The Ethics of a Good Deal
August 9, 2008 by Katelyn Thomas
Filed under General
With the tightening economy, more and more people are turning to shopping with coupons and other thrifty ways of saving money. I couldn’t be happier! It is great that people are stretching their hard earned cash. However, I have noticed a few things that disturb me and I’d like to know how you feel. Is it ethical to get a good deal because of a mistake on the part of the manufacturer, store, or employee?
I was in a store the other day and thought the total seemed low after the cashier checked me out. I looked at my receipt and saw that she took a big coupon off twice and told her about the error. Sure, it would have been nice to get the items for five dollars less, but it probably would have come out of her change drawer. I think almost everyone would feel that this was the only ethical thing to do, right?
So, what about buying something from a store when you know the deal is set up wrong? Perhaps there is supposed to be a $3 coupon off your next purchase when you buy four items, but you know it works on two items because of the way the cash register rang the sale up. Maybe a store coupon says that it is not valid on sale products, but people use it on sale products anyway and find a young, inexperienced cashier to ring them up. I personally don’t feel that I should take advantage of this type of thing and I know another deal, like a 75% off toy sale at Target, will come along that is completely ethical. However, I also know a lot of people see nothing wrong with taking advantage of someone else’s mistake.
How do you feel? Should we consider the ethics of a deal before piling our carts full?
Photo by Gerla Brakkee
I definitely think that we should consider the ethics of the deal. I don’t want to cheat others just to get a good deal. It can be very tempting to go for it…like with the Walgreens mix-up with RR’s right now, but that’s not right. If I notice a mistake on my receipt (either way), I will go to customer service and try to correct it. For example, one time the cashier doubled my Meijer Mealbox coupons when they shouldn’t. I took my receipt to customer service to try to pay the extra, but they said no problem. I at least tried
, so I feel better in my mind.
Abstolutely we should consider it! For me it boils down to being honest or not. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t fix the error. Besides, sometimes being honest about those things has rewards too (besides feeling good inside!). There have been several times I have noted to the cashier they have undercharged me or given me too much change. One time at Albertson’s my receipt was $10 less than it should have been. After mentioning it to the person at customer service, who just happened to me the store manager, he told me it was their mistake, so don’t worry about it. That was so nice! I wouldn’t have minded paying the $10 I owed, but he was so thrilled I was honest about it he let it go.
Even when I make returns that I had used a coupon on, I let them know when I return that item so I don’t get more money back than I paid for it.
Personally, I don’t have an issue getting a good deal based on a mistake from a manufacture.
I do think it’s very unethical to capitalize on an error from a cashier. You’re hurting that individual’s career.
This is a great post! There are so many situations we find ourselves in where we could save a little bit of money when we technically shouldn’t. I agree with you that it’s best to be upfront and honest. When you boil it down, if you’re not, then you’re stealing…even if it’s just a little bit. It’s weird because it’s passive stealing, in a way.
Here are a couple of more situations: Is it right to use your friends discount at their place of employment? Another: I work for the gov’t and we get travel discounts. Is it ok for me to use them personally? I would have to say “no” in both situations.
I think ethics are so critical to frugality. Otherwise a “good deal” doesn’t really feel all that great.
We are having blog carnival and wanted to personally invite you.
Over at greenbabyguide.com we’re gathering momentum for our Thrifty Green Thursday carnival. Any blogger can get a piece of the action by posting a comment on our “Thrifty Green Thursday” post. Just write a Thursday post on a simple way that families can save money while going green. Then comment on our blog including your thrifty green topic and include a link back to us in your post. We hope you’ll join us next Thursday (and every Thursday thereafter) with your own thrifty green tips! For more information, check out the link below.
http://greenbabyguide.com/2008/07/17/join-our-thrifty-green-thursday-blog-carnival/
I’m glad to hear that many of you also feel that ethics are more important than saving some dough in situations that push the envelope. Anyone else want to comment? I’d love to hear your opinion on this!
Think of it as consumer karma. If a business loses too much on a mistake because every one took advantage of it then they will not be in a position to offer a deal in the future.