Dining Out Without a Coupon

Cleaning out a kitchen drawer one day I came upon a coupon to a local restaurant. I recalled purchasing it online a few months back. It happened to be winter when I bought the coupon. Going out at night in cold, dark, nasty weather when not necessary does not appeal, so when I received the coupon I threw it in a drawer to use at a later date. And forgot about it. 

For some wild reason months later I got the urge to purge. It was winter once again, cold and menacing outside, so I was happy to stay indoors. 

I don’t know why I didn’t put the coupon on my refrigerator. That was a mistake. If on the fridge and in plain sight, I would have occasionally glanced at it and remembered, ‘oh, maybe I won’t cook tonight, let’s go out to dinner!’ But I didn’t. I tossed it in a drawer. So out of sight, out of mind.

But as I cleaned the drawer there it was. The coupon beckoned to me. “Use me, use me! Take me out of this dark drawer!”
So I did.

Spring had sprung, so hub and I could enjoy an early dinner and get home before or soon after dark. It might be cold outside, but not frigid. No need to don layers of sweaters and a coat and boots. Am I getting old or what!?

I scooped the coupon up, placed it in my pocketbook, and headed out the door. As hub drove I fished the coupon out of my bag and perused it more carefully than before, reviewing all the information, including the fine print I had to squint to read.

Uh oh.

I screwed up.

The coupon expired four days earlier.

After a short conversation we agreed to go to the restaurant and plead our case. Hub parked the car and I went inside. 

To make a short story even shorter, I walked out of the restaurant a few minutes after entering. I realize I erred, but was more irritated by the attitude and arrogance of the two employees (not kids) I spoke with. I would have been OK if they had said, sorry, we can’t honor it because…and were nice about it. They were not. I wasn’t going to give that restaurant and those mean employees my money and the satisfaction of eating at their establishment. 

We drove to a favorite bar-restaurant that offered good food, reasonable prices, and friendly staff. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and returned home for coffee. 

I learned my lessons. First, don’t save coupons in a place that is out of sight. And second, read the fine print!