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Complaining About Things You Haven't Paid For: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|'''Max:''' My innocence has been shattered by this blatant tourist trap. I want my money back!
'''Sam:''' We didn't pay anything.
'''Max:''' Well, ''somebody'' better give me some money.
|''[[Sam and Max Hit The Road]]''}}
They say that there's no such thing as a free lunch. No matter what, someone has got to pick up the tab.
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However, sometimes a company or business decides to be a little generous with a promotional campaign and pay the costs to distribute samples or portions of their goods and services to the public at no cost to us consumers. Although such free samples are usually small, very minor things of cheap value to keep costs down for the party providing it, a free sample is still a tiny perk for the person receiving it and is always graciously accepted... or, at least, that's what the companies responsible for the campaigns would prefer, but that's usually not the case.
Presumably a common habit of pessimists and picky people; in a stark contrast of this behavior, people or characters who have no problems looking on the bright side of things may frequently make a remark along the lines of, "Who cares if it's a piece of crap? It's free!" (or, depending on the circumstances, "It's stolen!")
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Compare [[You Get What You Pay For]].
{{noreallife|we'd be here all day.}}
{{examples}}
▲== [[Comics]] ==
* In one story from ''[[2000 AD]]'''s ''Bec & Kawl'', Bec does nothing but complain about the "tragic abortion of a night out" at the carnival Kawl takes her to, stating that it isn't even worth the 50p entrance fee, to which Kawl points out that they snuck in for free.
== [[Film]] ==
* In ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109440/ La Cité de la Peur]'', a movie fails to start at a film festival, prompting the whole audience to complain, "Reimburse our invites!"
* ''[[Trainspotting]]'' has a scene where Begbie has just robbed a jewelers at gunpoint and the jewelery he's stolen is not as valuable as he thought.
{{quote|
== [[Literature]] ==
* A [[Stealth Insult]] from ''[[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'': "He didn't charge nothing for his sermons; and it was worth it, too."
* In ''[[
▲== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* In ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' episode where Steve Martin guest starred, Statler and Waldorf debate whether they should leave after the show is canceled to hold auditions. Waldorf insists that they stay as they've paid for the tickets. When Statler points out that the tickets were free, Waldorf replies, "And overpriced, at that!"
* In what is seemingly a preemptive response to any criticism that may be levied, G4's Kevin Pereira closes all "Indie Games" segments on free, downloadable video games with some variant of, "...and what do ''you'' want for nothing?"
* [[David Letterman]] sometimes jokingly tries to preempt complaints from the studio audience saying things like, "You didn't pay anything to get in here, you know."
** [[Conan O'Brien]] used to lightheartedly do this too, typically if a joke bombed. "Hey! This is a free show! You can't boo a free show!"
* [[Jon Stewart]] frequently reminds audiences of ''[[The Daily Show]]'' that the tickets were free, usually after the interview segment of a C List guest when the next day's A List guest is announced and the audience predictably responds.
** He's also used it to apologize to guests if the audience is getting rude/hostile.
* In the pilot episode of ''[[Corner Gas]]'', Hank complains about a terrible cup of coffee, to which Brent says, "Oh, well, let me refund your money. What'd you pay for it, zero?"
*
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
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* ''[[Zits]]'' had a short storyline where Jeremy is upset because a website he likes hasn't been updated for a while. His father goes from saying he should demand a refund to mocking his sense of entitlement when he finds out the site is free.
* ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'':
{{quote|
'''Hobbes''': But the place is free.
'''Calvin''': See, that’s another thing! They should have a cover charge and keep out all the riffraff. }}
== Video Games ==
* In the ''[[Disgaea]]'' spin-off ''[[Prinny]]'', Etna asks the Hero Prinny to sell some games and the console she's playing them on, claiming they suck. The prinny points out that she pirated the games and hacked the console.
* ''[[Sam and Max Hit The Road]]'' requires the heroes to eventually visit a tourist trap named "Frog Rock" to progress. Upon discovering that Frog Rock is in no way frog-like, Max demands his money back despite not having paid any to see it.
== Web Original ==
* ''[[Atop the Fourth Wall
** He also gets comics donated for the show. A couple of them STILL leave him feeling ripped off.
* [http://www.penny-arcade.com/2002/3/20/ This] ''[[Penny Arcade (Webcomic)|Penny Arcade]]'' newspost reveals that this is how Gabe feels about winning ''Nocturne'' in a competition. "Even when he gets your game for ''free'', it would appear that you still owe him."cs.
* For [[Reaction and Review]], Hellsing has yet to actually pay for any of the movies he has reviewed. He either openly admits to downloading them, or they are sent by fans by way of his Amazon Wish List.
* A [[Something Awful]] AwfulVision column once highlighted a pair of videos where a kid who ''illegally'' downloaded a [[The Smashing Pumpkins]] album [http://www.somethingawful.com/d/awfulvision/grizzly-adams-vlog.php?page=5 destroys the CD copies he made in a fit of rage after reaching the conclusion that he doesn't like the music.] Though, to be fair, someone ''did'' have to pay for the blank CD's it was burned onto.
* A few stories on [[(The Customer is) Not Always Right]] see customers complain about things they didn't even pay money for. Ones that stand out include [http://notalwaysright.com/thinking-outside-the-box/4276 a caller complaining about receiving a free soup that came with her food order] and [http://notalwaysright.com/thievers-cant-be-choosers/1399 a man calling a hotel to complain that the towels he stole from his room upon checking out were "too scratchy."]
* Addressed from 4:49 in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_d0pekU648 this] angry video review of an [[The Angry Video Game Nerd]] video.
* [[Doug Walker]] actually argues AGAINST this moral in his commentary for his [[Let's Play]] of ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|Bart's Nightmare]]''. In a temporary moment of rage, he planned to criticize his fans for bashing his Lets Play via [[Straw Fan|Douchey McNitpick]] on the grounds that they shouldn't complain so badly over something they can watch for free, but after calming down, he realized that if someone's job is to make free stuff, they aren't allowed to pull this card, because it's their job to make the audience laugh.
== Western Animation ==
* One episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' sees Homer get excited about receiving a coupon book in the mail, including one coupon for "Two pizzas for the price of one at Doughy's!" When Lisa points out, "Doughy's has ''terrible'' pizza," Homer counters, "[[Comically Missing the Point|Yeah, but there's TWO!]]"
** The famous "[[Worst Whatever Ever|Worst Episode Ever]]" dialogue:
{{quote|
'''Bart:''' For what? They've given you thousands of hours of entertainment for free. If anything, ''you'' owe ''them''.
'''Comic Book Guy:''' Worst. Episode. Ever. }}
** Happens again in [[The Simpsons Movie]] when the crowd boos a free concert and ends up killing the musicians.
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* One episode of ''[[Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius]]'' had Jimmy's dad pay 150 dollars for tickets to a free school talent show. After hearing that Jimmy's band (who have become extremely arrogant and demanding after thinking they're awesome despite Jimmy's instruments doing everything) won't be performing, he stands up and yells "I want my money back!". After it's pointed out by Jimmy's mom that the concert was free, he sits down and mutters that he didn't pay anything anyway in an embarrassed tone.
* Inverted (if that's even possible) in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''. In "The Fortuneteller":
{{quote|
'''Aang:''' But, she doesn't even charge.
'''Katara:''' I know, but still. }}
* The ''[[My Little Pony:
* The ''[[American Dad]]'' episode "The Unbrave One":
{{quote|
'''Clerk:''' Do you have your receipt?
'''Roger:''' No, I don't have a receipt! I stole the floor model! }}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Index of Exact Trope Titles]]
[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]
[[Category:Criticism Tropes]]
[[Category:Truth in Television]]
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