11 May 2007

Conversations, people and ethics…

11 May 2007

I found something I’d written down several years ago and after reading it again thought it might be worth writing about here, mainly for the amusement of gentle readers out there.

I was at a car workshop in Sunway one morning having my car tinted. It was an exceedingly tedious job and from the looks of it was going to take quite a while to complete. I’d walked over to Sunway Pyramid for lunch and basically kill time but by the time I came back in the afternoon the job still hadn’t been completed.

As I was idling about, I spoke to a chap who’d brought in a Mercedes S320 (the W140 model made from 1991-1999). We introduced ourselves and he told me that he was the driver to a certain businessman. I recognised the name of the businessman since his brother is fairly famous property tycoon in Malaysia (he’s the chap who basically developed a large part of Mutiara Damansara/Damansara Perdana).

The driver was explaining to me that this workshop was pretty good to come to since their prices were competitive. He elaborated further saying that one of the cars’ air-conditioning switches was dead and if he were to go to most authorised Mercedes workshops, it would cost about RM300-400, whereas by coming here, he could get one for about RM100.

What really struck me though was his next comment. He said his boss appreciated his forthright thinking in looking for the best prices when it came to fixing the car. And because he (the driver) believed that he’d done his boss a good turn, it was okay to add just RM10-RM20 to the final bill when claiming the sum back from his boss whenever he takes the car for repairs.

I was astounded that he’d reveal that he was padding the bills to me, a total stranger, and also somewhat aghast that he believed it’s okay to take a further cut from his boss for the work he’s doing.

So I wonder, do you gentle readers agree with the driver’s perspective? Or do you disapprove of his action of padding the bill?

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  1. aly May 13th, 2007 10:18AM

    did he say how long he was working for his boss?

    maybe it’s just me… but i don’t think it’s right.
    maybe some might say rm10 rm20 is a small controllable sum… but we’ve heard so many stories out there that about what some will do when they get desperate.

    my late uncle used to have a driver.. who asked for a raise i think about 6 months into the job. my late uncle wanted to give him a raise… but when he found out the driver had been taking money from the little pouch for the car that he usually leaves money in for parking… my uncle fired him right away. there weren’t only coins in there. notes as well.

    i suppose my conclusion is that… to him it might be harmless, but i think the intention(or even his own skewed justification) is all wrong, especially if his boss is not aware of it.

  2. Ash May 15th, 2007 1:38AM

    Hmm… I got two comments, or rather one guess and one comment. One, is the brother “MK Land”? 😛 I don’t think it’s right for the driver to do that, no matter how much money he is saving his boss, he ain’t got no right to take some of it, justifying because of his small amount, and feeling pleased as punch about it! It’s still dishonest, no matter how you look at it. And betul tak “sikit2, lama2 jadi bukit?” Won’t he be tempted to take more?

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