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.

Did you realize this before or after you left the establishment?

I could see more of an arguement if you had to go out of your way to take it back. If you realized why you were there I would hope that you had given it back.

If you're asking this to see if you should take it back now that you have realized I believe that you're having doubts of keeping it. If that is the case, take it back.

Bollocks to them - I'm keeping the cash.

I've had enough problems with stores refusing me refunds for the most ridiculous of reasons and with me struggling to recover my funds when I've been overcharged to be overly bothered when one of these sharks accidentally gives me money.

Swings and roundabouts, as they say......

Give it back.

You'd certainly point it out if the error was the other way around right? For me it's the principle of do unto others, if I want people/corporations/the government to be honest to me I must be honest to them. There are too many little cheaters around, I don't want to add to them.

I would totaly give it back, even if I had driven all the way home before realizing it, anyone who could easily give the money back and wouldn't just has no moral.

It shouldn't matter if it was 40 cents, $40, or $4K - either you're an honest person or you're not. If you are, give it back; if not, then keep it.

If i had noticed, i would of given it back, and i say "if i had noticed" because for some reason i dont check my change.

Dunno, I always feel odd in situations like this, ok I should give it back but if I walk away with say $40 missing from my change, realise this and walk back the company says... "Did you check your change before you left?". So it should apply both ways, if they give me the wrong change and its negative (ie: less money than it should be) then its my job to correct them then and there, if its positive then its their job to correct me or ask me if they gave me too much (at which point you say as lying about it seems rather silly...).

I probably would have driven off with it... I rarely check change exactly, as long as the rough number of notes/coins and colours/sizes are right then I will head off, made some lost some that way but it all evens out I guess.

Definitely give it back. Just like a lot of the other threads say, they would have to take it out of their pay to balance the register. I don't sit there and count my change, but glance at it to make sure it's at least the right dollar amount. Couldn't care about the coin change. I wouldn't feel right taking money from someone who makes minimum wage.

This guy with his family went to buy $6 of icecream with a $1 and a $50. By the time I got out the $45 change he already split. He thought he payed with a 1 and a 5. I had to run out the store and catch him before he left to give him his money back.

And one time, I went to eat at a mexican restaraunt with some friends. Before I was out the door my dad asked where I was going and if I needed any money to eat. I told him not really, but he handed me a bill anyway, and I pocketed it. When I went to pay for $5 of food, the guy tried to give me change for a $20, and I insisted he counted wrong, and he insisted I counted wrong. I was pretty sure I handed him a $5 and left it at that. As I ate, I thought about how... I never actually looked at that bill. I called my dad from a payphone, and asked him what he gave me, and he said it was a $20. So I told the cashier that I made a mistake, and he gave me full change.

Long story short, what goes around comes around, and it works both ways.

If your children are starving, then brother keep it and feed then.

If not - just give it back. Only God knows the real story. That's about the only time I'd say to use it for food for someone truly needy. Personally, I would have just given it back and then felt better that I did the right thing. (I always do)...Otherwise, my guilt complex is big enough for a whole gigantic lot less.

At Starbucks you're fired if your register is off by more than $5.00. I'm guessing it's not too different anywhere else.

Please give it back.

Damn, $40 will definitely get you fired, whether or not you pay for it. I'd give it back.

I'd have kept it.
If someone doesn't want to get fired because the takings don't add up, they should make sure they give people the right change.

I would give it back. Bad Karma ya know. However, I hate those cash registers that automatically dispense the change so that the cashier doesn't have to count it.

Nope. Give it back.

It's a pretty sorry state of affairs when, "Should I do the right thing or the wrong thing?" counts as a Moral Dilemma.

I've done both options over the years and I can tell you the glee and gloating you get from taking the money doesn't beat the good feeling you get from giving it back.
Point out the mistake, give back the cash...it's all about karma people...you'll sleep better at night...give it a try.

You have got to give it back. I worked retail for a while and the cleark has to make his or her till match the receipts or they make up the difference out of their check. Loosing a days pay could be really vital to that persons livelyhood. Give it back.

I don't care if it was a dime or $500, you should give it back because its the right thing to do. I worked as a manager in a fast food joint when I was in highschool and if somebody was that short on their till at the end of the day, they would be fired out-right.

Give it back.

One time I bought two items, but I was only charged for one. I pointed this out to the cashier with the intent to pay for the second item, but she told me to "just go." I think she said that because her manager was approaching the register and she wanted to avoid the embarrassment.

When I was 16 I delivered pizzas for about a year.

I live in Wisconsin, and we can have some really nasty snowstorm/blizzards during the winter. It was during one of these snowstorms that I was supposed to deliver several pizzas to this lady in an apartment. Since the driving conditions were terrible, we were naturally busy. It took almost an hour and a half to get her the pizza she had ordered, but we were telling customers that it would likely be 2 hours before they got their order simply because the roads were so bad...

When I finally get there, she's really pissed off because it took so long to get her her food. She ripped the boxes out of my hands and basically said that there was no way she was paying over $20.00 for the six pizzas due to the delay. I apologized for the delay, but told her that in order to keep the food she would have to pay the full price, which was somewhere around $56.00. She set the pizzas aside, grabbed her purse, and angrily opened her wallet, again saying that there was no way she was going to pay that much with the delay. She crumpled up a bill and threw it at me, and then slammed the door in my face. I reached down, opened the crinkled money, and saw that it was only ten bucks. Becuase I carried my till on me, the missing money was going to come basically out of my pocket. Then, I saw a hundred dollar bill that was quickly being covered with snow with the corner of it wedged in between the door and it's frame. I pulled it out, not sure if I should mention it or not. My conscience got the best of me, and I knocked on her door again. She pulled aside the curtain, gave me the finger, and returned the curtain to where it was.

I walked away with over a $50.00 tip, and right or wrong, I have no qualms about it :D

I do hope that she forever thinks that she accidentally threw it at you... thinking that she must have thrown a $10... but no I don't have that $100...

I've gotten ripped off at McDonalds so much, either getting the wrong thing, or not getting something I ordered, that I would have kept the money. It would have sort of balanced everything out.

I'd keep it. Call me a bad person or something. If life wants to tuck some extra money into my pocket, then so be it. I've had the situation reversed, where I was severely underchanged, and the involved retail establishment made no effort to correct their mistake. I would drive away with a smile on my face and a hamburger in my hand. In life, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, unless you give back your wins, and then you just lose ;)

Blingbling asks if my integrity is worth $40. My response to that is, "is a sense of moral righteousness worth paying $40 for?"

Always pay back. I never knew they had to pay the difference...

For people working minimum wage jobs, that could be a lot of money.

Maybe you should start checking your change a bit more often?...just a thought.
As smug as you would feel keeping the money, you would feel better giving the money back. Maybe not today, but life is more than today.
What goes around comes around. ;)

Give it back. No question about it. It happened a few weeks ago at my local Target. I felt much better later that night. I'm always hard up for money, but my integrity is worth more than a few bucks. I thought about it more that night and was very glad I did give it back. It would have been one of those things that nags at my conscience.

Karma, do what you want done by others to yourself...

Nobody in the US ever has to make up for a short till. It's illegal to make them do it, it's illegal to allow them to do it. They just get fired.

Don't waiter people have to make up for people who bailed on checks?

I know my retail years, we were not allowed to make up for short tills -- if our tills were short, by more than 10dollars, we'd have to report it to the district office- -we weren't above throwing in some cash to make it 9.95 so it wouldn't be short and we didn't have to report it to the office.

Ok, I know the correct answer, and because it's so much money I would also give it back, though if it were $2-3 I might just keep it. But think about this...how many times have you driven through McDonald's or some other fast food place and not gotten your complete order? Do you ever just keep driving instead of going back? They made money off you. Nobody got fired for messing up your order, even if it might've ruined your entire night because you were looking forward to your chicken-like tenders.
Also, in the past two weeks, I've been shortchanged twice when getting cash back from my debit card. The first time happened to be at McDonalds. I asked for cash back, got my food, then my card, but not the cash. I didn't realize it until a couple days later, and by then I figured it was too late. Was the cashier hanging onto that 10 dollar bill or did she pocket it and say, "Thanks, sucker!". The second time I caught it before I left the store, but it's not an uncommon occurence.
Anyway, these are just some thoughts...I might be wrong.
(edit: didn't see page 2 and that Empty One said pretty much the same thing as my first paragraph)
(edit2: I don't know about state/national laws, but at the retails store I manage you would never have to make up for a short-changed drawer. You might draw suspicion if it were to happen with some regularity, but it's definitely not a give that every retail store forces you to make up the difference)

The bank once made a mistake in my bank account giving me an extra 1000 dollars in my account. Of course I was shocked and was debating just closing out my accounts and hoping they wouldn't catch on. But in the end I called and had them fix it, because I needed to find out how much I really had in my account. That 1000 dollars could have gone a long way... If I were in your shoes I would have given back the money, just because I know the pain of a drawer being short. Once by a computer error, my drawer came up 600 dollars short, it was a bitch to prove that it wasn't my fault. Luckily I was able to prove it.