Definition: Given a real-life anecdote of a complex ethical situation, generate a suitable title that describes the main event/root cause of the situation. Imagine that the given text is a social media post, and you have to write the title of the post, so the users can decide to read the main text or not.
Input: This happened many years ago, but I still question if I did the right thing.

I worked retail in a mall when I was in my late teens, early twenties. I was in the store alone and was closing  up for the night. Luckily, one of the first things I would do was lower the gate before doing the rest of my duties. There wasn’t much space in the back “office” (it was more of a snappy storage room), so I started counting the cash drawer on the counter. 

There was a janitor that I would see on a regular basis sweeping the mall. As he would pass my store I would give a friendly smile or a nod or a wave because I’ve always been taught to treat everyone with respect. This one particular evening he passed by earlier than normal. I didn’t think anything of it at first. As I was counting the cash (we were in the busy season so there was more than normal) he came back to the store, but without any tools or equipment.

I would occasionally glance up at him from the corner of my eye and could see he was just standing in the doorway. I continued to try to do my work, but found I was distracted by him being there. He didn’t say anything, and he wasn’t doing anything. He just stood there. He did not speak English and I was barely conversational in Spanish at the time and didn’t know how to ask what he was doing. All I could do was ask if he needed help and he just shook his head no.

At this point (about 15-20 minutes later) I felt extremely uncomfortable. I gathered what was on the counter and took my closing paperwork and went into the back room. I made a makeshift desk from some boxes and completed the deposit bag and paperwork. I opened the door to see he was STILL THERE. I had to take the deposit bag to the bank and put it in the night drop, but didn’t feel comfortable walking out with him there. 

Finally, I got up the nerve to call security and explain what was going on. I told them that he wasn’t actually doing anything wrong, but it was making me feel uncomfortable. Within minutes two security guards came to escort him away and one of the guards came back to walk me to my car. I felt both embarrassed and relieved. 

The next day I came into work and a few of my coworkers gave me a hard time about calling security.  They accused me of being paranoid. They defended him saying “this janitor was just doing his job and you had to get him in trouble!” Seriously?

Though I feel like I did the right thing, it still bothers me. Were they right? Was I being paranoid? Or did I do the right thing in that situation?

calling security on a mall employee