A Bargain Goes Overboard

It's not every day that a coupon gets passed around at work.  I had been out at a conference for most of the week, and was just catching up on email etc before the weekend, when someone came into my office with a coupon.

It was for a $1 meal at Boston Market.  Chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy and cornbread.  For a dollar.  Now I had to answer another question - "how many copies would you like?"  I said a modest "two," thinking it's enough for me and my wife for the weekend while the kids were out.  Then I put it out of my mind.  And the coupons remained on my desk.

On the way home, I discovered that my wife had been given the same opportunity, and took several more copies of the coupon home.

This was followed quickly by our first of four visits to the Boston Market, about 1 mile from home:

1. Friday at 4:15 - We got in line behind about 10 people.  The restaurant staff was clearly worn out, made worse by some grumpy customers.
2. Friday at 6:30 - We returned, still a little hungry.  The line was about 30 people long, and we came out with two meatloaf dinners.  Total cost: $2.22.
   
3. Saturday at 3:45 - With two more coupons in hand, we were seeking another buck meal.  This time there were signs on the door - "Sorry we had to close early, but we're out of food!"  There was someone inside, giving rainchecks for our two coupons, along with a letter of explanation.
4. Saturday at 5:30 - Thinking the four of us would come together to cash in on the raincheck, my wife and I came back with two more coupons.

While the promotion was aimed at taking business from KFC, I don't think Boston Market was prepared for the onslaught of bargain-seekers (me included).  While the BM coupons left them without food, I'll bet they also made a serious dent in the KFC sales for the week: we passed a KFC on the way home and there wasn't a customer to be seen.

I wonder, if this economic slowdown keeps up, what will be in store for us.  While in line for the 2nd meal, I was reminded of what I imagined it must have been like to be in a bread line in the Soviet era. 

Are we all that desperate for a bargain - free stuff that 18 months ago we would have been happy to pay cash for?  Is this where our society is headed?

Shaking off those thoughts from my head like cobwebs, I took my wife and our raincheck coupons to the local Taco Bell, which was giving away free Black Jack Tacos for Halloween.  Both of us got a free one and paid for another.  Total cost:  $1.98.

So I went from one restaurant - one free line - to another and ended up saving 24 cents.

And since the Taco Bell promotion is just today, and Boston Market is out of food, I will have to look elsewhere for tomorrow's bargain meal.  Just hope I don't go overboard.