“as was evident in the case of the customer in the supermarket”
Wait a minute! The customer actually paid for the flowers. It was demanded of him to prove that he paid – by producing a receipt (which he might have misplaced), failing to do so, he was being accused of being a gonif!
The TRUE fault lies with the floral department that failed to put a “paid” sticker on the flowers. The failure of the floral dept CAUSED this customer to be accused of being a gonif and created the pressure that he produce a receipt!
Is THAT fair?!
Suppose he misplaced the receipt (as we often do) or simply couldn’t find it in his many stuffed pockets – would he be forced to pay AGAIN for the flowers and viewed as if he attempted to steal them?!
I believe that the customer was TOTALLY right to be upset by the demand that he must prove his innocence (“guilty until proven innocent”!).
Blame the floral dept for messing up – not the innocent and embarrassed customer!