Honesty

wbraswell

wbraswell

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This morning I pulled up to the local burger doodle for a breakfast sandwich and cow juice. The lady said my total was $4.20. I had some ones so I gave her ones and 2 dimes. She counted and told me I gave her too much and handed me a dollar back. This woman didn't look like a teen, and I'm sure she probably needed that dollar more a lot more than I. When she came back to the window with my order, I thanked her for her honesty and wished her Merry Christmas. I feel a tiny bit better about mankind today.
 
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It's even more fun when you get to be the one that is honest, to see people's reactions. They are always surprised (which is a sad indication of today's society when honesty surprises somebody).

My older daughter is a HUGE Wizard of Oz fan. A few years ago there was a meet-and-greet with the surviving munchkin cast members. We took her to it to meet them, and bought an autographed picture from Jerry Maren (The Lollipop Guild). In the course of the transaction, they were chatting with my daughter and forgot to take my money. Once I realized I hadn't paid, I stepped back up with the money and told them, "You didn't charge us, here's the money I owe you."
They thanked me, and the people in line exclaimed in surprise that it was nice to still see honest people around.

I'm glad to be one of the "good guys", but like I said, it is sad that honesty surprises people, instead of being the norm.
 
Just yesterday I purchased a box of 135 clay pigeons from my range to have some table trap fun with a friend. When I got home and pulled the change out of my pocket and realized that I had more money than I should have. The cost for the box was $11 and I gave the counter guy a 20. The change I got was $14. I believe he accidentily gave me a 10 instead of a 5. Now I don't know what I should do. If I tell him the next time I'm there and give him the $5 he might think I'm trying to question his ability to add. If I do nothing the club loses $5. It's not a real big deal, but it will bug me unless I make it right.
 
I made several transactions at the bank one day, one of these was withdrawing $400.00.

The teller gave me the money, as always I count it before leaving.

She is looking at me with really not a friendly look on her face. Sort of "your questioning me?"

I said to her, you should count this again and handed it back, she gave me $700.00, her face then became red as the human body could change. So I could have been $300 richer, but of course I would have had trouble sleeping.

I guess she learned a little lesson that day.
 
About 35 years ago I, my ex and daughter were driveing about a 100 miles from home. We stopped for coffee and pie. I paid and left what I thought was a dollar tip. We got in the truck and the waitress came out and said sir, did you mean to leave me a $100 tip? I was about empty on gas and was depending on that $100 bill to get home on!
 
I returned $5 recently to a guy who gave me too much change, and he acted like I had saved his puppy from a house-fire. Apparently this doesn't happen very often.....which is disturbing.
 
When I was 17, I worked at a small grocery store (circa 1995) and accidentally took some store keys home. I drove back it was late but the store was still open. I came across a guys wallet laying on the sidewalk. No ID and $100 bills inside. I didn't count it but knew it was more money than I made in a month before taxes.

I did a quick survey of the shoppers left and there were four spread out throughout the store. I approached each and asked if they had their wallets. The last guy is the only one that was panicked by the question and realizing he had lost his wallet. I handed it back to him. He said thanks and affirmed there was over $2500 dollars inside.

That would have gone a long way for me back then (hell even now) but its never the wrong time to do the right thing.
 
Over the course of my life, there have been times when I have been given too much change, or charged too little for something, and I'm ashamed to say I didn't correct it. Then as I grew up (or matured, if you will) I came to realize that the few dollars I gained cost me more than the person who made the mistake lost...in terms of my own self-respect, conscience, and honor. Just as I would ask an overcharge to be corrected, so should I ask to have an undercharge corrected.

Now I try (although don't always succeed) to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
 
stanws6 said:
Just yesterday I purchased a box of 135 clay pigeons from my range to have some table trap fun with a friend. When I got home and pulled the change out of my pocket and realized that I had more money than I should have. The cost for the box was $11 and I gave the counter guy a 20. The change I got was $14. I believe he accidentily gave me a 10 instead of a 5. Now I don't know what I should do. If I tell him the next time I'm there and give him the $5 he might think I'm trying to question his ability to add. If I do nothing the club loses $5. It's not a real big deal, but it will bug me unless I make it right.
Click to expand...

go back and return the $5
 
labworm said:
I made several transactions at the bank one day, one of these was withdrawing $400.00.

The teller gave me the money, as always I count it before leaving.

She is looking at me with really not a friendly look on her face. Sort of "your questioning me?"

I said to her, you should count this again and handed it back, she gave me $700.00, her face then became red as the human body could change. So I could have been $300 richer, but of course I would have had trouble sleeping.

I guess she learned a little lesson that day.
Click to expand...

you definitely squashed that attitude.
 
I was at a theatre in Sacramento buying tickets to a play. The guy currently at the box office window with a five foot space between him and me dropped a wad of bills. I mean a lot. I went up and tapped on his shoulder. He looked at me annoyed and I pointed to the ground. He said "What?" with an attitude. I pointed to the ground again. When he saw it he of course wasn't annoyed with me anymore. The older guy behind me said he still felt bad about NOT doing something like that when he was a kid. It all comes down to if you're willing to put a dollar value on your self respect, I guess.
 
I just got back from the hardware store that serves as my local FFL. I was picking up a gun that I had purchased and had shipped there - when the paperwork was complete he rang up $35.00 for the transfer, background check, etc. I told him that seemed low, but he insisted....I said please check again, I know this runs closer to $50. Sure enough, he had forgotten a fee and it rang up to $48 - he was extremely grateful!

Once, I lost my wallet on a horseback trip in Colorado - a couple weeks after I returned to Wisconsin, my wallet with everything intact arrived in the mail...I have never forgotten that.
 
The wife and I were in Tulsa a few months ago and pulled into a stop and rob to get sodas. As I get out of the car I see a bunch of bills on the sidewalk, $75. There were only 2 other people in the area, a customer who was getting into her car, and a clerk for the store who had just stacked a bunch of cases of soda on the sidewalk. I first approached the lady customer who was getting into her car and asked her if she had dropped something. She jumped into her car and locked the doors staring at me with a look of fear like I was going to rape her or something (this was in broad daylight). Okay, guess it wasn't hers. So I approached the clerk and asked him if he had dropped something on the sidewalk. He became rather rude and said "what the hell are you talking about"? Okay, guess it wasn't his either.

I could have given it to the clerks inside, but I'm certain they just would have gone home with a "bonus" in their pocket. We got our sodas and waited in the car for about 10 minutes to see if anyone came looking around for it. Nobody ever did, so I kept it. Sure would have liked to locate the owner. Went to a casino and turned that $75 into $165.
 
A few years back, I took the family to Las Vegas to see the Blue Man Group at the Luxor. After checking in & heading to the elevator, I noticed a young lady from housekeeping had dropped a bill in the crowded lobby area. I quickly snatched it up and caught up to her, tapped her shoulder, said that you just dropped this, and handed her the $20. I will never forget her appreciated grin as she thanked me.
 
When I was teenager I was walking home one day and found a ten pound not on the footpath. It so happened that this path ran down the side of the local police station so I took the money into the front desk.

The reaction from the desk sergeant was mixed. He applauded my honesty but then said, "Do you have any idea how much paperwork this will generate?" I just shrugged and said it was his call.

"Tell you what, I'll take down your details and you keep the ten pounds. I suggest that you don't spend it in the pub tonight, but if you have not heard from us in a week, I think you're safe."

Seemed like a deal to me, and I never did hear from him.:D
 
I've been on the other end of this as well. A few years ago I stopped at an ATM, withdrew my cash and went back to my car. A guy approached the side window and knocked. When I looked-up I thought, "Great, this guy's going to try and rob me." He looked like an urban gang member right out of Central Casting. I cracked my window 1/16th of an inch and asked him what he wanted. "Here's your ATM card sir. You left it in the machine."

Judging books by covers isn't a foolproof system.
 
My brother has a funny story about taking his family to a restaurant when on vacation in Italy where the waiter hands him the bill, added up by hand, and my brother realizes that he is being way undercharged.

So he tells the waiter. The waiter gets furious with him for pointing out the mistake and embarrassing him....

Don't recall what happened after that.
 
My son was raised living with his mom so when I had visitation there were a couple times when he saw me give cash back to store clerks who couldn't count. I'd have done it anyway but i wanted it to soak in on him. It was like a crash course on what dads should do all the time since I only had so much time with him.
The very fact we have to point out these obvious things to do makes me worry that it is considered unusual.
 
Had a great sales customer (Marine) who always paid in cash.
I always counted it in front of him.
As he walked away one day I asked if the extra $50.00 was a tip.
He's gone now but I'll always remember Andrew Reilly.
We watched the second twin tower go down live in his restaurant.

"Another Marine reporting Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

In Andy's Honor.
 
A little more than 50 years ago, when I was a chubby little boy selling boiled peanuts on the street in my hometown, I saw an older black man drop two ten dollar bills on the ground as he went in the door of the drug store. I picked up the bills and followed him. I saw him at the back of the store talking to the pharmacist. I could tell he was very distressed. Apparently, he was paying his bill, but his money was gone. I said, "You dropped this" and handed him the bills. I have never forgotten the look of relief on his face. Twenty dollars might have been his week's salary in 1962.

I also recall, a few years later, buying a lunch ticket and maybe a pencil in the office at school. There were some pennies in my change. I looked, and one of the pennies was actually a discolored dime. I remember distinctly, my first impulse was to keep it. I could buy a coke at break with it. Some days I had break money, other days I didn't. I gave it back, and the secretary commended me. I was ashamed all day, though, because I felt it was wrong even to consider keeping it.
 
I work in a restaurant and one of my managers found a bank envelope in the dining area containing about $800. This was a great gal and she brought it to me asking what we should do. I said, "Let's give it 5 minutes." Sure enough an older gentleman with a deer-in-the-headlights look comes rushing back in and straight to me...of course it was his and come to find out it is his rent and med money. Lots of stories like that over the years...more good people out there than you might think.:)
 
Three days ago, on eBay, I purchased a "Buy It Now!" Minichamps 1/43 scale Aston Martin DB5 as featured in the James Bond flick Casino Royale. I was buying from the UK and I was surprised how cheap the shipping costs were after I'd paid for it. 2.00 GBP for International Express Airmail?!?!? I started looking at the guy's other "Buy It Now!" auctions and sure enough, they were almost all 11.00 GBP shipping to the USA.

Off went an email to ask him if he actually meant to charge me 2.00 GBP; I was thinking he'd meant to enter 12.00 GBP. Sure enough, he thanked me for pointing out the error and said he would combine shipping if there was another car I wanted. As it turned out, yes, there was: a 1956 Simca Vedette Regence (the Vedettes were all styled by either Ford or Chrysler) in a stunning...and realistic...black/white/black paint scheme. So I paid for it and expected to pay at least 10 GBP shipping. Not this guy. A few minutes after I got the PayPal receipt, I get a refund for 10 GBP. "I said I would combine shipping costs. I meant all of them. It's a pleasure doing business with you!"

I'll tell you this: the next time I'd like more 1930's-1960's French 1/43 model cars (that is the majority of what he has), I know where I'm getting them!
 
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