Doing The Right Thing

On August 5, 2010 I ordered some books from Amazon.com. I bought five books for USD 95 and the shipping cost was USD 30. The estimated delivery date was September 3, 2010.

By the end of September 2010, I still hadn’t received the books, so I contacted Amazon. They asked me whether I’d like to get a refund or to get the books sent again, this time by expedited shipment. I chose the latter. The new delivery date was November 04, 2010 for the three books that I ordered. The other two books were out of stock and had to be sent separately. They also said that if I had received the original shipment, I should have sent the books back to them.

I actually received the two books that were sent last earlier than the other three books because they sent them by DHL International without additional charge. The other three books I received in December 2010.
That’s not the end of the story…

Last week I received a notification letter from the post office that I had received a package from USA. It turned out to be the five books that were sent in August 2010. Those books finally arrived after more than 6 months.

Now I have two sets of books!

What should I do? I have three options:

1. Keep the books without telling Amazon that I actually received them
2. Send the books back to Amazon
3. Inform Amazon that I received the books and pay for them

If it happened to you, what would you do?

Would you be tempted to take option no 1? Frankly, the thought crossed my mind! I know that it was not the right thing to do, but the temptation was there. It is impossible to prevent the thought from arising in our mind; the most important thing is being aware of the thought and decide what to do with it.

I decided to take option no 3. I informed Amazon.com that I received the books and I’d like to buy them. I asked them to waive the shipping cost and they agreed.

I chose no 3 because I did not want to bear the burden of guilt for not being honest. Although no one else would know if I had decided to take the books, there is one person who will always know, ME! I can’t hide nor run away from myself.

I do not share this story to brag about how virtuous I am, but I want to encourage more people to do the right thing when the situation arises.

Learn and Grow!
Inge Santoso, B. Com