How do you view giving to the homeless?

The manager of the store he worked at claimed that the change belonged to the store and tried to write him up for theft.

Williamkaede wrote: The manager of the store he worked at claimed that the change belonged to the store and tried to write him up for theft.

Bizarre, how'd the manager even know about the tip?

ren wrote: lol you're going to have to explain how that works. give something to someone, someone else accuses them of theft?

I am a customer service manager, so I will explain. When you ring a customer up, the change that is owed still belongs to the store. It is not until the customer accepts the change that it belongs to them. If they walk off forgetting the change, the change still belongs to the store, but is also still owed to them, so they can come back and get it at any time. However, if the customer denies the change, then the change is still under the ownership of the store. Therefore, if a customer refuses change, and you keep it, you are stealing money from the store.

So basically, the change denied or left behind is not up for grabs, as it still belongs to the store.

If the customer accepts the change, and then gives it to you, that is a different story. However, the cameras that are watching don't know that the customer gave to you as a tip, AND most retail establishments make it against company police to accept gifts and tips.

Adder wrote: Bizarre, how'd the manager even know about the tip?

Managers have ways of getting information...but that's our little secret that we'll never tell

I agree. Some(not all) misuse the money some generous people give. I saw one person who used the money to purchase alcohol.

That's why I NEVER give money. If I happen to have "get a free coke" coupon or "free small fries" coupon I give them that. If there's a fastfood place nearby, i'll get them a sandwich. But I will NEVER give them money. At my store, we don't sell alcohol to homeless people. We know they're homeless, because we're always chasing them out of our parking lot because they pester the customers for money, or we see them on the properties around us. They come in, get a big bottle of beer, and we send them right on out the door once we stop them and take it from them.

I'm usually a little nicer. I'll tell them they can either buy something to eat, or they can leave. So I actually give them a chance. Well...not always. There are some days the store is packed and my frustration level is through the roof. I'm not rude, I just take the beer and ask them to leave. Don't take money that kind strangers gave you and then go buy beer with it.

I actually had a guy ask me once to help him out with a sandwich at subway. He reeked of beer.
-Have you been using the money people have handed you to buy beer?
~Well....I......ok, I won't lie. Yes, I have. I occasionally use money to buy beer.
-If you get enough money to buy beer, then you have money to buy food.
~Yeah...you're right. *walks away*

Guess what? Ever since that day, he stopped buying beer. He now comes in once a week and gets dry food and a bottle of water. I have yet to smell any alcohol on him. Sometimes, being tough is being helpful.

I mostly agree with your policies, SeanChing, on helping the needy. On the street, just walking by, I may give some cash, but if at all possible I prefer to bring food. If I see people performing on the street, I almost always make some sort of donation. Thinking about it...any one of us could be in that position at some time or another. Not everyone would use the cash to buy harmful substances, and not everyone is faking. Whenever possible, instead of fearing that anyone could be faking for free handouts, I'd prefer to help everyone who asks...doing this, you'll be helping those who need it and those who don't. It may not be realistic, but one can always try.

He was told to 'keep the change'. The manager on duty decided that change still belongs to the store. I'm not clear on the outcome but his job was definitely threatened.

it is a good thing to give freely of oneself....i often do this even at the expense of my own benefit (giving away money i needed for food/drink/etc)...i can get more money, i can get food/drink from family & friends...so the money means almost nothing to me...with the homeless i've learned to be a bit more discriminating in my giving...if they smell of alcohol i don't give them money...of course it is their life to ruin, but i don't want to help them ruin it...i nearly always give my store change to charity, change is abundant when you know how to aquire it...plus every penny spent multiplies in return ie: spend one penny get 4 back...technically the change in the case of the cashier does belong to the store...i know, it seems odd and unfair, but the change isn't being handled by an inidividual at that time, it's being handled by an employee (a representative of said store)...

If I have a bit of change I will give it to them, but only ones that seem as though they are genuinely destitute, most gypsies in London work for gangs, they even found one woman walking around with a baby that wasn't hers! What is also a good thing to do is just to chat to them. So few people give them the time of day and it's probably a pretty lonely life, if I have nothing to do then I'll have a smoke with them and a chat, every single time I've done this it has been really appreciated.