Sometimes people give us little tests to see how honest we are.

Bretrick

Bretrick

Well-known Member
Location
Perth Western Australia
Over my life I have come across people who want to see if I was trustworthy.
I used to do deliveries for an Antiques store.
On my first day I notice a locked display cabinet with watches inside. On my second day, 8 of those watches were on the counter, not locked away.
Third day, the watches were back in the cabinet,
A test to see if I would take one.
Another time, working for Beyond Shelter, first day, in his car, the cup holder in the middle console, empty, second day, multiple coins in the cup holder slot, he left me in the car whilst he went and done something, third day, no coins. Nor were there any coins there after that.
Tested me to see if I would take some coins.
Another time, someone bought something off me for $1000, paid back in instalments, - $300. $300, $200 and $200 was the agreed payment regime.
2 x $300 were paid back, Then instead of $200, he paid $250, saying, $250 to go.
"No, you already paid $600, this $250, leaves $150 to go"
"Oh, I forgot I paid $600."
A test to see if I was honest
Be aware, people will test us for honesty, prove your worth by not being dishonest and earn their respect.
The flip side? If I had taken a watch, a few coins then I would have been proven to be dishonest and lost my employment.
 

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Bretrick said:
Over my life I have come across people who want to see if I was trustworthy.
I used to do deliveries for an Antiques store.
On my first day I notice a locked display cabinet with watches inside. On my second day, 8 of those watches were on the counter, not locked away.
Third day, the watches were back in the cabinet,
A test to see if I would take one.
Another time, working for Beyond Shelter, first day, in his car, the cup holder in the middle console, empty, second day, multiple coins in the cup holder slot, he left me in the car whilst he went and done something, third day, no coins. Nor were there any coins there after that.
Tested me to see if I would take some coins.
Another time, someone bought something off me for $1000, paid back in instalments, - $300. $300, $200 and $200 was the agreed payment regime.
2 x $300 were paid back, Then instead of $200, he paid $250, saying, $250 to go.
"No, you already paid $600, this $250, leaves $150 to go"
"Oh, I forgot I paid $600."
A test to see if I was honest
Be aware, people will test us for honesty, prove your worth by not being dishonest and earn their respect.
The flip side? If I had taken a watch, a few coins then I would have been proven to be dishonest and lost my employment.
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Indeed they do!

Sometimes those running businesses where vulnerable people may have their cash stolen by dishonest new staff members, leaving ten or twenty pound notes in a prominent position, say on a mantelpiece, can lure someone into taking it, (thus proving their untrustworthiness pretty quickly, if it is known no one else went in the room etc., and it is a shame when this kind of thing has to be done).
 

Finding a small bundle of notes on a country road occurred to me once, (my guess being they were dropped by a delivery driver or milkman, something like that?). On that occasion I dont think I handed it in, so "just felt bad about it afterwards", but I consoled myself by thinking of the times I'd lost/dropped notes, or even had the odd one stolen from me in an insecure changing room locker. :rolleyes:🤬🥵
 
If we can see the test/trap, does that say something about our honesty even if we choose not to take the bait? :unsure:

honest-man-child-socrates-quote.jpg
 
If the person left watches out I'd have thought he must have been cleaning them. If he had left coins in the cup holder I'd have thought he needed them for the parking meter, car wash or coffee machine. It would have never crossed my mind that they were testing my honesty. People are effing weird.
 
Back in my teens when I was doing babysitting jobs I remember seeing money laying around on a table or kitchen counter and wondering then if they were "testing" me. Not a lot of money, just a dollar or two, or maybe some change...nothing that would be missed unless put out as bait!
 
I went to work at machine shop when I was around 20, small shop with about six guys. One day I found a $2.00 bill laying on the floor, I picked it up and asked "who lost this?" but nobody answered so I took it over by the time clock and thumb tacked to the bulletin board. The next day the foreman told me he did that as a test, he said if I would have pocketed the money he would have fired me.

I made a career out of machining, turns out I was very good at it and advanced quickly, eventually ended up being a successful business owner. If I would have pocketed that bill and been fired my entire life could have played out differently.
 
If I thought my honesty was being tested I would feel very resentful. I am aware of having been asked questions to discover my stance on certain subjects. I appreciate that employers wish to avoid conflict in the workplace, so I can understand the reason for it.
 
Lavinia said:
If I thought my honesty was being tested I would feel very resentful. I am aware of having been asked questions to discover my stance on certain subjects. I appreciate that employers wish to avoid conflict in the workplace, so I can understand the reason for it.
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I suppose you could say every time a potential employer checks someone's references, this is a kind of test, though quite understandable, and not to be resented.
A former brother in law of mine even did something similar before taking out one of my sisters for the first time, (he asked the local garage owner, who was a friend of his father, whether my dad had a good reputation in our village, and farming community!).
I think he showed extreme caution, and ultimately the !marriage wasn't that happy, (he died too young of an alcohol related illness, though my parents always liked him)
 
I remember an incident when I worked at an amusement park one summer. I was reporting to work at one of the booths that sold souvenirs, and the girl before me had left. I found a small, beaded purse under the register, full of about twenty four dollars in cash. Since the girl had already left, I didn't know what to do so I turned it into the lost and found. The minute I did so, I felt regret. The young man behind the counter got this avid look in his eyes and I am pretty sure that girl never saw her money again. I often wish I had just kept the purse and given it to her the next day. Sometimes, you try to do the right thing and somebody comes along and does something different altogether.
 
I've had three such incidents but I think only one of them was a test. The other two were just careless mistakes.
The test: I worked in a retail firearms business for several years - instructor & sales rep. The owner had three stores. He had a customer for an expensive rifle - around $5,000.00 who lived near one of the other stores & wanted to pick the rifle up at that store. The owner gave me the rifle & said, "Take it home tonight & bring it to the other store tomorrow."

I was buying a shotgun from a store. The owner/gunsmith said he had to leave for half an hour. He just said, "Wait for me; I'll be back soon." He was the only person in the store. He just walk out, leaving me (a total stranger) alone with millions of dollars in inventory.

In 1991, I was buying a new Honda. After choosing the car, I was sitting in the finance office doing the paperwork. A customer walked in & started arguing with the finance guy about the need to prove he had car insurance before buying a car. He said, "Look, I'm paying cash for the car now, so there's no reason for you to be concerned about whether I have insurance." He put $40,000.00 in cash on the desk. It was all banded; it looked like 8 stacks. The finance guy said, "OK, let me check with management to see if it's OK. He left me alone in the office for 20 minutes. I was wondering, "He doesn't know me; how does he know I won't scoop up the money?"
 
win231 said:
I've had three such incidents but I think only one of them was a test. The other two were just careless mistakes.
The test: I worked in a retail firearms business for several years - instructor & sales rep. The owner had three stores. He had a customer for an expensive rifle - around $5,000.00 who lived near one of the other stores & wanted to pick the rifle up at that store. The owner gave me the rifle & said, "Take it home tonight & bring it to the other store tomorrow."

I was buying a shotgun from a store. The owner/gunsmith said he had to leave for half an hour. He just said, "Wait for me; I'll be back soon." He was the only person in the store. He just walk out, leaving me (a total stranger) alone with millions of dollars in inventory.

In 1991, I was buying a new Honda. After choosing the car, I was sitting in the finance office doing the paperwork. A customer walked in & started arguing with the finance guy about the need to prove he had car insurance before buying a car. He said, "Look, I'm paying cash for the car now, so there's no reason for you to be concerned about whether I have insurance." He put $40,000.00 in cash on the desk. It was all banded; it looked like 8 stacks. The finance guy said, "OK, let me check with management to see if it's OK. He left me alone in the office for 20 minutes. I was wondering, "He doesn't know me; how does he know I won't scoop up the money?"
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I think that those people were just plain foolish. Why risk robbery just to prove a point?
 
Lee said:
Just my opinion but somehow I feel that those who feel the need to test others honestly are somehow just not that honest themselves.
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It is a sound thought, but if you ran/owned a business where your own reputation would be at stake if someone working for you was dishonest in relation to your customers or clients, you can see there is a difficult issue to be dealt with there, hence playing a trick of some kind does seem a way of protecting your own interests. :unsure:
 
I feel someone who feels they’re being tested may be dishonest (?). I’ve never felt in my life I was being tested in a job. Just never occurred to me.
 
Jan14 said:
I feel someone who feels they’re being tested may be dishonest (?). I’ve never felt in my life I was being tested in a job. Just never occurred to me.
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I understand what you're saying though I was once responsible for a cash box, and about £100 went missing, so our local security guy got called in, only to discover quite quickly I foolishly kept the key in the same place as the box, (in a strong cupboard that was locked each evening, but the metal cupboard was left open all day).

The guy was no doubt ready to consider suspicions covering all our small staff of ten, (including myself!), but when questioning the group together I believed, as he did, that none of them were involved.

All kinds of other contractors and visitors had access to the same office where the box was kept, and there would be no knowing who might have taken the money in the end, so it was put down to experience by my firm, (though the embarrassment we felt at keeping the key in the same cupboard with the box, meant we never forgot to keep them in different places thereafter!).
 

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