Doing the right thing...How do you feel about it?
Up until recently, I was working as a DJ in a karaoke bar. I split the shifts with a couple of other guys. One night my counterpart called me in a panic.
"The Karaoke machine is broken what do we do?"
I told him not to worry I would pick up a new one and install it before my shift started that night.
I went to the music store, bought a new machine and paid the $250 out of my pocket. This place had a strict no return repair only policy.
I got to work, luckily the lady who owned the joint was there and I got reimbursed for the machine.
I hooked up the new one and it was D.O.A.
Shit!
I tried everything, and I called around to find that all the music supply stores were closed.
I hooked up the old machine and it was not reading the disks.
I opened the CD drawer and blew inside and a hunk of cigarette ash flew out.
The old machine worked fine after that.
I boxed up the broken new one and took it to my car to see what I could do about getting it repaired to keep in the back office as a spare.
The next day I went to the music shop and explained what happened. They just said that it couldn't be fixed and they weren't going to carry that product anymore.
So they just reversed the charge on my credit card.
So there I was...
The club has a working Karaoke machine
I have the $250 reimbursed cash in my pocket.
The music store refunded my credit card.
Nobody was the wiser
Except me.
I went to bed that night worrying about it.
I didn't have another shift for a few days and brain kept nagging me about the money in my pocket. Do I just hand it back? How do I explain that I didn't replace the machine like they thought I did.
It was seriously bugging me.
I went across town and bought another new machine, went in early, hooked it up and put the old one in the office as a spare and told everyone that I got the old one repaired.
I still felt bad for lying but it seemed the simplest equitable solution.
Knowing I had made the situation right allowed me to sleep for the first time in a week.
I told some friends and acquaintances what had happened and my solution to the situation. Every single one of them said that they would have kept the money with a clear conscience as payment for all the trouble of driving around and fixing the machine .
I couldn't believe they could rationalize stealing that money. I felt guilty for having it in my pocket for 4 days.
I've used my situation as a hypothetical test for several folks and not one of them said they would return the money or make good on replacing the broken equipment.
What do you think?
Honestly, if your place of employment mistakenly gave you money for work you didn't do and nobody would ever find out...
Could you keep the cash and still feel alright about it?
It's ok to be honest ..some of my best friends said I was a dumbass for worrying about it.
"The Karaoke machine is broken what do we do?"
I told him not to worry I would pick up a new one and install it before my shift started that night.
I went to the music store, bought a new machine and paid the $250 out of my pocket. This place had a strict no return repair only policy.
I got to work, luckily the lady who owned the joint was there and I got reimbursed for the machine.
I hooked up the new one and it was D.O.A.
Shit!
I tried everything, and I called around to find that all the music supply stores were closed.
I hooked up the old machine and it was not reading the disks.
I opened the CD drawer and blew inside and a hunk of cigarette ash flew out.
The old machine worked fine after that.
I boxed up the broken new one and took it to my car to see what I could do about getting it repaired to keep in the back office as a spare.
The next day I went to the music shop and explained what happened. They just said that it couldn't be fixed and they weren't going to carry that product anymore.
So they just reversed the charge on my credit card.
So there I was...
The club has a working Karaoke machine
I have the $250 reimbursed cash in my pocket.
The music store refunded my credit card.
Nobody was the wiser
Except me.
I went to bed that night worrying about it.
I didn't have another shift for a few days and brain kept nagging me about the money in my pocket. Do I just hand it back? How do I explain that I didn't replace the machine like they thought I did.
It was seriously bugging me.
I went across town and bought another new machine, went in early, hooked it up and put the old one in the office as a spare and told everyone that I got the old one repaired.
I still felt bad for lying but it seemed the simplest equitable solution.
Knowing I had made the situation right allowed me to sleep for the first time in a week.
I told some friends and acquaintances what had happened and my solution to the situation. Every single one of them said that they would have kept the money with a clear conscience as payment for all the trouble of driving around and fixing the machine .
I couldn't believe they could rationalize stealing that money. I felt guilty for having it in my pocket for 4 days.
I've used my situation as a hypothetical test for several folks and not one of them said they would return the money or make good on replacing the broken equipment.
What do you think?
Honestly, if your place of employment mistakenly gave you money for work you didn't do and nobody would ever find out...
Could you keep the cash and still feel alright about it?
It's ok to be honest ..some of my best friends said I was a dumbass for worrying about it.
posted by Bill Rowland @ May 19, 2007
51 Comments
51 Comments:
Hmmm...you know, a few years ago even, I think I would have kept the money, as I had an inner desperation about my finances. But now that credit card debt and such are paid off--and I've had kids--I don't think I could keep it.
Well handled, Hammer.
Hammer, it doesn't matter if no one else would find out because it wouldn't be right...even if I didn't have any money...it wouldn't be right.
There will always be those who only think of themselves; who only think of a way to make a quick buck; who sincerely don't believe that this is dishonest; who don't see this as shredding away a part of their soul.
You have it right...it's more than merely " OK " to be honest, my friend.
Veritas et Fidelis Semper
I would like to say I would have just kept the money but my little voice would have made me return it cause I would have been just like you up all night worrying.
I couldn't keep it. I have this thing about ill-gotten gains. Like that $250 would cause more damage to me in some form or another more than it could ever possibly be worth. Like it bought the new hair dryer my wife used to throw in the bath tub while I was soaking, or it bought the groceries that contained the Ebola virus that killed all of my barbecue guests; something like that. I probably would have just given it back to the bar and thanked them rather than go get yet another new machine, but that was an even wiser move. It insured a backup next time the guy flicks his ashes into the machine again.
Whatever you did ... it was right for you. I personally think you're a good guy... thank you for being you. I can't even start to wonder what I would do... I would never get money from my workplace!
I couldn't keep it if it was me in your place.
The definition of character is how you behave when nobody is looking.
Sounds like you passed that test, and some of your friends didn't.
hm, you know I think it depends on the place of work and how they had treated me previously. If they had always been good at paying me back for stuff like that and the boss was fair then yes, pay back without a doubt. But if not, and I felt like the workplace took advantage of their workers (or just me) then I would probably keep the money. But like you, I think I would lose sleep over it too actually.
It's amazing, isn't it, Hammer. It feels as if it is a crime to be honest.
I remember as a child, a classmate told me to take money from my father's purse. "they don't know how much they have any way" she said. I took, what in us$ is about $ 0.20 when I thought my father was sleeping. But he was not. 5 years later he told me that he had seen me and after that he alway said that I was not to be trusted with money. When I started to work 15 years old, I paied him back with "interest rate" $5,00 and told him that I never want to hear again that I'm not to be trusted with money. Since then, I have NEVER taken anything, whatsoever.
yeah, no way could I have kept it... and I totally get you on the sleepless thing too.
Actually though, I would have had to tell the truth about the money rather than buy a new machine, because what if the owner really could not afford to replace it, but did not have a choice?
I would lose sleep wondering about that if I had just replaced it without giving her the option.
anyway, thanks for keeping me company here, i am still doing my homework... almost done!
btw, you should maybe put the words "Click HERE" in your dear hammer logo at the top of your blog, maybe people do not know it is a link?
There's no way I could keep the money either. But I would have given it back and done my best to explain rather than buying a new machine. People generally don't get upset if you hand them money back.
I'm with JP. I would definately give the money back. Besides it being the right thing to do, Karma would kick my ass for being a bad girl.
Karma is a funny thing. It always gets you. $250 is not worth bringing bad Karma into your life.
I belive most people say they would've kept the money, but when it comes down to it, I think (or hope) that their concience would intervene and they'd give it back.
Regardless, you now have a good night's sleep every night, and that, my friend, is priceless.
Well handled.
I'd have given the money back and told the boss what happened, and let her deal with getting a new machine. I couldn't keep the money, I'd feel too guilty.
I'd be conflicted, that's for sure.
I'm uber-paranoid about money (especially when it's not mine), so if I was in that situation, I would have gone back to the bar and told them what happened, and offered to buy a backup machine with the cash. If they declined, I would have given the money back. If they'd accepted, ONLY then would I have bought another machine. If the original machine was fixed, to me it's dishonest to use the money slated for its replacement to buy a machine that's no longer needed. That's like saying the machine is still broken when it's not.
I would want to keep the money. I can think of about five million ways it would make things a little easier. But I don't think any of those five million things would be worth the sickness I'd have, which would come after days of nervousness and a couple of sleepless nights. Doing the right thing is just plain healthier, in my case. All you had to do was take the money in and say, "The old machine wasn't as broken as we thought, and the place couldn't/ wouldn't fix the broken new one, so they refunded my money... here's your money back." But at least you did something to set the situation as right as you felt you could. That's much better than keeping money that wasn't yours.
I came over from Tweetey's blog because you mentioned you were having trouble with downloading videos from You Tube and I thought I'd tell you how to do it so that it never fails. I'll give you the same instruction I gave to Tweetey.
First though, congratulations on doing the right thing even if it did take you awhile to reach the right conclusion. Honesty is always the best policy, and you should be proud of yourself for listening to that tiny voice inside your head. If you hadn't, it would have just become louder each and every passing day!
Now for You Tube: Don't try to download it from the "Download" button. The easiest way is to look to the right of the video you're watching and there will be some codes there. Choose the "embed" code and put it where you want it on the HTML page of your post. Easy as pie! Just place your curser over the "embed" code, right click, and choose "select all" and then "copy" and you've got the code.
Enjoy! :)
It's never wrong to do the right thing. I wouldn't have kept the money either.
Nope, I couldn' keep money for something I didn't do.
I have no qualms about being OVERpaid for something I DID do if someone really appreciated my time and effort - like someone giving me a huge tip; but the other would feel like yucky inside.
It doesn't matter that no-one else would know - because I would know.
Hammer: I agree with what AD said. Like you, I wouldn't have kept the money, but I just would've given the money back to the owner & explained what happened, but kudos for going the extra mile.
Thanks for all the comments, it seems there are a lot more honest people in the world than I thought.
It had never occured to me to hand the money back because they were expecting to have the old one repaired and were looking forward to having a spare.
I'm glad I compensated them. I'd rather be underpaid and have them owe me than vice versa.
I would have done what you did. I have also gotten extra items from the vending machine and taken them back to the owner of the machine. People are always telling me I'm too honest. I'm just not sure there is such a thing.
Oh, well, if they were looking forwar to having a spare, then it seems the question of giving the option of cash or replacement is answered, they wanted a replacement (spare). That detail was not clear in the original post.
And I think one commenter was confused thinking you were sleepless trying to decide wheter or not to give the money back! No, you were just uncomfortable even having it in your possession for a short while! I got that.
I would have called my boss and told them that I had their money and would return it when I came back to work.
I've been known to follow customers to their car, when they mistakenly leave a $5 tip for a cup of coffee and a roll. I'll never get rich that way, but I can live with myself!
Wow I never knew what went on behind the scenes of karaoke its pretty steamy. I always thought it was just people who had to get really drunk to sing and an audience that had to be really drunk to appreciate it.
You did the right thing, the $250 wasn't yours and you made the world of karaoke a little better with your action.
I'm in agreement with the majority here. I couldn't keep that money. I'd be tempted, what with some of the guns I'd like to own, but there's no way I could do it. You did the right thing, and you did it when no one would've been the wiser. That makes you a good man in my book.
I wouldn't have kept the money, Hammer. You did the right thing. It doesn't matter who else knows about it, when something like that happens. It's enough that YOU know.
I couldn't have kept the money either. Wouldn't have been MY money. There just isn't anything I want so badly I'd be willing to steal something to get it.
You did the right thing. You have to be able to sleep at night.
I would have given the money back to the karoake club owner and explained what happened. I would have hoped that the karoake club owner would have understood.
Years ago my young daughter and I found a purse by a phone booth. I felt uneasy even opening it up to look for identification. Inside was a checkbook with an out of town name on it. Also stuck in it were several $100 dollar bills. The irony of only having about 2 bucks to my name that day wasn't lost on me. I didn't even consider keeping it though. I would not have been able to sleep at night if I had kept it. We turned it in to the police dept. About a week later a cop came to my house to make a report about my find. I thought he was going to tell me that the owner came forward and was giving me a reward. Instead he told me that besides the money I had seen, there was even more cash than that, food stamps AND a bag of marijuana! The owner had in fact come to see if her purse had been found and she was arrested.
"Up until recently, I was working as a DJ in a karaoke bar. I split the shifts with a couple of other guys."
Hum, there is something fishy here as a DJ in a karaoke bar doesn't make enough money to buy a Lincoln Navigator and a Dodge Charger.
We are talking almost a hundred grand there. So the wife is carrying you along and if her job goes to hell because of the Peter Principle you are in deep crap.
It's no wonder you don't sleep well at night.
Wait, you did say that this blog is just for your entertainment. Okay, have fun then. Hugs.
Boy I hate to follow such an upbeat and positive post before me.
I love AD's def--I've heard it said character is who you are in the dark--(same as AD's basically)-- so as you lay there with it bothering you- you had no choice really. It was theirs- always was theirs and now rightfully so- IS still theires- thanks to your character. It's what a Hammer does--The right thing.
Can BBC be bumped-makes me sick and not even funny. Just a mean crotchety old fart. Love to get the attention and feedback eh, grump butt-at the expense of other peoples honest hardposted blogs. Isn't there a cynical asshole we hate everyone but rich people who can justify their lives by how practical and how much money they make and how superior the are to everyone that doen't stand up to their measurement club??
Or am I just reading you wrong? LOL
You can delete this Hammer if you don't want this said but I'm just sick of his assholyness!
J
John: you have a way with words :) No problems here :)
cindi: wow, you did good. I find the poorest people are often the most honest. Funny how that works.
nancy: so many rationalize stealing they almost believe they are owed it.
BBC: I've never owned a navigator, I'm living off investments and have no debt. happy now? I just enjoy raising my kids. I'm not sure what you want me to say.
What do you care about my financial situation? You seem obsessed with money.
Can you drop the topic now? You're sounding like a broken record.
I would have just called the boss and explained and then mail a check for the $250 to give back since you made the exchange. Or write a check and give it to the bar on the next shift.
The only thing I have is my word and integrity. I would have given the money back, explained about the ash in the old one, and been done with it. I've taken money back to cashiers who gave me too much change and returned over payments on my paychecks. The fear of getting caught is greater to me than the gain of the money.
$250 isn't worth the bad ju-ju. We all have our price and/or what is worth agonizing over. If Exxon screwed up my credit card and gave me a plus of $250 I'd think long and hard before correcting the deal. You did the right thing so alls well that ends well. And kudos for living so benign a life that this befuddled your mojo.
Good for you. Your conscience is working for your good. Best friends are not best if they don't give you best-for-you advice ;)
I would give the money back. Not that I wouldn't want to keep it! I think I'd definitely struggle with the decision, but I'd come to the same conclusion you did in the end.
It doesn't surprise me that some people told you they'd keep the money.
A couple of weeks ago the company I work for had a catered lunch. We were to sign up ahead of time with whether we wanted, steak or ribs.
Everyone kept asking each other what they were getting. Whenever asked I said I wasn't getting anything. I prefer not to eat much at lunch time. (makes me lazy)
I had some tell me, "so get it and take it home for later, it's free".
They actually seemed like they couldn't believe I was passing up something for free. Like I should be taking anything they offered, even if I didn't want it. And this was just a lunch. I wonder if they'd give that $250 back?
Or maybe that's not even the same thing. But, I just remember thinking, "how greedy" whenever one of them acted surprised that I wasn't taking something from the company.
Pat yourself on the back, Hammer. Ya done good!
I'd have done the same thing. Dick over a good faith employer out of $250 and it just has a strange way of getting back to them somehow, and ruins your rep forever.
Good call on your part.
a similar incident:
about three years ago, when our daughter was eleven, she and four friends would each be given a hefty bag by a teacher at lunchtime at school to clean up the football field on a monday and when each was full, they'd take them back to the teacher and she would buy them all an ice cream of their choice.
one day, they only filled three bags and one of the girls said, "let's just tell miss so-and-so we filled all five bags and get our ice cream."
our daughter told her in no uncertain terms, "NO!, i'm not going to lie - that would make the ice cream taste very, very bad."
if we practice what we preach, others around us will do the same. and another thing, it will come round to bite us if we don't.
Hey Hammer,
You did good!
I sincerely believe that when we make money from non-honest methods, then it does not give us any honest happiness - no matter what you do with it. Such money never sticks around - it goes as fast as it comes, and gives us nothing in return...
Good Choice!
Honesty is usually the best policy
I would have felt very guilty about keeping the money, but I wouldnt' have stressed if I knew I was going to give it back or find a new machine. If the money was just cash lying on the street, i have no problem pocketing that, but when it's work related, no f'ing way!
My employer is good to me. If they unknowingly gave me $250 unearned, I would return it.
My ex-husband is a schmuck who is $16,000 behind on child support. If he unknowingly gave me $250, I'd spend it on new clothes for the kid for next school year.
For me, it depends on the source. One time a cashier at a little Mexican Restaurant gave me $15 back too much in change. When I gave it back to her, she ripped it from my hand and muttered something as she stuffed it back in the register. I have not been back. I should have kept it. A simple "thank you" was worth that $15.
You did the right thing, Hammer.
The other day, we bought my newly-high-school-graduated daughter a nice flat TV. It's what she wanted for a graduation present. We went all around town and ended up buying one in WalMart. We picked one out, and the guy working in that department went to the back with a buggy and brought us out the TV. We took it up front and paid for it.
When we put it in the car, there was an unopened music CD in the buggy. It had been there when the guy brought out the TV from the back of the store, so we didn't know it was there and hadn't paid for it. I took it back in and explained this to the door-greeter guy, and handed him the CD, and he was astonished and thanked me over and over.
A $15 Cd that could we could have kept, and it didn't cross my mind until I saw the Walmart guys reaction.
Good thing I hate country music.
Still, you did the right thing. You HAVE to go with what's in your heart to do.
You did the right thing, Hammer. What matters, more than the method, is you didn't steal.
I've noticed most thieves are also liars. Just saying.
I would absolutely not have kept the money - it would bug me, I'd feel guilty, and I would suffer torment at the thought that I might be found out and thought to be a dishonest person. Especially to be thought to engage in louche dealings by one's employer is troubling, in my opinion. I think you did the right thing.
I wouldn't have kept the money either. I'm the type that would have showed up the next day, work or not, to give it back to them and say "No harm done." I like you would have tossed and turned on that one till I made it right, but that's just how I am. Anyone that would have kept that money is capable of robbing you blind.
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