there's no such thing as a free lunch

I’ve had a Panera Bread ‘buy seven, get one free’ card in my wallet for the last few months. I’ve worked hard on getting this little card filled and, as this clearly shows, I strive to complete goals and am a motivated individual (which is how I justify putting these two items on my newly updated resume.)

And now that the card is filled, I’ve got a free meal coming…which is perfect since ‘free’ clearly fits into my new, now unemployed, budget. So card in hand, I headed to Panera to cash in on some food.

I scanned the sandwich selection on the menu board above the registers, opted for the Garden Veggie sandwich on Ciabatta bread, and headed toward the cashier. I gave her my order, handed her my fully punched Panera Card, and stood back to bask in my accomplishment of eating so many Panera sandwiches that I was now getting one for free. Finally, an accomplishment that I could take pride in, because while I may not have luck with jobs, this surely shows that I can eat quite well.

The girl at the register took my card, glanced at it, and tossed it into the trash.

“Sorry sir,” she told me as she pulled out a new card and began punching holes in it, “that card is expired. I’ll transfer your purchases from that one onto this new card.”

“Do I really need a new card?” I asked her. “I’m still going to have enough punches to get a free sandwich, so why waste another card?”

“Oh no,” she said. “On the old card you needed seven purchases for a free sandwich. On the new cards, you’ll need ten.”

Frustrated, I took the card. “And what happens when this card expires? Am I going to be given another new card only to find out that instead of ten purchases I’ll need 15?”

The girl behind the register just chuckled and said, “don’t be silly, sir. When this card expires, we’ll just throw it out.”

And, as I pulled out the last few remaining dollars from my wallet, I realized that it would cost me a lot more money in order to get a free sandwich.