Coupons are Worthless

All meals can be shared with friends and family.  Sunday breakfast with girlfriends (womanfriends/ladyfriends????) are a noteworthy star on the calendar.  It's not about time of day, but since we do not have adult beverages, we cannot officially call it brunch.

Three of us meet at a local chain that specializes in breakfast.  No free advertising here since their marketing performance was less than stellar.

We can be fairly predictable in our orders, but one of us had a slick paper of coupons ranging from 20% off the entire bill to certain dollars off based on total dollars spent.  The big feature on the page was a particular breakfast, let's just call it, "The Most Magnificent Breakfast" which she had been considering since TUESDAY.   

Our server, Christine, (I don't think it can hurt to tell you her name, just not that of one of the three chains in our area that specializes in breakfast - not IHOP), cheerily brought us our teas and coffee.  When the ordering began and my friend asked for "The Most Magnificent Breakfast," Christine's smile disappeared.  "I'm sorry, they took away our button on the computer for that and we are not offering that special."

?

The page of coupons clearly state an expiration date of March 1.  It is mid-February.  Ok, it is a holiday weekend, but no restrictions are expressed regarding timing of using the coupon.  The button is no longer on the computer?  Ummm, does the kitchen still have the ingredients?  Eggs, pancakes, potatoes, breakfast meats, etc?  

I can feel the prickly-ness (yes, I use this word and so does my family regardless of it's lack of dictionary listing) radiating out of my friend.  I almost ask for the manager myself when I see her give up with a sigh.

"We need more time then."

We are able to laugh it off, recover and find other things to order.  For one, it is her stand-by French Toast but instead of breakfast potatoes she tries the hash brown which she is not likely to order again.

When Christine brought our food, by the way, she did apologize again for the lack of computer button and inconvenience.  She identified the syrup flavors for my friend with the French Toast.

I opt for something different and have two eggs over easy, biscuits topped with sausage gravy and the breakfast potatoes that are the entire reason for coming to the chain.  They are crisp on the outside and tender inside.  Yum.  I bother Christine for an orange juice and she remains calm.

Instead of a magnificent breakfast, my friend goes for a classic with scrambled, bacon, potatoes and a side order of fruit.  Unfortunately, you cannot see the hair stuck to the piece of melon from this angle.  If you look very closely at the highest peak of orange cantaloupe you may make out some foreign matter.  Oh, Christine...

The offending fruit is removed and replaced with a corn muffin in a to-go bag.  She tried.  Really, she did and we laugh at this point and wonder if she is convinced she will not be receiving much of a gratuity.  Well, what she does not realize is though we found some of the experience truly frustrating, we have all worked for tips and simply could never take that away from someone for reasons that have nothing to do with service.  We spent time together talking about life and our families and so we still felt quite Fed Well.  Christine still received a fair 20% and we were able to use the coupon for 20% off of our total bill.