What Many Shoppers Don't Know About Sam's Club Sample Workers

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For many Sam's Club and other warehouse club shoppers, free samples are an integral part of the experience. It's a chance to try the newest offerings before committing to a hefty-sized package, not to mention grab a convenient snack to fuel up while wandering the expansive store. However, as familiar as they might be, there's something important to know about the folks handing out those samples at Sam's Club. Although they might work within the store, it turns out they're not employed by Sam's at all.

This wasn't always the case. Back in 2010, the chain laid off a stunning 10,000 sample workers across all its clubs, eliminating the in-house position entirely. Rather than employ them directly, Sam's Club contracted with Shopper Events to run what it called the "Tastes and Tips" program. While Sam's Club argued the move was about improving sales, industry experts speculated to Marketplace that the decision was to remove the significant management and scheduling hurdles associated with a store-staffed sample distribution program. Shopper Events was already a familiar presence in the broader Walmart family (which, of course, owns Sam's Club), managing that chain's "Bright Ideas" in-store demos.

The current status of the sample program contractor is somewhat unclear. Business directory Crunchbase lists Shopper Events as "permanently closed." Meanwhile, a Bentonville, Arkansas-based company (Walmart's corporate home) known as Product Connections mentions Sam's Club samples as a case study among its projects. Reddit users, including some who claim to work or have worked in the sample program, also refer to an ongoing recent relationship with the sales and marketing company Crossmark.

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This outsourcing isn't the only hazard that Sam's Club's sample program has faced in recent years. Like similar programs and food service options, it was shut down during the peak of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, only resuming in mid-2021 with enhanced safety and sanitary procedures. Sample workers at Sam's also faced new competition from vending machine-style robots, which simultaneously regulate samples, provide additional data about customers, create advertising opportunities, and reduce the need for employing a human for the same job.

For many casual shoppers, this may just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things they should know about Sam's Club samples, including former employees pointing out that samples are more plentiful on weekends and that some clubs even give out alcohol samples for shoppers 21 and older. 

Sam's Club is considered one of the stores offering the best free samples. Still, the next time you grab a bite-sized snack from these friendly, hard-working folks, it's worth remembering the true nature of the program, as well as the ways it continues to evolve.