What is the price of your conscience?

While some may believe we live in a less moralistic society than ever before, it seems that the majority of people still have a conscience when it comes to being given excess change, according to new research.

Results of a new survey released today (26 July) by smile, the internet bank, show that encouragingly, almost seven in ten (67%) of smile customers would return the money when faced with the ethical dilemma of being given too much change by a cashier.

This is compared to just one in five (20%) that believe they should not ‘do the right thing’ and return the money to the cashier. Interestingly, just over one in ten (12%) of those adopting a ‘finders keepers’ attitude justified their decision by claiming that they needed the money much more than the short changed shop or organisation did.

Some of the survey’s participants based their response on past experiences. With almost four in ten (38%) people blaming an ‘ungrateful response’ for their reason not to return the excess cash, after facing the same dilemma before and giving the money back but receiving no thanks. Whereas for over six in ten (62%) past honesty prevailed, as those who had been on the receiving end of such acts of honesty and generosity were more likely to act honestly with others in the future.

Comments on the smile website showed that the main worry if people kept the cash for themselves was the possibility of the member of staff having to pay the shortfall if the tills didn’t add up at the end of the day. Another significant factor that weighed heavily on their conscience was the fact that the cashier may lose his or her job after being suspected of pocketing the missing amount of money.

Other comments showed that people distinguish between large and small businesses, with some more likely to return money to a small shop that they saw as providing a valuable local service and often struggling to survive. Whereas, they believe that a large bank or a supermarket would not miss the extra cash

Kelvin Collins, Head of Brand Management at smile said: “Some people feel that they should be able to keep the extra money if they had received too much, simply because the shop or organisation had made the mistake. However, honestly is always the best policy and customers should give back money that they do not genuinely believe is theirs.

“We value all of our customers very highly and aim to treat them with honesty and respect at all times. It is great to see that the vast majority of smile customers would act in a fair and honest way too.”