Ok, we've got all the facts now, so let's look at this from an outside perspective. The bad thing is, now I'm coming up with a "You know...I really don't think I should have to pay anything...". I don't want to be branded a bad person here, but given the facts of the matter, I'm just well - confused.
Customer A has a 75-Gallon tank that he wants to have drilled. The warranty expired on the tank, and he purchased it second hand from a fellow fish hobbyist. He takes the tank into his LFS and asks them to drill it for an overflow tank.
The LFS warns Customer A that they may damage the tank during the process of drilling, and if that is the case - they cannot be held responsible for the damages. Customer A agrees to these terms and goes on about his merry way. Customer A's tank goes through drilling and comes out great. LFS calls him to tell him it's done and he's excited. LFS sets the tank on the sales floor and waits for the customer to pick it up.
Customer B comes in to look at rock and other various decorations for her tank. She notices a piece of driftwood sitting in 55-Gallon tank, which is doubling (as many other empty tanks in the store are) as a make-shift storage contaner. Since there are no signs posted saying to ask for assistance with certain items...and since she's been in the store before and has seen, and participated in, rummaging around items left in the tanks/storage bins, she attempts to help herself.
Unfortunately, the storage bin Customer A is trying to access is a 55-Gallon tank, set on top of about 2 or 3 other tanks. Immediately in front of this stack of 55-Gallon tanks/storage bins is a 75-Gallon tank, laying on it's front pane of glass (so the blue back panel is facing the ceiling). It's protruding out about an inch or so from the rest of the line of tanks to it's right and left. But, this isn't anything major.
Customer A - attempts to reach inside of the top 55-Gallon tank, and cna't quite reach in. Without realizing the blue "object" in front of her is an aquarium, she kneels into it for a bit of support and crash...the tank crashes through.
If you end the story here, in my eyes, Customer B owes Customer A a tank. She should have realized that the blue object in front of her was a tank and been more sensitive to the item. If she couldn't reach the item in the 55-Gallon...asking a store employee for some help would have been an alternative method instead of trying to stretch even further.
But, the story does not end there.
The staff rushes to the crash site to see Customer B and her husband standing over what is now a shattered 75-Gallon tank. They're awe-struck, and she's still in a state of shock. How do we handle this? The only thing racing through Customer B's mind is that she broke it, she has to buy it, so before a word is uttered by the staff...she offers to pay for the damages.
The staff takes off to take care of business. One stands "guard" at the door, one starts to clean up the mess, and one prices out the tank. Customer B is told that the price of the tank is $150...she makes arrangements to pay the tank, still in a bit of shock.
Later that evening, it dawns on her that she's being charged retail and posts messages on forums asking for help. She's agreed to a price that she's not so sure is fair to her. She gets an overwhelming response not from one, but two, forums telling her that she shouldn't have to pay a dime, let alone wholesale.
She sits on it a while, still of the opinion that regardless of who was at fault, the tank was broken by her body, so she owes the store a replacement.
Then she meets, and talks to, Customer A. Customer A has already been taken care of. The LFS has pulled one of their 75-Gallons from their stock, painted the back blue (to match his previous tank) provided him with a new warranty (since it's a new tank) and even drilled this tank for an overflow. Obviously, Customer A is very happy with the service he received, as well he should be.
But a thought has occured to me. When I check my items in for service, I'm entrusting the company to care for the product and return it to me, as I gave it to them, with any changes or modifications I've requested and paid for. For instance, let's say I take my laptop in for service. I check it in, and while it's in their care, after the fixes have been made, they place it back on the sales floor. Let's say a clumsy customer accidentally knocks it off the shelf. Sure, it could have been avoided if he/she paid more attention, but the point is, it was an accident.
In the mean time, the laptop needs to be repaired. Since there was an understood agreement between the me and the store regarding the care of my latop, shouldn't they have been the ones to restore the item?
I say yes. And that's where I'm getting confused.
It's basically the same situation as what happened to me with the tank; however, I just can't shake the feeling that I should be somehow responsible for the damages I caused.
Maybe it's because I still feel bad because I broke a tank. Maybe it's because I feel guilty. Whatever the reason, I still have this nagging bit of guilt that says "I don't have to pay it, but I should." Legally, I'm not obliged to pay a dime. Morally, I feel as though I should and I'm not sure I could live with the guilt unless I somehow offered to fix the item. If they refuse my money, fine. That's another story, but at least I can say I offered and they took care of it.
The only way to really rectify the situation is to call the owner tomorrow and explain everything to him. Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll not make a big deal out of it and let it go.
Regardless of what happens - I want to thank everyone here for hearing me out and following the post through. It means a lot to me knowing that I've got people in my corner who think that even offering to pay wholesale, instead of retail, is more than I should be obligated to do. That helps making approach this whole fiasco with the owner tomorrow that much smoother.
Sorry for the long post, but I needed a good ranting.
