Surprised by a person’s trust in a stranger.

[Chris S]

Somebody in a UK supermarket lent me a Euro for a trolley and told me to put it on top of noticeboard when I'd finished with it. I did but it fell down the back of the noticeboard. I couldn't see him to explain what had happened and I didn't live locally. He probably thinks I walked off with it.

 

[ColinJ]

I spoke to a cyclist who had done a tour of New Zealand. He stayed at a B&B somewhere and got chatting to the couple who ran it. They asked if he was going to see some amazing natural tourist attraction way off his planned route. He said that he would have liked to but he didn't really have time to make the detour on his bike. They said he could take their car and drive there for the day, so he did!

 

[Alex321]

We live in a similar size town and this kind of thing is not too unusual in our experience.

Most recently I was at a local cafe and said to Ms AU that I'd forgotten my bicycle lock; a stranger who was leaving handed me her lock, gave me the code and asked me to leave the lock fixed to the rack when we left.

It's nice to live with a little trust.

Café Velo in Llantwit Major have a rack of bike locks just hanging up inside the door, for customers to use.

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

Not me, the key cutter obviously! 🙄

But SW Scotland , population 33,000 and Timpsons points me at Dumfries. Then I’d narrow down to within 400m of Timpsons. Then I’d search for recent property change of ownership in Dumfries and cross reference. Then cross reference that with …. You get the idea, if someone was so inclined.

It’s all possible, but a lot of work to go to should someone want to recover the cost of getting a key cut if I hadn’t paid.

 

[Dave 123]

I’ve heard James Timpson a few times on the radio etc.
That’s kind of how they run the business. The staff are allowed to give a transaction free of charge if they wish.

 

[Punkawallah]

Generally speaking, you’ll find ‘folks are just folks’, wherever you go. Besides, if you’re going to steal, why steal for a piddling amount? Imagine the embarrasment of standing in the dock for £9.58.

 

[biggs682]

Trust is a two thing
But well done to worker in Timpsons I bet they didn't expect to be mentioned on cycle chat

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

Generally speaking, you’ll find ‘folks are just folks’, wherever you go. Besides, if you’re going to steal, why steal for a piddling amount? Imagine the embarrasment of standing in the dock for £9.58.

Security keys are more than double that amount but the essence is the same.

 

[teeonethousand]

I have long thought that small town/village life and city life are almost completely separate worlds. My default in the former is trust and politeness whereas default in latter is suspicious, cautious and glad to get away.

(Edited to correct the references..DOH!) )

 

[Brandane]

It’s all possible, but a lot of work to go to should someone want to recover the cost of getting a key cut if I hadn’t paid.

But how much is the actual cost to Timpson's if you hadn't paid? They might charge you £10 or whatever, but the cost to them is probably pennies for a blank key. What you pay for is a few minutes labour, and the use of their key cutting machine. I don't think they would be calling in a team of private investigators to track you down!

Edit in light of reply 2 posts above: OK, £20. And the cost of a blank key maybe a £ or 2, but still not any big deal to Timpson's, otherwise they wouldn't have been so trusting!

 

[vickster]

But how much is the actual cost to Timpson's if you hadn't paid? They might charge you £10 or whatever, but the cost to them is probably pennies for a blank key. What you pay for is a few minutes labour, and the use of their key cutting machine. I don't think they would be calling in a team of private investigators to track you down!

Edit in light of reply 2 posts above: OK, £20. And the cost of a blank key maybe a £ or 2, but still not any big deal to Timpson's, otherwise they wouldn't have been so trusting!

Indeed. James Timpson is worth over £200m

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Maybe I am just used to living in reasonable sized cities but I had a new experience today.

I very recently moved into a new home in a town with a population of around 33,000. Typically I change locks on any new property, and this one was no different as it has a history of being rented out. I chose a somewhat obscure, but secure, lock manufacturer and thought nothing of until today.

I needed another key cut for it so headed to the only local option I could find, a Timpsons a mere 300 meters from my front door. I’ve not b in a Timpsons for many years and certainly not this one. The member of staff recognised the key as a security key but hadn’t heard of the brand. That then made it difficult to select the appropriate blank from which to cut the new key from. After examining around a dozen different ones he handed one to me to go home and check it would fit in the lock with minimal effort. It did and I returned to the shop to have the blank cut.

Once that was finished they handed me my original key and the freshly cut replica to go home and check it worked or need further work. I’d not paid anything by this point and, as the new key worked great, could simply have walked away. But, being the honest type, walked back and paid for the work.

Theses sorts of incidents are not an infrequent occurence where I live in the Lake District.

People tend to veer towards trust before distrust here.

Though, surprisingly, they tend to be quite 'closed' individuals and take a good while to form friendships.

All ime, of course.

 

[alicat]

I think it's got more to do with the Timpson business model than the town you've moved to.

I've had less good experiences there. I wanted my surname and phone number engraved on a dog tag. I wrote all the info out clearly but the chap spelled my name wrong on the last remaining tag that I really liked so I had to have one that I didn't really like. And it was quite expensive for what it was.

 

[Conrad_K]

I saw my former next door neighbor poking a stick into the gas tanks of his truck. I walked over to ask if he had a problem.

"The gauge says full on both tanks."

"So?"

"I let my son borrow it. The main tank was half full and the saddle tank was empty."

"Yeah?"

"He brought it back, and both tanks are full."

[shaking head] "Something's wrong with that boy."

[nods] "Yeah. I think the body snatchers got him."

 

[Dogtrousers]

I spoke to a cyclist who had done a tour of New Zealand. He stayed at a B&B somewhere and got chatting to the couple who ran it. They asked if he was going to see some amazing natural tourist attraction way off his planned route. He said that he would have liked to but he didn't really have time to make the detour on his bike. They said he could take their car and drive there for the day, so he did!

Some years ago I and some friends did an organised walk across the bay to Mont St Michel. Near the start two of the party turned back because they were inappropriately attired for the incoming weather. So they had several hours to kill. When we eventually returned they had had a great time. The lady at the tourist info office had suggested some places to visit and lent them her car!