I was a Journalism Major………..but I did take some math classes along the way. And, I have always prided myself on being a logical person.
I was recently able to use both disciplines in reading a page of coupons from Subway and computing the relative benefits each one provided.
There were 14 coupons. For the purpose of this essay, I’m focusing only on those which specifically featured a price for purchasing 1, 2, 3 Footlongs.
There were 7 of them.
I’m also rounding off the prices to an even dollar (they all ended in 99 cents).
1. Two offered a Footlong for $6.
2. Two offered two Footlongs for $13. I’m not kidding.
3. Two offered three Footlongs for $18. So much for bulk discounts.
4. The other one was a BOGO (I like this acronym……..Buy One; Get One).
So, how much do we pay if we merely take the subway over to Subway and order off their menu?
My most recent Subway fave was the Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki, listed at $7.75 when I checked on line.
So, how do I fare, with their sandwich fare, using the four different coupon choices? Were the coupons fair, versus merely walking in, sans coupon?
1. I save $1.75. Not bad. Close to 23%.
2. I save $1.25. Still a savings (19%), but no benefit from increasing my order.
3. Back to saving $1.75.
4. I save $7.75. 50% (the meaning of BOGO). And, I pay $5.25 LESS than if I use the two-fer coupon and $4.25 LESS than using the three-fer coupon.
So, on Sunday, I took myself to the Subway on U.S. 31 North……..or whatever they call that road today.. . with my BOLO coupon.
It was 9:39 AM, according to my receipt.
I was the only customer in the place and I saw only one employee. He was wearing a baseball cap which had the word fresh stitched on it. The word was appropriate for the sandwich and his demeanor. Anyway, I ordered the Chicken Teriyaki Sub. I didn’t have my reading glasses on……..I keep forgetting that I can’t read small print……….despite having 24 pairs of $1.25 readers purchased at the Store Formerly Named Dollar.
When I got the bill, it was for a $10.99 sandwich, so I saved $11.
I didn’t bother asking the Tattooed Fresh Guy why their Chicken Teriyaki sandwich was now $3.25 more than advertised on the internet.
I decided to go back again to see if they honor the three-fer price on this $11 treat.
They did, so I got $33 worth of the creation inspired by John Montagu, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, for the Princely sum of $18. A savings of $5 per sandwich, made me feel like a King. Not bad, especially since the sandwich is so much more expensive.
BTW, whenever I see royal ranks like this, I think of the Duke of Earl…………..too bad today’s generation did not grow up in the GREATEST era for music, but I digress.