She took my order but didn't get my market research

Having spent my life in marketing and market research, sometimes that info spills over into ordering barbecue. Let me 'splain.

I love Dickey's barbecue. So much so that I've let them have my cell number so they can text me special deals.

Today's deal was a free Big Yellow Cup with my meal. You're supposed to show your text message to the cashier and he or she inputs the code and you get your deal--today being a free drink.

Being a marketing/research veteran, I realize that corporate needs the coupon number so they can track people's response to it. Very simple.

But today's cashier was new, and the guy training her said, "It's easier just to give him a cup than to enter all that stuff in the register. It's going to come out as a free drink whatever."

I helpfully tried to explain that corporate needed to track the number of coupons redeemed, so they really should enter the code on the register.

The trainer, also helpfully, explained that, "We give out free cups all the time. It's no biggie."

So I got my free cup and sat down, realizing that there's nobody else in the world who would've started that kind of discussion but me.

But that's because I'm always thinking of marketing when I write or when I consult. I'm trained to think that way. It's easy for me to do this for clients because I'm always doing it anyway. I think it's fun.

I'm odd that way!