cheaters! how would you have dealt with this???
By seagoddess28
@seagoddess28 (873)
Canada
April 24, 2007 8:02pm CST
i went on a seminar this weekend. when it started, the instructor told us that every time we gave a good response, shared an insight, gave a correct answer, etc., he will give us points. we write down the points we get, tally them up, get them authorized by him or the other seminar staffmembers, and by the end of the seminar, the one with the highest number of points collected will win something worth $1500. as you can imagine, the discussions were quite lively with everybody trying to earn points. by chance, i noticed a girl across the way from me who kept notching up points on her tally sheet, whether or not the points were earned by herself or not (mostly not cause she was a quiet type--or seemed to be). i watched her like a hawk. sure enough, anybody gets to earn a point, it went into her tally sheet. even when i was the one giving the answer and earning the points it went into her tallysheet! anyway. when the points got toted up, this person (and another one at the back who was a bit more active than her) were neck and neck. get this: they each had more than 38,000,000 points. even the instructor was increduluous and demanded an audit, because he knew he didn't award those many points!. however, the points were authorized. they had managed to get staff members to sign off on their tally sheets. the instructor himself knew that no one could have accummulated such humoungous amount of points single handedly. i told the people behind me what i knew and they were as indignant as i was. i wanted to tell the instructor but my husband pulled me back down when i tried to stand and pose a challenge. the instructor said that he had no choice it was a tie. as the two cheaters went forward, another side of the room started a commotion. another woman had used a strategy to best the cheaters' claim to their ill-gotten gain: she wrote up a contract outbidding any winning number of points by claiming an amount double whatever the winning number of points would be. the room broke off into applause, and we were so happy that those who thought they were so smart were outsmarted! (BTW part of the seminar was on strategy and negotiation. )
i could not understand how anybody could have claimed points they did not earn to win a prize they did not deserve! what about you fellor myLotters? What do you think of this type of behaviour? would you have felt as appalled as i did? would you have stood up to challenge, or kept quiet and just simmered in anger? let me know what you think, please.
1 person likes this
3 responses
@oldboy46 (2129)
• Australia
12 May 07
No I would not have been happy at all if this happened to me, not because of the prize but because of the principle involved. I would have had no problem with my partner and saying something to the instructor. My partner would have said something before I even had a chance to draw breath.
Some people will cheat, no matter what the prize is, and even if there is no prize because that is their nature. For them it is a matter of "winning at all costs" and who cares how I do it. Just make sure that you never buy a house from either of these two people who tried to cheat.
My partner is sitting here reading this. She says she likes the style of the lady who eventually won, and what a great strategic move to write up such a contract. It is good when cheats get beaten at their own game, and better still when the person who does beat them does it by outsmarting the cheaters.
It is unfortunate that many people cheat, at anything and everything. That is how they live and if they put their skills to good use, they would find they had no reason at all to cheat in the first place. I have known people who do cheat, and they are very smart as well, but lazy more than anything.
Neither my partner or I would have sat still and let them get away with it. If the lady hadn't done a written contract, then someone else who won through their own efforts would have been cheated out of the prize that was rightfully theirs.
@seagoddess28 (873)
• Canada
12 May 07
You are right, oldboy, I don't mind being beaten, but it has to be fair and square. Unfortunately, I am finding it increasingly common for people to try and best the system, whatever it may be, through fair means or foul--more often the latter. It is as if there is a sick satisfaction to be had in being able to trick someone else. I guess it is up to us honest sticks-in-the-mud to buck this trend and protest, no matter how unpopular our points of view turn out to be. Excellent answer... :-0
@RookRocks (381)
• Philippines
3 May 07
Wow. The nerve. I wouldn't have been able to hold back if that happens to me. I would have stepped up and demanded a re-audit. That must have taken a lot of self-control on your part. And I wonder how that girl took it. To march up and ignore what other people are saying. And how could the management authorize that? It lacks proper system of auditing and crediting. You should have also filed a complaint to the management.
@seagoddess28 (873)
• Canada
3 May 07
I know! You know that's what made me so mad in the first place. In that seminar, we were told repeatedly that we are in business for people, not just for money, that we have an obligation to be ethical. It is a moral injunction, not just a suggestion or something that we "might" consider. I got a feeling that rocking the boat was not really acceptable. I could be wrong, but that's how I felt. The instructor did call for an audit, but the tallysheets were signed by other staff members. I guess the staffers did not really check because it was based on the honour system. Problem is--the honour part bit the dust! You're right it took a tremendous amount of self control and my husband hanging on to my coattails to keep me seated. LOL I was stewing and blowing fire out of my nostrils...the seagoddess in seadragon mode (roar!) thanks for letting me vent...:-0
@Woodpigeon (3710)
• Ireland
2 May 07
I would be apalled, too, and tell not only the instructor but also classmates. That is a lot of money to win, and whooever worked to get thepoints should have gotten the money, not them.
I can't quite understand how the othe peopson wrote a contract to outbid, and then won? What was that all about? Did she end up then getting the money?
@seagoddess28 (873)
• Canada
3 May 07
It was not money. The prize turned out to be a set of CDs on how to run a real estate investment business, complete with forms for standard contracts, software programs, etc. The instructor kept telling us that the most important thing in negotiating is to have everything on paper, to get a property "on contract" first (with conditions of course) and do your due diligence later. I guess the lesson was: the highest verbal "win" gets trumped by a written offer. In any case, we were happy for the winner, a disabled lady who got into the program via a scholarship, and who really appreciated the CDs. I guess the cheaters thought nobody would challenge them, and expected a clear win. I couldn't understand why the instructor chose to ignore my protests. Anyway. I am just glad to vent and even more glad that you think the same way I do, WP! How was your day today? Mine was spent running around doing errands and being able to enjoy the warm spring weather up here in Toronto. The evening turned out to be a bit chilly, though. :-)
