I hesitated, with all my alarms wailing like sirens. I am just winding down a decade-and-a-half career as a consumer advocate. My job has been to battle greedy corporations and sanity-starved governments in the name of consumer protection. Grrrr. I signed the invoice handed it back to Mr. Carpet Cleaner, paid the fee, and gave him that ten dollar tip ... just as I had planned. Was I happy? No. I figured he was loyally following corporate policy, and if I had a tangle it was with Sears, not with Mr. Carpet Cleaner. He still was probably not making that much.

When I handed him the tip, his eyes lit up with joy. I told him I figured he wasn't getting rich on me. He quickly told me he would be making $14 from the visit, so I had almost doubled his income. Plus he had to provide his own vehicle and pay the gas, and he had to invest in his own cleaning equipment and soap. Which means I paid Sears the remaining $55.95 - oops, I mean $65.95 - just so that Sears Lady and I could set a date. If the economics sound a bit like the escort business, I will happily leave that for another column.

So did I do the right thing? Was I doing a good deed or was I just a floor mat for a greedy corporation? Of course, I want to believe it was a good deed -- foot prints on my back would clash with my limited fashion sense. But do I need a reality check?

Editor's note. This has been a valuable group lesson in self-actualization. Dozens of people provided their opinions, and most told me I should have withheld the extra $10 and the tip, as well. I'm still not sure I would have felt any happier that way, though.