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like you said they couldn't take the gas back and she couldn't pay for it so i would think the station would have to eat it.... it was the cashiers fault she wasn't paying attention so it's not your daughters fault. damn i don't know what i would have said to my kid... prob the same thing you did [img]wink.gif[/img]
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">...well, the good news is, you'll be able to keep each other company whilst burning eternally in Hell. I say that with Love, of course. [img]smile.gif[/img]Quote:
Originally posted by Andyman:
Moral dilemma...from a parent's perspective.
...as a dad I felt there should have been a life lesson here somewhere. The best I could come up with was, "Well, you're here...you didn't get caught".
Hmm...this place needs brightened up... *conjures flowers and poe-poor-ree*
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I try to look at it the same way as I do when a cashier give's me too much change back - I didn't ask for it, connive to get it or steal it. They weren't paying attention and it is more of a hassle to get it straighened out than just letting them get it worked out with their supervisor chain in the place they work.Quote:
Originally posted by Andyman:
Moral dilemma...from a parent's perspective.
Yesterday my 16 year old daughter came flying into my office in a panic. She said she thought she did something illegal. Her story...
She went to get gas for her car and had only 6 dollars. It was enough to get her to work. She prepays the attendant who then asks, "Only 6 dollars?" in humorus disbelief. The cashier rang up the $6 dollars but my daughter could've sworn that she entered $69 into the gas pump computer. She dismissed that as her imagination and went out to put the gas into her car. She had the pump locked running as she got into a conversation with her sister. Not paying attention, suddenly the gas hose shoots out of the the car's gas tank (it's a little Sunfire). My daughter looks up and sees that over $40 was pumped into the tank! She thought it was a mistake until she starts the car and the gas needle pegs over full! She didn't know whether to tell the cashier or not so she bee-lined across the street to where I work.
Not here's the dilemma...she pre-paid for the gas. She didn't have $40 and I truly believe it wasn't her fault. But as a dad I felt there should have been a life lesson here somewhere. The best I could come up with was, "Well, you're here...you didn't get caught".
The way I saw it was that it was the cashier's fault and that saying anything to her wouldn't have mattered. My daughter couldn't give the gas back but she certainly couldn't pay for it either. I'm pretty sure the cashier wouldn't have any idea what happened until she tried to balance her drawer at the end of her shift.
Should she have said anything to the cashier?
Although if you are one of the states like here now where if you drive off with gas you didn't pay for you can loose your license, that is a whole other thought at times. Here in TN, even if you prepay a certain amount and they don't cut you off, it is still your responsibility to ensure you don't take more than you prepaid for as it falls under the "taking gas you didn't pay for". It is more of a "it is always your fault" scenario here.
But I personally look at it as a double lesson. For the cashier, they need to learn their job as they lost $34 in gas on their watch. For your daughter, she may have gotten off without anything happening this time, but that doesn't mean it couldn't have been an issue if they had noticed before ir while she was leaving.
Maybe they'll both pay more attention in the future [img]wink.gif[/img]
It's weird...I'm still not sure I handled it right. [img]confused.gif[/img]
Andy, it's just one of those situations has no simple answer. I think the fact that she told you right away shows that she wasn't comfortable in that situation - which is good. If she had of waited a few weeks and mentioned it nochalantly, then I think you could come down harsher on her.
What do I know though - there aren't any little Karl's running around.
It's good she told you, but it wasn't her fault....
By the way, she didn't get a receipt ?
Thanks for the advice guys.
I'm the type of person who will give money back if I know I was given too much change. We all make mistakes and I don't believe someone should be taken advantage of if it can be helped. But in this case, I just couldn't see a clear resolution. Going back only would have complicated the situation even more. I try to lead by example for my kids but this was very awkward.
[img]eek.gif[/img] is that you in your avatar DA? [img]graemlins/wonder.gif[/img]
Andy, I don't believe your daughter is going to turn to a life of crime for this honest mistake... and I do believe that if she had the money, she would have paid for the rest. I also have given back excessive change when I've noticed. There have been times when I didn't notice extra money until later... but it probably offsets the times I've been screwed out of a sandwich from a drive-through. [img]wink.gif[/img]
Since the cashier punched in the wrong dollar amount, the gas will seem "paid for" on the register, and all they'll know at the end of the day is that they ended up $34 short.
Given the fact that they've been GOUGING people for money since the price went up, I think they've been too busy counting the money falling out of their over-stuffed pockets to notice $34. [img]wink.gif[/img]
<font color="#cd6600" size="1">[ September 09, 2005 11:33 AM: Message edited by: Axis Bold as B?im?n ]</font>
gruh...
my take on it...pretty much what KK said.
now, coffee, PLEASE!