A dozen donuts and boxes

On Sept. 11, 1995 I went to Dunkin' Donuts in Sabang to buy a dozen donuts. I requested the assistant to pack the donuts in two boxes of six donuts each. But the assistant told me that I had to pay two half-dozen prices, which is Rp 800 more expensive than buying a dozen.

Out of principle, I argued that I was actually buy a dozen donuts and that it's only fair that I pay the dozen price, I was even willing to pay extra for the box if they wanted me to, but they said because of the promotion coupon, they cannot sell the box. I also argued about this because by packing my one dozen donuts into two boxes of six each, I get the same amount of coupons even if they packed my donuts in one box of a dozen.

With silly looks on their faces they agreed with me, but still did not let me have two boxes. I was very disappointed with the assistants' attitude, because this box, which means nothing to the big franchise of Dunkin' Donuts, meant a lot to me because I was giving the donuts to somebody else and it would look nicer and more fitting if they were packed properly. After all, I can not count how many Dunkin' Donuts boxes I have thrown away during the past years.

MARIANNE TJAHYADI

Jakarta