Down toward the bottom of today’s Times story about deals at restaurants like Applebee’s, Ruby Tuesday, T.G.I. Friday’s, and Chili’s is a little nugget that every cheapskate should be aware of—namely, that some restaurant franchises hide the special offers from diners so that they’ll unknowingly pay full price.
Many franchise owners hate the deals their corporate parents force upon them—you know, the $5 sandwiches, two-for-one entrees, and the like. The franchises make little or no money on these items. And so what do the restaurants do? In some cases, they ignore company policies. One owner of a T.G.I. Friday’s says he and some of his peers routinely took away from their menus an insert that advertised $5 specials. A steak sandwich that would have cost $5 according to the special suddenly went back to its original price, just under $12.
The takeaway is: Diner beware.