Loews Cineplex had been running this coupon for $5 movies all month, so I was thinking that it was probably safe at this late date to go try it out at the Woodinville location. Surely by now, they would have seen a bajillion coupons, I thought, but evidently not.

The moment I entered the theatre, my friend sidled up to me, and elbowed me in the ribs. “Just be glad I got here first!” she muttered to me, as we entered through the lobby.

It turned out that when she showed up at the ticket booth, the booth attendant (a young man not hired to think) had read the coupon (”Present this coupon along with $5…”) and interpreted it as permission to charge her $11 for a $6 ticket. You can rest assured that she re-educated him very quickly and efficiently. Indeed, by the time I arrived, he was looking quite subdued.