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Denny's hits Grand Slam, then trips over the bases

By James Bennett | Independent Tribune

Published: February 7, 2009

Denny's came up with a brilliant idea to reacquaint customers with its family-style restaurants by purchasing commercials on last week's Super Bowl.
The Spartanburg-based chain offered a free Grand Slam breakfast to everyone in America between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesday.
The third-quarter TV ad during the Arizona Cardinals-Pittsburgh Steelers game caught my attention and the fancy of millions of who love eggs, pancakes, bacon and sausage for breakfast. I lost interest in the score temporarily as I searched feverishly for local Denny's locations on the Internet.
"The Grand Slam has always been a Denny's favorite," CEO Nelson Marchioli said in launching the campaign. "This free offer is our way of re-acquainting America with Denny's real breakfast and with the Denny's brand. You don't know the real Denny's unless you've been in our restaurants lately, experiencing the quality of our new menu items and our service first-hand."
I admit to a favorable bias toward Denny's. The first free breakfast I ever had came at a brand-new Denny's in Scottsdale, Ariz., on my birthday in 1990. The best pancakes I've ever had came from a location outside Detroit when I was visiting my sick grandmother in 1996.
The president of Southern Illinois University and I had a late-night dinner at the location near Carbondale, Ill., campus one night when he wanted to discuss a controversial issue. I took three job candidates there for breakfast and remember loving the food and service.
During the last five years, though, I have noticed a change in Denny's menu and restaurant design. The company was hurt by lighter traffic and underwent a makeover to re-connect with customers. Some restaurants have been rebranded as Denny's Café because most of their restaurants were looking rundown.
To be honest, I no longer see Denny's as my first choice for breakfast. Wherever I am, I've started going to Bob Evans, Cracker Barrel, Waffle House, Shoney's or even McDonald's. There's an $80 billion market out there for breakfast, and Denny's needed to do something to put its 1,550 restaurants back on the radar for customers.
The Super Bowl buy and associated expenses, including food, cost Denny's $5 million. In a horrific economy, the decision to invite everyone in for breakfast was risky. It paid off in $50 million worth of coverage in the news media and millions of Google and Yahoo searches for keywords such as "free breakfast" and "Grand Slam breakfast."
In retrospect, the company considers the promotion a sensation. The attention put Denny's back into people's minds and hearts…unless they had the same experience as mine in trying to collect on the promise.
The CEO, advertising consultants and managers might have been ready for the flood of people. But the rank-and-file cooks, waiters and waitresses and other hourly store employees were not ready for two million to descend on their restaurants.
There was a two-hour wait when my son and I arrived at the Denny's just on Interstate 77 just north of the I-77/I-85 split. The jam-packed environment turned goodwill into "good grief, how long's the wait!" The manager started handing out rain checks, promising a free meal at any time before Feb. 13. I went back Thursday with my free coupon and saw first hand the toll the free giveaway had taken on the staff.
I sat at the lunch counter for 30 minutes before anyone offered a drink, or said hello. I was there for another 15 before anyone had time to take my order. I had to listen to the manager argue nonstop, back and forth, with the waiters, waitresses and cooks. They were mixing up orders.
"Hey, they wanted turkey sausage, not pork sausage!"
They did not have time to process checks and clean off tables.
"I should let everyone eat free, coupon or no coupon, if they have to wait this long!" my waiter said when he uttered a couple of syllables.
They did not have enough plastic utensils for customers who wanted to save the leftovers.
"I haven't had time to go to the store," the manager barked.
I was sitting there as one of the world's greatest Denny's fans and was disappointed. What started off as a good idea clear was spinning out of control.
"Can I go on a break now?" the waiter pleaded with his boss.
"Not now! I need you here!" he said.
I went back again Friday morning, to give the crew another chance. I gave up after being seated and came to work.
"Come back soon," a voice screamed toward the back of my head.
I'm not sure how I feel about the invitation.
With the economy being the worst of my lifetime, how can anyone complain about a free breakfast? All I invested was my time, energy and gas. From what I could tell, the customers tolerated delays, a shortage of syrup and messy tables.
I do like free stuff. Whenever local restaurants offer to give 20 percent of their sales to my kids' schools, I go and eat. Whenever those bulk-buying warehouses pass out free samples, I look forward to it. When McDonald's offers a chance to sample its menu on Fridays, I often take advantage of it.
Denny's service has been hit and miss lately. One week, it was a grand slam. The next week, it was a strike out. The staff size was larger than usual last week but just did not seem to be on board with the idea.
This promotion was fun, at least on the drawing board, and put the Grand Slam back in customers' consciousness. If you eat one, you'll never order breakfast from McDonald's drive-thru window again.
Of course, that depends on whether the waiter ever takes your order ... and if the cook puts the right food on your plate.