Testing your ethics/honesty

[Elkhound 91]

Okay, what would you do in the following situations:

 

 

1. The coke machine gives you two cokes for the price of one.

 

a. leave one for the next person or;

b. keep both, rationalizing that things are merely evening out for the times the machine cheated you.

c. At least leave a note for the coke dude to fix the problem.

d. Get more money and clean out the machine as long as the "two for one" sale is going on.

 

2. You are buying a $39.99 item at the local sporting good store and it rings up for $19.99

 

a. Tell the clerk that the amount is wrong and it should be $39.99.

b. Keep quiet, assuming the scanned price is really correct.

c. Keep quiet, and figure the store got what it deserved for being careless with its pricing

 

3. The bank teller gives you one $100.00 bill too many when you are taking out cash for a trip.

 

a. Correct the teller and give it back.

b. put your head down, hope the security camera has not picked up the error and leave quickly.

c. Return an hour later, and put the money in your savings account, figuring at least you put the bank's money back in the bank.

 

 

This is just for fun, your answers will not show up on your permanent record.

 

WJ

[bigj480 203]

1.A if no one else wants one or I'm alone, B if I'm with someone that does want one.

2.B I don't want to wait 15mins while they check to verify.

3.A the teller may be held responsible, actually had them hand me an extra $20 a couple times and did the same.

[David Mark 2,452]

Ok I'll bite.

!. b. keep both, rationalizing that things are merely evening out for the times the machine cheated you.

 

2.b. Keep quiet, assuming the scanned price is really correct.

c. Keep quiet, and figure the store got what it deserved for being careless with its pricing

Either one the end result is the same.

 

3.a. Correct the teller and give it back. (quietly)

I would not want the teller to loose their job.

 

Do I win a cookie?

[gtnichols 51]

A answers are correct for all,..??

[Bvamp 604]

believe it or not, a - a - a here. I do it all the time. keeping my own integrity and ethical standards are more important to me personally, even if noone knows, than a dollar soda, or costing someone thier job, or risking having the bank pull up my name and picture to find out who knowingly walked out with too much money.

 

live honest, live morally, and you dont have to look back over your shoulder. plus you can sleep at night.

[Elkhound 91]

As to each question, answer "A" is correct, at least to my moral standards.

 

What got me thinking about this is the Pepsi machine on the first floor of our building. About half the time, it gives two 20 oz Pepsi products for the price of one. There is no place to put the extra one (no table, bench, anything in the small room, just another vending machine). I never have a post it note with me to write the Pepsi guy a note, as I work on a different floor and each time I use the machine, I anticipate that he has fixed it - but so far, and this has been going on about a month, he has not. So, it does present a slight moral/ethical conundrum.

 

I would have thought by now that he would have inventoried the product, counted the money, and realized the problem.

 

Strange.

 

Question two is not really as clear cut as it seems because frequently, the computerized cash register is more up to date with sales information than is the price on the he product or on the shelf near the produce, and the lower price may be right. Best bet, ask. You can't go wrong by asking in this situation.

 

 

Question three really is the "no-brainer." I would never stiff an employee with such an error. That is just wrong.

 

WJ

[Azrial 1,091]

1. The coke machine gives you two cokes for the price of one.

c. At least leave a note for the coke dude to fix the problem.

How will leaving a free Coke for a unknown person make this error right? The other two are obviously "A" and any other answer shows a deliberate and dishonest intent on your part.

 

2. You are buying a $39.99 item at the local sporting good store and it rings up for $19.99

a. Tell the clerk that the amount is wrong and it should be $39.99.

 

3. The bank teller gives you one $100.00 bill too many when you are taking out cash for a trip.

a. Correct the teller and give it back.

Edited August 24, 2009 by Azrial

[superA 289]

I would correct the cashier and give the money back to the bank teller. The whole coke machine thing is screwy. What if I don't have sticky paper to leave a note, they should have had an option to deposit more money and keep the extra coke.

[nalioth 405]

What got me thinking about this is the Pepsi machine on the first floor of our building. About half the time, it gives two 20 oz Pepsi products for the price of one. There is no place to put the extra one (no table, bench, anything in the small room, just another vending machine). I never have a post it note with me to write the Pepsi guy a note, as I work on a different floor and each time I use the machine, I anticipate that he has fixed it - but so far, and this has been going on about a month, he has not. So, it does present a slight moral/ethical conundrum.

 

I would have thought by now that he would have inventoried the product, counted the money, and realized the problem.

 

Strange.

 

WJ

WJ, quite a lot of coke machines are privately owned (by the institution) and are not "serviced by the Pepsi guy", but by some minimum wage clerk / other flunky.

 

You know, the same people who can't make change w/o a cash register telling them how much to give out?

[Koliadko 207]

1 c. Leaving the soda proves nothing and it's not like I won't drink it. Don't most machines have a number you can call if there's a problem? I'd at least do that.

 

2 probably b. I wouldn't tell them the price was wrong unless I knew it was. I would just figure it's on sale and not marked. They do that ALL the time.

I was at the grocery store a ways back and Busch Light was on sale for $4.99 a 12 pack. They didn't have any 12 packs left so the manager said I'll let you have the case at the same 12 price i.e case for $4.99 X 2. Thought that was cool. I tried to explain that to the cashier 4 times. I gave up. I got 2 cases for $9.98. If they hire total idiots, it's not my fault.

 

3. a No brainer. I've done this before.

[22_Shooter 1,560]

I know why the machine isn't being fixed.............because there is a Coke machine being serviced by a "Pepsi" guy. It's all a conspiracy to drain Coke of their billions of $$, 1 extra Coke at a time. The good ol' "death by a thousand cuts" method. Very clever, Pepsi.........very clever.

[DogMan 2,343]

1. None of the above. If there is an employee right there that I can give the extra soda to and mention the machine is broken I'll do that but leaving it for the next guy does nothing and I'm not waisting my time writing notes over one can of soda. Its not that big a deal and its not my problem.

 

2. Probably "A" , although I have things ring up for a lower price all the time and its usually because something was marked down from the original price.

 

3. Probably "A" again, unless my bank had done me wrong on something before like stick me with an unreasonable fee on something "just because they could".

If I thought the teller would lose her job I would give it back.

 

To me honesty is not all Black and White. There can be a little gray there depending on the precise circumstances. If I see someone on the other side of a busy highway drop a one dollar bill and it blows over to my side am I going to risk his life or mine trying to get a lousy dollar back to him? Not likely. I'll stick it in my pocket and sleep well knowing that was the "smartest" thing to do, even if not totally "honest".

Edited August 24, 2009 by DogMan

[sparky63 46]

as i have never had over 10.000 a year i don't get the question.they screw you ,you screw them and the world rolls around.

[waltham_41 52]

1- Would find a piece of paper to leave a note, which some jackass behind me would probably remove.

 

2- Would ask them to double check the price, has happened before.

 

3- Has happened before, cashed check at a drivethrough, drove off and thumbed through money, realized error and drove back to teller, tried to point out mistake, "Ma'am you cashed my paycheck, and gave me date on check", which was almost double my puny check.........clerk got defensive thinking I was trying to say she shorted me, I almost had to get rude to get her to listen and realize she had given me way too much money. Sheesh!

[Juggernaut 11,054]

C

A

A

[zenmetsu 17]

Ahh... morality questions. Normally I despise morality checks because the response is always dependent upon the situation. There is no black-and-white right or wrong. I consider myself amoral, not believing that any act can be intrinsically right or wrong. This is not to say that I am immoral. An immoral person accepts that things are right or wrong, but chooses to act without regard to morality. Animals kill each other all the time, but they are not "evil". Animals cannot comprehend morality and thus are amoral. Good and evil are merely human constructs that have zero validity. That said, here are my responses. Agree or disagree at your leisure. My actions are not governed by a sense of right or wrong, but rather the desire to not be a burden to society and to harm no one.

 

1. [D] or [C] depending on the machine. [A] does nothing to help the situation, merely relieves yourself of any "guilt" in taking an extra soda. [A] could benefit someone who is in hard times and cannot afford a soda, but it could also advertise the machine's broken status and cause others to take advantage of the situation. The same could be said about leaving a note. You are advertising the 2-for-1 special.

 

At my office, the coke guy has been notified numerous times about the machine in our break room occasionally offering up 2-for-1 specials. He said to not worry about it since it is infrequent and he is tired of pulling taped notices off of his machine for something so inconsequential. I am merely honoring his request by not leaving a note. If the serviceman had been a jerk about it, i would advocate option [D]. There needs to be an option [E] to merely take both sodas and walk away without taking advantage of the situation, but this was not offered. Since I am not going to stop buying soda because the serviceman refuses to fix the problem, option [D] is the most honest match to describe my behavior... but it is not to take advantage of the situation, but rather because I am going to continue using the machine.

 

If the machine is at any other place, I would at least leave a note if there was not already a note. But if there was a note already, no point leaving a second one. In this case, there needs to be an option "E", keep both and walk away, not taking further advantage of the situation.

 

2. [A] or [C] depending on the store. Some stores have double-billed me for items and have refused to correct the mistake and offer me a refund. These stores get the [C] treatment. Lex Talionis. Otherwise, I would tell the clerk that the price on the shelf disagrees with the scanned price. It may turn out that the item is on special and they forgot to change the price on the shelf to reflect it. No reason to hide the information from the clerk.

 

3. [A] Anything otherwise could cause problems for the teller. People make honest mistakes and do not deserve to be punished for them.

 

Edited to correct spelling and explain need for option [E] for question #1.

Edited August 24, 2009 by zenmetsu

[Vultite 57]

B

C

A

 

I'll always take advantage of the coke machine or a store (I used to work retail and it's their fault for mis-programming the item) BUT i'll never rip off my bank.

[BronCobraJet 80]

I don't buy cokes from a machine, but if I did I would just the freebie to a friend, or leave it for the next thirsty person. 2., I would definately ask the salesperson about it. I do believe in Karma, and even though my luck has been really shitty for a couple of years now, the pendulum has to swing the other way eventually. I still have a pretty decent job and nice house, so I can't complain to much. 3. Hell yes I would tell them about it, and hope that they would return the favor. I like being able to sleep at night. I don't like trying to screw people over, and really don't understand those that do.