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Poll: Very Few Honest People Left

C

CrumCake

Senior member
Me and the wife went to Wal Mart this morning. They only had one line open with a senior citizen as the cashier. We were third in line. The first guy had a cart full of food and the cashier was taking forever, he was very slow. The second guy had one item, so he went fast. We get up there and unload our cart and the cashier is really slow again! So, when he punches in the amount of our check, which was 79.83, he punches in 99.83 and gives us a 20.00 bill back! Well half way out of the store the wife brings this to my attention and the first thing i thought was.....gotta take it back to him! The wife's first thought was, BREAKFAST, which i was kinda shocked as she is very honest. So i take it back to him and told him that he was such a good cashier i was giving him a 20.00 tip, joking of course since he was really slow. So i showed him his error and give him back the 20.00. The older lady in line who was checking out said, "there are some honest people left in the world". Made me feel good to be honest, not that i'm not, but i could've kept it and said screw the old man, which i would've felt like sh!t later. I made the wife feel guilty all the way home since she wanted to buy breakfast with the 20.00.🙂

Very few honest people left? Agree or disagree?
 
They under-rang my stuff yesterday at Target. She charged me for 3 cases of drinks instead of 4, and 1 set of bookends instead of 2. When I let her know, she was very thankful.
 
If I catch a mistake like that on the spot I'll let the person know. But if I realize it later that day or the next day, I'm keeping the $$.
 
Good for you, Crum.

The only 'other side' to this that I see is that you MUST pay attention, because for as many times as you are undercharged, you are overcharged 10 more times! That may be why your wife didn't think much of it... Goodness knows I have been accidentally ripped off by a spaced out cashier enough times. I have had to stand there while the entire cash tray is recounted just to get my money back.

Here is a tip from one of ATOT's domestic engineers:

Always watch the cash register carefully, and pay attention when receiving change!
 
Yeah, I second that watching the cash register thing. I bet thats a nice little source of income for retailers. I live in a small town, with only one grocery store, which is frequented by all the senior citizens, mostly because they don't like driving to another town just for cheaper groceries. His prices are sky high, but thqt is to be expected, being the only store in town. I needed some Prego one night this week, and being in a hurry, stopped in to grab a jar. It was listed as 2.19 on the shelf, but the sticker on the jar said 2.39 (on all the jars, actually). Now, being a small store, they apparently don't use the barcode scanners, and the lady at the counter rang me up for 2.39. I pointed it out to her, and she had to go back and check the isle. The 20cents wasn't that important to me, but thinking about all the people who shop there and don't notice such things is mildly disturbing
 
As time goes on I become more aware that most people in the world have very little honour or self-respect and would rather live with a couple of extra bucks than with integrity. I suppose there isn't much that can be done about them. Many people go through their lives without a thought for the rest of the world and when they die they feel no regrets. Its just human nature...and then there are the few of us who are better than that. Better than the rest of the hapless idiots that walk this earth taking whenever they can.
 
Most people who are honest today wear their honesty like some shiny badge or medal that says "Look at me! I'm a good person because I'm honest! You're a bad person b/c you're not" I can think of a thousand times being honest would be the wrong thing to do (telling an ugly person that (s)he is ugly, for example) No one is proud after doing something like that for example, even though it's the honest thing to do. IMO, being a slave to one's principles is no different that being a slave to one's vices. So IMO things haven't changed much. There are always a few who are honest or caring for no other reason then they enjoy being honest or caring. Those people always are the minority, and probably will always be.
 
Good for you Crum. 😀 More people need to follow in your footsteps. What alot of people do not realize is while it may seem like chump change to you, that measly $20.00 can cost someone their job. I always return money wrongly given to me, because I could not bear the thought of screwing someone out of their livelihood so I can have a few extra bucks in my pocket.
 
I went to McDonald's yesterday and by mistake I received an extra double cheeseburger. I learned a valuable lesson, take advantage of people when they screw up, and you'll come out on top 🙂
 
Course there are degrees. If you order a small fries from mcdonalds and you get a large I wouldn't tell them about it. Who cares? But in this case $20 is a lot to this guy and could look bad for him. Small to big fries will not even be noticed, or an extra hamburger, but when I'm given more change than I should get I always tell the people.
 
I don't feel bad about it. Like Isla said, I've been overcharged so many times I can't even count. One time, I accidentally spaced it and walked out of a store without my purchase. Did the cashier even say anything to me about it? No. I had to go back in to fight for it even though I had just been there a few minutes before. Also, grocery stores are notorious for putting in the wrong prices when sale items are scanned. I can't count how many times I've been overcharged for "sale" items at Meijer. I think in some cases, what comes around, goes around.
 
The thing i thought about most was the cashier. He prolly was in his late 50's early 60's. Guy's just trying to make dough on the over night shift at Wal Mart, either saving more for retirement or just trying to get by in his later years. I didnt want the thought of some young manager busting this poor guys balls when his drawer came up short.
We've all at one point a freebie from McDonalds or someplace like that, but are ya really gonna give that extra big mac back? By no means am i the most honorable person alive, as i don't believe anyone is 100% honest all the time, but more times than not i'd would've done the same thing as i did.
 
You did a good thing crum, whether you do it all the time or not is irrelevant. We've all been in the same situation, its good to know there are still some honest people left.

BTW, welcome to the pink haired witches cult.
 
At fast food resturants, it's a tad different. If they give you something extra, eat it or give it to a homeless person. The resturant can't accept the food back and reserve it...
 
I am a cashier, if I make a mistake, it's my responibility, and the customer should be allowed to keep the money, or anything extra I give them.
IMO!
Still, CrumCake, you are an honest man, and took guts! Congrats!

Pid
 
To paraphrase: A person's integrity/honesty/character is based on what they do in situations where no one else is looking ... I believe that you did the "right" thing in returning the $20. I personally have failed this test on quite a few occasions and cannot feel good about it, no matter what ratonalizations (excuses) I might trot out as justification. No one was around to observe these failures of my moral circuitry, but I knew ... I guess I still have a conscience.....
 
I've been overcharged so many times I can't even count Well whoop-de-f*ckin-do. This guy didn't overcharge you so why penalize him for what others have done to you? If somebody stole your wallet some time with $100 in it and then you later come upon a wallet with $100 what do you do? Return it because you know how crappy it feels or try and take "revenge" on the first guy who stole yours by stealing this person's wallet?
 
CrumCake,
You did the right thing! I would have also returned the money to the man. My Mom would tell you that your honesty will be rewarded when you least expect it!
 
Good for you, shame on your wife. That person could have gotten in trouble. It may have been thier mistake, but if you know it, it is stealing.
 


<< i would've felt like sh!t later. >>


That is the whole story right there. One of the reasons why I like Crum. 🙂





SHUX
 
Good for you, Crum. I'm glad you posted your story (and I know your intent was not to collect Attaboys), because I think people need to know there are indeed honest people out there!

I've lost some friends over the years because they didn't see much value in honesty, and while I wasn't happy about it, I just like associating with honest people. I could give my house key to any of my friends without a second thought. I don't have to wonder if they would lie to me.

A co-worker got divorced when her husband was having an affair. The husband eventually married the girl he was fooling around with (who herself was married during the affair). I could not get over wondering who would want to marry someone who they knew wasn't honest about marriage vows.
 
For those of you saying &quot;He could have lost his job,&quot; I doubt it. I worked the cash register at a Subway, and was usually very accurate, plus a few cents every day. A couple days I was short, one time by 10, another by 5. I'm sure the guy at the Walmart made at least double what I did (which was $6.00 an hour). Employees don't get fired for giving out the wrong change, unless they make a habit of it. It is simply taken out of their paycheck, and can be a costly lesson. I probably rang up a 10 as a 20, and the person walked away with it. (Those new 10s annoyed me at first, because they looked like the new 20s). I never came close to losing my job. It was simply taken out of my paycheck.

Now, I'm not saying you should have kept the money. I would have appreciated it if that person had given me back the change. All I'm saying is that unless the old dude made a habit of it, he was hardly close to losing his job for $20. It would cost the store more to train a new guy to run the register than to fire him for messing up. At most, I could see the management taking him off the register.
 
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