The Chump Change Incident
Have you ever found yourself vehemently defending your position (doesn’t matter what about) – only to later discover you were completely and totally in the wrong? Yep, thought so. I tell ya, there’s nothing quite like that egg-on-your-face feeling to really make your day, is there?
Small Change
You know those little machines you see at grocery store checkouts, the ones that automatically dispense exact change? Well, it happened quite a while back, but I still recall this one time when I made a purchase, handed the guy a $20 bill, the cashier counted out my remaining bills – but no coins came out of the change machine.
I waited a second or two, then turned to him and said, “Hey, where’s the rest of my change?”
He looked at me kinda funny for a moment and responded with something like, “But you already got it.”
It kinda caught me off guard. I had done no such thing! I was so surprised I indignantly replied, “No, I didn’t!” I mean, the nerve of the guy! I quickly got angry enough that I was determined to hold my ground. What was this guy trying to pull, anyway? After all, it wasn’t about the money (less than a dollar), it’s the principle of the thing, right?
Well, we somewhat intensely went back and forth for a bit (no shouting – it was just… intense), but he finally turned to his change drawer and counted out the correct change. He didn’t exactly slam it on the counter – but it was close. All the while I’m thinking triumphantly to myself, Man, this guy’s a real piece of work! What’s his problem?
Finally, satisfied that Justice (along with, you know, Truth and the American Way) had prevailed, I grabbed my bag of junk food (hey, I was still single at the time), slid the change into my hand, and headed for the car.
While walking across the parking lot, however, I put my hand into my pocket to deposit my hard-won change and, um… well, you remember what I said earlier about egg-on-your-face?
Yep, you guessed it! There, nestled in my pocket like a big ol’ greasy omelet, was the missing change!
I was so taken aback (which is an Eastern European expression that loosely translates to Well, whack me up the side of the head and call me gonzo!) that my feet simply stopped in their tracks. (Good thing there wasn’t a car bearing down on me at the time!) I was overcome with the inescapable knowledge that I had just made a complete and total fool of myself! (It’s one reason why I think of this as The Chump Change Incident.)
The Moment of Truth
OK, picture yourself as a contestant on Monty Hall’s Let’s Make a Deal (anyone remember that old game show from the ’60s?). You came dressed as a banana (enduring numerous snide comments from fellow contestants – not to mention various family members) and you’ve made it all the way to the Final Deal.
You finally get a shot at the Grand Prize – there’s nothing left but to choose between two doors. Behind one is an all-expenses-paid cruise around the world plus $10,000 in spending cash. Behind the other one is an old rusted-out 1952 pickup truck filled with garbage.
You have 20 seconds to make your decision, while the entire studio audience is screaming at the top of their lungs at you. Which door do you pick?
Door #1: Turn around. Go back to the cashier, and admit the mistake. Return the change, withstand the glaring looks and the “Aha! I was right all along!” (whether silent or spoken, I knew it would be there). To basically take my medicine and swallow it.
Admittedly this course of action would be a toughie, since it required, you know, swallowing my pride. (Eating crow, as they’d say in East Texas.)
OR…
Door #2: Keep walking. I mean, when you got right down to it, hey, it was only a few cents worth of change, right? After all, the incident was over now. Besides, the cashier would forget about it pretty soon – and so would I. It’s ironic (which as you know is an old Scottish term that means made entirely of iron) that I’m writing about it over 35 years later, don’t you think?)
Besides, after investing so much emotion into just getting the change and establishing my *ahem* Righteousness… hey, it seemed a shame to have to give it all up now.
In other words, take the coward’s way out.
Will The Real Issue Please Stand Up?
You know, making the mistake isn’t even the real issue. I mean, we’ve all had the experience of being absolutely positively sure we were right – but *ulp* weren’t. (And if you don’t think it’s ever happened to you - then, um, this is probably one of those times!)
No, the real issue is this: When the mistake was eventually realized, what did you do about it? Did you face the music and at least make the attempt to set things right (assuming you had the opportunity)? Or did you just let it slide?
Perhaps even more important: What do you think the long-term consequences of your choice were? In other words, what did you learn from the experience? Care to share ‘em with us?
No responses yet
Middle Zone Musings is a comfortable place to stop, have a cup of coffee, swap a few stories and share practical ideas for the real world. I don't ask for much, just a bit of your brain every now and then. Have a seat, take a load off, and relax...
Wow! Awesome post Robert. Such a small and somewhat minor mistake that can lead to a huge lesson.
First, I have fallen into the “I KNOW I’M RIGHT!” mindset before. Of course, I was wrong!! When I was younger, I was much more ready to keep walking and forget about the incident. However, I have more recently began to realize that accountability for our actions is important, I have started to take a different route. Now, I would turn around, return the change, and not only admit I was wrong, but sincerely apologize for my mistake!
Recently, I walked out of a Scheels All Sports store (and into the mall it was attached to) with around a $25.00 item. I made it halfway through the mall when I realized I had “stolen” it. I immediately turned around and started doing the “run-walk” back to the store. I told them what had happened and then paid for it. No one had come looking for me, so it would have been very easy to keep on walkin’.
I suppose it not only comes down to accountability, but also integrity! (Sorry for such a long comment)!
Eric, my friend, you hit the nail right on the head! My thoughts about the difference in how I think about this in different times of my life are pretty much the same.
It’s important to learn early how integrity makes a difference in our own lives, much less how it affects those around us, don’t you think?
Oh, and rule of thumb: There’s never a need to apologize for a long comment! Thanks for thinking this one through. We all profit when commenters do that.
Great post, Robert. I’ve had several of those moments with my husband; positive I am right and then realize I’m wrong. I go apologize, otherwise it eats at me.
Imagine if you had taken Door #1. It may have been awkward to eat humble pie for that moment, but would you still remember the incident in such vivid detail thirty-five years later.
Another interesting point: you don’t recall putting the first lot of change in your pocket. How much in life do we do mindlessly, with no thought or recollection? How much of our life are we not present for? Hmmm.
Whoa, Glenda – great thought here about the things we do without thinking. That’s one of the things that struck me so hard – that I could pop the change in my pocket and have no recollection whatsoever!
Speaks volumes about the need to NOTICE what goes on around us and not just function on automatic.
I think you’re right about remembering it, too.
And by the way, I appreciate your stopping by, Glenda!
Life is full of these jerked back to reality moments.
The most vivid for me involved a bicycle and gravel. I drive along feeling more and more confident in my abilities as the world’s best bicycle rider, only to hit a small patch of gravel, and control is lost.
Its at that exact point in life when all reality as I know it stops. Although for only a brief second in time, it transforms me from a confident Evil Knievel to a quivering little child.
Its not a defining moment, but a simple reality check–
Mike, “reality check” is a good descriptive phrase for how I felt when this was over. Thanks for contributing to the conversation, my friend!
On a similar line to Eric’s stolen item . What happens when you discover someone has made a mistake – in your favour. Take a recent experience of a couple of my friends who were out to dinner with another lady. When their bill came it had the meal but no drinks charged – and that included a bottle of wine. My friends insisted they tell the server – the other lady was not keen. She reckoned – and she was probably right – that nobody would notice ( well not til they did a wine inventory at least). We talked about this for ages but all agreed we would have to tell otherwise the taste of the meal would have been soured.
Good to see you have learned some of the Scots tongue ( language) Robert.
Hello, Jackie! Today, I’d do the same thing as you – I couldn’t rest until it was made right.
And I appreciate the compliment on the language thing. I had a good teacher: watching Scotty in 10,000,000 Star Trek reruns.
Something like this happened with me and my guy last night. I did everything that you did in the store. I defended myself vehemently only to realize that I was the one in the wrong. I knew what to do, of course. But apologizing seemed so difficult. It was actually at the top of my tongue but I couldn’t say anything and ended up saying something else. In the end, I eventually apologized but that was after a long back and forth deliberation in my head. Pride is such a difficult thing to overcome. It literally is.
I know whereof you speak, Jen, believe me! But like Eric said in his comment above, do it early; otherwise it just gets harder.
Integrity and honor are hard work to build and they take time – but they’re well worth it!
[...] The Chump Change Incident [...]