Returning to Pay For a Missed Item. The Checker is Always Surprised.
Yesterday while doing some shopping, I had some heavy items in my cart at Wal-Mart. When I do, they just bring the hand-held scanner to the cart and ring them up that way. A great labor saving device for the checker and for me.. not having to lift those heavy items onto the scanning table.
There were two identical items stacked on top of each other in the cart. When I got to my car and was putting the items in, scanning down through my list and the receipt, it was clear that the checker had only checked one of the items. Don was helping me so he continued to load the car and I went back in to pay for the item that the checker had missed. She seemed surprised that I came in and wanted to pay for something that she had missed. She thanked me for my honesty. That seemed so strange to me... that someone would thank me for my honesty.
I've had similar instances in the past and I'm sure you have too. Why, as a society, are we often surprised when someone returns to pay for something. We're not surpised when people do other good deeds,but I think she would have been less surprised if it had been a locally owned business than Wal-Mart.
The thing we often miss is that doing the right thing is about the person that does it, not the person (or corporation) that receives it. I remember one of the talks that my husband, Don, had with our son. He said something like "Know who you are before you get into situations. Think about the different scenarios that you may be presented with and make the decision to do the right thing BEFORE you are faced with the choice". That statement (paraphrased here) has stayed with me. I've never heard it said better. We should all be consciously deciding to do the right thing when faced with choices, BEFORE being faced with them. Grant you, sometimes knowing what the right thing is, is not always clear but you can never err when you're on the side of honesty, integrity, and graciousness.
So often in the Real Estate Business we hear about someone else that was a "shady real estate character". We have to have ethics boards, and ethics codes to define what ethical behavior is, but the part that I love that rules the ethical behavior is the Golden Rule... do unto others as we would have them do to us.
If that had been my store yesterday and my checker had missed collecting the money for an item, I would appreciate someone coming back in and paying for it.
Please don't get me wrong here.. this is not a "bragging on me" post, just "thinking in type". When we're the type to do the right thing, does that change with the increase of value? It was $25 yesterday. Would I have returned to pay for a $1000 item.. yes. A $10,000 item? Yes, I would. Is there a price at which I would say no... I prefer to think not.
I believe that if I had not returned to pay for that item, then every time I looked at it, I would have felt embarrassment and regret. I much prefer enjoying it, knowing that it is rightfully mine.
Are there any people that can live their lives comfortably always being the taker, looking for opportunities to take something from someone when they have no right to it? Yes, I guess there are... otherwise we wouldn't need ethics boards, etc... or jails..
Tuesday morning thoughts...
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