Around noon today: I was in a hurry, as usual, so I chose the drive-thru option for lunch. Yeah, burger, fries ... ugh! Let's not think about it. Anyway, the total was $5.24 ... I gave the guy my money, a twenty and twenty-four cents. He handed back the change. I felt rushed, and I didn't check it. Just saw that it was two bills, the top bill being a ten — so I figured it was probably right. I pulled away from the window before putting it away. A block away, at a stop light I took the time to put the money in my wallet. Which is when I noticed he had given me a ten and a twenty back. I thought, "wait, that's $15 too much". Having been a cashier at a drive-thru for a large portion of my college years I knew that a $15 shortage was not a fun thing. Plus, I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't take it back, no matter whose mistake.
So, I went back. Parked, walked inside bypassing the line of people at the counter. When I caught the front counter employee's eye I said, "I just went through the drive-thru and he gave me back way too make change". To which I heard a man in the line call out, "Heh, I'll take it!". When I turned around to acknowledge him, I noticed the entire line was made up of middle-aged men, all looking at me like I was nuts. Or maybe they just haven't seen an honest person in a while so they needed a good look.
The manager came to the counter and thanked me for bringing the money back, offered me an ice cream, I declined. I just don't think that plain and simple honesty deserves a reward. Do we have to be rewarded to do the right thing nowadays? The guy working the drive-thru came over and took the money, then returned to the counter with my correct change and said, "I'm sorry". I guess he was apologizing for my inconvenience. But all I could think was, why did he apologize? He should have been saying thank you. Sigh.
Back to the line of middle-aged men (with the dumbfounded looks on their faces). I hope they mirror my actions. Maybe this will start a trend of doing the right thing, simply for the peace of mind of knowing it was the right thing.
The whole episode got me thinking about what's become acceptable in our society, and how we treat each other. More than once lately I've heard someone say they didn't do the right thing because, "it was the other person's fault" and why should they? That attitude frustrates me. I'm not suggesting we go back to the days of "Leave It To Beaver" or anything. Just common decency, maybe help someone out once in a while. Do the right thing.
2 comments:
I suffer from this affliction as well.
When eating at a Mexican restaurant recently, I noticed they had neglected to charge me for one of the two beers we had ordered. It's only a few bucks and I could have said "awesome! free beer!"
Instead, I pointed it out and the bill was corrected. No middle aged men were there to gawk, but it felt good anyway.
We went through something like this recently. I was in a check-out line with a friend and I noticed the cashier give him too much change. I quietly pointed it out to him, and he made a show of giving the difference back to the cashier, who was nicely grateful. But it gave me a darker feeling. I'm not sure, but knowing him, I suspect he would have made off with the difference and boasted about it if he hadn't been faced with disapproval in my eyes. He and his wife have boasted about putting one over on people before and justified it by suggesting it was just desserts for the rudeness of cashiers... this in spite of her having been a cashier for many years, who occasionally had to make up the difference in her receipts. The double standard bothers me. That said, congratulations on what you did... especially since that $15 probably means more to someone working minimum wage than to someone somewhat better-off. :)
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