Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You leave the inspection report as is and hope the importer can sell his lettuce quickly.
You know that while your importer friend may lose money, farmers have been suffering too and you must stick to the regulations. The lettuce having "close" to enough spoilage does not fit with the rules of the job.
While it's likely no one would have known if the figures had been adjusted, it wouldn't be an honest decision.
This is the real-life decision that inspector Jeffrey Honey would make.
"Some people look at it as me doing a favor for them, like we're buddies and it would be OK. As a matter of fact, I was doing an inspection...and an employee told me that his boss had put together a 'sample' that he wanted me to include in my report.
"I simply told the man that he could tell his boss that I had already selected all of the samples that I needed."
Honey says that in his job, it's often challenging to see that all parties involved get a fair shake.
"After every inspection on distressed or deteriorated product, someone gains money and someone loses some. I like to think that I am the eyes and ears of the shippers in the big city. Not everyone can jump on a plane and fly elsewhere to see if their product really has gone bad, although I think that more of them should," he says.