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[ClayKavalier]

I got lunch at a small upscale bistro-type thing near my work today. I spent about $20 on an avocado toast and a coffee

Spoiler

considered leaving this detail out since I assume some will fixate on it but w/e, it is what it is

, or I ordered it anyway.

They had one of those payment things were you slide a card through a reader attached to an iPad and it didn't read my card. I slid it and got a "Card Declined" message, which happens occasionally with my debit card.

The guy I ordered from was making my drink so I tried to re-swipe my card on my own so I wouldn't have to interrupt him. The menu wasn't as intuitive as I thought it would be though, and after tapping a few buttons I had no idea what I was doing.

The guy brought me coffee and said "We'll call your name when your toast is ready."

Me: "Thanks, I need to pay still, my card didn't go through."

Guy: *looks at screen* "Oh no, you're good."

Me: "I don't think so, I slid my card once and it said it didn't read, and I haven't done anything else to pay."

Guy: "Oh yeah, that's all you have to do, just slide your card once."

Me: "Yeah, I slid my card once but it said it didn't read it. I don't know what the screen is showing but I pushed some buttons to try to pay again while you were gone, I'm sure I haven't paid."

We went back and forth like that one or two more times and finally I was like whatever, I'm not going to get on my knees and beg you to let me pay. It was a really small place and a woman who was already there saw what happened and understood better than the guy working there what happened, she gave me a pretty crazy evil eye and stared at me for a few seconds when I sat down but didn't say anything.


The whole thing reminded me of another similar recent experience. Amazon had Sennheiser's Momentum headphones on sale for $400, regularly $500. I'd been kind of considering getting a pair but the price was a turn off. $400 was still pushing it but I figured I'd get a pair while they were on sale and then just return them if I decided they were too expensive. I ordered a pair at Best Buy and got in-store pickup planning to price match, and when I picked them up and asked about it I was told that my card had already been charged so I could either return them and repurchase them or call an 800 number and request a price match over the phone. I opted for the latter and took off.

The next day I called the number from work and the woman I spoke to searched "Sennheiser Momentum headphones" on Amazon and found the wired version. "Is $220 the price you want to match?" I was like fuck yeah, score, but then she explained that since the price was over $100 off the MSRP a manager would have to approve it. I figured a manager would never fall for that and tried to correct the mistake.

I spent half a goddamn hour on the phone with this woman, I gave her SKU numbers, I gave her a number from Best Buy's own website, I explained she was looking at the wired version while I had purchased the same headphone in a Bluetooth model, I don't know what her deal was but she just could not find the page for the right product. Eventually I said "Look, I don't want to be rude but I'm at work right now and I have to go, is there anyone else who can help me? It doesn't feel like we're getting anywhere with this."

She said she could pass her progress along to someone else and I could get off the phone, they could confirm the price independently and get back to me. The next morning I got an email to the effect of "We have processed a return credit of $280 for your headphones." I couldn't believe it.


Anyway, I'm curious if anyone else does this. Have you ever corrected a mistake that benefits you, or do you just go with it? I try to live life in general with the "Treat others as you'd like to treated" philosophy, but clearly there's limits where people just can't comprehend how they're messing up.

 

[weemadarthur]

I try to correct it, yes.

But like you, if I get pushback....I'm not spending time here to FORCE some business to take my money. If they send me the wrong item and don't want to pay shipping to get it back and tell me to keep it, ok. If the cashier refuses to admit she could have given me a $20 in change when I paid with a $10, ohwell.

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

A couple of years ago, I was in a comic book store, bought some comics and got an extra £10 change without realising until I got home. I gave it back the next time I went.

 

[OG Shaka Zulu]

If its a small business or mom and pop store that makes an error in my favor than I correct it.

If some big multimillion corp makes a mistake in my favor then I'm not correcting it.

 

[NoblesseOblige]

If it results in a loss for somebody else, then yes.

 

[Mass_Pincup]

If its a small business or mom and pop store that makes an error in my favor than I correct it.

If some big multimillion corp makes a mistake in my favor then I'm not correcting it.

I never really understood this mindset.

In general a mom and pop store would be more lenient if a mistake is made but the low level worker making that mistake in a multimillion corp will surely get fired for it.

Unless it's a big mistake which in that case is understandable.

 

[milkham]

I'm trying to remember the last time a mistake benefitted me

 

[Gnome Scat]

Only if it has negative effects to surrounding things.

 

[Hoho for breakfast]

Sometimes.

If it's some big company or something then no. Bank error in my favor.

If it's a small store or person to person then yes.

 

[Seesaw15]

I do it by reflex only to realize later that I screwed up.

 

[stenbumling]

Sometimes.

If it's some big company or something then no. Bank error in my favor.

If it's a small store or person to person then yes.

Pretty much.

 

[Septimus Prime]

Yes, generally.

"Shoot, I forgot to tip!"

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

You don't have a right to things just because others made a mistake. Exploiting the mistakes of others is no better than stealing.

 

[Stormthehouse]

I'll try to bring attention to a mistake and let the other party decide whether it's worth the effort to fix.

Mostly I just don't want anyone to feel like they got jerked around, too much of that happening to people already.

 

[Mephala]

Yes I try.

I remember I was paying for movie tickets and I got a $10 note change. As I was putting the money away I noticed it was two notes stuck together so I gave one back. I got weird looks for it.

The oddest part is that some of my friends seemed genuinely upset that I gave it back on the reasoning that it was a mistake and the money wasn't mine.
"But they still gave it to you so it is yours!"
The issue even got a little heated until I forced the point.
"Fine. The money is mine and I can do with it what I want. I gave it back."

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

Yes I try.

I remember I was paying for movie tickets and I got a $10 note change. As I was putting the money away I noticed it was two notes stuck together so I gave one back. I got weird looks for it.

The oddest part is that some of my friends seemed genuinely upset that I gave it back on the reasoning that it was a mistake and the money wasn't mine.
"But they still gave it to you so it is yours!"
The issue even got a little heated until I forced the point.
"Fine. The money is mine and I can do with it what I want. I gave it back."

It's easier to get people to shut up about stuff like that by saying "Well if you drop your wallet it must have been you giving it away and therefore you don't deserve it back"

 

[SolVanderlyn]

When I was in sixth grade I got a test back that had a score of a high 90 or a 100 (I forget, it was a long time ago). However, I got a pretty big question wrong, but it was marked right. I went up to my teacher in front of the whole class and asked him to change it to the correct score. He took off the ten points and then added three or so for my honesty.

The whole class made fun of me for it.

So I guess I do this sometimes.

 

[ClayKavalier]

When I was in sixth grade I got a test back that had a score of a high 90 or a 100 (I forget, it was a long time ago). However, I got a pretty big question wrong, but it was marked right. I went up to my teacher in front of the whole class and asked him to change it to the correct score. He took off the ten points and then added three or so for my honesty.

The whole class made fun of me for it.

So I guess I do this sometimes.

I've done this as well, in college though.

I also once changed my grade in a high school class when a teacher left a room with the spreadsheet they kept grades in open, hopefully the karma balances out.

 

[Mephala]

It's easier to get people to shut up about stuff like that by saying "Well if you drop your wallet it must have been you giving it away and therefore you don't deserve it back"

I think I actually tried that reasoning but the response was that one is dropped the other is given away. I argued that both are losing an item unintentionally but there was no convincing them. They were also bringing out stuff like cinema business money and little people hard earned money differences. Heh. It irritates me a little just remembering it.

 

[Soldiussnaku]

Depends on the mistake. Depends how/why I benefit from it.

 

[EVOL 100%]

Yeah, I do. The guilt isn't worth it.

The cases in the OP are lost causes, though, you tried and they refused to correct the mistakes. Nothing much you can do then

 

[kswiston]

Yes, because I think about the negative effect to someone else most of the time. If someone gives you wrong change, or types in the wrong amount on a debit machine, they will likely have to pay for the mistake later.

That said, if two chocolate bars fall out of a vending machine instead of one, I'm not going to go out of my way to correct the mistake.

 

[noquarter]

Usually I do. Really depends in the level of effort I have to put in though, and whether I remember to.

Went to Target and bought a videogame along with a bunch of groceries and the game didn't get rang up, but didn't notice til I got home ($20 DS game or something). I meant to take it back next time I went and just spaced it, and have since moved across the country. Really don't remember what game it was, and not really worth the effort though.

Also, in OPs situations I probably would have done the same thing, you out in effort, not much else you can do.

 

[Moose Biscuits]

Usually I will, because it makes me feel good about myself. I get an opportunity to bask in how nice I am for not capitalising on someone's error.

If it's a situation where the mistake stops me from getting in trouble or gets me out of having to do something inconvenient or stressful though, nah. I'll ignore it.

 

[MattKeil]

Usually, especially if it could directly impact someone negatively. Last week I was in a paid parking lot, which was $6. I gave the attendant a $10 bill and he gave me $14 back. I told him and got the correct change. I've worked jobs where that much discrepancy in your till was an instant termination, and it's hard enough finding a job in this city as it is.

 

[Bleepey]

I try to be honest.

 

[Adam_Roman]

For the most part yes. But in situations like OP's at the coffee shop, I would've said it once and if the guy said "Oh no, you're good" I would've just asked "Are you sure?" and if he said yeah I'd just say "Okay thanks" and leave. I'm all for doing the right thing but I'm not about to get in an extensive argument over it. If I explained what happened clearly and the guy still said it's fine, I fulfilled my moral obligation.

 

[Ban Puncher]

Always Double Down

 

[OmegaTreeFish]

If i notice it at the till i will say about it regardless who it benefits. If i dont notice till later down the line then it depends on the situation.

Cant remember a time in recent years where it was something i didnt notice till later.

Even if its a big company i still say something​ because the person on the till is who will get in trouble and the 'big evil corporation' wont feel it in any way.

 

[Nickle]

Generally, but if it's a mistake from a big company then I'm keeping the money.

 

[Soulflarz]

Automated price error? No.

Someone not listing something but it personally affects them? Yeah.

Like I was at Chipotle today and they forgot to charge me double meat so I pointed it out so the register person didn't have to take flak later, since apparently Chipotle is annoying about that.

 

[Stallion Dan]

If it hurts small business/individuals then yes, I correct.

Big businesses no way.

 

[Spyware]

I always try to make sure it's correct in every way. If I expect to get it corrected when it's detrimental to me I of course need to have the same mindset when it's not.

And it usually just sorts itself out in the best way for me anyway.

I got a Collector's Edition when I had pre-ordered the standard edition of a game. Didn't open it and immediately contacted the store. They were happy I had contacted them and told me to keep the CE.

A hotel I was staying in had a hectic evening because there was a huge TV team there to record something for a massive TV show. We didn't want to be in the way so we had dinner in our room. The most expensive thing on the menu. When we were checking out they didn't mention our dinner so I told him I needed to pay for that too. "But you didn't eat here last night" was the answer. I explained the situation but he couldn't find a single trace of our order. There was no record of us ever eating that dinner so they couldn't accept the money. "Well, just smile and walk away then. Have a good day!" he told us.