(With thanks to an old friend for the title ;)
With the kids spending Saturday night with us (instead of at the in-laws like they normally do) I woke up around 7:30 or so, thought about getting up and dragging the kids off to the 8am service, then thought twice about it (or not at all), rolled over and went back to sleep. The kids woke me up about an hour later climbing all over our bed and when breakfast demands for Chinese Pancakes were made, the King of Pancakes (yours truly) was kicked out of bed in order that he may satisfy the masses. Three pancakes later (I had cereal) everyone was sitting down to breakfast together, which is not a common occurrence in our house.
After breakfast I noted that we still had time to get ready for the 10am service so teeth were brushed and kids were dressed and off we went to church for the 1st Sunday of the month's Communion service. I briefed the kids that part-way into the service they would be called up the front for the children's ministry (Why does my spell checker not like the possessive form of children? In fact it doesn't like the S on the end, either with or without the apostrophe. Odd.) and communion after which they'd go out to Sunday School with the other children. The service went exactly as I'd said and I watched as my kids left for Sunday School with the other children. When I picked them up after the service they mentioned that they want to go to our church next Sunday, rather than go with their grandparents (who go to a different church). The Bunny because her old pre-school was at our Church and she got to see some of her old classmates who also attend there, and the boy because they have snacks & drinks at his Sunday School and after their lesson they got to play.
Back at home Liz presented me with a 2-for-1 coupon for two 10-piece McNuggets and asked me to get lunch. She pondered whether that would be enough food for everyone but as we had a couple of other 2-for-1 coupons and I planned to make myself a sandwich later, and knowing the kids had just had breakfast a few hours before I figured 20 McNuggets would be sufficient, especially as one of the coupons I took with me were for 2 McFlurries. I also took the McCafe McCoffee coupon in anticipation of getting a McMocha and a McLatte.
And yes, I know the fine print on coupons like this said, "Not to be combined with any other offer," "One coupon per person per visit", etc. I had a plan.
At the McDonalds I put all three coupons on the counter and made it known that I wished to use all three of them.
You can only use one, the cashier told me.
I told her I understood that if she had to ring them up as separate purchases that was perfectly acceptable.
It's one coupon per person, she told me.
One per person per visit, I countered. If you insist, I'll walk out the door and come back in and you can ring me up again.
You can't do that, she protested.
Sure I can, I told her. If I leave the store, I walk out the door then come back in, that's a second visit.
She gave up and went and got someone higher up the food chain, who asked me which coupon I wanted to use.
I repeated that I intended to use all three.
The second lady stood at the checkout for a long time, ignoring me while looking at the young lady next to her who was ringing up another customer. Unlike everyone else who was wearing the McDonalds' uniform, this third young lady was in civvies. Her choice of dress and the way my second cashier was trying to get her input said this young lady was the one running the show. She ignored my cashier but being just a couple of feet away there was no way she didn't know what I was trying to do.
She was both a good manager and a bad manager. Bad, because her staff were turning to her for help and she was leaving them hanging, but also good because she was letting her staff learn how to resolve problems and difficult customers on their own.
Finally my cashier made a decision herself and began ringing up my purchase. She rang up all six items, two 10-piece McNuggets, two McFlurries, a McMocha and a McLatte, then she comped half of them so I paid just $10. And she did all of this on one transaction.
Yeah, I was being a bit of a bastard by trying to use three coupons which clearly (if you could read the fine print) said not to be combined, one coupon per person per vist, but had the first cashier stuck to her guns I was fully prepared to walk out then walk back in and stand in line all over again to use my second coupon, then repeat for the third. One coupon per person per day? Now you've got me. But one coupon per person per visit? Do not try to tell me that leaving the store and coming back in does not constitute a second visit. Hell, I'll get in my car and drive out of the parking lot then come back in if that's what it takes. But it didn't come to that, and in the end the cashier bent the rules a little and her job was made easier (by not having to ring up three separate transactions) and another customer left satisfied with the service he'd received.
Back home I ended up making two sandwiches, one for myself and one for Liz. Apparently 20 McNuggets weren't enough. Maybe I should have taken a 4th coupon and got 2 Big McMacs ;)
Ask, and it shall be given unto you - Luke 11:9
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14 comments:
Nice. If I were that poor cashier, I'd ring it up and chalk it up to bad copy writing on the part of the marketing wonks.
I love using "rule lawyering" to stick it to The Man.
...it might not be coincidental that I've never actually cashiered anywhere in fast food, though.
I used to work retail and if someone (like me) came in and tried to use three coupons like I did, I'd be willing to go along with them, but I'd also tell them I'd have to ring it up as three transactions because of "the way our system works".
I shop at Best Buy with some frequency and often use two or three coupons per visit, with each being on a separate transaction.
The two cashiers tried to stick to the letter of the law (or coupon if you will) and that was okay. I respected that, but there's always leeway in the rules.
You can drive a couple of miles over the speed limit and as long as you're not being a nuisance and the cop is in a good mood he'll let you go with a warning, or maybe even just a stern look.
I did work retail in a bookstore, and I may have done just that, actually. I certainly don't have the mean bone in me to tell them off. Coupons are there to be used. :)
I never would've done that. I'm way too passive. I don't even go through the 10 items or less aisle with 11 items :)
You too, Tesh? I used to open a Newsagency back home. I started at 4am, received and inventoried the newspapers & magazines (fresh off the truck, fresh from the press), and had the store ship shape for the owner when he got in at 9am. I did that Monday thru Saturday for years and loved it.
When I came here I naturally got a job in retail, working at the Doubleday Bookstore in the local Mall (then took on a second job in the music store in the same Mall), and I still loved it...right up until I did my taxes that first year. "We can't live on this," I said to my wife, and with that I turned my back on retail and began my career as a Civil Servant.
But if I could support the family working retail, I'd be there in a heartbeat. I would love to own & run my own little bookstore.
Wired system that you have in L.A.
In Germany there is no such thing as a limitation in the number of vouchers to use at all - except for the biological one of how many food you can eat.
I'm a bit of a bastard I have to say. I wouldn't have made you go back outside, but definitely made you get back in line for each purchase.
HA! Good for you, BH, and I would have agreed to do that if you'd insisted, but my cashiers did not. They all deferred to a higher authority, then finally decided to ring up all three at the same time.
I am firm believer in asking if the rules can be bent, if exceptions can be made. Will the Bus Driver let you out at the next corner even though it's not a scheduled stop? If you don't ask, you'll never know. But if you do ask, they might just pull up there and save you the walk. Will the cashier ring up all three coupons on the one transaction? Ask them. They can always say 'No', but there's no harm in asking.
@ McWarlock: McDonalds are notorious for the up-sell and spawning the phrase "Would you like fries with that?". The coupons don't exist to reward loyal customers, but to take advantage of them by luring them into the store with a Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupon, then charge them full price for everything else.
Yup, I'd love to own and operate a bookstore. That, or a library. I love being surrounded by books. It's not really my dream job, but it would be a great one.
I was a "jack of all trades" at that job in the bookstore. I did everything from shipping to sales, software support to PR. (Just nothing managerial; I was a low-level Jack.) I loved that job, but yeah, it didn't really offer a living wage for a family.
I even went back to work at another store of the same chain after I graduated with my BFA while I looked for "professional" work. That time I was the shipping/receiving guy, only rarely out on the floor, and even less frequently manning a register. I really liked that, actually, since it just meant I knew where everything was and could keep moving around. I didn't have to sit at a register and deal with screwy scanners or mislabeled SKUs. :)
@Cap'n John: I'm quite sure the idea in Germany is the same as you get those coupons as addition in newspapers a.s.o.
But it is a sheet with some 30 coupons and you can use as many you like with each visit. The only drawback is that they are limited for about 4 weeks - but that is long enough to make use of them.
I think the idea is that they let you have one totally cheap visit and they hope you will return in future again and they can make money then.
But what I observed is that those sheets have many chicken coupons and relatively few beef or other chickenless products - maybe they earn more in selling chicken nuggets and chicken burger than other things ??
It sounds like your coupons are the same as ours but you appear to have a better (more lenient) system in Germany than we do here.
From what I know of the fast food industry they allegedly make their biggest profit on their drinks.
I'm with BH. I would have made you jump through hoops just to show you that I too can make you "play by the rules".
Every now and then I get a customer who wants to combine all the promotions we have to offer, along with speedy delivery - which is not applicable on over half the items in our inventory- and use financing. I let em, and encourage them to take advantage of our referral program for their friends. Part of my job is to monitor margins and as the old saying goes 3% profit is better than 100% of zero.
See, I would've figured on having the kids walk in at separate times from yourself - you know, coordinated like a Mission: Impossible setup - each one hitting a different entrance and different cashier, with a coupon and some cash in hand. I'd even go so far as to suggest convincing them that it is an espionage mission, complete with hand signals, code words, hand-offs of valuable items (McNuggets) and prearranged meeting spot (table furthest from front counter). Black overalls and night vision sold separately...
This was a fun read; got a kick out of it. Thanks for sharing.
Two words.
OH SNAP.
:D
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