The Quest for the Penny

So, it turns out that I have the ability to edit this blog as well. Anyway, here's the story of Pizza Hut and the Penny.

It all began when we received some Pizza Hut coupons in the mail. Seven of them on a sheet. I didn't care for the coupons, but upon a quick glance, I noticed that each one said, "Cash redemption value 1/20th of a cent." And I had seven of them right there. I figured there was a good chance that some of my friends had received the same thing and I could get 20 coupons together. Alas, nobody I asked had received the flier. So we just stuck the sheet in a drawer. But, one week later, another sheet arrived in the mail, and another the next week. So, I had 21 coupons with a cash redemption value of 1/20th of a cent.
So, here I am standing there with my three sheets of coupons. I took these 21 coupons to Pizza Hut and attempted to redeem them for a penny. However, the manager shut me down and told me they "don't do that". He also refused to tell me the store number. So I called the gift card hotline and asked to be transferred to the complaints department.

The complaints department said they'd get back to me, and they also gave me the store's franchise number. On the way home, I happened upon a sign advertising free legal service. So I asked them about it, but they couldn't help me. All I got was a sticky note, not exactly helpful.


The next day, though, I received a phone call from Pizza Hut's corporate office telling me they were expediting my complaint and that I should receive another call later that day. I got that call -- from the Regional Manager of all the Pizza Huts in Utah. He asked me to explain to him what this was all about. I told him how I was trying to get a penny for my coupons and he told me that in his 36 years with Pizza Hut, nobody had ever tried to do that. He asked what my motivation was for this, and I said it was just for fun. He then asked what he could do to make it right. I just told him that I wanted a penny and that I'd take cash or check.He then told me that he was going to call the Vice President of Marketing in Dallas for further instruction on what to do and that he'd get back to me.

Two days later I received a phone call from the manager of the Pizza Hut I that I originally went to with my coupons. He told me they had something for me and that I should come pick it up. I grabbed my coupons and went on down.

So they had a plaque for me with a penny embedded in it.

In the end, yes, you can redeem your coupons for a penny, but it's not an easy trick.