Do you think it's fair to have to pay for something in a store if you accidently break it?

Question

Do you think it's fair to have to pay for something in a store if you accidently break it?

Answer 1

One would think the store owner's insurance would cover such things, but I guess not. Not fair, but then life isn't always fair.  To me, the courteous thing to do would be to offer to make payment arrangements. By making a good faith gesture like that, you may find the person is more willing to forgive an error than you think!

Here's an experience I had: Back in 1983, I was in a very upscale shop in La Jolla, CA, and my baby spit up while the store owner was holding her. I could tell the dress she was wearing was very expensive and I offered to pay for dry cleaning.  She just laughed and said, :"oh, babies do that!"  She then picked up a really expensive scarf, put it on the other shoulder and transferred my daughter to the other shoulder then cleaned up the spit up like it was nothing.  I was just amazed at how nice that lady was about it!

Answer 2

Yes.

It's just like paying for wrecking into someones car, or being at a friend's house and breaking something.  This whole idea that we are somehow not liable for our actions just because we are a customer is ridiculous.

Having said that, if the store is a major chain (like Wal-mart) and the item is mass produced, you will usually be forgiven.  The store simply sends the item back to the manufacturer, and they take a small loss on it while salvaging any parts that they can.

However, if you are in a small business and you break something irreplaceable (i.e., a piece of pottery), then you are morally obligated to work something out with the owner/manager.

Answer 3

Yes it is, why should the shopkeeper pay? He's in business to make money not lose it to clumsy people.

Answer 4

Yes, breaking a $500 piece of crystal I would never bother to own,  is a great life lesson to those who  are a "bull in a china shop".

Answer 5

Probably not, but a it Can depend on who is asking the question, ...

the stall/store owner or the person that caused the damage ...

It's like asking how fair is it to not get any compensation if the council doesn't know about that paving stone you just tripped over ...

That doesn't appear fair or right either but, think about it, ...

We could All go through our lives not giving a care or thinking about anyone or anything else ... and where would we all be then?

In a right mess that's where!

Basically we each have a 'duty of Care' ... both in our actions, interactions and in our general everyday behaviour...

So, ... bottom line is ...

you should have / Could have

taken more care with whatever it it you happened to break ..

Would you like it or feel differently about it

had the item you broke been yours already ?

Say it had happened at home and you treasured that item ...?

Like I said, it depends who is asking the question ..

Only, as you can probably see from the above, it's not as simple as that ....

Answer 6

   Yes.  Why should the store, and ultimately other customers, have to pay for your mistake.  If the store bears the cost, they pass it on to other customers so that their profit margin stays the same.  

Answer 7

No, I work in a department store - and accidents happen. It's simply written off. If it was done deliberately that would be different again.