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Weird Money Story

January 5th, 2009 at 08:19 pm

Yesterday dh invited my DSS (31) and DSD (29) to lunch at one of their favorites restaurants which happens to be a national chain. It was not very busy so we were seated promptly in a private booth. The hostess gave us our menus and told us someone would soon be back to take our order. When my DSD opened her menu, she gasped... inside the menu was a $100 bill! Of course, we were all stunned. We even looked around to see if maybe we were on Candid Camera. (We weren't!)

We began a debate about how a $100 bill had gotten in the menu to begin with, and what to do about it. I suggested asking the manager if anyone had lost any $$, but not mentioning an amount... or that DSD could just give the $$ to the manager and let its disposition be on his/her conscience. DSD felt the $$ couldn't possibly be traced to anyone and that she should keep it because she had "found it." DSS adamantly agreed with DSD and dh agreed the decision should be my DSD's. Both DSD and DSS felt it was a "finder's keeper's" situation.

I suggested that DSD think about it and decide what to do after we ate lunch. Well, after lunch she made the decision to keep the $$ rather than turning it in "for someone else to keep." I wasn't comfortable with her decision and dh was no help ("It's up to her."). In the end, I decided not to fight the battle as I've had friction in the past with my DSD over her spending habits and I wanted to avoid conflict related to money. What would you have done?

Posted in Family & Friends, Live and Learn | 14 Comments »

14 Responses to “Weird Money Story”

  1. Broken Arrow Says:
    January 5th, 2009 at 08:29 pm 1231187370
    1231187370

    Well, every family has their own dynamics, so I don't expect that how one situation can be handled exactly the same as the next.

    For what it's worth though, I completely agree with your stance, and I do think it's too bad that they have decided otherwise. "It's up to her" is potentially dangerous in that it does not somehow filter a good decision from a bad one.

  2. Ima saver Says:
    January 5th, 2009 at 08:29 pm 1231187373
    1231187373

    Well, I use to work in a restaurant and I have several times turned things I found, over to the manager. She never gave it back to the person, so the last time I found a purse, I called the owner and arranged to get it back to her directly. I would not have given it to the manager, I would have kept it, but tried to find the owner. I would have left my name and number and told them that I found an undisclosed amount of money.

  3. ceejay74 Says:
    January 5th, 2009 at 08:43 pm 1231188212
    1231188212

    It's a very strange thing to have happened, so I almost think that someone had a big windfall and decided to give someone a nice surprise. Let's hope so, anyway!

  4. merch Says:
    January 5th, 2009 at 08:48 pm 1231188534
    1231188534

    For me personally, I would have turned it over to the manager. I would probably also think that we would have pocketed it or kept it if no on claimed it at the end of the day. But in my eyes, I would have done what I thought was right. The person who lost it would have a higher chance of calling the restaurant then calling me.

    For DSD, she is 29 and knows the difference between right and wrong. I believe at this age there is not much you could do. I would probably have said that the final decision is yours. However, I am disappointed that you did not give the money to the manager.

  5. Koppur Says:
    January 5th, 2009 at 10:28 pm 1231194516
    1231194516

    I would have asked if anyone was missing money. It the cowards way out: I get it off my conscious but I still get to keep it if they say no.

  6. whitestripe Says:
    January 5th, 2009 at 10:55 pm 1231196122
    1231196122

    i would have kept it.

  7. monkeymama Says:
    January 6th, 2009 at 12:04 am 1231200241
    1231200241

    I would have kept it. When I was 16 I worked with my best friend and we found a $20 bill and we gave it to our manager. He laughed at us and put in the vault. We realized then he was going to take it. But you know, we were young and idealistic.

    The fact is you can't trace money. What else can you do? If you lost $100 I doubt you'd let anyone know because you'd figure it's gone.

    Anyway, I can't help but wonder if someone left it there just as a good samaritan thing. I can't imagine how else it could have gotten there. I'd take it and enjoy!

    I just see it as a no-win situation otherwise. Believe me, if I thought there was any chance I could find the owner, I would. (Ima makes an interesting point. But yeah - I don't see how giving the money to someone else to keep solves anything).

  8. monkeymama Says:
    January 6th, 2009 at 12:08 am 1231200485
    1231200485

    BTW, no matter how it got there, it sure livened up your meal, eh?

  9. tynana Says:
    January 6th, 2009 at 12:15 am 1231200940
    1231200940

    I agree wtih Ima saver. I would have advised management that I had found $100.00 and leave my name and phone number so if the person who lost it could contact me if they called looking for it. I have turned items in many times that I found and sometimes got the feeling that the person I left it with was going to be keeping it. One time my dad lost $40.00 which was our grocery money and it would have been nice if someone had turned it in or left their name and number with the managment of the store where it was lost. As for DSD she will probably lose more than what she felt was hers for the taking. Do you hear Karma speaking?

  10. disneysteve Says:
    January 6th, 2009 at 02:38 am 1231209506
    1231209506

    I'm usually a finders-keepers kind of guy but that's an unusual situation. How did cash get in the menu? Anytime I've ever gone to a restaurant, the server took away the menus after we ordered, long before any money changes hands. When you pay the check, the menu isn't around. So it seems like somebody would have had to plant the money there on purpose. How could you accidentally put a $100 bill in the menu and forget about it? A tip wouldn't be put in the menu either, since it wouldn't be at the table when the tip was being left.

    Turning in cash is worthless because you know whoever you turn it in to is just going to pocket it. That wouldn't make me feel like I had done some noble good deed.

    I like the idea of telling the manager that I found something in a menu and leaving my number for him to call if something is reported missing. I would NOT say what I found because then the manager could just call and say someone reported the $100 bill missing.

  11. Analise Says:
    January 6th, 2009 at 02:50 am 1231210222
    1231210222

    disneysteve - Yes, the questions you bring up are exactly what we wondered and debated. It was so odd to find the money in the menu of all places. And I totally agree with what you suggest... I guess it would have been foolish to simply hand it over to the manager, but more could have been done to return it to its rightful owner. Giving the manager a note with a phone # and telling him/her "something" had been found in the menu would have been better, IMO, than DSD just taking the finder's keeper's approach.

  12. Mr. GoTo Says:
    January 6th, 2009 at 03:49 pm 1231256978
    1231256978

    This is a simple one if you are both ethical and practical. You tell the manager that you found some cash (not on the table), that if someone reports some money missing, that person should call you and specify the amount and the denominations. Then leave your name and number, and tell them if you don't hear anything in the next 48 hours, you will assume it's money lost and unclaimed and that's the end of it.

  13. Grace Says:
    January 8th, 2009 at 06:11 pm 1231438283
    1231438283

    Well, my granddaughter left her new PSP on the city bus. I will be forever grateful to whoever it was that turned it in to the bus driver who gave it to Lost & Found. Whoever's money it was, it definitely was NOT your family's. Personally, I agree that the best and most ethical thing to do would have been to leave your name and phone number with the manager and ask them to forward any calls about money lost to you. I would have left the exact amount unstated. Then, if no one calls within a couple of days, your family's conscience would be clear.

  14. whitestripe Says:
    January 10th, 2009 at 03:38 am 1231558691
    1231558691

    i think money is different to actual THINGS, i would always return someones personal possessions. i would think that it was most likely that someone left it in there intentionally. it was a menu - not the bill holder. you dont get money out before you order.

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