During the lockdown, my Amsterdam employer supported the help-de-catering initiative, where employees could transfer 30 euros to a catering institution. A nice gesture in those tough times! When everything reopened, this amount could be redeemed in the chosen venue with an unlimited voucher, marked ‘Thank you for your support! We look forward to the moment when we can toast together again.” This week I handed in my receipt to the restaurant I had chosen. After some internal consultation, the waiter returned. “Unfortunately, sir, we are no longer participating in this promotion.”
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A version of this article also appeared in NRC on the morning of March 11, 2022