The case summarized Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news • Several farmers report noticeable wastage, with many customers not paying. • The farmers express disappointment and frustration at the situation, as it undermines trust-based trade. • Sales are based on trust, where the customer pays in cash or Vipps. • Even small sums can over time amount to large losses for farmers. • Some are considering reporting the thefts. • However, in certain places, such as at Berg prison’s self-service outlets, they experience minimal wastage. The Norwegian Farmers’ Association primarily receives positive feedback from its members who operate self-service outlets, but think it is a shame if more people experience it differently. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Honey, potatoes, sunflowers, cabbage or blueberries. There are many opportunities along the road in the countryside all over Norway. Often the sale is based on trust, in that the customer supplies himself with what he or she wants, and settles for himself with ringing coins or at Vipps. A pleasant and perhaps slightly peculiar Norwegian tradition that tourists and permanent residents appreciate. Now, however, several farmers say that the loss is becoming more noticeable. – This year there have been an incredible number of people who have not paid, says Kjetil Jensen. Among other things, he sells sunflowers in Gjerpensdalen outside Skien. Large sums over time It may sound trivial, when someone rushes with a couple of flowers at seven kroner each without settling for themselves. But when the number becomes high, it is marked on the wallet. Kjetil Jensen sells pumpkins, sunflowers and corn. He feels that it is right that people feed on his goods without settling for themselves. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news – We see that people leave here with large bouquets, without anything appearing at Vipps afterwards. It’s a shame that people steal to save a fiver. At the latest a week ago, the farmer experienced someone parking the car some distance away at night, and sneaking away to steal flowers under the cover of darkness. – I happened to be up to throw rubbish, and caught them in the act. Then they ran away, says Jensen. One of those who shop at the farmer in Skien is Silje Hylland Eriksen. Silje Hylland Eriksen has clean flour in her bag, and makes up for it at Vipps when she shops from the farm in Gjerpensdalen. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news She thinks the development is disappointing. – Sad! Then it doesn’t work to have it this way, and probably ends up with the farmers not being able to self-pick. It is based on trust, she says. – It is one of several things that is nice about living in Norway. That you can feel like that. Then it is important that we continue with that as well. Have you been tempted to steal something from a self-service stall? Yes, they don’t notice if a small apple disappears, do they? No, that had never occurred to me. Show result Stealing sweets A little further south, at Sannidal in Kragerø, Trond Olsen experiences the same thing. He sells summer honey for NOK 100 a jar from his tiny stall. A product he spends many hours producing. He constantly notices that someone has stocked up on the glass sweets, without Vipps ringing his phone afterwards. The local honey producer has put up a separate poster on the stall to “remind” people to pay. – It hasn’t helped much. They don’t care, he sighs. For Olsen, it is as much about principles as the loss in kroner and øre. – Most people are honest, but then there are the few who hitchhike. It is very annoying. It ruins part of the fun. Neither of the two farmers has reported the cases so far, but Kjetil Jensen does not ignore that this will be the way to go. – It is theft. Trond Olsen constantly experiences people stealing honey from his sales without making up for it. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news Experiences that people pay for themselves Bodil Fjelltveit, second deputy chairman of the Norwegian Farmers Association, experiences that people pay for themselves at self-service booths. She nevertheless has great sympathy for the farmers who have different experiences. – There is no doubt that it is both sad and incredibly stupid for the farmers who experience this, she says to news. Bodil Fjelltveit, 2nd deputy chairman of the Norwegian Farmers’ Association. Photo: Private – There is a lot of work behind the products that are for sale, and I would like to believe that farmers have problems continuing if customers do not make up for themselves. Little loss One place, however, is aware of the negative trend. At Berg prison’s self-service outlet outside Tønsberg, dishonest customers shadow the lane. Nils Oskar Nymoen Næss, farm manager, has experienced minimal wastage since it started a few years ago. Nils Oskar Nymoen Næss, farm manager at Berg prison in Vestfold. Photo: Private They have surveillance at the site, but he does not rule out that it is also about the character of the site. – It may well be that stealing products that inmates have produced feels a little extra lousy.
ttn-69
Stealing from farmers’ stalls – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
