Quest for the Pall Malls
I’m on a couple of cigarette makers’ mailings lists, and last week I received a coupon for a free pack of Pall Malls. I usually don’t take advantage of cigarette coupons, but something about this one inspired me to try to cash it in (maybe the image of a Trollopian character walking down the Pall Mall to his club).
So, yesterday, I went to the gas station near work and flashed my coupon to the attendant. He immediately told me that they didn’t carry Pall Malls, which I thought was a little curious. Today, during my lunch, I decided to try again. I bypassed my local White Hen (for some reason, I didn’t want them to think I’ve taken up smoking) and, instead went to a Greek grocery store on Halsted. This time, I asked first if they had Pall Malls. When the cashier said, “Sure, what kind?” I pulled out my coupon. He quickly shook his head—and said that they carry the cigarettes, but they don’t take the coupons.
My next stop was Walgreens. I asked right away if they took cigarette coupons, and the attendant, to my relief, said that they did. I told her I wanted a soft pack of Pall Malls, which meant I could only get the unfiltered kind. She looked at me a little dubiously and said, “Are you sure you want these?” I assured her, yes, they were the ones I wanted, and added, perhaps unwisely, that I wasn’t planning on smoking them. At that point she asked me for my birthdate.
We cleared all that up, but then the coupon wouldn’t scan. A large line was forming behind me, and the attendant needed to call her manager. The manager came pretty quickly and determined that the coupon would only accept the filtered Pall Malls in the hard pack. We made the switch, and I paid $0.52 in tax and was on my way.
I’m really wishing that I would have been able to get the unfiltered soft pack, though.
So, yesterday, I went to the gas station near work and flashed my coupon to the attendant. He immediately told me that they didn’t carry Pall Malls, which I thought was a little curious. Today, during my lunch, I decided to try again. I bypassed my local White Hen (for some reason, I didn’t want them to think I’ve taken up smoking) and, instead went to a Greek grocery store on Halsted. This time, I asked first if they had Pall Malls. When the cashier said, “Sure, what kind?” I pulled out my coupon. He quickly shook his head—and said that they carry the cigarettes, but they don’t take the coupons.
My next stop was Walgreens. I asked right away if they took cigarette coupons, and the attendant, to my relief, said that they did. I told her I wanted a soft pack of Pall Malls, which meant I could only get the unfiltered kind. She looked at me a little dubiously and said, “Are you sure you want these?” I assured her, yes, they were the ones I wanted, and added, perhaps unwisely, that I wasn’t planning on smoking them. At that point she asked me for my birthdate.
We cleared all that up, but then the coupon wouldn’t scan. A large line was forming behind me, and the attendant needed to call her manager. The manager came pretty quickly and determined that the coupon would only accept the filtered Pall Malls in the hard pack. We made the switch, and I paid $0.52 in tax and was on my way.
I’m really wishing that I would have been able to get the unfiltered soft pack, though.
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