Eric took Lyssa to Kohl's before their trip to Louisiana, and they found a bunch of things on sale. It ended up being comparably priced to Goodwill, if you can believe it.
So he told me I had to get over there and check it out. He asked me again this week if I'd gone in.
No.
So he said, "Go."
I went in on Thursday afternoon and found several shirts that I really liked. I picked out five of them and scrounged up a gift card from my wallet that still had 14 bucks and change on it to deduct from my total.
$43.18. For five shirts that fit, were in colors I love and will be great for work this fall. Deduct the $14.00 from that and it was a great deal. I left happy.
Well, I was sitting here a few minutes ago looking at the receipt.
I was only charged for four shirts.
The one that didn't show up on my receipt was $5.60. Not a terribly expensive shirt.
Now I'd have no trouble going in, showing them the receipt and saying, "Hey, I was accidentally not charged for this shirt, and I'd like to pay for it."
But I wonder about the little girl clerk person who rang up my items. Would she get in trouble? Possibly lose her job over a five dollar mistake? Would it go into her personnel file?
Had I noticed while I was there, it would have been easy to just point it out and pay for it, but now I've been home for hours, cut off all the tags, washed and dried all the shirts and hung them up.
I am still not sure what I'm going to do.
I don't want to get anyone in trouble.
But I don't steal, either.
It's really, really important to me to be honest.
About six years ago, I was in Sprawlmart, and picked up an eyeglass repair kit. (39 cents).
We paid for all our stuff, about 200 bucks worth, and left the store. When I got out to the car, I found the eyeglass repair kit still in my cart. I had not put it on the counter and I had not paid for it.
I took it back into the store and paid for it. The clerk at the customer service counter looked at me like I was crazy, but I didn't care. My kids were with me. It's important to me to raise honest children, and the best way to do that, of course, is showing them by example.
There was no way I could drive away knowing I'd stolen the eyeglass kit... even though no one else would have ever known.
So. No one would have known about the shirt, either.
Except I told a few friends.. and now it's on my blog so a few more know about it. But even if I told no one, I'd still know.
I saw the receipt and I can't just let it go. It's wrong.
What would you do? Go back to the store and talk to the manager? Do nothing? I am still pondering.
Right now I'm leaning toward calling the store, asking to speak to the manager and tell him or her what happened and go from there.
Am I just a doofus? I've actually been accused of overthinking stuff before if you can believe that...
Edited to add:
Called and talked to the manager.After surprise and thanks for calling, I was told to 'enjoy my free shirt and thanks for shopping at Kohl's'.
But I can sleep tonight knowing I did the honest thing.
I understand! We were once charged the same price per pound for a rib roast as a cheap pork roast. I told them they were wrong and had them charge me the correct price. Can't stand to take advantage. However, my first thought would be, how much gas would it cost me to drive back there to Kohl's. If I were to have to spend more on gas than the item was worth, I wouldn't go back. It was their mistake.That's just me, though.
ReplyDeleteIt never occurred to me that the clerk might get in trouble. I mean, I'd not give it a second thought to go back in and pay for the shirt, never thinking about the consequences to the person who made the mistake. ACK! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BRING THAT UP! YOU JUST COMPLICATED MY LIFE!
ReplyDeleteI had the same thing happen to me, but it was $1 box of candy from Target last year at the holidays-part of a gift. I think I finally threw the receipt out when we moved. I didn't have the candy anymore, so it's not like they could re ring it. I don't think a person would get fired over a missed shirt, maybe just a talking to. At this point, I'm just thinking I'll be donating a little extra to charity and assume that the cosmic balance will work out. It happened to me before with a scarf thing, 2 were attached together, and I just took it back to Wal Mart. This, however, was from a store I couldn't drive to. I tend to check my receipts a little more closely now, because of that. I still feel guilty, but what are we supposed to do?
ReplyDeleteHmmmm....This is a tough one. I've kind of stuck to the rule that if it's my fault, I fess up and fix the mistake. But, if it's neglect on the cashier's side, and I don't realize the mistake until after the fact, I let it be.
ReplyDeleteI have a similar story to your eye glass repair kit. (same store, different item) I too had my kids with me, one of them was an infant at the time. I bought a bunch of stuff, loaded up the car, lifted out the infant car seat from the cart and there was the unpaid item (I think it was a billfold). I had to take all the kids back into the store and pay for the item. It was a huge hassle but,it was my fault for not looking under the car seat.
Another time, I was purchasing toys and movies for Christmas presents. I handed the DVD to the cashier THREE times, each time she set it aside. She eventually put it in a bag.
When I got home, looked at my receipt, the movie wasn't on there! Why she didn't scan it, I don't know. But, there was no way I was going back to the store, at Christmas time, and go thru the hassle of standing in line, to pay for a mistake the cashier caused.
In your situation, it's neither her mistake or yours. Kohls is pretty nice to deal with.
You could call and ask for the manager, explain the situation, ask what would happen to the cashier. Don't give the manager any info (transaction number, register number, etc)that way, if you don't end up going in, the manager won't be able to know who did it. And get the cashier in trouble regardless of what you do.
I have a feeling you'll end up going in. ( :
I would call, or go back.The clerk shouldn't get in trouble for it I wouldn't think. It is an honest mistake. Maybe call first and ask what the policy is? I personally think ,it is just right to try yto fix it , its 5 bucks , but its your concience and obvioulsy you are not comfortable with leaving things as they are
ReplyDeleteWow i love how it turned out..see, in your favor and on the right side...good choice lady...I cant say i would have done the same...sometimes Im lazy....but I have definitely brought it to the attention of others if it was my fault or if I noticed I had something in cart due to my error and for sure in front of the kids...
ReplyDeleteI love what you said about our kids. We have to show them that there is a 'right' thing to do. When I ever do little things that are kind, or the right thing to do Kei ALWAYS notices and comments. Trust me, she would notice if I did the wrong thing too!
ReplyDeleteGood for you and great how it ended up. :)
I think you handled it perfectly. In a time where everyone is out for themselves, it's good to find people who are still honest and set examples for others! Way to go! =)
ReplyDeleteIt is for reasons like this that I adore Kohl's. Love the stuff in there anyway - throw in extra wonderful customer service and I'm a lifer! I've had similar stories like this and they all ended happy.
ReplyDeleteI love that you went back to pay for the eyeglass kit!
ReplyDeleteWhen the Hubs and I were first dating, we picked up pictures at Wally**World and then walked around shopping for other stuff and needless to say. . . forgot about the pictures. Until we were at the car and he was so 'totally stoked. I accidentally took these! Free pictures!!'
And then I made him go back in there and pay the $3.45 for them. I couldn't date a thief! :)