The iMac Moral Dilemma

I have a moral dilemma. I have two brand new iMacs.

Let me tell you what happened.

I ordered a new iMac for our school's yearbook office. iMacs are beautiful computers at an extremely reasonable price. I ordered ONE iMac. It came yesterday - much to the excitement of our yearbook editor.

Then another one arrived today.

I received a call from our campus post office this morning. "You got another package just like the one you got yesterday." So I went down there, saw the box, and wondered why I now had another iMac.

When I looked at the packing slip on the side of the box, it confirmed what I thought - Apple had accidently sent me an extra iMac.

At this point, I had a decision to make.

I started telling the people I work with that I now had an iMac in my possession that was probably unaccounted for at Apple HQ. That's when the bidding began.

After about 20 minutes, I decided to call Apple. I knew I had to do the right thing. I just wanted to hear what they had to say.

When I got a customer service agent on the phone, he apologized to me for Apple's mistake and said the following:

"We admit that it was our mistake in sending you an extra iMac. We would appreciate it if you would return it to us, but you are under no obligation to do so."

That response didn't help me. "You mean, I can keep this iMac, even though you know about it now, and Apple won't charge me for it?" I asked. "No sir. It's our mistake. We'd like it back, but it's up to you."

Now...doing the right thing just got a little muddier. Apple put the choice on me.

I told my co-workers about the conversation. They all had a good time sharing what they would do or what they thought I should do (we talked about how it is easier to make a moral choice for someone else, but much harder when your name is on the box). One of my office mates said, "Just think of all the good you could do if you kept the iMac? You could donate it to someone." I responded with, "What happens if the iMac were to get "stolen" between now and the time I return it?" It's funny how easy it is to come up with a good answer on both sides of the situation.

What would you do?

So here's where I stand at the moment. Apple is going to email me some return shipping labels. The iMac sits unopened in my office. I plan on putting the shipping labels on it, taking it back down to the campus post office and leaving it there.

Somebody at Apple HQ is probably getting their behind chewed out because of this oversight. I hope that this return makes things right for them. I am actually impressed with Apple's response. They didn't demand it back. They only asked for it back. They relied on my sense of character and honesty to simply return something that I didn't pay for. They admitted their mistake and apologized (even though I could have had a free iMac from their mistake) for making me have to take the time to mail it back. Good job Apple!

I'll be the first to admit that I'm no hero in this thing. I mulled over keeping it all afternoon. Apple even said I could. But it wouldn't be right. Nobody would know...but I'd know. It's interesting how much this situation tested my character. I could use an iMac, but I'd rather go about it the right way.

Comments

[tim]

@ J Chang: While I had no obligation to return it from Apple, I did feel a moral obligation to return it as a principle of my character. I guess that's the most important thing in this whole story - character matters.

[tim]

Amanda!
Great to hear from you. It was a real circus as everyone was chiming in on what I should do. Carey, Karen, Michael T, and Gene all had great comments. But when it came down to it...it was my decision. I'm glad I made the right one.

[tim]

@ Hair - Thanks for clarifying the aspect of "legal" ramifications. I didn't realize that Apple COULDN'T demand it. Thank you for confirming that my returning the product was the right thing to do as well.

[J Chang]

@ hair

he got two iMac's

one by ACCIDENT, and one he ordered.

the moral dilemma arrises when the second one came by accident and Apple calls him and says the magic words, "....but you are under no obligation to do so."

[Amanda]

Tim -- you did the right thing, although it hurts. I would have faced a similar battle. As I read your story, I thought of the pow-wow that had taken place on the 2nd floor-- I miss you all!

[Hair]

Apple isn't so much being nice as they are being understanding of the law. You have the *legal* right to keep anything that was sent to you by mail in error without paying for it.

Apple can't demand that you return or, nor can they charge you.

Keeping things sent to you in error poses a significant moral dilemma. In this case, returning it seems easy enough, but in other cases, I've experienced that the hassle of returning something was worth more to me than the value of what was being returned.

In the case of the iMac, that's most likely not true.

The right thing is obviously to return the iMac, but the longer it takes to do it, the harder it is to do so. In fact, if you had it on your desk at home, turned on, and running iLife, I doubt very much that it would be *possible* to return it.