Today in one-time wacky sales gimmicks: American submarine sandwich chain Jimmy John’s announced a Customer Appreciation day in which they’re selling eight-inch sub sandwiches from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. And I was there. I wasn’t even supposed to be here today.

The limitations:

* It’s only from 11 to 3. I’m assuming each time zone takes will be taking turns celebrating this offer. Or suffering it, if your local Jimmy John’s is unprepared to have their doors stormed by hungry, budget-conscious patrons.

* Only six subs are part of this deal, not the entire menu. Your choice of ham, turkey, roast beef, Italian, tuna salad, or veggie.

* No online or call-in orders; no delivery. You show up, you get a deal.

* Limit one sub per person, but you’re reportedly free to buy your one sub, get in the back of the line, and do it all over again. Keep walking through the line again and again to burn off a fraction of those calories.

This was not Plan A. I’d taken a vacation day from work to have some necessary home repairs done, but the repairmen had to postpone and reschedule due to rainy weather that would’ve caused them some inconvenience and/or mortal danger. I’d expected to be trapped at home all day, corralling our dog and tossing wads of cash into a burlap bag with a dollar sign on it that the repairmen would probably bring with them. In their absence and in my frustration at having wasted a vacation day, suddenly I had something to do and some cash that hadn’t been divested from me yet. The chase for cheap grub was on.

I found myself in line between a mother-with-tiny-cute-daughter and a high school senior on daily early-release for his job down the street at another sub shop, who clearly weren’t celebrating this very special Jimmy John’s holiday. While we waited, a representative from a health spa in the same strip mall walked up and down the line and gave us free samples of a low-cal health bar. Clever move.

Jimmy John’s was ready for us. They had ten or twelve crew on deck, including a lady near the front door scribbling our orders on a notepad to hand to one of the two cashiers. The above pic was blurry because my sandwich was ready for pickup in the narrow fifteen-second time frame between the second I dropped my change in my pocket and the second they yelled my name. Total Jimmy John’s experience from start to finish: ten minutes. I was stunned. I honestly anticipated something like an autograph-line experience. Kudos to our nearest Jimmy John’s for that service accomplishment.

As for the food itself: I had the Italian sub with added hot peppers. It was what it needed to be, by which I mean it was better than Subway. And hey, who doesn’t like a good sale? Or freebies, for that matter.