Question:
B”H
Kavod haRav,
I am seeking clarification if the following scenario is a kosher transaction: A mother buys glasses for herself and her daughter. The employee tells the mother that because she is buying two pairs, he can give her a discount on one of them (the pair for the mother). The other pair (the one for the daughter) is not authorized to be discounted so it is not. 1. May we assume that the employee does have the authority to extend a discount on the item (because he will have to later show what the items sold for so it is not secret), and 2. Does this type of discount (according to halacha) constitute theft because the owner did not give the discount? Does the daughter have to return her glasses or may she keep them.
*Also want to add a very sincere thank you for the tremendous help with guidance and clarity on these matters. Thank you so much for helping me to try to do better*
Answer:
Thank yo for your question.
If the employee says that he has the jurisdiction, you can assume that he indeed does have it. The only time you have to suspect that the employee is stealing from the employer is when there is a specific reason why you think he has a vested interest or personal gain in giving you something that he shouldn’t. For example, if he wants to curry favor in the customers eyes for reasons other than the actual sale of the product, or if the employee hints that his boss shouldn’t be told about what he is doing. Then you cannot be part of his stealing from his employer, however other than that very often a worker is indeed given jurisdiction to give discounts to customers to entice them to make more purchases.
Best wishes
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