Cashier's error at the Vic - no reward for being honest?

[Paul Levy]

I go to the poker room's cage at the Vic to buy £1,300 worth of chips. I ask for 11 oranges, 6 ponies and 10 nickels. Cashier stacks them for me, I pocket them and sit down at the £100 game, bringing £600 to the table.
When I stand up and count, I realize the cashier had given me £100 too much. I tell the cashier (not the same one) and ask them to check the tapes to be sure. It takes 10 mins then they tell me I'm right, I've been given £100 in excess and they'd like it back.
They only give me a half-assed 'thank you' - no comp of any sort, no food voucher, not even a free spin at a bloody slot machine.

Standard?

[Clarkmeister]

You want a reward for not stealing?

I'm not saying they couldn't have done more, and at the very least been earnest. But once you know they gave you too much, it's on you to return the cash. It's basically theft at that point.

If they returned an overpaid $100 to you, would you feel obligated to give them a reward?

[Paul Levy]

[ QUOTE ]
You want a reward for not stealing?

If they returned an overpaid $100 to you, would you feel obligated to give them a reward?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, but I don't think that's the best analogy. If I lost a wallet full of cash and somebody returned it to me, I would definitely give them some money in appreciation of the gesture. I don't think this is unheard of.

[DesertCat]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You want a reward for not stealing?

If they returned an overpaid $100 to you, would you feel obligated to give them a reward?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, but I don't think that's the best analogy. If I lost a wallet full of cash and somebody returned it to me, I would definitely give them some money in appreciation of the gesture. I don't think this is unheard of.

[/ QUOTE ]

The cashier didn't lose a wallet full of his own money, he lost the casino's money, he can't give you a reward out of it. Certainly you might have helped save the cashiers job, but think about how much a cashier makes? My guess is you'd think a couple of pounds is insulting. Do you think the cashier can really afford to reward you a couple hours pay so you are happy? What's wrong with a very sincere thank you?

[Paul Levy]

[ QUOTE ]
What's wrong with a very sincere thank you?

[/ QUOTE ]

The original cashier had gone home for the day, and I didn't expect anything from the new cashier either. I would have thought a token of appreciation from her boss (who checked the tapes) to be in order, however, given that everybody seems to unequivocally disagree, I'll rest my case.

[bav]

A £10 meal comp would have been a nice gesture on the part of someone in management. But I haven't a clue how things like comps work in the Land of Oz. In Vegas I don't think a poker floor would have had any trouble providing that. But I've never been rewarded for correcting overpayments from any cashier, and if it happens you should view it as a nice surprise, not something you expect.

[LuckyTxGuy]

I'm with ya Paul. I think a very sincere thank you is at least in order. I wouldn't expect them to do much in the way of comps etc (but it would be nice!) however, someone coming out, saying thanks and shaking your hand for being an honest guy would go a long ways. I think that is the least anyone should do, casino, gas station clerk, anyone.

[jeffnc]

[ QUOTE ]
The cashier didn't lose a wallet full of his own money, he lost the casino's money, he can't give you a reward out of it. Certainly you might have helped save the cashiers job, but think about how much a cashier makes?

[/ QUOTE ]

Will you people get real? It's not going to come from the cashier's pocket. Obviously it should be a policy of the casino to take care of situations like this.

Here is what is actually going on. First the casino should hire staff that are competent and they can trust. Then, they know mistakes occasionally occur (but not that often, with competant staff.) Then make the staff empowered to either
a) handle mistakes on their own
b) not feel embarrassed to bring mistakes to managers' attention

This is a difficult environment to achieve, but it's what the best customer service companies do.

Now, the cashier should have either been empowered to "reward" the customer in some way to make him feel happy for his deed, or inform a manager, who should reward the customer for his deed. ("reward" can by something as simple as a sincere "thank you" from a manager - as another poster said, that would be the very least.)

This is simple business practice that improves the company's bottom line.

What happened in the actual even, of course, was that the cashier was either not empowered to do anything, or was simply embarrassed and had no intention of telling management anything about the incident for concern that it would affect her performance appraisal.

[Vidocq]

I can beat this one. Last night I was cashing out at the Vic and gave the cashier £2500 in chips. She miscounted it as £3500 and started making out the slip for the larger amount. I briefly considered letting her do it but decided(a) they would figure it out eventually; (b) when they did they might give me a hard time when I tried to withdraw and could even ban me. So I told her she had made a mistake. She said "thank you."

[maryfield48]

[ QUOTE ]

I'm not saying they couldn't have done more, and at the very least been earnest.

[/ QUOTE ]

"earnest"?