tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post115002831842764456..comments2024-02-19T08:12:53.815-05:00Comments on The Right Thing: ONE MAN'S MISTAKE, ANOTHER MAN'S BREAK?Jeffrey L. Seglinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15648051034425906705noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post-50448692905787830412007-03-24T11:05:00.000-04:002007-03-24T11:05:00.000-04:00Everyone knows......Profit = Selling Price - Buyin...Everyone knows......<BR/><BR/>Profit = Selling Price - Buying Price<BR/><BR/>If a trader is ethical they will keep the <BR/><BR/>Profit = Fair effort to make the trade possible<BR/><BR/>If everyone is ethical how do people get rich? <BR/><BR/>Ok, now how about charity by billionaires, if they are charitable in the first place will be able to accumulate too much wealth?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post-1151339096138286612006-06-26T12:24:00.000-04:002006-06-26T12:24:00.000-04:00I had a similar situation. The clerk in a membersh...I had a similar situation. The clerk in a membership store, (BJ's) forgot to include a microwave oven among the many items of a large purchase. Checking the receipt at home, we realized the ommission. We immediately called the store and returned a few days later to pay the balance.<BR/>However I made two requests from the manager, the second of which my mother disapproved of. (Always check with your mother!) <BR/><BR/>No.1 - A promise that the clerk would not be penalized in any way. <BR/><BR/>No. 2 A free annual membership to the store.<BR/><BR/>The manager immediately agreed to both requests. Needless to say that I would have paid for the microwave oven even if he had refused.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post-1150132605263558912006-06-12T13:16:00.000-04:002006-06-12T13:16:00.000-04:00doing "the right thing" is not always doing what a...doing "the right thing" is not always doing what an external rule dictates-- sometimes we must live by OUR rules. we WILL ppunish ourselves when we transgress our rules-- and sometimes The Universe", it seems, does so as well.<BR/><BR/>I had a mentor who taught "when the Universe gives you something, accept it." So I would have taken the free coke with simple gratitude. I probably still would. (Except tat I don't drink Coke or use vending machines!) <BR/><BR/>The TV is a different dilemma. That $600.00 may have come out of the employee's pocket. Or he may have been fired for the error. That I would not be willing to do.<BR/><BR/>Character could as easily be described as looking at the consequences of our actions-- even if no one else sees them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post-1150130548201535082006-06-12T12:42:00.000-04:002006-06-12T12:42:00.000-04:00I think it has much more to do with how much troub...I think it has much more to do with how much trouble returning the money would be and how much money it is. For instance, if Kroger's undercharged me by $20.00, I'd go back and correct it right then even if I was in a <BR/>hurry, unless it was a matter of leaving a child without a ride or being late for a hard-to-get appointment, and then I'd come back as soon as possible. But if they undercharged me by $1.50, and I was already in the car and my frozen stuff was melting, I'd just deal with it next time I was <BR/>there, since I'm a regular customer.<BR/><BR/>Part of it is probably how much I feel it's my fault (for not paying <BR/>attention, distracting the clerk, etc.) and part of it is how much the store is inconveniencing me. So as a rule, I'll always pay it back, but not necessarily in a timely manor.<BR/><BR/>Come to think of it, I don't think I feel guilty about the coke at all. The fact that machines regularly steal money seems to make it an even trade.<BR/><BR/>Renee StoreyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post-1150130436886253892006-06-12T12:40:00.000-04:002006-06-12T12:40:00.000-04:00Renee Storey,No, you're not a moral degenerate for...Renee Storey,<BR/><BR/>No, you're not a moral degenerate for recognizing how difficult it would be to return a free soda from a machine. You point out that you'd clearly correct the wrongly charged $900 television set. The question I find most interesting in all of this is where the line is at which most people would decide that they must make the correction. It seems to be somewhere between $1.25 and $900 for you, but I'm curious if you've thought about whether there's a certain value that would make you uncomfortable with keeping the goods. Or does it have as much to do with how possible it is to return the money?Jeffrey L. Seglinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15648051034425906705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post-1150130377378826322006-06-12T12:39:00.000-04:002006-06-12T12:39:00.000-04:00While I agree that the guy who paid $300 for a $90...While I agree that the guy who paid $300 for a $900 TV was morally wrong, and in my opinion no better than a common thief, someone who takes a coke from a broken machine might be considered in a different light, and not painted with the same "no one is watching" brush.<BR/> <BR/>I always point out incorrectly charged items. I always return change when I am overpaid. I even tend to ask if the mints are free before taking one in a basket on a counter display that seems obviously to be for customer use. But if I am buying a coke from a machine and it gives me both the coke and the money back, I may or may not take it free. Here's why.<BR/><BR/>Often, the machine which is being overly generous is outside a closed store in the middle of the night. There is no one to report this to, and if I leave the coke or the money, someone else will just take it before morning. I could return to the store the next day, but the store might be out of the way for me, requiring more gas to go back than the coke cost. Where is the balance between the cost to make something right and the amount owed? If I had taken the coke from the machine knowing that it was broken and wouldn't take my money, I would have a duty to return and pay the money. But if the machine is broken, through no fault of mine, and there is no one handy to report the problem to, and returning to report the problem and pay for the coke will cost me time and money, do I owe that effort? <BR/> <BR/>Personally, I balance it out among all of the times I've put money in one of those machines, had my money eaten, and received nothing. About 80% of the time, when reporting THAT particular problem, the employee will say that the machines can't be opened and that they do not return lost money. (On the other hand, probably 80% would also look at you like you had two heads if you offered them the money from the free coke, and about half would tell you to keep it because they had no way of accounting for it anyway.)<BR/> <BR/>So am I morally degenerate?<BR/> <BR/>Love your column,<BR/>Renee Storey<BR/>Reader of the Columbus DispatchAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post-1150047144487139022006-06-11T13:32:00.000-04:002006-06-11T13:32:00.000-04:00The guideline in this case - behave as if you were...The guideline in this case - behave as if you were being watched - is certainly correct, but I would add another one. That "golden rule" that we were all taught, still applies. P.K.'s friend is dishonest, and since his own benefit is all that apparently matters to him, he would surely scream the loudest if he were the one being cheated out of $600. Fortunately, there's another rule in effect - the rule of karma - promising that his turn will come. As a public school teacher, I have the opportunity to tell my students that quizzes and tests aren't just what you take on paper. Every day they're presented to you in the form of moral choices. P.K.'s friend failed - big time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com