Trust

I have to tip my hat to Caribou this morning - as they were getting my regular morning order (coffee) ready, I realized I didn't have my wallet with me. I went out to the car and it wasn't in there, I called Erin and he verified that it was at home. I went back inside and asked if they could keep the stuff there until I got back with my wallet. The person helping me (although they all know me by name now) said just take it and catch them tomorrow. I of course came right back and paid for it after I got my wallet, but it got me to thinking about the bigger picture of trust in our society today.

I'm not stupid and naive and I know there are people that will take advantage of you. That being said, I don't think I've really ever gone wrong starting on the side of trusting people. I think some businesses see this too - you treat people like criminals and they will act like criminals. Computers and the internet are a good example - software companies, music sellers, etc. have tried for years to put protections on their stuff (the worst examples of these being DRM on music). In the end they all fail. There is going to be a certain percentage of people who steal stuff regardless of what you do, and you aren't going to make money on them anyway. But most people will pay for good quality stuff at a reasonable price. Certainly companies should pursue people for stealing, and the government should have reasonable laws in place to help try and stop this from happening. But starting with the assumption that everyone will steal from you pretty much assures that it will happen.

Maybe I'm too much of an idealist, but that's my thought for the day.