Don't you just love the Christmas spirit? Not!!!

[Bill in SD, CA]

Yesterday a glass company sent out a guy to fix a broken window.

Estimate was to be around $110 and came to $108.

In the spirit of Christmas I placed a 5 dollar bill in his hand as he left and wished him and his family a Merry Christmas and prosperity in the New Year.

Two hours later I looked at the fireplace mantle where I had placed a check and two $50 bills my mother had given to me to buy some gifts for my sons and discovered that my wish for this guy's prosperity had kicked in early as there was only one 50 left.

I know, my bad, but it never occurred to me to put them away.

The bills were under the check and I only noticed because one inch of the remaining bill was sticking out from beneath the check.

No good deed goes unpunished as they say.

Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!!

[taclandude]

Years ago, when our family was moving around the holiday time, the movers were given "a little something extra" for getting everything there in one piece. It wasn't until days later we found out they helped themselves to some very old and vintage wine we had stored away.
Rotten jerks even took off with my brand new, special-ordered, I saved-for-a-year-to-get motorcycle helmet

Happy holidays, huh?

[chipbgt]

so...are you going to call the glass company Bill? Thats not "your bad" at all.

[Bill in SD, CA]

We did but they said there was nothing they could do without proof.

Actually, my wife called even though I said "Why bother?".

Knew what the end result would be.

Hmmmm, I wonder if I should remove my Grandmother's antique clock from the mantle before I go to bed Christmas Eve?

You never know.





Bill

[chipbgt]

Oh I could think of plenty of things you could do....

[Ed_S]

Sad thing is that the guy probably thinks he was generous for not taking the other $50. Very likely he feels real good about himself over that!

[MD1032]

Jerk, hope you giving him that extra $5 made him feel bad.

[M_Six]

Hate to play devil's advocate here, but weren't you sure it was your neighbor that poisoned your dog earlier this year? Turned out it wasn't your neighbor after all, right? And now you're sure it was the glass guy who stole your $50?

Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to accuse.

[brandon184]

lol... I feel for the loss, but leaving a bunch of cash sitting on a mantle when you know someone is going to be working in the same area is akin to leaving your car unlocked and running in a slummy neighborhood.

It would be nice if people could just be trusted. But they can't.

Brandon

[RedFury]

Well, in all honesty, the guy should have left everything be, regardless. Anyone I work for, in their house, and are worried about leaving me alone to finish my work ( usually the smell drives them out before I do )...it's a simple thing to just explain to them that they don't have anything in their home that's going to pay me $XX,XXX a year if I take it, so don't worry about a thing, and procede to go through lock up procedure with them to make sure their house is secure when I leave.

While I have never had any service done in my home that required my absence, I make sure to make any service visit a little more "memorable" by getting to know my service person and visa versa, my customer.

What he did was plain wrong, and you were right to call. You may not be able to recover your $50, but you upped the chance this guy isn't going to rip anyone else off...at least working for this company.

[Bill in SD, CA]

Well MSix, there were originally 3 50's.

Saturday at 4 P.M. my wife took one and put it in a Christmas card and gave it to the gardener right before he left thus leaving 2.

No one else was in the house except for my wife, my son ( who has no need to steal as he gets basically everything he needs within reason ) and myself.

BTW, my son is a straight A student, accomplished pianist, and does any chore we ask of him without complaint.

My wife is home during the day and I am at night.

The dude was the only other one in the house and passed the mantle at least a dozen times.

I didn't go shopping on Saturday night, Sunday night and neither did my wife.

I could have left the "dog" thing go without reporting back the true nature of outcome but I didn't because it wouldn't be right and I feel a sense of camaraderie here in the community.

From my dog thread:

He said either he ate something in the yard or he was intentionally poisoned.

3 other dogs prior died of old age, same yard, and same surroundings.

Have a neighbor who told me to watch my back.

and

He indeed died of poisoning however my neighbor ( thank God ) had nothing to do with it.

The reason I was so suspicious of the neighbor was that he was taking care of my next door neighbor's dog and therefore had access and opportunity by my side fence and this all happened at the same time.

I never actually accused the neighbor of poisoning.

Just pointed out the threat and timing of the incident.

Bill

[thekingofpain]

Im trying to put myself in the thiefs position and think of the process it takes----do I take it? nawww---but I need it! nawww---they wont miss it look around this pad, nawww---im goin for it---screw em...
Amazing, its only obvious who did it, and not difficult for you to figure out, pretty hard to imagine in my eyes...

[Mr. Goodbytes]

I feel your pain Bill. I've had a couple items go missing on me before. I consider myself a trusting person; I always try to find something good in everyone I meet. But when it comes to strangers, I tend to be a little more observant. As Reagan said: "Trust, but verify."

[RobRich]

I just deleted several posts from this thread that stemmed from a rather racist and completely off-topic comment. Try to stay on-topic, as this is a serious discussion.

[Bill in SD, CA]

Thanks RobRich

Bill