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Small ethical dilemma

A

agent 86

macrumors member
Original poster
May 14, 2006
30
0
I ordered & paid for a 1GB memory pack (2 x 512) for my 1.6Ghz G5 from online provider last week. Received them this morning & installed them. I was surprised to see my memory had been boosted to 3GB instead of the 2GB I was expecting. It turns out i was erroneously sent a 2GB pack.

Anyway, my dilemma is:
a) should I just keep quiet about my supplier's mistake? :confused:

OR

b) should I stop wasting time on forums such as this at my employer's expense? :eek:
 
If you feel guilty enough to ask us what to do, you are better off notifying the company that they made a mistake. Chances are they will let you keep it, and if not, you didn't loose anything.
 
I'd call them. They may just say "crap.. our mistake.. just keep it" or they may ask you send it back.

KARMA.

If you don't send it back, you'll probably have that nagging guilt in the back of your head.. I know I would.
 
agent 86 said:
I ordered & paid for a 1GB memory pack (2 x 512) for my 1.6Ghz G5 from online provider last week. Received them this morning & installed them. I was surprised to see my memory had been boosted to 3GB instead of the 2GB I was expecting. It turns out i was erroneously sent a 2GB pack.

Anyway, my dilemma is:
a) should I just keep quiet about my supplier's mistake? :confused:

OR

b) should I stop wasting time on forums such as this at my employer's expense? :eek:
Click to expand...

Give them a call and let them know. Odds are they will just let you keep it. Otherwise make them pony up for the shipping both ways and get the new in hand before sending the old back.
 
MongoTheGeek said:
Give them a call and let them know. Odds are they will just let you keep it. Otherwise make them pony up for the shipping both ways and get the new in hand before sending the old back.
Click to expand...

BINGO! That right there is the smart thing to do. I'm with everyone else. They'll probably just let you keep it for your honesty. If not, well, that sucks, but at least you won't have this riding on your mind.
 
Why do you even need to ask this question? The right thing to do is to contact them and inform them of their mistake. As everyone else has said, they'll probably just let you keep it anyway. Honesty always pays off in the end, and it is the right thing to do.

It bothers me how often I encounter people who seem to be allergic to ethics, honesty, integrity and responsibility. :cool: (Oh, and I mean other people, that comment was not directed at you personally.)
 
bursty said:
You guys are nuts. Its their mistake, keep it. :rolleyes:
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Just because they made a mistake does not give him the right to take advantage of it. Do the right thing, tell them, and they'll probably let him keep it regardless - and then he will have handled things honestly and still end up ahead.

I once paid for a meal at a restaurant and gave the little book with the bill and cash in it to the waiter. Turns out I had a couple crisp new fiftys and they stuck together - he was only supposed to get one. He came back to my table, said, "Either you made a mistake or you gave me a very generous tip!" and explained what happened. I appreciated his honesty, and although I didn't let him keep the full $50 extra, I did give him an extra $20 on top of his already generous tip. I appreciated his honesty, and as I said above, I wish more people had integrity like that these days, and the courage to do what's right. Sad, really, to see how low people stoop sometimes... :(

Anyway, this specific instance is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things - however the principle is still there. :cool:
 
I agree with the majority. Give the retailer a call and tell them they've made a mistake. It'll make you feel warm and fuzzy - better than a couple of gigs of free RAM ever could :p. Worst that could happen is they ask you to send it back. Best that could happen is that you get to keep it and get a warm fuzzy feeling.
 
I'm totally with ~Shard~ on this one.

I always like hearing stories of people who have found large amounts of money somewhere, handed it into the police, and then get to keep it after a few months because no one has claimed it.

I don't even think the reward is that important. For example, a friend of mine at work accidentally gave a person $400 cash out, by incorrectly processing the transaction. Lucky for him that the lady noticed on the receipt and brought the money back. He probably wouldn't have a job if she hadn't done that. The lady could have been $400 better off, but she chose to do the right thing.
 
.Andy said:
Worst that could happen is they ask you to send it back.
Click to expand...

And if they do, just ask them to pay for your shipping both ways. Then they'll probably realize it's too much hassle for them and not worth their time and effort to recover the RAM and ship out what you were supposed to receive in the first place.
 
max_altitude said:
I'm totally with ~Shard~ on this one.

I always like hearing stories of people who have found large amounts of money somewhere, handed it into the police, and then get to keep it after a few months because no one has claimed it.

I don't even think the reward is that important. For example, a friend of mine at work accidentally gave a person $400 cash out, by incorrectly processing the transaction. Lucky for him that the lady noticed on the receipt and brought the money back. He probably wouldn't have a job if she hadn't done that. The lady could have been $400 better off, but she chose to do the right thing.
Click to expand...

Thanks max_altitude. The world needs more people like the lady in your story. :cool:
 
I'm with everyone else here. It feels better to just be honest.

I remember once finding an envelope with $200 cash in it and a name and number on a piece of paper inside. I called the number met up with the guy and he gave me $50 for being honest about it.
 
Well, glad to see that the majority of people here can make the correct decision!

One of the most enjoyable occasions where I can give money back to someone is a simple cash purchase. It just happened to me last week, when I bought some food and the person gave me too much change back. Not only does it make their job so much easier when counting the registers at the end of the day, but it makes you feel like you've made a difference (and done the right thing!).
-Chasen
 
Keep it. they messed up. I used to be a cashier and I would always get a kick when people would come running back in from the parking lot saying that I forgot to ring something up. It was always like well, you would have got away with it, why did you come back inside?
 
my rule is... if you have to ask the question, you probably already know the answer. (on topics like this anyway)
 
adk said:
Keep it. they messed up. I used to be a cashier and I would always get a kick when people would come running back in from the parking lot saying that I forgot to ring something up. It was always like well, you would have got away with it, why did you come back inside?
Click to expand...
Because they are honest?


Lethal
 
Peyton said:
my rule is... if you have to ask the question, you probably already know the answer. (on topics like this anyway)
Click to expand...
Ummm... no. That's why I asked it. Nicely Zen, though.

I emailed him & they're sending the correct modules & reimbursing me for the return postage.

Do I feel warm and fuzzy? Can't say I can feel much apart from how much faster my old G5 seemed with that extra memory installed. :(

OK, maybe a little bit :) .
 
~Shard~ said:
I once paid for a meal at a restaurant and gave the little book with the bill and cash in it to the waiter. Turns out I had a couple crisp new fiftys and they stuck together - he was only supposed to get one. He came back to my table, said, "Either you made a mistake or you gave me a very generous tip!" and explained what happened. I appreciated his honesty, and although I didn't let him keep the full $50 extra, I did give him an extra $20 on top of his already generous tip. I appreciated his honesty, and as I said above, I wish more people had integrity like that these days, and the courage to do what's right. Sad, really, to see how low people stoop sometimes... :(

:cool:
Click to expand...
bursty said:
You guys are nuts. Its their mistake, keep it. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
So say what happened to ~Shard~ happens to you. The waiter should keep your $50 because it's your mistake? I just want to know if it's only ok when it's other peoples' money we're talking about or if your money/mistakes can be included in this philosophy.
 
Another vote for honesty.

As many, many other people have written do the right thing. Call the company and let them know the error. It's likely they won't want to go through the hassle of an exchange simply b/c of the shipping costs+product testing+repackaging. Plus, you'll feel better. If it wasn't bugging you in the first place, you wouldn't have bothered with the post.

Oh dear, I'm standing paddle held high, and just realized...this horse is dead.
 
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