The Lincoln Solution

I heard a tale, factual or not I could not say, about Abraham Lincoln. While working as a clerk he charged a certain amount for goods sold to a customer only to realize after the customer had left that he had overcharged by a couple of pennies. It made him wonder about his integrity, enough that he walked several miles to refund the overcharge. Integrity and honesty mark the measure of our worth.

Back when I was an apprentice locksmith I worked for free, so to speak. In actuality I gained far more than money for the hours I put in; I gained knowledge. Once in a while at the end of the day a call would come in to the shop, one that the owner knew I could handle. He would “throw me a bone” by telling me to take care of it and keep what ever the job was worth. The first time that happened I drove out and made a key for an old Ford truck. I was so pleased with myself for having accomplished the job that I drove off with a huge smile on my face. It was about three or four miles down the road that I realized that I had forgotten to ask for any money. I chalked it off as a “freebie” and laughed at myself for having been a chuckle head.

This past week I did a lock job for a woman in a rather well to do neighborhood. She went on and on about her bad luck; losing her keys, being in the middle of a divorce and having to move to a smaller “mansion”. When the job was almost over she came out with her checkbook in hand as I wrote up the receipt. I asked to see her driver’s license again, this time to write the number on my work pad for future reference. I happened to observe, as she thumbed through her wallet, a AAA membership card. I pointed out the fact that AAA would reimburse her for a portion of the charges under her policy. I then added the necessary information on the work order so that she could get that refund.

During that minor distraction she put away her checkbook, signed the bottom of the work order and I gave her a couple of copies; one to keep and one to mail off to AAA. I left and went on to my next job; having a full day’s work lined up, I had plenty on my mind. At the close of day I went through my paper work and noticed that I was missing the check on that one job and remembered having been distracted by bringing up the AAA information. It dawned on me that I had not lost the check; it had never been handed to me. I called and left a short message on her answering machine requesting that she contact me or simply put the check in an envelope and mail it to me.

I haven’t heard from her, nor have I gotten a check with it being right at a week now. The amount of the check is not going to cause me any loss of sleep; however, I have to wonder about the Lincoln Solution and the basic level of honesty and integrity that may be missing from her character. It’s a shame, so many will rob themselves of character’s foundation for a little ginger bread around the edges.