I was near the 4th St. Java Brewing Co today so I stopped in for a free coffee. I spied that they were advertising the deal on one side of their sidewalk sandwich board, but that side was up against the exterior wall, not facing pedestrian traffic. So I walked in and in a friendly way said, "Hi, I understand you're doing free coffee?" and the woman behind the counter answered, "No, we're not DOING free coffee; if you're from Central Bank we have free Central Bank coffee mugs, and we'll fill it with coffee for free."
I responded confusedly, "So, isn't that free coffee?" and was again met with the phrase, "If you're from Central Bank," so I responded, "Well, I saw the ad that said..." and was cut off with a curt "OK" and offered free coffee in a Central Bank mug.
Whew! I have no idea what it means to be "from" Central Bank (employee? a just-arrived customer?), but you definitely need to mention the magic words "the ad" to get the deal! I didn't think my slang use of the verb "do" would cause me so much trouble
On the downside, it's a travel-size coffee mug, which is twice as much coffee as I usually ever drink, and since I had it in front of me, I drank most of it before I realized what I was doing, so now I'm WIRED with a headache. I was going to try Derby City Espresso's free cup as well today, but I think that has to wait until tomorrow!