Question

Does a moral compass have anything to do with it? Is it ok to defraud them, once you realize the error?

I've been told that my moral compass points South-West, so I'm probably not the best person to ask that question to.

Someone, somehow, is going to be harmed by the mistake. Wouldn't it be better if you could see to it that no one was harmed? If you were the one that was going to be held at a loss, wouldn't you hope that the person that benefited from your mistake was honest enough to rectify the error?

To error is human ya know. Fixing it builds character! :tongue:

Yes, fixing the error builds character. When the cashier has the price of that item taken out of their paycheck, or the salesman in my case ends up coughing up a couple bills to rectify his mistake it teaches them to do their job better, lest they end up without the job in the first place.

Pain is a wonderful instructor in the lessons of life. Sometimes it's physical pain. Sometimes it's emotional/mental pain. Sometimes it's financial pain. Any way you slice it, that pain teaches a lesson that one hopefully strives not to have to learn again in the future.
 
your a thief , and it comes out of the cashiers pay check.

I worked as a clerk/sashier in four different businesses over about a six year period in my youth. I never had a cash drawer come out more than 3 cents off when I cashed out in that entire time. I pulled those three pennies out of my pocket, dropped them in the drawer, and moved on. Never had a manager claim that I'd missed or not rung anything up either.

you are a christian , you are4 a thief. and being christian you are a fool . believe in nothing but cheating and stealing.

Actually I'm neither a Christian nor a thief. I'm simply someone who understands that the only person looking out for my own best interests is ME; and who is not going to harm myself to protect someone else's interests.

not being a christian is a plus but you are still a thief , you touch something without paying for it your a thief .
and the cashier will pay for your theft .
your also stupid . oh wait your a teabagger .

if someone dropped a ten dollar bill you would keep it . not return it . your a a-moral thief . you mite as well be a christian then you could clam god gave it to you for being good .
 
not being a christian is a plus but you are still a thief, you touch something without paying for it your a thief. and the cashier will pay for your theft.

Then maybe, just maybe the cashier will learn from the pain of being made to pay for their own mistake. You call that theft. I see it as the cashier learning a costly lesson from their own incompetence or ineptitude.

your also stupid . oh wait your a teabagger.

No, actually I'm much worse than a teapartier.... I'm an Ultra-Conservative and an Authoritarian. I believe in Personal Responsibility, which is the philosophy my viewpoint on this topic is built upon.

if someone dropped a ten dollar bill you would keep it. not return it . your a a-moral thief. you mite as well be a christian then you could clam god gave it to you for being good.

That would depend on what I thought I might get out of returning the $10 bill and who dropped it in the first place.

Being "good" is not something I've ever been accused of, sinister.
 
you call me a fool for being a pagan yet5 you christian are a thief

Nope. I don't call you a fool for being a pagan. I'm not Christian and haven't been a follower of any organized religion in a decade. I call you a fool for allowing yourself to be guilted into correcting someone else's mistake at your own expense.

In CT, as in most states, a consumer cannot be required to pay for something that they did not agree to. I happened to have this knowledge because about three years earlier my family had ended up getting a pair of garage doors for free because the Sears installer had shown up at the wrong house (ours) and installed them while the house was being built without any request to do so. My father offered to pay for THE DOORS (but not the installation or tax). Sears tried to bill us for the whole thing. My father threatened to take them to court. Sears went away. In my case, since THE DEALERSHIP had written the contract/sales agreement, and excluded something to MY benefit, I had no legal mandate to pay them a penny more for the CD changer. Especially since I had gone in and asked if they wanted to review the documents the day before. Now if I had written the contract, that would have been different. They obviously knew they were in the wrong, because they never pushed the issue.

This isn't about theft. It's about making sure that businesses pay attention to what they and their employees are actually doing.

your lack of morals is just weird .
you motto must be finders keepers ,

you can teach the clerk by paying for it , the mistake would not go unnoticed .

your a thief thats all , your close to being A-moral .
 
your lack of morals is just weird.

That's probably one of the nicer things that have been said about my morals around here.

you motto must be finders keepers,

To a certain degree, yes. I look out for myself. I take responsibility for my own actions and my own best interests.... whether it be at home, at work, socially, financially, etc... We'd be a lot better off if more people had that mindset.

you can teach the clerk by paying for it, the mistake would not go unnoticed.

No you can't; because at that point there are no CONSEQUENCES to the clerk's mistake. There is nothing to actually motivate the clerk to get it right the next time. Pain and Fear are the two truly motivating factors for human beings in the world. Anything else is just paying lip-service.

your a thief thats all, your close to being A-moral.

I'll disagree with the first part of your sentence, but I'm well past being Immoral in the terms that most people see it these days; and on many more than just this issue.
 
You go to your doctor and your insurance pays the bill. You get a statement from your insurance of what was billed and you see the bill was double what you normally see as the charges.
Do you inform your insurance company they were ripped off?
I wouldn't inform an insurance company. To hell with them. But I would inform Medicare.
 
When I get home from the grocery store, we usually review the cash register tape before unloading everything. There are errors, sometimes in the store's favor, more often in our favor. I'll admit we don't do anything about it either way as it would be such a hassle for all concerned to go back and try to get something fixed after the fact. But I do feel a little guilty for getting something I didn't pay for. And absolved a bit for my sin if we were overcharged a bit for something.

In the case where I still have the item in hand and have not left the premises, I would take the item back and pay for it. At least I think I would. If it was one of those elbow to elbow sales crowds, a madhouse, and involved 30 more minutes of standing in line? I wonder if I would? I hope I would.
 
as a [fool] I'd go back and explain the mistake and pay the balance

Religion has nothing to do with it. Common sense does. So long as you didn't intentionally attempt to defraud the store, it's up to THEM to get it right.

your a thief , and it comes out of the cashiers pay check ,
you are a christian , you are4 a thief .
and being christian you are a fool . believe in nothing but cheating and stealing .

How does it come out of the cashier's paycheck if it was never scanned or rung up? There is no record of you having "purchased" it, so there is nothing that would get the cashier in trouble. That is, unless you bring it to management's attention by bringing the item back and letting them know that the cashier did not scan or charge you for the item. He'd be lucky to keep his job thanks to you.

On the other hand, if all items are scanned and the cashier just mistakenly hands you back too much change, then that is a situation where it would make a difference to the cashier to return the money, since his drawer totals would not match at the end of the day otherwise. However, this is not the situation discussed in the op.
 
I don't understand how a cashier might be held accountable for an item that isn't scanned or entered onto his/her register tape.

I once bought three big sacks of animal food at WalMart and the cashier leaned over her counter and scanned only two. I heard only two beeps but wasn't sure until I looked at the receipt when I got to my car.

Because the third bag wasn't scanned how does anyone know what happened? And even if I was motivated by conscience to go back and pay for the third bag, which I certainly was not, it would have reflected badly on the cashier.

So anyone who thinks I should have done "the right thing" anyway, when you get to heaven and Sam Walton is up there -- give him my regards.
 
No you can't; because at that point there are no CONSEQUENCES to the clerk's mistake.

Why do you believe there is only one way to learn a lesson?
What if the clerk said to the person returning to correct the error, "If you weren't so honest I would lose my job. You can bet I won't make that mistake again!"
Couldn't that work too?
 
Why do you believe there is only one way to learn a lesson?

Experience. Until someone really suffers the consequences of their actions, there is not necessarily a full understanding of the implications of the results of their actions. I learned this at a very early age, and it's stuck with me for many, many years.

What if the clerk said to the person returning to correct the error, "If you weren't so honest I would lose my job. You can bet I won't make that mistake again!" Couldn't that work too?

Yes it could work for SOME people; but it would not work for everyone. Some children can be taught not to touch the hot burner by being warned about it. All children learn not to do it the first time they burn their little fingers.
 
I don't understand how a cashier might be held accountable for an item that isn't scanned or entered onto his/her register tape.

I once bought three big sacks of animal food at WalMart and the cashier leaned over her counter and scanned only two. I heard only two beeps but wasn't sure until I looked at the receipt when I got to my car.

Because the third bag wasn't scanned how does anyone know what happened? And even if I was motivated by conscience to go back and pay for the third bag, which I certainly was not, it would have reflected badly on the cashier.

So anyone who thinks I should have done "the right thing" anyway, when you get to heaven and Sam Walton is up there -- give him my regards.

If you were a store owner and you screwed up, would you appreciate a customer doing the right thing? Do unto others........
 
Do Unto Others........

Before they Do Unto You.

I learned THAT lesson a very long time ago, kwc. Trust me, that business owner isn't going to go running after you in the parking lot to give you your money back when the cashier accidentally rang up one of your items TWICE.
 
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Do Unto Others........

Before they Do Unto You.

I learned THAT lesson a very long time ago, kwc. Trust me, that business owner isn't going to go running after you in the parking lot to give you your money back when the cashier accidentally rang up one of your items TWICE.

They will if they have any integrity or honor.
 
You buy two items at the store. When you reach your car, you realize that clerk only rang you up for one of the items. What do you do?

We talked about this last night at a mens group I attend on MOnday evening. A man got $40 cash back but only asked for $20. He turned it in, it is the right thing to do.
 
Do Unto Others........

Before they Do Unto You.

I learned THAT lesson a very long time ago, kwc. Trust me, that business owner isn't going to go running after you in the parking lot to give you your money back when the cashier accidentally rang up one of your items TWICE.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.....I know life gave you lemons and you chose to make lemonade. I know many honest businessmen who would do exactly what you say they wouldn't. Maybe it's the difference in locale. People in my part of the world tend to be honest and friendly.
 

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