Sometimes I Think It Would Be Fun To Have Problems Like This..

An Explosion Of Jewels is the featured fractal of today’s post: read on and you’ll see why it is so singularly appropriate…
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I heard something in passing on the KTLA Morning News yesterday (November 21) that I found interesting enough to ponder and write about. I got only the most basic facts and wasn’t able to find any more info on line but the story goes something like this: an Orange County woman went to Saks Fifth Avenue and purchased a diamond brooch and earrings for $28,000. The two clerks on duty sold her the items as a set. She paid for everything and went away happy. Some time later though, the store manager called her and told her the two items were not a set (and were thus valued at $78,000). He told the woman she would have to return the items or she could buy them at a discount. The woman refused both solutions so now she is being sued by the store.
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Maybe I’m wrong here but I think this one should be a no-brainer for everyone involved. (Of course, I may not have all the facts to I can’t be absolutely certain--and God knows I’m no lawyer.) Assuming the customer bought the items in good faith then it’s not her fault if the clerks made a mistake. Furthermore I’m pretty sure that if the Sak’s’ jewelry department had sold a $28,000 item for $78,000 they wouldn’t be bending over backward to refund the overage. I’m pretty sure the store has a HUGE markup of jewelry (like most luxury goods) so they’re still making a profit at the severely discounted rate.
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Returning the jewelry or paying the discounted price would certainly be the ethical thing to do but I don’t see where the store would have any legal right to sue the customer. Saks Fifth Avenue needs to buck up and take it in the shorts (like every other business who makes a mistake) and fire the clerks or train their employees better. I’m pretty sure the store is going to lose this case: not only will they lose their profit, they’ll end up paying the court costs and losing a good customer. Not to mention the bad publicity. I don’t see how the “Legal Eagles” at Saks think this is a good idea. (Maybe they thought the customer would cave at the threat of a suit but they were wrong.)
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I’d like to think that I’d be ethical enough to return or pay up if I was confronted by a situation like this(but, in all honesty, I probably wouldn’t: I’d probably fight back just like the customer. I’m cheap and I have larceny in my heart--even if I‘d never seek to cheat someone.) Whatever happens, this isn’t going to be a good thing for anyone involved--but it would sure be fun to have problems like this for--for a while at least.
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Think about it.