moral dilemma

[curious_george_43545]

Tell them they made a mistake and pay the rest that you owe. If they thank you for being honest and decline payment then fine, but pay the full bill and you'll feel a lot better about yourself.

[RynMan]

You win some, you lose some.

This basically sums up how I feel.

I'm surprised you guys would all alert the clerk. I've never shoplifted in my life, and don't believe in stealing, but I wouldn't bother alerting them. Yes, you could argue it as stealing, but it's not like you picked up the chicken and walked out with it. It's the clerk's mistake for not paying attention. Sometimes I am cast into this situation - if it's a major, million/billion dollar company then I say who cares. They are probably getting my money back in other areas where they are marking up a product a ridiculous amount. If we are talking a small business, then yes, I definitely alert the clerk.

But yeah, the whole karma thing doesn't stick for me. I do enough good deeds. Call it a reward for my good deeds!

And yeah Yoda, I can guarantee you've been short changed so many times that this isn't even close to making it up.

[Amazinz]

LOL. Some of you act as if Karma is your personal bank account. As long as you keep it balanced, you're good to go.

Yeah, Rynman, not to go preachy but remember that there are regular guys behind those million dollar companies with wives, children, mortgages, and lawns to mow. Crap rolls down hill. This is like software piracy. Kid your self all you want that you're sticking it to the man but it's always the little man paying up.

[Yoda]

LOL. Some of you act as if Karma is your personal bank account. As long as you keep it balanced, you're good to go.

Yeah, Rynman, not to go preachy but remember that there are regular guys behind those million dollar companies with wives, children, mortgages, and lawns to mow. Crap rolls down hill. This is like software piracy. Kid your self all you want that you're sticking it to the man but it's always the little man paying up.

So you don't agree with my penny cup argument?

[knapplc]

The penny cup argument doesn't apply IMO because the express purpose of the penny cup is to help out when you're short one or two pennies. It also presupposes a level of awareness of the situation by both you and the cashier that clearly isn't there in the chicken scenario.

Let's put it this way - if that cashier had intentionally decided that they wanted to give you free chicken by not ringing all the pieces up, that would be theft, wouldn't it? I've worked in grocery stores and I know for a fact that people get fired for stuff like that all the time. So it wasn't intentional on the cashier's part (we can presume) so the penny cup isn't a good analogy.

[TheA'sFatLeadoffMan]

You win some, you lose some.

This basically sums up how I feel.

I'm surprised you guys would all alert the clerk. I've never shoplifted in my life, and don't believe in stealing, but I wouldn't bother alerting them. Yes, you could argue it as stealing, but it's not like you picked up the chicken and walked out with it. It's the clerk's mistake for not paying attention. Sometimes I am cast into this situation - if it's a major, million/billion dollar company then I say who cares. They are probably getting my money back in other areas where they are marking up a product a ridiculous amount. If we are talking a small business, then yes, I definitely alert the clerk.

But yeah, the whole karma thing doesn't stick for me. I do enough good deeds. Call it a reward for my good deeds!

And yeah Yoda, I can guarantee you've been short changed so many times that this isn't even close to making it up.

Why wouldn't you alert though, what is the reason, because you want the free stuff? If you're right there at the counter and you notice it, not saying something could only be seen as wanting to cash in on someones mistake. I don't like that sort of thing, makes me think you might be the type to borrow money from someone and only pay up if they remember to ask for it...

[Art Vandelay]

We'd do things like put milk in our cereal just to the point where you couldn't see it in the bowl, and then fill up a cup of milk and tell em' that that was for the cereal so they wouldn't charge you for it.

Dude...I don't know if I'd admit to something like that on a public forum. They might still be looking for you.

[knapplc]

We'd do things like put milk in our cereal just to the point where you couldn't see it in the bowl, and then fill up a cup of milk and tell em' that that was for the cereal so they wouldn't charge you for it.

Dude...I don't know if I'd admit to something like that on a public forum. They might still be looking for you.

No kidding. What's the statute of limitations on theft of lactose?

[Field]

You win some, you lose some.

This basically sums up how I feel.

I'm surprised you guys would all alert the clerk. I've never shoplifted in my life, and don't believe in stealing, but I wouldn't bother alerting them. Yes, you could argue it as stealing, but it's not like you picked up the chicken and walked out with it. It's the clerk's mistake for not paying attention. Sometimes I am cast into this situation - if it's a major, million/billion dollar company then I say who cares. They are probably getting my money back in other areas where they are marking up a product a ridiculous amount. If we are talking a small business, then yes, I definitely alert the clerk.

But yeah, the whole karma thing doesn't stick for me. I do enough good deeds. Call it a reward for my good deeds!

And yeah Yoda, I can guarantee you've been short changed so many times that this isn't even close to making it up.

Quoted for truth.

[OneLoveBoomer]

We'd do things like put milk in our cereal just to the point where you couldn't see it in the bowl, and then fill up a cup of milk and tell em' that that was for the cereal so they wouldn't charge you for it.

Dude...I don't know if I'd admit to something like that on a public forum. They might still be looking for you.

No kidding. What's the statute of limitations on theft of lactose?

I said we'd do things "like" put milk in our cereal, etc. "Like." What followed was purely hypothetical. That's my defense when they come after me.