Is the “Manager Special” Ever a Good Idea?

“The Daily Special”

When I worked in the restaurant business back in high school as a busboy at a pancake house (no shame in that), I remember walking back in the kitchen and seeing a table just loaded full of some sort of meat or fish. And it would just lay there, hour after hour, an occasional fly or twenty swarming around. It was the “special of the day”. And I use to wonder, “where the hell did all of that meat come from, why are we selling it for so cheap, and why are we trying to get rid of it all in one day?”. I never really wanted to know the answer to that question. I don’t order ‘specials of the day’ anymore. I don’t even ask what they are.




managers special

“Deal of the Day”

In the retail industry, it’s pretty common to deeply discount items that are overstocked. In fact, there are hundreds of websites whose very focused goal is to sell off as many of those items as possible as quickly as possible. Why were the items overstocked? One of two reasons:

  1. The item was in such hot demand that the retailer ordered way too many units.
  2. The item is a piece of crap that can only sell under the guise that it’s a fiery bargain.

Sometimes, it can be tough to tell the difference.

“2-for-1 on Milk”

We’ve all been to the grocery store and seen 2-for-1 deals, or deeply discounted food. Usually, it’s because these items are at the end of their sell-by dates. Hopefully, you knew that. But what’s harder to identify is whether or not that second (or even first) gallon of milk is going to start smelling rotten the day you open it. Is it worth the risk?

“The Manager’s Special”

Every used-car lot has one vehicle labeled as the ‘manager special’. Now, I’ve never worked in the used car business, but I have worked in business and I have a hunching suspicion that the ‘manager special’ is the vehicle that has been on the lot the longest. And if it’s been on the lot the longest, there’s probably a good reason why it’s been there. Just a hunch.

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