Day Fourteen: Your opinion, please.
Okay.
A friend of mine (and it truly is a friend and not me, Jan Brady!) went to a big chain store yesterday.
She purchased many things, including a DVD, an Xbox backpack thing, an Xbox game, and a few CDs.
After paying for her items, she tried to leave the store, but the alarm went off.
She promptly returned to the checkout lane, where her bags were investigated, her receipt was studied, and she was given the OK to go.
Upon leaving, the alarm did not chime. All was well.
Later that day, she noticed that the DVD she had purchased was on sale at another store.
She decided to check the receipt from the first store to see how much she had paid for that DVD.
Upon perusing the receipt, she noticed that she had not been charged for the Xbox game.
It is a $60 game.
She has asked three people what they would do about this, and surprisingly, my opinion is not the popular opinion.
(Do you want to know my opinion? Do you? Okay. I told her to take the game back and pay for it. There is really no other option, because what goes around comes around and spinning wheel goes round and round and such.)
What would you do?
EDITED TO ADD: The game has been paid for. The store was called, the manager was very kind and appreciative, and that's that. Thanks so much for your thoughts and your words. I love (99.8% of) my Fluid Pudding people.
Submitted by
Stephanie
at 11/14/2007 10:29:17 AM- Go back and pay for the item, definitely. I say it's not worth the angst of waiting for karmic retribution.
Submitted by
christy
at 11/14/2007 10:38:25 AM- I have no opinion on the issue, but it is freaky that while I read this post, BS&T's "Spinning Wheel" is playing on my radio...
Submitted by
Elizabeth
at 11/14/2007 10:38:48 AM- Wow, you are like Richie Roberts.
At a big chain store, I wouldn't be surprised if they accused you of stealing when you returned to pay for their error.
I think I'd call them to see if they could rectify it over the phone, but then you might end up like The One with the Thumb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583653/
Submitted by
Karaoke Diva
at 11/14/2007 10:45:58 AM- I'm obviously in the minority here, but I wouldn't go back. In my mind, it's their mistake that they didn't charge for it so why should you be inconvenienced by having to go back? I don't think it has anything to do with ethics because she didn't blatently try to steal it, they simply failed to charge her for it. That's their bad business, not her being a bad person.
Submitted by
Annie
at 11/14/2007 10:49:11 AM- Go back and pay for it, but not because of bad karma or because I think some big, money grubbing chain needs the money. I would go back and pay for it because otherwise, it would likely end up in the store's records as being stolen, and big chains have the nice habit of passing losses along to their underpaid, overworked employees (of course, the same doesn't apply to profits).
Of course, one game isn't going to herald in the end of Christmas bonuses or something, but it is a small part of something larger.
Submitted by
julie
at 11/14/2007 10:49:51 AM- How about a compromise? Donate the ill-gotten goods to a charity and then go buy a new one. It's like you forced the big bad chain to make a donation to a good cause.
Submitted by
Alesia
at 11/14/2007 10:50:06 AM- I wish I could be the type of person who could walk away, but I couldn't live with myself. The guilt!
Submitted by
Sarah
at 11/14/2007 11:13:48 AM- What a dilemna! I would be very upset about the inconvenience of returning to the store to pay for it. I would feel very good in doing so though. I must tell you that I once tried to return two outfits for my boys and they weren't going to pay me for one of the pants. After going back and forth it turned out they didn't charge me for them! I was embarrassed because then it looked like I was trying to get free money for the stolen pants!!! They never apologized and when I gladly handed over the pants and said, "Well, I guess these are yours then" they said nothing. It was terrible. I felt like a thief (a really dumb one at that).
Submitted by
heatherfeather
at 11/14/2007 11:18:23 AM- i say take it back too... What goes around indeed comes around.
And if she's like me, she'll be up all night nauseous and stressed about it if she doesn't.
Submitted by
Just Beachy
at 11/14/2007 11:27:07 AM- I say take it back as well. I always believe you can lie to others but you can't lie to yourself. Bad Karma.
Submitted by
Melizzard
at 11/14/2007 11:29:01 AM- I would use "do unto others" rule... if they had accidently charged her twice for the game would she go back and get the extra one credited off? If yes, then she needs to go pay for the game.
Submitted by
Salome
at 11/14/2007 11:32:19 AM- Keep the game! Keep it, keep it! There will be no blemish on her soul. She didn't willingly attempt to deceive anyone, or intentionally steal it. Even more importantly, large chain stores budget for losses/discounts/damaged/disappearing merchandise like this. Essentially it's been paid for.
Submitted by
Lisa
at 11/14/2007 11:34:50 AM- Karma is a boomerang. I would take it back and pay for it.
Submitted by
Kathy
at 11/14/2007 11:36:10 AM- No other option: take it back and pay for it. Whether it's the store's mistake on not, it's not something you'd want weighing heavily on your head.
(And I a big believer in karma.)
Submitted by
lb
at 11/14/2007 11:43:55 AM- Oh, I'd keep it. If it had been my mistake - like say I'd had the game under a coat in my shopping cart and not noticed it at the cashier - then I'd definitely go back. That would be stealing and it would be my responsibility to rectify my mistake. But since it was their error, I'd keep the game and feel fine about it.
Submitted by
Timothy
at 11/14/2007 11:44:27 AM- Call the store and ask to speak to a manager. Discuss with them and offer to pay for it. Takes just a few minutes, and doesn't necessarily require a drive back.
Submitted by
Aurora
at 11/14/2007 11:53:37 AM- Go back and pay for it! Definitely.
Submitted by
Dana
at 11/14/2007 12:06:42 PM- I'd take it back, too. I'd feel all guilty if I didn't because even though they made the mistake, the responsibility transfers to me for not being honest about it. Stores budget for this stuff but they pass this cost onto customers via higher prices. I couldn't make others pay for my game, nor would I want to pay for someone else's.
Submitted by
Suzie
at 11/14/2007 12:06:53 PM- I'm sorry the store employees failed to do the job they are paid for, not only once, but TWICE! She already took the items back to be checked when the alarm went off, and somehow the item was missed again. Everyone deserves a second chance, but a third is getting ridiculous. I say chalk this one up to karma she must have already earned! And if she really needs to, pay it forward somehow. And seriously y'all are waaaaaay too nice!
Submitted by
Amy in StL
at 11/14/2007 12:16:00 PM- I'm with Julie. Normally, I'd take it back and pay for it. But I like the idea of donating it to a charity and then buying one at the store that has it for less money.
Submitted by
at 11/14/2007 12:39:31 PM- what the hell people, stop stealing. you have to pay for things you buy, duh duh duh.
If you bought something and accidentally left it in the store, what would you do??
Submitted by
Angela at mommy bytes
at 11/14/2007 12:46:37 PM- I would keep it. You guys are all too nice. It also depends on the store. If it is Big Boxmart (ala JibJab). stick it to them. If it were a mom and pop local toy store trying to stay in business, go back and pay for it. I've been in situations where I could have walked away with something for free but corrected their mistake and paid for it while I was there. But to spend your time and money in gas to take it back to correct their mistake is insane.
Submitted by
Leslie
at 11/14/2007 1:10:39 PM- Oh, I'd have to go back and pay for it.
This recently happened to me, except it was a can of spaghetti sauce from the IGA. I still went back to pay. Otherwise, I was convinced tha spaghetti sauce would kill me if I ate it.
Submitted by
Lucia
at 11/14/2007 1:11:28 PM- I would keep it if it were a large chain store.
I would take it back if it were a small independent store.
Mixed morals, you see!
Submitted by
tut-tut
at 11/14/2007 1:45:14 PM- I would not hesitate to return to the store and pay for the item. Someone somewhere making minimum wage is going to answer for it.
Submitted by
liz
at 11/14/2007 2:02:30 PM- Take it back. There are very few black and white things in this world, but there are no shades of grey here. Yes, it is an inconvenience, but it's the right thing to do.
Submitted by
margaret
at 11/14/2007 2:04:54 PM- I think I would take it back and explain that I wanted to return it because it was on sale at Store 2 and that I just realized I hadn't paid for it, looking at the receipt. Then I would go to Store 2 and buy it on sale.
Submitted by
Lil
at 11/14/2007 2:26:50 PM- I'd return it (either to return return or to pay for it). Not because of some bad karma thing, but because if they had overcharged me I'd go back. Plus, it is the right thing to do--I don't care if it is the most evil company in the world, if you didn't want said evil company to make money you wouldn't be shopping there in the first place.
Submitted by
Liz C.
at 11/14/2007 2:27:40 PM- I have a question. how did she not notice $60+ missing from her total at the checkout?
Submitted by
FP
at 11/14/2007 2:30:52 PM- Liz C.--She bought a lot of things. The total was really high. (I asked the same question!)
Submitted by
Kizz
at 11/14/2007 2:37:11 PM- I have to agree with the people who say it's the store's mistake. She was as honorable as can be and something fell in her lap. She shouldn't feel any guilt for someone else's mistake and if she does she needs to address it some other way.
I do, however, really like the idea of a charitable contribution. If she bought the game for someone specific then go ahead and give it to them but donate $60 to charity, maybe to a Toys for Tots kind of charity.
If she simply must 'fess up then she should call Customer Service and talk to a manager or combine the confession with another trip, she shouldn't pay more in gas and time to untangle a situation that seems like an honest, albeit glaring, mistake on someone else's part.
Submitted by
Sugared Harpy
at 11/14/2007 2:38:54 PM- The problem I see is that to take it back will require an inhuman effort on your friend's part at Big Store.
She will have to repeat herself a thousand times, they won't just let her pay for it, she will have to fight to even attempt to pay for it, begging, etc. etc. And then will probably just walk away from the whole deal with it unpaid for anyway.
And that's even if they believe her.
When I tried this with a roughly $10 item, it pretty much went like that. They never let me pay for it.
Submitted by
Alyce
at 11/14/2007 2:47:09 PM- I'm with Sugared Harpy. I tried to do the right thing once and the employee, and subsequently her manager, were so flummoxed that they gave it to me anyway.
I'd vote for calling the manager. That way she is burning fossil fuel just trying to make things right. And the manager may very well thank her but decline her cash.
Submitted by
witchypoo
at 11/14/2007 3:01:33 PM- Haven't had this personal dilemma before, but I am the one who gets too much change back regularly, and I always do the right thing there.
So I would make the phone call and see what the procedure is before hoofing it to the store.
Submitted by
jon deal
at 11/14/2007 3:17:17 PM- Take it back. Pay for it.
But use the opportunity to case the joint and then come back and steal even MORE expensive items.
But that's just how I roll.
Submitted by
amy
at 11/14/2007 3:18:06 PM- I would most honelsty keep it and pay it forward
I would be forced to karmaticaly give 60 to NPR or the women's fund
unless- I saw it iin car at store
before I got lazy
that is just being honest
to the naughty max
Submitted by
Christine
at 11/14/2007 3:41:20 PM- I would take it back and pay the $60. I'll feel much better about myself for a loooong time by doing the right thing. I still feel good about myself just by remembering all the wallets I've returned to their owners.
Submitted by
Amy in KC
at 11/14/2007 3:58:13 PM- I once purchased ten bags of cedar mulch for my front yard. I paid inside at the cash register, and a teenager that worked at the small hardware store loaded the ten bags into my trunk from a display at the front of the store.
When I got home and unloaded it, I noticed that he had given me the 20 lb bags and I had paid for 15 lb bags.
I went in the next day and explained what had happened, and I paid the difference. It was somewhere around $8.
It wasn't worth $8 to walk around with this hanging over my head.
Submitted by
blackbird
at 11/14/2007 4:12:45 PM- K and I want to know how long a drive it is to get back to the store...
Submitted by
DS
at 11/14/2007 4:26:05 PM- Call the store and speak with the manager. Explain the situation, including that their employees checked the items and the receipt. Let them decide how they want to handle it.
By calling the manager, you are making the effort to take it back but avoiding the annoying comments and disbelief that the employees may put up when you walk back into the store to pay for something that they missed. Unfortunately, having been in the situation as both the customer and the manager, it is just the way of the world these days. That way when/if she has to go back to the store, she can deal directly with that manager and not an astonished employee who may give her a hard time trying to pay for it.
Submitted by
FP
at 11/14/2007 4:31:20 PM- DS--I like your style. Actually, the situation has now been resolved, and I will be posting the outcome shortly!
Submitted by
You can call me, 'Sir'
at 11/14/2007 4:51:34 PM- Take it back. Otherwise, it'll end up going all Edgar-Allan-Poe-'Tale-Tell Heart' on her ass some night when the police are over having coffee or cleaning up a murder scene.
Submitted by
Heidi
at 11/14/2007 6:53:34 PM- No question. I'd take it back.
Submitted by
Erin
at 11/14/2007 7:05:29 PM- Man, I feel like an asshole, I really don't think I would. I've had too hard a time trying to honestly return or exchange things at certain large retailers, and-- depending on the retailer-- I think those negative experiences would talk me into just keeping it.
Submitted by
RzDrms
at 11/14/2007 10:20:14 PM- honestly? if i buy it, i definitely pay for it. i really don't deserve anything that i haven't fairly earned.
Submitted by
laughing mommy
at 11/14/2007 10:54:59 PM- the guilt will eat you alive if you don't pay for it. the $60 is not worth the guilt.
Submitted by
kim
at 11/14/2007 11:43:05 PM- I cannot tell a lie- I'd keep it. And seriously? Nausea and guilt eating you alive because a chain store screwed up twice in your favor? They wouldn't do you the same favor if you paid for something twice. Does that make me a bad person? If I find someone wallet? I'll give it back. If I get a chance to stick it to Wal-mart? Meh, doesn't really bother me.
Submitted by
kim
at 11/14/2007 11:45:00 PM- Plus, taking it back increases the chance the employee who screwed up is going to get written up for it so it isn't all good karma...
Submitted by
BettyWu
at 11/14/2007 11:53:48 PM- All atwitter to hear what the outcome was! But, let me add my voice to the "Take it back or call" chorus. I always ask myself what would I want to teach my kids to do?
Submitted by
nicki
at 11/15/2007 1:02:54 AM- You pay for it. Because what goes around really does come around. (And the good karma you get for doing the right thing? Gift with purchase.)
Submitted by
Ayla-Monic
at 11/15/2007 7:06:09 AM- IMO, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
They inspected her bags. They inspected her receipt.
It was their mistake, and they're really not being harmed by this one mistake (of their own.)
Karmic retribution comes into play when others are harmed, or you purposefully go into a situation planning to come away with something you did not deserve.
Perhaps not having to pay for the game IS her karmic retribution. Perhaps the good that she's put out there has come around and she can put that 60$ towards groceries or something else?
Submitted by
jamie
at 11/15/2007 8:06:16 AM- Yup. Totally take it back and pay for it. It's really the only right thing.
Does your friend have kids? She can make it into a great brain draining lesson too!
Submitted by
patois
at 11/15/2007 9:08:36 AM- The true sign of a good soul is what is done when no one is looking. No one is looking. I'd totally take it back and pay for it.
Submitted by
heartfull
at 11/15/2007 10:14:42 AM- I *still* remember the day I left Target with three kids in tow and a cart full of stuff. I was glad to be done with that harrowing experience - whiny kids, indecisive mother, long lines, etc... I loaded the kids in the car and started loading the bags only to find a child's turtleneck stuck at the bottom, under the coats and baby car seat, unpaid for. I was annoyed! It was my fault! What to do? I couldn't imagine trudging back into the store with those three kids to return a $4.99 shirt. It was beyond me at that moment. I left, but I have seriously felt guilty about it for over a year now.
But a $60 item? I would for sure return it. Though I think I would call the manager and insist they send a courier to come get it since it was their fault.
Submitted by
Sara
at 11/15/2007 1:44:43 PM- Well, I'm too late to be helpful, but yeah, that's what I would have advised, too. Glad to know that's what happened.
Submitted by
amy
at 11/16/2007 8:35:14 AM- I was just being lazy and honest
Drive back- perhaps not
pay it forward most def!
Thanks for the update though
love or not :)
Submitted by
brit
at 11/17/2007 3:25:07 PM- I have to say I totally agree with the what comes around goes around statement...it always freakin does..
You are correct -- take it back and pay for it. Ethically it's a no-brainer. Mentally, $60 is a good deal to pay for not feeling skeezy and opportunisitic a few years from now.