Moral Dillema: What would you do?
 

I just thought I would post this, get other people's opinion. I was taking my sister to get something to eat, we stopped at a fast-food restaraunt drive-thru. All I had to pay was a $100 bill, but they took it. The girl at the counter gave me back the change, but it was $40 too much (2 $20's). Would you have gave the money back? Kept it? Gave some back?

I would have pointed out the mistake and given it back. The girl at the counter probably would have had to pay for the short register. $5.00/hr x 8 hours = $40.00

That's a whole day of work.

I've had this happen to me at the grocery store. I actually gave the excess monies back. I did because I know that at the end of the day if her drawer doesn't come out right, she has to make up the difference. I used to be a cashier many moons ago. Besides it should make you feel better giving it back.

I'd definitely give it back

So did you give it back?

Give it back.

She probably would have to pay the difference out of her own pocket.

Besides, it's the right thing to do.

And this isn't really a moral dilemma. It's simply the difference between right and wrong. Having to kill someone in order to save another life is a moral dilemma. :)

Mr Mephisto

Easy choice. Give it back.

Yeah, give it back. That's one of the reason many places don't like to take 100s.

Give it back--think about it, that's 40 cheeseburgers!

Just so it isn't a clean sweep of goodie goodies,

KEEP IT!! YOU EARNED IT BUDDY! SPEND IT WISELY AND KEEP OUR ECONOMY FLOATING!!!

As much as I would have wanted to keep it, I would give it back. I wouldn't want to think that my greed got someone fired, because that's surely what would have happened if I had kept it.

So...did you give it back??

I've worked a couple of register jobs and we've never had to give it back. I think it's expected that the drawer won't come up perfect every time. However if you notice it then you should definetly give it back. I've had customers do that for me and I really appreciated the honesty. However if you don't notice until you left it's your lucky day IMO.

"One ought to be unjust when being unjust is to one's advantage"

-Antiphon

What would make you ask? Did you really think anyone would say "go ahead and keep it?"

If you have to ask, you already know the answer...your conscience is intact...

Actually, I posted the same on another message board and most said I should have kept it. Having worked fast food, I know that $40 off can get you fired, and I wasn't getting anyone fired. I was just suprised because I have never seen such a large mistake. Plus my sister was with me and I didn't want her to tell on me ;).

There's an Online Scruples game I used to play a lot, and that was a very contentious question. I like to think I have a pretty strong set of ethics, and would give the money back no matter what, a lot of people argued that if the cashier was rude, or not overly pleasant, or not attractive, that they would have considered the money a windfall and kept it. I know I couldn't live with my conscience, but it amazed me how many people could justify keeping it.

Do what's right....give it back. Unless it was a car dealer, insurance company, pharma company, the IRS....I could go on but you get the picture.

I'm honest so I would give it back. Even though I am broke, I would understand when balancing how that (even $40) can affect the business and could even possibly have reprocussions on the employee who mischanged. It's nice to help someone make aware of a mistake in a polite way so that they can be more aware from there on.

You should give it back, simply because that's the right thing to do.

I've worked as a cashier and then as a bookeeper for a large grocery store. At least in NY state the law does not allow the store to take the money from an employee. You might fire them, or call the police if you thought they were stealing but the law did not allow you to unilaterally take their money.

Out of curiousity, why would you care whether the cashier got fired? If this is a moral question to you, why is not keeping your own interests paramount to anyone else's not the most moral thing to do?

if you didn't give it back.....then donate $40 to a charity or the local church poorbox.

Put a different spin on it. What if the cashier just "forgets to take your money"? Does that change your answer?

I was in the store today and the cashier rang up my goods and handed me my check back with the receipt...

Needless to say, I laughed and handed her the check back.

Hell's going to be hot enough without fanning the flames...

Being honest here...I'd probablly just keep it if it happened like that, working in a bar, I wouldnt expect people to give me the money back if I did it... we dont have to make the till up at the end of the night, infact no-one I know would have to make up a till if it was down on their job, the place earns more than enough anyway.
Just to show I do have morals, the one and only time I found a wallet (with quite a bit of cash and cards in) I phoned the person who's it was and returned it, I felt so good when they came to the door and started thanking me, then like shit when I thought of what I could have bought. Would still probablly hand it back though if it were a wallet, just would keep the cash in a situ' like this.

For me it depends. I'm in school and $40 is alot to me. If I was ok financially, I would have given it back - but if I was hurting, I would have kept it.

I would say give it back. People at fast food restaraunts have enough pains in the ass to deal with.

I would have given it back if I had still been right there when I noticed the error. However, if I had driven all the way home and then noticed the extra money I wouldn't have driven all the way back.

Give it back (you cheap motherfucker)! It wasn't your money to begin with!

there is a small tuck shop here my office, usually the owner works the cash and is there most days I go in. he is chinese and speaks english very well, nice guy, anyway, one day i go in to buy some chips or something, his wife is working the til. I handed her 10 bucks for a purchase of about 2 bucks. she hands me back change for a 20, i said to her no you gave you me too much money, and then hands me another 10 dollar bill. now i know english is not her first language so i try and explain the change required and she says "how much more money do i need to give you, tell me and i will give it to you" hehe, was funny cuz the guy behind me who was paying attention says "i'd just take the money dude". i felt bad for the girl as i imagine some people would just take it, i took my correct change out of the near 30 bucks change she handed me for a tenner and gave her back the rest. makes me wonder how many people she gives to much money back to.
oh and i've never seen her work the cash since lol.

Agreed. That's an excellent quote, thanks for sharing. I would've kept the cash. I've worked plenty of jobs in which I was responsible for a cash drawer. If my employer didn't use surveillance equipment, I would make pretty good money.

Definately give it back, but I'm far to honest for my own good. That and I was on the opposite end of the stick on time (I was 13 at the time) and somebody was nice enough to give it back to me.

I always give it back. Plus, I've been the cashier before and have given the customer too much back. I realized I'd given him $10 too much and said so. He gave it back. But at the end of my shift, it was actually $20 too much I'd given him. Fucker.

i would have given it back because she could be held responsible for the $40 at the end of her shift if the manager has her count down her tray. one of my old jobs did that and we were responsible for any shortage. that $40 would have been most of the money she earned for her shift that day. give it back - it's just the right thing to do.

No brainer ... point out the mistake and give the cash back. Is $40 all your integrity is worth? I think for most people the answer is no.

I've given back $200 that a cashier at a bank was counting out (gave me $2400 instead of $2200)...caught it right then, and gave it back. Also, I was buying a couple red shirts, but they were all bundled up and the cashier thought it was just one...i pointed out the difference and had her re-ring them up (Ironically one of them was a shirt that said "I Steal Music")

I would give it back....Do unto others.

you gotta give it back man...

first time i went to new york, a few years back, me and my friends decided we needed a slice of new york pizza. we found a nice place not far off times square, and i ordered two slices of sicilian. i paid the man at the register with a new $10 bil (they had just came out), he gave me my change, and i ate my pizza. i have a bad habit of just shoving the cash in my pocket and not actually walleting it til later, so when i finally found that he had seen the 10 and assumed it was one of the new 20's, i realized i got paid to eat his pizza. honestly, i was strapped enough for cash as it was back then, so it didn't bother me all that much.

i'd like to think i'm much better than that now, but the truth is, we're tight on cash, and if i'm gonna receive a windfall because someone else had a lapse of attention/intelligence, be it 10 bucks or 100, i'm gonna roll with it.

Pretty much a dead easy one for me. I would give it back.

If it was a buck or so I probably wouldn't have noticed it but 40 bucks is too much...I would have driven back and given it back.

If it was a little bit like a dollar or two, I would have kept it. But $40 is too much, and I would give that much back, especially if I pay for a purchase of less than $20 with a $100 bill.