Blast these damned inconvenient moral and ethical standards

[BlackShanglan]

Yesterday, UPS dropped off ten large boxes on the stoop. They didn't trouble themselves to ring the bell (I was home) - just piled them up by the door.

I hadn't ordered anything from the company they were sent from, so I did some calling. It turns out that they're a company we've done business with in the past, but the goods were meant to be sent to another, completely different company. Somehow they put our address into the shipping order instead.

Now, the part where the moral and ethical standards are bit of a nuisance. Evidently, what's been delivered is roughly $30,000 worth of electronics. It's sitting in the dining room in nice, tidy Ebay-able boxes.

*sigh* The fools haven't even managed to pick it back up again, yet. Really, they hardly seem to want the stuff. I'm sure they'd never miss it ...

 

[epiphany65]

Yesterday, UPS dropped off ten large boxes on the stoop. They didn't trouble themselves to ring the bell (I was home) - just piled them up by the door.

I hadn't ordered anything from the company they were sent from, so I did some calling. It turns out that they're a company we've done business with in the past, but the goods were meant to be sent to another, completely different company. Somehow they put our address into the shipping order instead.

Now, the part where the moral and ethical standards are bit of a nuisance. Evidently, what's been delivered is roughly $30,000 worth of electronics. It's sitting in the dining room in nice, tidy Ebay-able boxes.

*sigh* The fools haven't even managed to pick it back up again, yet. Really, they hardly seem to want the stuff. I'm sure they'd never miss it ...

If this moral quandry is more than you can handle and weighs on you I can PM you my mailing address. Consider me a sin eater of sorts...

 

[BlackShanglan]

If this moral quandry is more than you can handle and weighs on you I can PM you my mailing address. Consider me a sin eater of sorts...

I'll do my best to get your address into their shipping database. Evidently, once it's in there, anything could happen.

 

[jomar]

The word your struggling to nail down is 'situational.' There. Now you can sleep well.

...crap. Doesn't go down well with me either, dammit.

Maybe some goodwill will bring back some business.

ETA: On second thought, the rules say that if by the third call they haven't responded/picked it up, it's yours!

 

[OhMissScarlett]

At least you get packages from UPS, even if they're not yours. They haven't wanted to come here since our neighbor's german shepherd assailed them from his hiding place on our porch. hurrying delivery man=good prey.

 

[BlackShanglan]

ETA: On second thought, the rules say that if by the third call they haven't responded/picked it up, it's yours!

Excellent! I've actually spoken to them twice already. I will just call them twice tomorrow and twice Sunday, and if no one at the office picks up the phone, it's mine.

 

[BlackShanglan]

At least you get packages from UPS, even if they're not yours. They haven't wanted to come here since our neighbor's german shepherd assailed them from his hiding place on our porch. hurrying delivery man=good prey.

Our poor dog wants to play with the delivery man so badly that she goes completely crazy. That, of course, simply terrifies the poor man and he runs away even faster.

 

[Salvor-Hardon]

Now when you say "electronics"......

stereo equipment? lcd tvs? computer parts? More specifically terabyte harddrives?

The ethics are not so cumbersome if they are things that I'd have to ebay and deal with. I've got a $4000 cisco router in my closet I can't give away.

 

[jomar]

Excellent! I've actually spoken to them twice already. I will just call them twice tomorrow and twice Sunday, and if no one at the office picks up the phone, it's mine.

They're trained to pick up on the first ring, you know.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

Our poor dog wants to play with the delivery man so badly that she goes completely crazy. That, of course, simply terrifies the poor man and he runs away even faster.

It's a vicious circle. This guy told me dogs try to bite him all the time. I was like, "Well, maybe stop running up to the door?" He literally jumps out before the truck stops moving. Now he's scared of my border collie too, who could only snuggle you to death.

 

[BlackShanglan]

They're trained to pick up on the first ring, you know.

I was hoping - erm, never *imagining* that they might shut for the weekend.

 

[jomar]

I was hoping - erm, never *imagining* that they might shut for the weekend.

Pray they are open but we both know that most 5-9 companies are open on weekends, and in the middle of the night. I was just noting you don't have waste time waiting for the second ring whenever you call due to their specialized training.

 

[shereads]

Well that sucks.

 

[BlackShanglan]

Pray they are open but we both know that most 5-9 companies are open on weekends, and in the middle of the night. I was just noting you don't have waste time waiting for the second ring whenever you call due to their specialized training.

*laugh* I like that approach!

 

[jomar]

*laugh* I like that approach!

I'm also an ambivalent fan of the 'respond by' tactic. Like 'if we don't hear from you in xx hours we'll take that as a yes and we get what we want.'

 

[impressive]

Yesterday, UPS dropped off ten large boxes on the stoop. They didn't trouble themselves to ring the bell (I was home) - just piled them up by the door.

I hadn't ordered anything from the company they were sent from, so I did some calling. It turns out that they're a company we've done business with in the past, but the goods were meant to be sent to another, completely different company. Somehow they put our address into the shipping order instead.

Now, the part where the moral and ethical standards are bit of a nuisance. Evidently, what's been delivered is roughly $30,000 worth of electronics. It's sitting in the dining room in nice, tidy Ebay-able boxes.

*sigh* The fools haven't even managed to pick it back up again, yet. Really, they hardly seem to want the stuff. I'm sure they'd never miss it ...

You could quite ethically charge them storage fees. They might call it ransom, though.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

Careful. (Not that I think you ever would... )

Congress may make Ebay a rat.

 

[SlickTony]

Do you think it's possible some identity thief ordered them with some poor sucker's credit card and used your address as a drop-off?

 

[amicus]

"...Now, the part where the moral and ethical standards are bit of a nuisance..."

~~~

A nuisance, eh?

I beg to differ.

Rather a 'boon', to use an old Heinlein term that just came to mind.

Since most never trouble themselves to define moral and ethical...and with good reason...as they become, 'emotions', (automatic responses to previously made value judgments), your early training in doing, 'the right thing', is serving you well.

We all should know that there are no 'unearned values', and that to acquire something through no effort of your own, is a 'disvalue', which acts to engender a quest for unearned values of all sorts, or a sure road to pergatory.



Not so much a nuisance as a moral reminder, deep in your subconscious mind is the moral training and value judgments you have made before that imbued you with an ethic that states all values are earned, not bestowed by an error made elsewhere.

So...you have already done the right thing by advising the company of their error.

Good for you.



amicus...

 

[BlackShanglan]

Do you think it's possible some identity thief ordered them with some poor sucker's credit card and used your address as a drop-off?

That's an awfully good point, especially after that poor woman in California, I think, was killed over just such a scam. Fortunately, the company who sent the goods recognized the error as soon as we pointed it out. Some of the boxes actually had in-house address labels on them directing them to the correct company, but for some reason the UPS delivery paperwork sent them to us.

They have been safely collected now. As for this ...

You could quite ethically charge them storage fees. They might call it ransom, though.

Tempting! But I think that a couple of days of amused day-dreams about them choosing not to pick up the items, plus a great dinner-table story for next outing or two with friends, is a pretty good recompense.

And Amicus, at long last - something on which the two of us can wholly and completely agree.

We all should know that there are no 'unearned values', and that to acquire something through no effort of your own, is a 'disvalue', which acts to engender a quest for unearned values of all sorts, or a sure road to pergatory.



Not so much a nuisance as a moral reminder, deep in your subconscious mind is the moral training and value judgments you have made before that imbued you with an ethic that states all values are earned, not bestowed by an error made elsewhere.

Bless you for saying that. As often as I've noodged younger acquaintances to remember that very little that's really worth having comes without cost, and that ultimately we learn to value the cost itself, it's nice to be reminded that this was just a little test of that. I think you're entirely right in summing up the crux of the ethical issues here.

Much obliged for the kind words -

Shanglan