Sometimes gimmicks have unforseen outcomes.
You heard about Denny’s free Grand Slam meal that ran from 6am-2pm, right? I figured it was nothing more than a gimmick to get customers to go there, like it, and hopefully come back. The costs would be partially defrayed by people ordering drinks or upgrading to more expensive meals. At the core, I still think that’s the case.
This afternoon the owner of the Peoria & Pekin Denny’s was a guest on the new Scott Robbins show on 1470am and I must say, I was impressed. Of course they talked and joked about how many meals were served (2,800 or so if I recall) and how many eggs had to be cracked, but the answers to questions about tipping and logistics I was not anticipating.
The owner, and I’m paraphrasing, said folks from “all walks of life” showed up and they had as many people tip as did not, and many of those who did not tip wrote appreciative messages on their bill thankful for the meal and apologizing for not being able to leave a tip because they had no job and no money. Think about that for a minute.
What really impressed me was when he mentioned how this came about. The owners of all of the franchises had to vote to opt in or out. The Peoria/Pekin owner, being completely sincere said (paraphrasing again of course) “I knew Peoria needed this.” Acknowledging the fact that it did cost a lot of money, he continued to express joy in what he and his crew had done for the community.
It may have been a scheme by corporate, but at least one owner was proud to have served meals to people in need and I applaud him for that.
