Have you ever heard of the Pottery Barn Rule?

[tomwed]

This is new to me.

"The Pottery Barn rule is American jargon alluding to a "you break it, you buy it" policy, by which a retail store holds a customer responsible for damage done to merchandise on display. It is an analogy often used in the political or military arena which suggests that if an organization inadvertently creates a problem, the organization is obliged to correct it.

In reality, Pottery Barn—an upscale home furnishing stores in the United States—does not have a "you break it, you bought it" policy, but instead writes off broken merchandise as a loss, as do most large American retailers. Many U.S. states have statutes forbidding such policies (absent negligence or willful destruction). Legal doctrine also holds that a retailer incurs the risk that merchandise will be destroyed by placing it where customers can handle it and not doing anything to discourage them." Source Wikipedia

Would you pay for anything that you destroyed in a store even if you didn't have to?

[Barefoot]

Would you pay for anything that you destroyed in a store even if you didn't have to?

Yes, if I destroyed something in a store, of course I would pay for it.
I suspect you will probably get the same answers from the same people as on the "broken window when golfing thread".
:popcorn:

[perrjojo]

Someone in the broken window thread said those who would pay have a "holier than thou" attitude. I disagree. Some have different "I can sleep at night quotients". You do whatever YOU are comfortable with. It has nothing to do with what you think about OTHERS. I would offer to pay. Hopefully they would not require I do so.

[NotGolfer]

Yes, if I destroyed something in a store, of course I would pay for it.
I suspect you will probably get the same answers from the same people as on the "broken window when golfing thread".
:popcorn:

It would be the right thing to do...paying for something you broke. You could also take that to a personal level where a friend is in your home and accidently breaks a vase and wants to replace it. It's the right thing to do..optional maybe but leaves a clean conscience (IMHO).

[tomwed]

It would be the right thing to do...paying for something you broke. You could also take that to a personal level where a friend is in your home and accidently breaks a vase and wants to replace it. It's the right thing to do..optional maybe but leaves a clean conscience (IMHO).
When you are in my home what's mine is yours. No charge. But when toddlers are coming over I put the good stuff where they can't get at it. We used to tease my mom and call it a velvet rope. This meant no kids in the living room.
Isn't it funny how different families can be?

[tedquick]

Would you pay for anything that you destroyed in a store even if you didn't have to?

I would.

[dbussone]

I have. I removed a bottle wine from a shelf and knocked another to the floor. Against the manager's wishes I insisted on paying for it. To this day, he remembers me and speaks to me when we see one another. I have a new friend over spilt milk - ok, wine.

[tomwed]

I have. I removed a bottle wine from a shelf and knocked another to the floor. Against the manager's wishes I insisted on paying for it. To this day, he remembers me and speaks to me when we see one another. I have a new friend over spilt milk - ok, wine.
I like and admire you. I need to rethink how I see things. I always saw things as the cost of doing business. Friends are priceless.

[Wandatime]

Three of us walked into an antique shop in Savannah's river district. There was a drop front desk with about twenty five sets of antique porcelain cups and saucers precariously displayed. I saw the accident waiting to happen and steered clear of it, but one of my friends nicked it with her purse and knocked a saucer and cup to the floor.

The manager had absolutely no problem charging her $75 for the broken china; my friend said okay, but then insisted it be wrapped and bagged so she could take it with her. I just stood at the door, vacillating between being mortified and trying not to giggle at my friend telling the manager to be very careful with her new broken cup.

When we got outside I asked her what she was going to do with it and she said she had no idea, but she was damned if she was going to pay $75 and not have ANYTHING to show for it. :p

[tomwed]

I have. I removed a bottle wine from a shelf and knocked another to the floor. Against the manager's wishes I insisted on paying for it. To this day, he remembers me and speaks to me when we see one another. I have a new friend over spilt milk - ok, wine.
I like and admire you because you walk the walk and I trust people to tell the truth. I need to rethink how I see things.

I always saw risks as the cost of doing business. Yet, friends are priceless.

I rethought it.

I think you made a mistake. I think the store was responsible and wouldn't take much of a hit. It's nice the worker admires you but if it was me, I wouldn't care. If it was a mom and pop store, I would see it differently. I think their income come comes first. I don't see things in black and white.

[blueeagle65]

I have seen seniors break things in local retail stores in TV and run away like little kids breaking a window. Never once offering to pay for their clumsiness.

[tomwed]

Three of us walked into an antique shop in Savannah's river district. There was a drop front desk with about twenty five sets of antique porcelain cups and saucers precariously displayed. I saw the accident waiting to happen and steered clear of it, but one of my friends nicked it with her purse and knocked a saucer and cup to the floor.

The manager had absolutely no problem charging her $75 for the broken china; my friend said okay, but then insisted it be wrapped and bagged so she could take it with her. I just stood at the door, vacillating between being mortified and trying not to giggle at my friend telling the manager to be very careful with her new broken cup.

When we got outside I asked her what she was going to do with it and she said she had no idea, but she was damned if she was going to pay $75 and not have ANYTHING to show for it. :p


That never happened to me. I don't know how I would have handled it. I don't think I would have handled as coolly as your friend. I wish I could, That's a great story. thank-you

[tomwed]

I have seen seniors break things in local retail stores in TV and run away like little kids breaking a window. Never once offering to pay for their clumsiness.
How sad. After all those years of taking care of young ones we now need to run when we mistakes. Where is the compassion?

[dbussone]

I like and admire you because you walk the walk and I trust people to tell the truth. I need to rethink how I see things.

I always saw risks as the cost of doing business. Yet, friends are priceless.

I rethought it.

I think you made a mistake. I think the store was responsible and wouldn't take much of a hit. It's nice the worker admires you but if it was me, I wouldn't care. If it was a mom and pop store, I would see it differently. I think their income come comes first. I don't see things in black and white.

Thanks Tom. If I thought the store was responsible I would not have paid.

[gomoho]

I hope that those that run like kids are doing so because they can't afford to pay, not because they don't feel responsible, but that is probably wishful thinking.

[Barefoot]

I removed a bottle wine from a shelf and knocked another to the floor.


I think the store was responsible and wouldn't take much of a hit.

:confused: How could the store be responsible for a customer knocking a bottle of wine to the floor?

[dbussone]

:confused: How could the store be responsible for a customer knocking a bottle of wine to the floor?

Bare - the second comment was not mine. I believed the broken bottle was my fault and paid for it.

[redwitch]

I'm definitely one of the payer types. If I'm clumsy enough to drop it, bang it or knock it, I'm responsible.

I think I might be arguing about the value of that broken cup, though. Sounds like a scam for the shop owner to make a profit. Have seen "valuable" objects purchased at garage sales and then placed where you could almost guarantee they would be knocked down before. There is a cynic in me.

[Barefoot]

Bare - the second comment was not mine. I believed the broken bottle was my fault and paid for it.

Yes, I know you paid for the broken bottle, good for you.
The second comment was Tomwed's post. He posted "I think the store was responsible".
I was curious why he felt the store was responsible for dbussone knocking over a bottle of wine.
But I take the question back - it's of no importance in the whole scheme of things.
We all march to different drummers.

[kcrazorbackfan]

Would you pay for anything that you destroyed in a store even if you didn't have to?

I would and I have.

[mtdjed]

Depends. Have you ever walked into a grocery store and saw a beautiful display of Delicious apples or similar and picked one up and had the display cascade several items onto the floor? Would you pay $.50 for each of the 10 apples that hit the floor i.e. $5?

If you knew the store was charging double their cost, would you pay full price?

How about the antique vase that you picked up by the glued on handle that broke and you did not realize was glued?

Point is there are circumstances.

[NYGUY]

LOL Tom, this added thread is too funny....:pepper2:

[CFrance]

I have. I removed a bottle wine from a shelf and knocked another to the floor. Against the manager's wishes I insisted on paying for it. To this day, he remembers me and speaks to me when we see one another. I have a new friend over spilt milk - ok, wine.
You are a good soul, db. And you have provided us with a positive example of "What goes around comes around."

[Pointer]

The last mom n pop store I worked in had a half price policy if you broke which cover their cost, that I thought was really fair. Most times the object could be fixed and was given to the customer that now owned it at the bargain price. Of course rather then lose a customer we absorbed the cost if the customer felt it wasn't their fault, but most people were glad to cover our cost.

I've had people eat the fruit before I could weigh it and I always laughed when they realized what they'd done. LOL, Just get me another one to weigh, problem fixed.

[jblum315]

This thread makes me think of "American Pickers". I'll bet Frank and Mike have broken things in their scrambling around looking for antiques. Of course that would be edited out of the TV footage. But I imagine they would offer to pay for it and then haggle over the price. Which is what I think I would do.

[Walter123]

Sometimes the displays and isles are so cluttered that you have to be very careful while navigating through the store. It's like walking through a mine field. I don't think I would pay for something I knocked over under these circumstances. It's the price of doing business and shouldn't be placed on the consumer.

[Bonny]

I would definitely offer to pay if it was my fault.

[Cedwards38]

Yes, I would.

[Miles42]

If you are careless enough to break it then pay for it.

[Sandtrap328]

Not too long ago, I was at the Publix Liquor store at Southern Trace. I accidentally knocked a bottle of wine over with my shopping cart and it shattered on the floor. The counter clerk rushed over to see if I had cut myself as I began picking up some pieces. I pulled out my wallet, apologized, and said I would pay. He refused payment. He would not even let me help clean it up.

Many stores have the posted sign of "You break, you bought". Of course, it is only proper to pay or sincerely offer to pay for something you break. Isn't this what we taught our kids and what we learned from our parents and taking personal responsibility for our actions?

[TrudyM]

I was a retail store manager for many years and I never had anyone offer to pay. The time I remember most was when I was a 20 something department manager and we had a display of crystal from Italy no piece under $300 it was on sturdy glass shelves in the china department and no piece near the front of the shelves and good spacing between. A customer picked up a decanter looked at the price on the bottom yelled you've got to be kidding and slammed it down on the fourth shelf causing the shelf to shatter and cascade into the shelves below. 5 thousand dollars of mark out of stock later he not only didn't offer to pay he sued the store because of a small cut on his hand.

I suspect that those of you who would offer to pay are also very careful respectful people.

[Sandtrap328]

I was a retail store manager for many years and I never had anyone offer to pay. The time I remember most was when I was a 20 something department manager and we had a display of crystal from Italy no piece under $300 it was on sturdy glass shelves in the china department and no piece near the front of the shelves and good spacing between. A customer picked up a decanter looked at the price on the bottom yelled you've got to be kidding and slammed it down on the fourth shelf causing the shelf to shatter and cascade into the shelves below. 5 thousand dollars of mark out of stock later he not only didn't offer to pay he sued the store because of a small cut on his hand.

I suspect that those of you who would offer to pay are also very careful respectful people.

I am sure the store had insurance that covered the breakage as well as liability insurance that would have covered a cut on his hand. I would be surprised that you as the manager did not call the police for the man causing destruction of property.