Saturday, March 11, 2006
Moral dilemma
Have you ever been grossly undercharged?
Recently, I purchased something that was special ordered. We special order things at this particular location all the time. The manager recognizes me by name, and he has our phone number and address. The manager of the store rang up my things. On the way home, I realized that I was charged for four of something, instead of four cases of it. This is a difference in cost of about $500. The manager even rang it up twice, because he made a mistake the first time.
I feel bad for not telling him about this mistake. I believe in karma, and can't decide whether:
1. I should just accept this mistake as my good karma coming back to me; or
2. Be fearful that if I use the merchandise without fessing up, then the karma bus will come and roll right over me.
What would you do?
Recently, I purchased something that was special ordered. We special order things at this particular location all the time. The manager recognizes me by name, and he has our phone number and address. The manager of the store rang up my things. On the way home, I realized that I was charged for four of something, instead of four cases of it. This is a difference in cost of about $500. The manager even rang it up twice, because he made a mistake the first time.
I feel bad for not telling him about this mistake. I believe in karma, and can't decide whether:
1. I should just accept this mistake as my good karma coming back to me; or
2. Be fearful that if I use the merchandise without fessing up, then the karma bus will come and roll right over me.
What would you do?
Comments:
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If it were me, I would tell the manager, or else never go back there again and have pangs of guilt forever. $500 isn't a lot of money when it comes to pricing a relationship and honestly, I think that the manager would value your loyalty even more by being honest. And there is a good chance that he will not charge you the full amount and just take a loss. You know what the right thing is, and you know that doing the right thing isn't always easy. Do something that, in the end, will make you feel good about yourself. It's all about respect. Respect your local businessowner and respect yourself! Good luck.
If for nothing else, you know that you will always feel guilty if you don't let him know. Alleviate your conscience; next time you are special ordering something bring in your receipt from this transaction and point out his mistake. And thank you for the opportunity to try out my "advice column" skills. How'd I do?
Had a similar experience with a Christmas gift a couple years back...the store sent 3, yes 3, gift items instead of the 1 ordered. The other 2 sat in my closet for about 6 months (wanted to make sure giver wasn't triple-billed and then, was lazy). The internal debate is not easy but we know what the right thing to do is. I took them back, received a "thank you," and fortunately, never had to feel guilty when using my true gift. That was worth the few extra hundred I could have had. I believe that the good karma returns when I lose my wallet and a kind person turns it in to another kind person who holds it for me--which, yes, has happened. There's also a sense of pride in knowing that I can be the kind of person that I would like to be. Cheesy - yes; lame - maybe; sense of self-worth - priceless.
I have a lot of honest friends! Of course, I know you are all right. I decided last night while talking to Martin that the next time we order this item, I will bring it to their attention, and offer to pay the difference from this order.
Not that it makes any difference whatsoever...but one of the things I was surprised about my own thinking was this: If it had been a local/small businessperson, I would have gone back immediately. However, it is a huge national chain, and this particular department marks up their items by a lot. It's interesting, since things like that shouldn't come into play when you are struggling with whether to be honest, but they do.
Anyway, yes, I will tell them at the next order. And now you all can continue being my friends since you'll know that I am going to do the right thing.
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Not that it makes any difference whatsoever...but one of the things I was surprised about my own thinking was this: If it had been a local/small businessperson, I would have gone back immediately. However, it is a huge national chain, and this particular department marks up their items by a lot. It's interesting, since things like that shouldn't come into play when you are struggling with whether to be honest, but they do.
Anyway, yes, I will tell them at the next order. And now you all can continue being my friends since you'll know that I am going to do the right thing.
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