# Would you like 2 for a dollar or one for $1.19? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 21, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149 "2003-04-21T22:14:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/41 "2003-04-22T18:20:00Z")
Big Slam in this case does not refer to a fountain drink but the name used by Pepsi for their one liter bottled sodas. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/42 "2003-04-22T18:26:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Audrey Levins \* > \*\* KISS MY ASS. 😃 \*\* Is there a two for one deal on those cheeks? 😃 Actually, I’m with you on the Discount Ignorance, Sister. But in our defense, I’d like to say that it’s better to buy TWO boxes of cereal for $2.50 each than to buy one at $2.50 and the second one at $3.50 two weeks from now, when the sale is over. I mean, you can never have enough LIFE. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/43 "2003-04-22T19:03:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ethilrist \* > \*\*My local liquor store sells beer for $5 a six-pack, or $12 for a 12-pack. Whenever I see that, I think, “Hey, it’s like a tax on people who can’t do math…” \*\* Especially if they buy some lotto tickets along with the booze. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/44 "2003-04-22T19:42:15Z")
So what happens when you try returning one of your two bottled waters? Do they ask you for nineteen cents? ---
**Author:** ![sj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@sj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sj2)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/45 "2003-04-22T19:55:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Annie \* > \*\*Ooh, ooh, was this the 7-11 in Kirkland, WA? Could have been the same drone who charged me for two coffees when I got a brew and an enpty cup to prevent hand scald syndrome(this was before the advent of the Little Cardboard Sleeve). Why? > > “well, you have two cups!” > > Hey, charge me a quarter, fine. but noooooo. So I left the cup and took a handful of napkins instead. \*\* Would this be the 7-11 across from Sarducci’s Subs (YUM, BTW)? I had a similar experience with a hot dog, a bag of chips and an unwanted soda…“So, you’re saying you will charge me an extra 25 cents because I don’t want a soda?” I should have just taken the cup and left it outside for you, darlin’. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/46 "2003-04-22T20:03:10Z")
**Auntie Em,** you have been misinformed, I’m afraid. It is _Frosted Mini Wheats_ that you cannot ever have enough of. 😉 [hijack] Does anyone else avoid certain cereals they love, like Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks, b/c of the havoc they wreak on the roof of your mouth? Does a hearty bowl of Fruit Loops cause anyone else a little pain and suffering if they try to eat a pizza later? CAN ANYONE ELSE FEEL THE CHAFING BURN? It isn’t right. Paradise is non-chafing Fruit Loops. Which I will commission, as soon as I win the lotto. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Gretchen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Miss\_Gretchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Gretchen)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/47 "2003-04-22T21:07:43Z")
Way back in the day, I worked at a deli in a snooty neighbourhood. One could purchase a half sandwich for $2, or a small soup for $2. One could also get a soup and sandwich special for - $4.50. But it’s a special, right? you’d get something extra, right? Like a salad? Or some potato chips? A pickle? A garnish of parsely? Nope. Six months I worked there, and ONE person out of thousands caught it. I’m not even going to start on the cow who emptied our tip jar on the counter and started picking out the dollars and quarter to pay for a latte… (Apparently some people interepret the “take a penny, leave a penny” jar as “Take $3.50, leave a stunned cashier to ask you what the hell you think you’re doing” jar) ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/48 "2003-04-22T22:27:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Binarydrone \* > \*\ ***SuaSponte** , while I am generally speaking in favor of standing up to these sort of corporate shenanigans, I would like some clarification. > > Was the clerk making the price up (as in ringing it in manually), or did you simply feel that it was your sacred duty to give someone just doing their job as specified by her employer a ration of shit? \*\* She rang it up manually. But who cares? She is the agent of her employer. My goal was to give the store a ration of shit for their insane pricing policy. The store hired her to be their interface with the purchasing public. If she performs her job correctly, she will inform her employer that there was a complaint about their pricing. Are you suggesting that I stalk the owner of the store instead? Sua ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/49 "2003-04-22T22:40:05Z")
I guess that the “who cares” here is the part where you threatened to dump out the water on the counter if she charged you more for one bottle of water than the two combined. This is, IMHO, a bit jerk-like. Also, for the record, stores don’t tend to look at it as “hiring a visible representative” so much as " hiring someone to take money away from pigeons". ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/50 "2003-04-22T23:03:58Z")
Around here, a “generic” brand of milk goes for something like $3.45 a gallon or two gallons for $3.75. It’s not a sale or promotion either - it’s just the regular price, and has been this way for the past year or so. What I call French Fry Economics never fails to amaze me - buy a burger for $1.99, or get a combo - burger, fries and soda for $2.49. Want just a burger and soda? That’ll be $3.49, please, or for a buck less, you can add fries to that! ---
**Author:** ![raz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/51 "2003-04-23T00:01:54Z")
I also second the notion that Life could quite possible be the most perfect cereal of this or any generation. We have Taco John’s here, and they have Taco Tuesday every week where you can get 2 tacos for a dollar. One tuesday I wasn’t feeling particularly hungry. I ordered one taco and got charged something like $1.20! Of course I went ahead and got the 2 tacos for $1.07 or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/52 "2003-04-23T00:30:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ShibbOleth \* > \*\*Long ago, in a Galaxy far, far away, I worked in convenience stores. For fountain drinks and coffee they inventoried by the cup, not by the amount of coffee or syrup used. \*\* I found that out once when I bought a cup of coffee at a 7-11. I accidentally had two cups nested together; they were stuck together too firmly for me to separate. The clerk rung up two cups of coffee, and explained that she had to do that because they inventoried by the cup. BUT, she explained, I could pour my coffee into a third cup and toss the other two in the garbage, and would then only have to pay for one coffee. So that’s what I did. So, do they dig through the garbage looking for discarded cups when they do inventory? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/53 "2003-04-23T00:38:54Z")
A friend of mine worked in a movie theater where they had Coke brand fountain drinks. However, there was also a vending machine in the lobby that sold 20 oz. bottles of Pepsi brand stuff. All the time, he said, people would come up to the counter and ask for (just) a small Pepsi. His response: “Actually, we don’t have Pepsi in the fountain, but right behind you there’s a vending machine that sells it. Also, the bottles in the machine are larger than the small cups we have here, and they cost less than the small soda, too.” He was always amazed at how many people said: “Oh, a small Coke, then.” The vending machine was about 10 feet away, and never had a line, either. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/54 "2003-04-23T00:50:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Meface \* > \*\*Evian = Naive > Not bad for a first post > Cyas \*\* Actually, it was quite bad. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/55 "2003-04-23T00:59:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Clerks get no mercy. I’m not even supposed to BE here today. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/56 "2003-04-23T01:40:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ataraxy22 \* > \*\*ack…bottled water…what a scam. \*\* And what do you propose I do if I’m driving down the highway, and want a cold, easily transportable, resealable container of water to put in my car’s cupholder? Bottled water is a scam for drinking in your kitchen, I agree. But bottled water in a convenience store is no more of a scam than bottled Coca Cola. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/57 "2003-04-23T01:47:54Z")
For all those of you who didn’t know that you didn’t have to buy the specified amount to get the discount… My friend once worked at a Vons. He and his manager were talking one day about this buy xx amount phenomenon. One week he decided to tweak the prices a bit. instead of pricing something 12/5.00 he priced it at 11/ 4.59 they sold everything in multiples of 11. Twas quite humorous. > [@](#): > > I’m not even supposed to BE here today. Randall is much cooler. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/58 "2003-04-23T04:13:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chief Crunch \* > \*\*Uh, why is it necessarily the cashier’s fault? I may be wrong, but I’d venture to guess she didn’t have anything to do with the pricing or store policy. \*\* Probably right, if their computer systems are anything like ours (which it sounds like from the description). The way our system works is that there are monthly deals on whatever products, and they’d have an associated deal code with them. You’d scan the items, and ‘back out’ by using the sale code. So when the items rang up, they rang up at regular price. If you just rang one up, it would be 1.19. If you rang 2 up, it’d be 2.38. Then you enter the discount code, and it effectively gives a 1.38 coupon to become $1. You can’t apply that discount code to a single bottle, because you’d have 1.19 - 1.38 - you’d have to pay the customer 19 cents to take the bottle from you. The only way to do as the cashier did would be to manually enter the price - however, this is often against store policies in some places, and she could potentially get in trouble for doing that. She might’ve (coincidentally) been a moron, but she could’ve very well been limited by their computer system and company policy. She might’ve violated policy to do what she did, and, if the management is strict, get in trouble. Not that I’m generally defending stupid clerk antics, or weird pricing, but in this particular case, there could’ve been reasonable explanations behind her actions. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/59 "2003-04-23T13:16:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Audrey Levins \* > \*\ ***Auntie Em,** you have been misinformed, I’m afraid. It is _Frosted Mini Wheats_ that you cannot ever have enough of. 😉 > > [hijack] > > Does anyone else avoid certain cereals they love, like Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks, b/c of the havoc they wreak on the roof of your mouth? Does a hearty bowl of Fruit Loops cause anyone else a little pain and suffering if they try to eat a pizza later? CAN ANYONE ELSE FEEL THE CHAFING BURN? > > It isn’t right. Paradise is non-chafing Fruit Loops. Which I will commission, as soon as I win the lotto. > > [/hijack] \*\* Perhaps I failed to make myself clear. I’m talking about _Cinnamon_ LIFE, here. Cinnamon LIFE trumps ALL (with the exception of Frosted Flakes w/ Half & Half instead of milk). But to answer your question, HECK YEAH–Cap’N Crunch will rip a hole straight through to your brain after about three consecutive bowls. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149/60 "2003-04-24T11:11:28Z")
I am reminded of the time that my dad was paying for a meal at a restaurant and there was some kind of hard candy there that was priced “1 for 5 cents, 2 for 15 cents.” Naturally, Dad said that he’d rather buy them one at a time, and save the extra nickel. The cashier said, “You can’t do that!” to which he replied, “Sure I can!” He then proceeded to buy one, pop it into his mouth and said, “Mmm, that’s good–let me have another one of those!” For some reason, this really pissed her off, but I have to laugh every time I think about it. And if, when we buy fountain drinks, we are paying for the cup–and it is the only thing inventoried–I want to know why I can’t bring my own cup and get a free drink. And please don’t tell me that the cost of the beverage is factored into the price of the cup, because all I ever hear is “You’re paying for the cup!” when I’m told that I’ll be charged full soda price for a cup of water or ice. So if I’m paying for the CUP then the soda is free and I could save a bundle by bringing a cup from home. (To the credit of MOST fast food places, they do let me fill the baby’s sippy cup for free!) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-2-for-a-dollar-or-one-for-1-19/170149.md?page=4)