It’s been alleged Denny’s and Waffle House are really twins separated at birth. There are so many similarities in their business models and menus… Can it really be coincidental? Now Denny’s may be copying WH’s egg cost surcharge…
Denny’s Classic Steak & Eggs: Is there a better way to compensate for rising egg costs
than the Waffle House across-the-board $0.50 per egg surcharge?
Denny’s has often been called ‘the other Waffle House’. It’s true – neither chain really infringes too much on the other’s traditional stomping grounds… And Waffle House seems to have the most faithful following as well as the more iconic menu.
Perfect for the model?
Now, Denny’s is following Waffle House imposing a surcharge on all menu items that include eggs. And it seems there’s no coincidence, there.
Look at the menus, the decors and the target markets of both, and you can’t help but notice striking similarities. That shouldn’t come as a big surprise. Both owe their legacies and legends to the classic diner tradition, as well as the love of folks in their home places for a hearty breakfast. It’s almost as they’re working fem the exact same business model…
Particularly, when you examine the way they serve their eggs – as units more than ingredients in their dishes – the more it make sense that they should both compensate for he skyrocketing price of eggs in similar ways – adding a surcharge. But it appears that Denny’s isn’t going to take the same sweet-and-simple route as Waffle House.
A Great Divide?
Maybe, maybe not. We still don’t know how the term ‘surcharge’ will apply to the extra levy Denny’s is planning for it’s egg-inclusive menu items. But the chain has this far taken care to avoid confirming it will simply add a ‘blanket’ $0.50 per egg to each to each menu item that includes one or more eggs, the way Waffle House did.
Denny’s has thus far only released a statement saying: “Our pricing decisions are being made market-by-market, and restaurant-by-restaurant due to the regional impacts of the egg shortage. We under-stand our guests’ desire for value, and we will continue to look for ways to provide options on our menu, including our $2 $4 $6 $8 value menu, while navigating these rapidly changing [egg] market dynamics responsibly.”
Varying market ‘dynamics’
Denny’s restaurants are distributed farther and more widely across the US than Waffle Houses. Those ‘regional impacts’ are bound to have more varied effects on how Denny’s handles the surcharge chal-lenge.
For a start, it’s been suggested Denny’s has been listening to the groundswell. And is aware that there are Waffle House fans who argue that $0.50 per egg – across the board – is too much. So it makes sense that Denny’s would be seeking a way to apply its egg-cost surcharge more equitably and fairly across all the different geographic markets it serves.
My take
Industry observers say other restaurants that serve a lot of egg dishes will probably follow the exam-ple being set by Waffle House and Denny’s, imposing customer surcharges. But they’re probably waiting to see how consumers react to different surcharge models the competition may float.
Sometimes, as my dear, departed birth Dad used to say, “You just gotta do what you gotta do!” But if you have options to minimize damage to your image and reputation, along the way, you sure as Hell want to know what the best one is…
~ Maggie J.