Okay, quick. Which one is worth the paper you'll print it on? If you get this right, you may have the math skill necessary to go on Deal or No Deal. (Was forced to watch this over Christmas and it seemed like a very simple application of probability and only really needed the ability to do a quick 'n' dirty average of some numbers in your head so you can see if you're getting a good deal or not, but I digress.)
Let's throw out the one in the middle right away. A free hot beverage? Eh. Are you really gonna go in there for a damn coffee and not buy either one item worth $20 or a group of items worth at least $50, either of which is a better deal than the free coffee, which I can't imagine is more than $4, the smallest possible value of either of the other two coupons. (And if you're buying $5 coffee at this joint, then you have bigger problems than choosing a coupon.)
From this point, the coupon on the left seems like the best deal, until you see the "one item only" that you get your 20% off of. But hey, let's say you've been eyeing, gee, I dunno, some big box set of DVDs or something. You could turn a $100 box set into a $80 one, which doesn't suck.
From this point, all you have to do is figure out what you're likely to buy on your trip. If your largest item costs less than $50 but you will still be spending at least $50, the right one is your guy. If you are buying at least one item of $50 or more, then you go with Mr. Lefty.
But I wondered as I clicked the button, "How many people actually do the math, and how many just pick one based on whether it dazzled them with sheer implication or not?" I think that percentage would be worryingly high. Oh well. More good coupons for the rest of us then, huh?
2 comments:
So I can buy a $20 cup of coffee and get 20% off? Sweet!
I may have taken the free beverage - high end martinis can be pricey sometimes.
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