Chain Leader

The lawyers aren’t too keen on the word “eternal”. There is concern that the customer might believe they forfeit their right to eat more only upon death, not when they first leave the restaurant. No need to get into an estate battle over a bowl of pasta.

“Never-ending” sounds like a life sentence of eating. “Non-stop” sounds like a lot of work just for ordering a plate of something. Same with “continuous”. There might be some future for “unlimited” and “limitless”. They don’t seem to carry the same baggage that the other words do. I am certain that with the stakes so high for keeping and attracting customers these days that there are teams of marketing people at work this very moment on the issue. I will leave it in more capable hands.

In the arsenal of any marketing professional there exists a range of weapons that begin with harmless (print ad with no offer), and end with neutron bomb (“everyone eats at 1982 prices for the month”). The neutron bomb classification refers to programs that are so overwhelmingly popular with customers that they kill the staff and the profitability, and only the building and equipment remain standing. An offer for bottomless plates or bowls of anything from a casual dining concept rates somewhere between powerful and potent.

Most Mongolian BBQ concepts have tapped into this value proposition by allowing the customer to return to refill their bowl unlimited times. Buffet concepts like Hometown Buffet and Golden Corral have always made this part of their reason for being. Soup and salad concepts usually encourage their customers to return to get more if they like. These business models are built on decades of experience of how not to lose unlimited amounts of money on unlimited portions. For most casual dining restaurants this is uncharted territory.

It is no doubt a reflection of how tough times are that the number of chains making these kinds of offers is growing. The duration of the offers is also being extended. This trend did not miss the eagle eye of the Wall Street Journal Online who reported on it this week. They cite it as another example of the struggles in casual dining of delivering value to a cash-starved customer.

“Darden Restaurants Inc. has recently brought back both its "Endless Shrimp" promotion at Red Lobster for about $15.99 and its long-running "Never Ending Pasta Bowl" at Olive Garden for $8.95, the latter of which will be extended two weeks longer than last year. Applebee's recently wrapped up an "Endless Favorites" deal, offering unlimited chicken fingers, barbecue riblets and panko-crusted fried shrimp, starting at $9.99, the first time it has run such a promotion in at least two years.
                     
Brinker International Inc. is continuing to carry a "Bottomless Express Lunch," introduced earlier this year, at its Chili's Grill & Bar restaurants, offering as many refills of soup, salad and tostada chips as their patrons want for $5.99 in most markets.

Despite the potential for ravenous diners to eat the kitchen out of house and home, all-you-can-eat promotions have become a favored traffic driver to coupons and combos, according to Brinker Vice President of Strategic Planning Guy Constant. Since they are billed as limited-time offers, diners won't expect all the food they can eat on every visit.

Restaurants also anticipate that diners drawn in by the unlimited deals buy sides and drinks and that they also bring more diners with them that buy traditional meals, all of which boosts average check sizes.”

So there you have it. The arms race marches on. The duration and depth of the downturn facing casual dining has brought more competitors to the table offering bottomless, endless, unlimited, never-ending amounts of food. How do you top bottomless? Free. It’s just a matter of time.