# You buy something. In the car you find the clerk gave you a 50 instead of a 10. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 24, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775 "2005-02-24T22:30:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/181 "2005-03-05T00:53:59Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > I wonder how many of those who said they’d return it (and especially those who quoted ‘stealing is wrong’ as the reason) have an illegal copy of Microsoft Office (or any software for that matter) on their computers? Piping in late, but (a) I would definitely return the money, (b) I don’t own any pirated software on my home computers, and (c) I refuse to even burn copies of my friend’s music CDs; I buy my own. I do rob banks on occasion, though. Just kidding about that last part ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/182 "2005-03-05T01:17:54Z")
**ArchiveGuy** I’m sure you are telling the truth, and strict adherence to moral, legal, (and even religious) rules are admirable. But what is not admirable is pretending to be morally decent and sound when one is neither. I suspect that some (not all, not even half) of those who say they’ll return money if overchanged are either lying, or they _believe_ they are telling the truth, but when faced with the situation would actually _not_ return the money. It’s easy to say “I’d return the money”. But it’s not so easy to get out of your car, walk back to the store, get the attention of a busy till-clerk (In my experience they are absolutely non-stop busy as hell) and explain to him that he/she overchanged. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/183 "2005-03-05T01:20:02Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Piping in late, but (a) I would definitely return the money, (b) I don’t own any pirated software on my home computers, and You know, I’m the only person I know who actually paid for WinZip. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/184 "2005-03-05T01:21:26Z")
I’m not implying that you, **ArchiveGuy** are one of the dishonest ones. Also, I’d respect a person more if they said they might keep the money _and is telling the truth_ than a person who says they would _definitely_ return it _and is lying_ ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/185 "2005-03-05T04:39:23Z")
A late entry into the discussion. I would return it. I teach about honor and integrity every day; if I won’t walk the walk, I damn sure shouldn’t talk the talk. ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/186 "2005-03-05T05:49:20Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > I disagree with your characterization of my position. You probably would have fit better in the “It would depend on the circumstances” category. My apologies. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/187 "2005-03-05T14:22:38Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > **ArchiveGuy** I’m sure you are telling the truth, and strict adherence to moral, legal, (and even religious) rules are admirable. > > But what is not admirable is pretending to be morally decent and sound when one is neither. I suspect that some (not all, not even half) of those who say they’ll return money if overchanged are either lying, or they _believe_ they are telling the truth, but when faced with the situation would actually _not_ return the money. > > It’s easy to say “I’d return the money”. But it’s not so easy to get out of your car, walk back to the store, get the attention of a busy till-clerk (In my experience they are absolutely non-stop busy as hell) and explain to him that he/she overchanged. Exactly who are you calling a liar in this thread, just so we’ll know. And what in the world is so hard about getting out of a car and walking back into a store? You’re joking, right? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/188 "2005-03-05T16:53:16Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > I wonder how many of those who said they’d return it (and especially those who quoted ‘stealing is wrong’ as the reason) have an illegal copy of Microsoft Office (or any software for that matter) on their computers? I pay for all my software, or otherwise have it legally installed. Just to ease your wondering. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/189 "2005-03-05T17:34:29Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > You know, I’m the only person I know who actually paid for WinZip. Now you know another one. ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/190 "2005-03-05T18:48:08Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > **ArchiveGuy** It’s easy to say “I’d return the money”. But it’s not so easy to get out of your car, walk back to the store, get the attention of a busy till-clerk (In my experience they are absolutely non-stop busy as hell) and explain to him that he/she overchanged. You’ve gone from silly to ridiculous, old bean. Unless you’re a quadruple amputee, it’s quite easy to return the money. I wish the “I’d keep it” camp would skip the silly rationalizing, denial, blaming and just say: I want the money. I’m keeping it. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/191 "2005-03-05T20:53:51Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Exactly who are you calling a liar in this thread, just so we’ll know. And what in the world is so hard about getting out of a car and walking back into a store? You’re joking, right? I have no way of knowing who is lying so I’m not calling anyone in particular a liar. All I am saying is that _some_ people are either lying or are mistaken about what they’d _actually_ do. In other words, some of the ‘I’d return it’ crowd might acutally find themselves in that situation, and find that it’s not as straightforward as that. Any number of unknown factors might come into play. And others might be outright lying to take the moral high-ground. But ‘some’ and ‘others’ combined does not equal ‘all’ or even ‘most’. Most are probably telling the truth. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/192 "2005-03-06T08:57:59Z")
Once a bank teller gave me one hundred dollars too many. I returned the bill. She reacted agressively (like “I never make mistakes”), then took the bill, not a word of thanks, not a smile. I always regretted I handed it back. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/193 "2005-03-06T10:18:03Z")
I don’t think I believe in Karma, but I’d take the money back if I noticed that I’d been given too much. I’ll tell you why: back when I was 8 or 9 years old, I was in line at a small store waiting to purchase something or other. A lady in line in front of me handed the clerk a $20, which the clerk placed on top of the register drawer (as they sometimes do) instead of putting it into the drawer. As the clerk gave the lady her change, the $20 blew off the drawer and landed on the floor. No one saw this but me… I waited a minute or so to see if the clerk would notice, but I guess she just assumed that she had placed it in the drawer as she just went on to help the next customer in line. I bent down, grabbed the bill and stuffed it in my pocket. It wasn’t until later that it occured to me that I had essentially stolen twenty dollars. It’s now 30 years later, and I still feel bad about that when I think of it. So, yeah, I’d take the money back. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/194 "2005-03-08T22:17:36Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > You know, I’m the only person I know who actually paid for WinZip. I don’t even know what that is! 😛 Maybe I’d be more dishonest if I had the technical infrastructure to make it easier. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![anamnesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@anamnesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anamnesis)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/195 "2005-05-02T23:07:12Z")
I know this thread is two months old, but upon seeing it, I noticed no posts that related to one specific predicament that I found myself in at my local bank’s drive-thru one day awhile ago. This story isn’t so much about ripping off a retailer that makes a mistake while making change as it is about how downright miserable some people seem to be. I pulled in to make a deposit. Nothing out of the ordinary. I sent my deposit in the little box, sat and waited. Looked at some of the other cars in the other lanes. All of a sudden, my deposit container comes back down the chute. Seemed like one of the fastest deposits I ever saw. Then I realized that the container that came back wasn’t the same color as the one I sent in. That combined with the fact that the transaction was so fast made me raise an eyebrow, but I grabbed the container and opened it up. Inside it was a bundle of twenties. Probably a few hundred bucks in all. I counted it up but I can’t remember how much it was, somewhere around $200. I instantly looked around at the other cars, realizing there’d been an obvious mix-up made by the teller. I was quickly put into a situation where I had to make a quick moral decision. Glancing nearby, I quickly had a hunch whose money it was, because there was one other car there that had been sitting the whole time I’d been there, with a man inside who looked rather impatient. I got out of my car, took the cash over to him and asked if he was waiting for cash. He grunted at me and nodded his head, probably confused at why I was walking up to his car to ask him such a question. Maybe he thought I was a vagrant begging for money in the drive-thru lines in an affluent suburb full of snobs where that sort of thing doesn’t happen? Who knows what his problem was. I’m guessing he was just one of the aforementioned snobs who’s too good to be kind to anyone. I told him there was probably a mix-up inside and asked how much he’d withdrawn. He answered with the exact amount that I’d received, so I said “I got your money over in my line” and handed it over to him. He didn’t even say thank you, he closed his door and drove away. You’ve no idea how good I felt for the rest of the day for doing that guy the honest deed of making sure he got the money he had withdrawn. Next time, I’ll be happy to hold onto it for him instead. So yeah, I’ll cast my vote with the “keep it” crowd. Stores that make mistakes when making change don’t deserve it back, and the thankless assholes who don’t even show gratitude to a complete stranger who made a moral decision to do the right thing deserve it even less. But then, I guess I shouldn’t judge everyone based on one bad experience, right? ---
**Author:** ![guinnog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@guinnog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guinnog)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/196 "2005-05-02T23:23:27Z")
> [@anamnesis](#): > > I guess I shouldn’t judge everyone based on one bad experience, right? Right. Treat others as you wish to be treated yourself. Just because a socialist said it, doesn’t mean it ain’t wisdom. ---
**Author:** ![chaparralv8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@chaparralv8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaparralv8)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/197 "2005-05-03T03:13:41Z")
I’d return it, for a reason not mentioned yet. I kept an eagle eye on the cash drawer and mentally ran a tally when I worked in retail. If I knew I was $10 short, I knew I’d have to use my sleight-of-hand to shortchange 8 customers a dollar each and 8 other customers a quarter each. If I were $50 short, I’d have had to shortchange every customer for an hour. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/198 "2005-05-03T03:17:18Z")
> [@chaparralv8](#): > > I’d return it, for a reason not mentioned yet. > > I kept an eagle eye on the cash drawer and mentally ran a tally when I worked in retail. If I knew I was $10 short, I knew I’d have to use my sleight-of-hand to shortchange 8 customers a dollar each and 8 other customers a quarter each. If I were $50 short, I’d have had to shortchange every customer for an hour. Cashiers do this? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/199 "2005-05-03T03:37:02Z")
> [@chaparralv8](#): > > I’d return it, for a reason not mentioned yet. > > I kept an eagle eye on the cash drawer and mentally ran a tally when I worked in retail. If I knew I was $10 short, I knew I’d have to use my sleight-of-hand to shortchange 8 customers a dollar each and 8 other customers a quarter each. If I were $50 short, I’d have had to shortchange every customer for an hour. Well, color me officially gobsmacked. :eek: :eek: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775/200 "2005-05-03T06:25:34Z")
> [@chaparralv8](#): > > I’d return it, for a reason not mentioned yet. > > I kept an eagle eye on the cash drawer and mentally ran a tally when I worked in retail. If I knew I was $10 short, I knew I’d have to use my sleight-of-hand to shortchange 8 customers a dollar each and 8 other customers a quarter each. If I were $50 short, I’d have had to shortchange every customer for an hour. If I ever caught you doing this, you’d be fired on the spot. You made a mistake that made your pan short. It’s your fault, and you deal with the consequences, not my customers. :mad: :mad: :mad: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-buy-something-in-the-car-you-find-the-clerk-gave-you-a-50-instead-of-a-10/291775.md?page=11)