Bryce just sent me this really interesting promotion from Qdoba:
Basically, Qdoba just cut their revenue in half for Tuesday nights. Do they win or lose?
I’d say win. People love to gamble, so if they increase capacity on an otherwise slow night to even close to double a normal Tuesday night, they’re doing fine. They make just about the same amount as they’d normally make, they create a ton of buzz, and they bring in customers who haven’t tried Qdoba (or haven’t tried it in a while).
What do you think?
Awesome. Jamey’s post hit the web at approximately 11:37 PM on August 31, and I was able to make it to Richmond by 1:18 PM on 9/1. (A little more advance notice would be nice next time, by the way.) My route was West End, Willow Lawn, White Oak Village, then CTC. I decided to play for keeps, so each order was at least $20 to validate the 12-hour drive. Let’s just say the Greater Richmond Qdobas will rue the day they decided to gamble with their livelihood. Get ready for rounds 2-5.
The remarkable thing about this is that Trevor lives in St. Louis. That’s a 14 hour drive for a chance at a free burrito. Worth it!
There’s a bar in Milwaukee that does the same thing on Monday nights (with their food) and has for years, so it must be working. I know people that go there on Monday’s specifically for that deal. Mondays and Tuesdays are not big nights for restaurants (or bars)—I was just at a sushi place last night that has half price sushi on Mondays and Tuesdays. It’s the same cost to the restaurant, but the coin flip is a little more fun 🙂
I think it comes down to the thrill of “winning.” You don’t feel like you’ve won if you’ve paid half-price for something. It may feel better on your wallet, but it’s not winning.