3. The other dicey move by Joe’s Crab Shack
Our scoop on the test of a no-tipping policy by 18 units of Joe’s Crab Shack got widespread pickup by the mainstream media. All that noise might have obscured another risky move by the seafood chain, the addition of a chainwide all-you-can-eat crab deal. The offer will be the traffic driver for Wednesday nights, sandwiched between $2 Tuesdays ($2 cocktails and small plates) and half-priced cocktails on Thursdays. “Early returns indicated its going to be of very high interest for guests,” Ray Blanchette, CEO of parent company Ignite Restaurant Group said a day after the deal was rolled chainwide.
It’s not a surprise that the deal is popular. In 2003, an all-you-can-eat Endless Crab special was such a hit for Red Lobster that it cost the chain money. People were eating more crabs than the chain factored into its pricing and estimates of the traffic benefits. The considerable gains in visits were offset by the financial hit. The offer was widely viewed as a blunder that contributed greatly to the chain’s downturn.