How I Spent My Lunchbreak...

Wave "bye" to my money...

I was craving an egg salad bagel for some reason so I walked over to the Chesapeake Bagel Bakery, got in line, requested two bagels (as I had a "two-4-one" coupon), paid, and moved to the side. Five minutes later, I heard someone whisper:

"We don't have any egg salad."

I told them I didn't want anything else so I stood there and had a staredown with one of the workers until he moved over to the only available register, un-voided my coupon and gave me my cash back.

After that, on a whim and since I had another coupon (thanks to my Entertainment Book), I went a couple of blocks to McDonalds, which is against my better judgment normally due to the enormously unhealthy but amazingly tasty food and the substandard conditions of their lobby. Anyway, I didn't have enough cash to get what I wanted so I went to their ATM. It was a bit different in that it didn't directly dispense cash but released a receipt that the cashier would take in exchange, also requiring a purchase. No problem. I was hungry. I went through the motions... sliiiiide... beep beep beep beep... beep.... $30 dollars... beep... the display says "Please take the receipt to the cashier." Whirring sounds. Clicking sounds. No receipt. Great! Now I'm at the mercy of the underpaid, overworked, unsympathetic staff.

I told the lady at the counter, "The machine didn't give me my receipt. How do I get my cash?" Her response?

"Eeeef you no get the teeecket, eeet doesn't sharge you."

"Can I speak to the manager, please?"

The manager proceeds to tell me that she doesn't have anything to do with the ATM and that all she has is a contact number for the company that services it. Fine, I'll take it.

I call the company and Kim on the other end informs me that the managers DO in fact have access to the machines and can produce a report that shows transactions on the machine. She calls the corporate office, faxes a copy of the report confirming my transaction and calls the McDonalds to confirm that they owe me $30 bucks. Unfortunately, the manager has no time to deal with this so she takes my name (and I hers) and I'm unmarrily on my way.

Long story short, I walked about a mile, lost about a gallon of sweat, and eventually ended up at Subway. So, it might have cost me $30, but I'm healthier in the long run!

UPDATE: All the Chesapeake Bagel Bakeries in town are now closed. I had nothing to do with it, I swear!