What would you do?

[Ronnie]

Last weekend I bought my wife and I new shoes. When I got home I realized that I only got charged for her pair not mine. Mine with tax should have been about $100.

What would you do? Why?

 

[deubank1776]

I would go back to the store and pay for the other pair. Stuff like that weighs heavy on my mind. There is always a chance when you get there they'll say no need to sir have a nice day and enjoy the extra pair of shoes. It isn't your fault the employee didn't scan the shoes.

 

[Dixemon]

Was it a two for one deal, otherwise you could call them on the phone and explained the situation. They blow it off.

 

[TimW451]

If I knew/saw while at the store I’d say something, once I leave the store it’s a done deal. Bank error in your favor, collect $100.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

If I knew/saw while at the store I’d say something, once I leave the store it’s a done deal. Bank error in your favor, collect $100.

This. If it weighs on you, call them and let them know.

If you did no wrong, I wouldn't do anything. They employee could be potentially reprimanded for doing this. I wouldn't want to be the reason someone gets fired because I let them know I got free stuff by accident.

 

[Miitch]

I'd keep them. Chances are, the store wont even notice. If its a name brand store, they probably account for stuff like this happening.

plus now a days, it might cost you $100 just to drive back to the store.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Personally, I would go back to the store and explain what happened and pay for the shoes. I have been in a similar circumstances before. The flip side is that if I bought something and it wasn't all in the bag when I got home I would go back and get what I paid for. I try and do what I feel is right otherwise it weighs on me.

 

[tpspeier]

I had a similar thing happen with pizza takeout a couple months ago. I called and ordered on the phone (online ordering was down that day) and said I would pay when we picked it up. My daughter ended up picking up the order and she didn't know we hadn't paid at the time of order. The wait staff gave her the pizza and didn't ask her to pay so she left. When she arrived home, I asked if they gave her a receipt and she said she wasn't asked to pay. I called the store back and paid over the phone.

Many businesses are stretched so thin right now and it felt dishonest to not attempt to correct the mistake (even if the mistake was on the restaurant's end).

 

[BlkGS]

I'd return them. I don't like them. But that's likely not relevant to your situation.

 

[RobbieO]

How many times have you bought something and felt you got ripped off? (I.E West Marine) Those shoes were probably made in Vietnam and cost Sketchers $5 to make. Put the $100 in you jet ski tanks. You'll sleep through the night eventually.

 

[Taylorman]

I know what I’d like believe I’d do but the truth is I’ve gone down both paths in my life. It’s not difficult to rationalize either direction as these posts prove. From my past experiences I’ve learned that one path leaves me feeling better about myself than the other. At the end of the day that’s what matters. My $.02 is to make the choice that you feel good about and that leaves you feeling good about yourself.

 

[Sean R]

I would return them and reason being, I don't go to church like I was raised. I hear it from my mom every time we talk. I am almost 50 and my mother is still all over me about not being a active member in a church. So when she starts getting on my case I can tell her about the wholesome deed I have done and she backs off for a little bit, for just a little bit.

 

[Ronnie]

So here is what I did and why.

I went back to the store with the intent of paying for them but ended up returning them instead. I just realized that I didn’t need them and only bought them because my wife wanted a pair of shoes but would not have gotten them unless I bought a pair as well. That the skin deep reason. The deeper rationale is that I believe in karma (I’m not religious but consider myself spiritual). That stated I could have saved $100 and enjoyed a new pair of shoes but I would always be waiting for Karma to come back and bite me three times as hard.

also on the macro level if I kept the shoes without paying for them I would be part of the reason prices go up. That is, the store writes the pair of shoes off as shrinkage/theft. Their insurance covers the store and eventually the stores insurance premiums go up. The store doesn’t eat the incremental cost they transfer it to their customers in the form of increased prices. I know that my $100 instance won’t change any prices but the aggregate loss could.

one thing that bothered me was the clerk who initially helped me wasn’t there so the clerk that handled the return took a pic of the receipt for my wife’s shoes which reflected the other employees ID number. I told her that my wife and I distracted him during the checkout process so he should not be held solely responsible but I think she still ratted him out rather than just put the shoes back on the shelf.

 

[BlkGS]

It was a no win situation. You kept the shoes, you'd feel bad. Your do the right thing, the employee likely loses their job. Retail is a tough business and employees, especially overall unskilled ones, are easily replaced.

FWIW, your 100 dollar loss probably wouldn't have been turned in to insurance or noticed. It'd just have been cycle counted out at the end of the year with the store assuming they were lost or something.