A steal or stealing?

[cheerful_deviant]

Yesterday I was shopping at the store everybody loves to hate, Home Depot. When I made it to the register, the tags on two items were scratched and would not scan so the girl punched them in by hand. When she finished and told be the total I knew she had missed something. A quick glance at the screen as I got out my wallet and I saw that the last two items were wrong.

The items I had purchased were two 50 foot long rolls of chainlink fence, they go for about $100 each. The girl must have either read or punched in the wrong number off the damaged tags. They had only rung in at about $21 each and were showing up as some other item with an abbreviated description.

For a few seconds as I pulled out my credit card I debated if I should point it out or just pay the bill and walk out. After a brief moral struggle I pointed the error out to the girl. Another minute and one call to building material later, I was charged the correct amount and was on my way. My moral compass had just cost me about $160.

For me, knowingly walking out of a store with $160 worth of unpaid for merchandise is stealing. It doesn’t matter if it was because of an error or not. Just because the girl made an error it still doesn’t make it right for me to take advantage.

If I had walked out I know I would have felt guilty about it for weeks, months, maybe years. It would have been made worse because the item will be in plain sight in my backyard for years to come, a constant reminder.

So am I hopelessly honest? Am I an idiot? What would you have done?

 

[ABSTRUSE]

You confessed.
We've all done it one time or another.
No lives were lost.
Move on.

 

[carsonshepherd]

You're a schmuck.


But I've done the same thing so I guess I am too

 

[cheerful_deviant]

You confessed.
We've all done it one time or another.
No lives were lost.
Move on.

Thanks Absie, I knew I could count on you for moral support.

 

[Guest]

CD, you mug.








(I'd have done the same thing, mate, and have done in the past. I'm too honest. That's why I'm not rich. )

 

[ABSTRUSE]

Thanks Absie, I knew I could count on you for moral support.

What can I say. Just don't get used to it.

 

[BlackShanglan]

Good man, CD - or good duck. You're dead right in this. It's only really character when it costs you something; otherwise it's just habit.

 

[wishfulthinking]

It's only stealing if you get caught

But seriously, you don't know what her employers are like, they might have reprimanded her, fired her or deducted it from her pay because it was such a big amount.

You did the right thing

 

[cheerful_deviant]

I feel better knowing I'm not the only one here who has done, would have done the same. I felt like kindof a sap at the register, knowing I was screwing myself out of that much money. But I slept well last night and I know that if I hadn't paid, I would have tossed and turned all night.

Damn the price of a clean conscicnce.

 

[rgraham666]

Good on you, CD.

I'm the same way, scrupulously honest. I can't help it. And I no longer let it bother me.

So nothing more to say except, well done.

 

[logophile]

Last winter I took a trip to Target (my home away from home) knew I had spent too much as I approached the check-out lane. I was paying no attention as the cashier rang my items through because I was trying to placate three small kids. When she said my total was 33.00, I knew something was wrong, but I was so scattered, that I handed her the cash and got ready to leave. Just as I was walking out the door, I decided to check the receipt. Sure enough, some stuff was missing. I took my bags and my kids to customer service and when they went through it all the cashier had only rung in about a third of my items. In the end, I spent over 150.00.

So yeah, I'm with you CD. Even when it hurts.

 

[cloudy]

CD, I started working in retail way before the almost-idiot-proof cash registers came about, and so I can tell someone the exact amount of change I need back in a split second. You wouldn't believe the number of times I've caught cashiers giving me too much money back, and then had to talk them into taking it, explaining the whole time why it's too much change.

And, it never fails, when they realize I'm giving money back to them, they're absolutely astonished. I know some places (I've worked at some like this) will do a displinary action on a cashier if s/he's five dollars off, one way or the other. It amazes me that they're so suprised.....I've often felt like I was the only one that ever did that, so it's nice to know there are some honest people out there still.

 

[yui]

Everything comes back to us in threes, eh? The good and bad.

Your karma is safe. Good call, Duck!

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

I had that happen not long ago at Best Buy. The cashier negelected to charge me for a printer (one of those Kodak ones that prints 4x6). Didn't notice it until we'd already left, so we turned around and went back. The girl couldn't believe I came back and thanked me over and over, lol.

 

[minsue]

You get the feeling that the majority of the people in the world are honest, but we all assume we're the minority?

You did right, Ducky.

 

[BlackShanglan]

It does have its hazards. The SO and I were once dining in a rather nice restaraunt and I noticed after I had already paid that the server had missed one of the entrees from the bill - about a $25 error. I pointed this out and we re-settled. Since then, I've been back there two different times with groups of friends and have been half gratified and half mortified to have the server come over and sing my praises for my honesty. Still, it also brought home the real cost of not pointing out such things. She explained that it would have come right out of her own paycheck if I hadn't paid it myself. I'm glad not to have done that to her.

Shanglan

 

[TheEarl]

If it had been a quid, I might've accepted it as a gift from the Gods. £150? I would be right there with you; I couldn't have walked out knowing that.

The Earl

 

[English Lady]

If it had been a quid, I might've accepted it as a gift from the Gods. £150? I would be right there with you; I couldn't have walked out knowing that.

The Earl

Yup, same here Earl love

 

[Belegon]

C_D I work in an industry where I see all kinds of behavior with money.

You did it right.

 

[silverwhisper]

cheerful deviant: i've done the same sort of thing myself.

you get the feeling that the majority of the people in the world are honest, but we all assume we're the minority?

well, the majority who post on this particular forum, anyway... :>

ed

 

[Samandiriel]

You're an honorable gentleman CD. Kudos to you for doing so in a time when you hear about people doing so many terrible things, it's refreshing and renews one's faith in people.

 

[elsol]

Okay... since everyone seems to go the honest route.

I'm the asshole!

If someone's register is coming up short, I give it back.

If they scanned in the wrong price... "Oh my God! I cannot believe Home Depot had a sale JUST FOR ME!"

Guilt, you say? I'm Catholic; one of our main tenets is that only Jesus was without sin, it would be hubris for me to try.

Plus 160 dollars will buy me

$50 dollars brand new P2 game
$14.99 a new CD
$100 A month off my studen loan


Sincerely,
ElSol

 

[lil_elvis]

CD, I'm in your corner and have done similar things myself.

 

[neonlyte]

Yup - the right and honourable thing to do.

When I had my patisserie, we had a lady who came in once a week and stole the toilet roll from the toilet. Lost count of the number of salt and pepper pots stolen, we finally switched to sachets. We replaced half the cutlery every few weeks. We even had our plant pots stolen from in front of the shop, by two guys in a van dressed as maintence workers. Fortunately, the shop was in a nice area

 

[kendo1]

I was charged £40 too little this morning at the cash and carry. I pointed it out to the new girl (Tracy!- ah, but that's another story) She was very grateful as she would have got a bollicking from her boss. Money's hard come by, and so are jobs.