I had worried, if not complained, about the possibility that a gas station attendant will do the math incorrectly or even negligently on the coupon I use to get a discount. I know it's happened before, and I had to avert one this afternoon.
In preparation for a trip to the Bayfield Ice Caves, Father asked me to fill up the minivan's gas tank from half-full. I got a ten cents-off per gallon coupon with me, and I filled up 10.501 gallons of it, so I am supposed to get ... well, I was supposed to get more than the dollar off the girl I gave the coupon initially gave me, but she didn't use the calculator sitting on the edge of the cash register. She just looked at the number of gallons that popped up on her screen and gave me a dollar off.
I'll be honest: I thought it was supposed to be $1.50. So yes, my math is off, too. But I knew I should have gotten more than a buck, and while I wasn't exactly about to blow my stack, my fears that I would get shortchanged at the gas pump resurfaced in my emotions. Therefore, I made a slow move to my wallet, looked up at the discount, and told her, "Shouldn't that be $1.50?"
The girl helping was nice. Was, because I detected a bit of consternation when I, uh, asserted myself. I corrected myself, saying maybe it should only be $1.05, but that was enough for her to use the calculator. And, yes, I got the five cents off I think was warranted. I kind of made a complicated transaction even more so when I also asked for Powerball tickets and she told me I had to pay separately for it since lottery tickets must be paid in cash and I had a credit card for the gas. At the end, I said thanks a couple more times than usual. She may or may not have been cheerful to see me go.
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I thought about getting McDonald's for lunch because I could take advantage of their "Bacation," where I could one of their newer sandwiches for two dollars and add a small fries and drink for another buck. But then I remembered that Taco Bell has been plugging their XXL Nachos for some time. The national commercial features Kevin Love, some of the time wearing an old-school Minnesota Timberwolves jacket:
If you are an NBA fan, you have heard that there is incessant chatter that Love will leave the Wolves as soon as he can, if not sooner. I'm not saying it isn't true, and I'm not saying that that gossip means that this ad is a joke. I will say that I like him wearing that jacket, I like the spot, and since I remembered that he is starting in the National Basketball Association All-Star Game Sunday, I thought that, just to commemorate him and that honor, I'll eat the XXL Nachos and go to TB instead of Mickey D's.
So I get there, on my way to the gym, and I see the XXL Nachos come in three different meats: beef, shredded chicken, and steak. I thought about getting steak, the most expensive iteration, but then I thought about how I hyperventilated after seeing my checking account and credit card bill, and I thought I could get it another time, and even if I couldn't, hey, no big loss, I like Taco Bell's beef (or at least its version of "beef").
After ordering, however, I notice a stand-up sign along the wall. It says "3X Nachos." And then I remember the narrator of the spot above saying something about "steak nachos." Wait ... is the featured limited-time-only item XXL Steak Nachos? If so, why is that being lumped in with beef and shredded chicken, and why didn't the commercial just say you can get extra-extra-large nachos with any kind of meat that you like?
I felt kind of burned. But then I thought, "You know what? Screw 'em. If they're only pushing the highest version of these nachos, if they're touting that you get triple the amount of steak when you offer cheaper meats, well, no wonder I'm confused. Look, if I like it, I'll get it, and if not, well, I need to save my money. So I stuck with the "beef" flavor and it was good and filling and I'll probably have to run to the bathroom in a couple hours and that's fine.
Man, why don't you just offer just XXL Steak Nachos? You're confusing me, TB.
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