Honesty or Smart?
So I was listening to the radio on my way to work yesterday, the two hosts were talking about this very honest taxi driver who turned in a bag of jewelries that's worth $70,000 that's left in his car. He was given a $500 reward.
The male host said, "that's great, it's $500, considering that he probably wasn't even looking for a reward to begin with." The female host thinks he should be rewarded with more money, at least in the 3 zero's range, like $1,000. Now let's examine this:
First of all, was the taxi driver really just being "honest"? Personally I question the source of the jewelries. If they belong to a jewelry store, would they just let a forgetful employee transport them in a cab? Is it just some rich guy who can't afford to have his own car/chauffer? Ruling out the above two possibilities what does that leave us? Do I really have to spell it out for you? The taxi driver might not necessarily be an honest man, but he's definitely a smart man. Perhaps the "Lethal Weapon" series had simply taught him better than the educational system had. :)
Okay, assuming that's the wrong scenario. (On hindsight, if the jewelries was re-united with their owner, the owner must have reported them lost. I guess they don't belong to a mob after all. :D) The guy who left it in fact IS a jewelry store employee transporting jewelries. Does the company has to be responsible for his carelessness? I mean, $500 is not big bux by any stretch of imagination, but it's still out-of-pocket expenses (wonder if they can write it off tax). Does the reward necessarily has to be proportionally to the value of the goods? (A lady once gave me $50 for finding her lost cat. :) Her husband didn't look too happy that we found the cat though.)
Furthermore, is there a standard rate of how much you pay someone for retrieving lost items? I mean, it's not like tipping your waiter, where 15-20% is the "going standard." Sure, in an ideal world the person should be rewarded for his honesty, but that cash still have to come from somewhere. How much do you think the goverment can pay him if that was goverment property that he retrieved?
That said, I think $3,000 - $5,000 would be nice. :D
The male host said, "that's great, it's $500, considering that he probably wasn't even looking for a reward to begin with." The female host thinks he should be rewarded with more money, at least in the 3 zero's range, like $1,000. Now let's examine this:
First of all, was the taxi driver really just being "honest"? Personally I question the source of the jewelries. If they belong to a jewelry store, would they just let a forgetful employee transport them in a cab? Is it just some rich guy who can't afford to have his own car/chauffer? Ruling out the above two possibilities what does that leave us? Do I really have to spell it out for you? The taxi driver might not necessarily be an honest man, but he's definitely a smart man. Perhaps the "Lethal Weapon" series had simply taught him better than the educational system had. :)
Okay, assuming that's the wrong scenario. (On hindsight, if the jewelries was re-united with their owner, the owner must have reported them lost. I guess they don't belong to a mob after all. :D) The guy who left it in fact IS a jewelry store employee transporting jewelries. Does the company has to be responsible for his carelessness? I mean, $500 is not big bux by any stretch of imagination, but it's still out-of-pocket expenses (wonder if they can write it off tax). Does the reward necessarily has to be proportionally to the value of the goods? (A lady once gave me $50 for finding her lost cat. :) Her husband didn't look too happy that we found the cat though.)
Furthermore, is there a standard rate of how much you pay someone for retrieving lost items? I mean, it's not like tipping your waiter, where 15-20% is the "going standard." Sure, in an ideal world the person should be rewarded for his honesty, but that cash still have to come from somewhere. How much do you think the goverment can pay him if that was goverment property that he retrieved?
That said, I think $3,000 - $5,000 would be nice. :D
posted by cahalan @ 09:56
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