Their Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Other Store!

(I live right up the street from a well-known fast food chain. I don’t eat their food very often, but I do enjoy their milkshakes, and I’ll often go over just for a milkshake. One day, I get a coupon for a free small milkshake with any combo purchase. It’s around lunchtime and I have the day off, so I head over to the fast food chain.)

Me: “I’ll have a [Combo], please, with a small vanilla milkshake. I also have this coupon to get the milkshake free with the combo.”

(I give her the coupon. She takes a short glance at it and hands it back to me.)

Cashier #1: “I can’t take this coupon, sir.”

Me: “Pardon?”

Cashier #1: “It says that it cannot be combined with any other offer.”

Me: “I know. It’s good only with a combo purchase.”

Cashier #: “No. It says here it can’t be used with any other offer.”

Me: “Well, if I cannot use it with the combo I’m buying, what can I use it for?”

(The cashier stares at me blankly for a moment.)

Cashier #1: “You can’t use this coupon with your purchase, sir.”

Me: *giving up* “Can I speak to your manager, please?”

(The manager overhears the conversation and approaches. I show him the coupon.)

Manager #1: “[Cashier #1] is correct, sir. This coupon cannot be combined with any other offer. You can either pay full price for your order, or you can leave and I’ll cancel it.”

(I choose to leave and return home. The following day, I pass one of the chain’s locations in a neighboring town as I’m driving home from work. I still have the coupon with me, so, on a hunch, I decide to go in and see if they will accept it.)

Cashier #2: “Welcome to [Restaurant]. How may I help you?”

Me: “Could I get a [Combo] and a small vanilla milkshake, please? Oh, I also have a coupon to get the milkshake free with the combo. Is it good here?”

Cashier #2: “Why, of course, it is!”

(I hand her the coupon and she puts it through. The milkshake price comes off. As I pay for the order, the manager approaches.)

Manager #2: “Say, just out of curiosity, did you happen to come here from [My Town]?”

Me: “I did, actually!”

Manager #2: “I had a feeling. We’ve been getting a lot of customers from [My Town] lately, because the new manager there won’t accept any of the company’s coupons!”

Me: “That explains a lot, I guess!”

(I now go to that location any time I want something from that particular chain. Sure, it’s a ten-minute drive from my house, but at least it’s along the commute to my workplace. The food’s a lot better, too!)