Scene at Denny's- 75 people in line, cops doing crowd control

[underpants]

Richmond VA

So I thought 10 AM would be the perfect time for an early FREE "lunch" between the breakfast crowd and the lunch time crowd

As I drive up on the one Denny's here I see 15 cars or so in line at the light. Backed up to the Phillip Morris (Altria) headquarters. I think, "Okay that can't be for the Denny's" so I drive past and make a u-turn. YEP it is for Denny's.

I pull into the parking lot and the line of people is at least 75. Out the door and around the back of the building. Everyone-black,white, college age kids, seniors, families, guys in suits, etc. One police officer was already there another one was pulling in. I pulled up to the police cruiser and asked, "You here to eat or.." He cuts me off "No they sent us down here to make sure people didn't get out of control while they waited"

:shrug: I don't know that it is a "sing of the times" thing or if FREE BREAKFAST just resonates with people that well. I was enticed. :shrug:

I left. Free is great but I am not waiting in line for 30 or 40 minutes.
:wow:

[143tbone]

1. If you're not patient enough to wait for 30 or 40 minutes,

then you don't need the free meal. Leave it for people who do.

[Iggo]

11. Another way to look at it...

If you have to wait most of an hour for it, it ain't really free now is it.

[stray cat]

15. Still free - but you may decide its not worth your time

[cherokeeprogressive]

16. Waiting on a free breakfast for most of an hour on Sunday costs HOW MUCH?

Clue me in on that.

[Iggo]

25. Ah. Sunday. That's different.

[MineralMan]

2. What a cluster****.

Denny's isn't a bad place to grab breakfast when you're on the road in a strange town, but sheesh! The Grand Slam is way overkill...certainly not worth waiting on line for. Blech!

[azmouse]

3. A lot of hungry, out of work people.

I thought about going to Denny's but figured there might be long lines. Too many hungry people need that breakfast.
What a nice thing for Denny's to do.

[underpants]

6. As much it is nice to think that they did it for altruistic reasons...

I think the real goal here is to say "Hey don't forget about Denny's!!!"

plus the mark up on drinks (even coffee) will still mean that they will get some revenue out of it.

I don't mean to sound cynical but they aren't in the business of just feeding people.

Apparently this worked.

[bertman]

8. underpants, the markup on those beverages will not generate enough revenue to offset

the costs of the cooks' labor, the dishwashers' pay, the servers' meager hourly pay, the utility costs, etc., etc.

Denny's is losing money on these free breakfasts but they may recoup some of it in goodwill shopping by others who eat there on the not-so-free days.

I don't eat at Denny's, but I think it's a great thing they are doing--whether it's for marketing or altruistic reasons.

[underpants]

18. I didn't say that it would offset it just that there would be SOME revenue coming in

No they can't make money off this even if people ordered something on top of the Free Grand Slam

[bertman]

23. Yes, you did say there would be SOME revenue coming in. I didn't mean to contradict

that, but to explain that they were still losing money on the free breakfast idea because of all their other costs.

[malaise]

30. I'd like to know the real costs of the breakfasts versus

television commercials. It may turn out have been a super approach to advertising.

[azmouse]

9. I admit I've been wondering why they're doing this.

Some of the fast food restaurants have done promotional free food give aways when certain conditions were met... like hitting a homerun in a certain inning. That kind of thing.

Well for whatever reason, some hungry people will get fed. And that's not a bad thing.

[TwilightGardener]

4. I think it's nice, what they're doing. I hope people still tip the waitresses.

[deadmessengers]

5. fat chance of that happening. n/t

[Laura PourMeADrink]

7. Your digestive system will thank you

[blue_onyx]

10. I would have left too

The Denny's near me closed so that restaurant isn't really an option for me anyway. The next closest one is about a 30 minute drive...Denny's isn't exactly a restaurant one drives out of their way to eat at.

[customerserviceguy]

12. Tonight on the evening news

and probably for the next couple of days, Denny's will get free publicity when every place with a newsgathering organization sends a reporter and maybe a cameraperson down to "cover" the large lines and the crowds.

I guess in a recession, you really have to think outside the box.

[Le Taz Hot]

13. And maybe in the meantime

some hungry people will get fed. I don't understand why people are pissing all over this.

[arcadian]

27. You make it sound like they are feeding the homeless.

I don't think that is the case.

[malaise]

31. Good links

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/02/dennys-free-gra.html

http://adage.com/article?article_id=134306
<snip>
Denny's Grand Slam Giveaway a Hit With 2 Million Diners
Restaurant Says It Exceeded Estimates at Total Cost of $5 Million

By Emily Bryson York

Published: February 03, 2009

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Score one for beginner's luck. Denny's first Super Bowl spot, which offered free breakfast to America, seems to have put bums in seats. The restaurant claims it surpassed its estimate that it would serve up to 2 million people during today's eight-hour Grand Slam giveaway. And all for the low price of $5 million.

http://news.google.com.jm/news?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&tab=wn&ncl=1299814341

[Subdivisions]

14. I'm thankful that I was able to make my own breakfast this morning...

I wouldn't think of taking up space in line when there might be someone there who isn't as fortunate as I am this morning.

The idea of free breakfast from Denny's is, though, quite enticing even to those who don't really need it. It's a novelty.

[TwilightGardener]

17. Denny's is just good old diner food. There aren't any around where

I live now, but my husband and kids and I used to like to go there and have breakfast on Sunday mornings when we lived in other states.

[supernova]

19. Yep, and it's the cheapest meal to fix too

Breakfast foods are still cheaper than other meals during the day.

So, I'm glad they are doing it. I'm sure the people in line really appreciated it. :-)

[kstewart33]

22. Well said.

Some folks need a hand-out and Denny's supplied it, whatever their reason.

[louis-t]

20. I hate when companies do this.

A Mobil station near me did something like this a while back because it was determined they were ripping people off somehow. They decided to drop prices for 1 day (not really an equitable way to pay people back). The line stretched for 1/4 mile and several accidents occurred as a result.

[rvablue]

21. I just hope all of these folks in line for a free breakfast

remember to tip their waiters and waitresses well. They must have been completely overloaded with work with that many people waiting in line.

[riqster]

24. I didn't even TRY to go to Denny's today

I did my usual 0-dark-Thirty breakfast at home: chucked some Egg Beaters into a skillet with some salsa, had my fruit, and left Denny's for those who really NEED a free meal.

Good on Denny's for doing this - even if it isn't done for completely altruistic reasons, it can potentially help a lot of people.

[Midlodemocrat]

26. You couldn't pay me to eat there. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

[eilen]

28. An old friend, her husband and I went

we waited about 45 minutes. Ordered coffee and the grand slams. We had a great time. We tipped the waitress well. (They covered the coffee, I covered the tip).

There were a lot of people coming, and only a few seemed discouraged by the wait and turned around. Everyone was in a good mood, even the servers.

We felt like teenagers cutting school when we left, all hopped up on syrup and coffee, we had wheels, valid ID's and time to kill. Then we had to pick up their 3 year old from nursery school. Buzzkill. (but he was really cute as hell and was insisting we take him to Burger King).

[malaise]

29. I'm glad everything was under control

Denny's are receiving great coverage - clever advertising in hard times.