Honesty....the BEST policy!

Today, I decided to drive to the nearest Ulta store to return a few items I'd ordered online from their website.  While there, I selected a few other items and got in line to checkout.  The representative that assisted me had to go through several steps to complete my return because I'd purchased the items at a discount.  Then she rang up my alternate items and a couple of coupons I had and then surprised me by saying I would have a credit around $7 going back on my card.  The transaction was completed, I thanked her and walked out the door.

As I made my way to the car, I started doing a little math in my head trying to add up the amount of my purchases I'd made compared to my returns and something wasn't right.....

I pulled out the receipt, did some quick calculations, and realized that the representative had credited me twice for one of the items I returned.....giving me an extra credit of $18.  Of course, being human, I was tempted to just drive off into the sunset and keep the extra $18, chalking it up to the store's error.  However, I knew what the Lord would want me to do so I headed right back into the store.  Of course there were about 4 people in line ahead of me and each one seemed to take forever to get checked out....being honest was sure cutting into my day!

Finally, when I got to the front of the line, the same representative recognized me and asked what she did.  I explained that she'd given me a duplicate credit for an item and technically I owed the store $18.  She was so surprised and grateful that I'd come back to right the wrong.  I told her I didn't want her to get in trouble and it was just the right thing to do.  After fixing the error, I paid the amount due and then she surprised me by pulling out a bunch of goodies to thank me for my honesty....

Not only did I leave the store guilt-free, knowing I'd done the right thing, but I was rewarded with a few amazing goodies as well.

So if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, remember honesty really is the BEST policy!