if a cashier gave you extra change without relizing it and you knew it, would you keep it or give it back

[sam13371337]

happened twice, gave back both times.

at the end of the day, it comes out to how much people value themselves and their honesty/integrity.

if a little petty change is worth it for you to stoop so low to run off with it and possibly ruin a poor cashiers day, then thats the type of person you are. to each his own

[Wetcoaster]

This.

Big corporation, I keep.

Small, independant business, I return.

[Wetcoaster]

I will defer to Wetcoaster on this one but I am pretty sure it is illegal to take advantage of a clerical error.

[AllHailSmyl]

I've worked with a cash register when I was a teenager. There were a handful of times when I just started out that a customer gave me back a few dollars of change that I had given him by accident. I always give back change when this happens to me, it was nice dealing with honest people then.

That said, I do get a little bitter when you go somewhere and the machine spits out the change for the cashier...where's the skill in that?!

[inane]

Situational honesty, integrity and ethics????

Seems odd to me.

[Wetcoaster]

World not black and white? Does not compute.

[inane]

This is the sort of issue that seems black and white to me. YMMV.

[Markus Alexander Cody]

If I notice, then yes. But that has never happened to me yet.

[hockeyfan87]

World not black and white? Does not compute.

[avelanch]

i always give it back. one time a cashier gave me an extra 20 that was stuck to the other one, and i made sure they knew about it. i've had a cashier try to pass it off before, or refuse to take it and told me to keep quiet about it, i'm guessing they get in trouble for incorrect change given or something, but i just left it on the counter and left.

[GLASSJAW]

That's different. You have no idea of knowing whose it is or if they'll ever get it back if you just hand it in someplace.

When you know the source of the unknowing "donation", it becomes a whole different story. You know it'll come out of their pocket or they'll have to account for it. You know who it belongs to.

And like EBW said, it's especially important to bring kids up this way, with a sense of honesty and integrity. One of my proudest moments was when my son, a new clerk at Bosley's, told me a customer came in and bought very large bags of dog food that my son helped him to his car with. On the way back in, he saw that the guy had dropped a $100 bill in front of the till (the only customer in the store), so he ran back out to catch the guy before he drove away. He was a teenager and it was his first job...I was very proud that he did the right thing (and guy came back to flip him $20, which reaffirmed it).

[GLASSJAW]

Care to put an argument forward then? Big corporations employ real people and sell goods and services to individuals. Any potential monetary loss isn't magically absorbed by an infinite amount of profit. It's likely real people will feel the backlash be it through lower wages, reduced benefits, or direct consequences to the employee who was responsible for the losses. This is all besides the point though because a thief is still a thief irregardless of when he wants to steal.

If I found money on the ground and didn't know who it belonged to I'd keep it. If i was given extra money back when I made a transaction I'd feel obliged to return it. It doesn't matter who the cashier or store is. For those who think people it's alright to do otherwise how do you think society would operate if everyone proceeded in such a manner?

[GLASSJAW]

for those 40 people who voted "no" -- do you pirate copyrighted material?

[etsen3]

Here's another question I think would be interesting: would the answer change if instead of a cashier it were an automated self checkout or a vending machine?

edit: I guess if it were a vending machine it would be more likely to give you free food as opposed to extra change

to answer the question myself, if it were a real cashier I would be tempted to keep it, but I would give it back since I don't want anyone getting in trouble. For a vending machine, no way in hell. I've been screwed over by those things so many times, so I'm just getting my money back. Or maybe I'm just an asshole.

[Armada]

for those 40 people who voted "no" -- do you pirate copyrighted material?

[GLASSJAW]

Irrelevant

[avelanch]

Here's another question I think would be interesting: would the answer change if instead of a cashier it were an automated self checkout or a vending machine?

[GLASSJAW]

in that case it would be more trouble than it's worth to return the extra couple cents.

[avelanch]

so your honesty and integrity and great parents only raised you to be a good person... so long as it fits your time schedule?

[Wetcoaster]

Of course it does.