Just had a conversation with my neighbor about returning extra change from a vending machine

She said she always keeps it because 'the machine doesn't care,' but I've been letting it slide for years and now I'm second-guessing if that $1.25 I kept last week was actually wrong. Has anyone else dealt with this weird guilt over a machine's mistake?

2 comments

2 Comments

gray_roberts20d ago

Oh I'm the opposite honestly, I think you're overthinking it. The machine made the mistake, not you. If a cashier gives you too much change you give it back because that's a person who could get in trouble or have to make up the difference. A vending machine doesn't have feelings or a manager who's going to yell at it. That $1.25 is just a rounding error on some corporation's spreadsheet somewhere. I say keep it and don't look back.

emery_craig20d ago

Yeah I've been there too. I just told myself it was a "vending machine tax" for the times they've stolen my dollar without giving me anything, and moved on.