This isn’t exactly sports but I’m running out of things to talk about during the pandemic, especially if I stay away from politics like some have suggested.
My experiences with fast food outlets are a source of constant entertainment for my wife. Invariably I’ll come home with some kind of story about something odd that happened on my visit. A couple instances of aggravation happened last week, the first was with the McDonald’s at Lakeside Plaza in Salem.
I went to pick up breakfast on Sunday morning and I was pleased to find the line for the drive thru wasn’t long. Sometimes it’s wrapped all the way around the building, especially during the pandemic when people don’t want to go inside.
I was pleased to find they expanded the value menu. At one time there were lots of cheap stuff, then they pared it down considerably. However, in the past week or so they added many more items for a dollar, two dollars or three dollars.
After examining the board I ordered a sausage McGriddle from the dollar list and a combo bacon, egg and cheese biscuit with a hash brown from the three dollar list. The response from inside was “that will be $5.65 please drive around.”
I know the restaurant tax in Virginia is high, but I questioned a tax of $1.65 on four dollars worth of food. The reply was that the combo was three dollars and the McGriddle was two.
Well, the McGriddle was clearly listed right in the middle of the one dollar items, which I pointed out. At that point the voice in the box reiterated that the McGriddle was a two dollar item. It wasn’t worth arguing, but I wasn’t about to pay an extra dollar for something clearly marked one dollar, so I had them take it off the bill when I got to the window and got something at 7-11 instead when I bought my morning paper. Yes, I still like to sit on my porch with a cup of coffee and a real paper in my hand.
My next gripe is with Subway, which is normally one of my favorite places. I feel like I’m getting my needed share of vegetables if I pile them on a ham sub.
Have you seen the commercials advertising, “buy two and get one free?” I thought that was a good deal, and it would suffice for lunch over at least two days at a decent price. Well, try finding a place around here participating in that promotion.
I went to four, count ‘em, Subways in the area and not a one was offering the “buy two and get one free” deal that I saw many times on TV in the past week. One of them had a sign on the door saying they weren’t participating and I had to go inside to get disappointed with the others. I finally asked the sandwich guru at my fourth stop what the deal was and his reply was, “we can’t afford to do that.”
Well, to me, if you can afford to call yourself a Subway restaurant you should be willing to participate in their promotions. I don’t think any of those four places paid a nickel to get that advertising on national TV, and that was what got me to the store in the first place. I ended up buying one sub at the fourth place I visited but I’m going to have to think twice before I return to any of the four. It cost me enough gas driving around that it was no bargain regardless.
That’s my rant for the day. Hopefully we’ll have more sports to talk about next week.
