disposition 10 nibblc is a mild specie
Of klcptomania. with which nearly every
body is afflicted to L greater or less degree
G.'ocers undoubtedly suffer the most from II
Of any species Of tralcsmcn, rs they deal in
articles which every person is disposed to
eat, and in order to sell their wares they
must expose them 10 sight. At one time, a
wear or two ago, the custom prevailed Of
covering up barrels or boxes with Il wire
network, through which customers could
see but not taste: but this plan seems TO
have been generally abandoned. Perhaps
ii is on the principle that ''stolan fruit is
always the sweetest" that the lump OF su-
gar, the piece Of cheese, the peach, what
ever il may be which is "tastcd," is always
better than the package OF which 1t Waa a
sample Is when ii is delivered ut home.
There are ni"ny persons who are consclon-
tiCuS in this respect, and never touch AZ
article until it is weighed ont, hut they
usually have 10 caste it just before i is tied
up. and they know it is always better than
when the package is opened 1t home again.
These little tastes are almost 4 matter OF
necessity, and the man who never permits
himself to indulge in them carries with him
through life Il very heavy cross.
If it were only the regular customer,
one whose trade is worth something, who
INDUCED in these little pickingS, the whole
Thing could be rcmedcd by adding Il small
percentage now and then TO his bill; for
many would not grumblc il 4 little item
should be added now and then to his bill,
such IS
&lb5inEs 10 50 7s
As il is, the grocer is compelled to make
up rem his regular customers not only the
amount or their own picIiings, but those o!
Tie dcad-bcats rs well, or bear the loss him
self; and usually, wc imagine, the burden
comes principally upon him.
Very few persons have much idea of ihc
extent of his tax upon the dealers in a city
like this. We asked retail grocer last eve
ming what it cost him, and he said, at first, q
dollar IL day, but upon second thought nc
said it was more. IL probably amounts to
fully five hundred dollars a ycar-:tt most,
the cost OF Il clcrk-and taking the whole
city together, ii will amount TO fully fifteen
or twenty Thousand dollars Il year. This
seems like large sum, but III estimate can
readily be made which will support it.
We have heard Of 4 loungcr who was
cured Of whiting Il tailor's counter by
having 4 corner Of his coastal cut OF by
the iailol's shears: but this will not put ~
end to al the ni5hlin@. In some cases some
such remedy is necessary. and Il grocer must
estimate whether he will gain or lose hy
losing . customer who is an invctcratc and
persistent nibblcr. In the main, however,
i" must make calculations upon Il large
amount which he cannot thus put stop to,
and must count in Il large item on the debit
side OF his profit and loss account under this
Icar in striking his balance. 1t is a passion
Of human nature, which must be met: and,
like manT other evils, nibbling must be kept
in check rs much as possible, but it can
never be entirely done away.-it4tGnGpoAS
Journal,