Messing with a brand for 25 cents

Any parent dashing between children's practices, games, classes and recitals quickly develops a sense of the, er, "dining" options available along the way.

What begins with mere recognition of the various brand names grows over time to include mental notes regarding the speed of service, friendliness of the staff, accuracy of the order received, and cleanliness of the facility (for those rare times when the drive-through is not utilized).

As the food becomes more familiar - for better or worse - it actually becomes less important in the selection of where to go than do these so-called "hygiene items." In other words, while kids may have their preferences, the parental sponsors of the feed often make decisions based on one simple question: "What can I stand tonight?"

One of the options that routinely scores at an acceptable level on the hygiene items while also providing an oasis from the burger/sandwich/fry routine is Fazoli's.

Offering rapid delivery of modestly priced Italian fare, the chain which began in a single unit in Lexington, Kentucky in 1989 now operates 315 franchises in 31 states. The company routinely tests new items to keep its menu fresh, and to keep customers coming back.

What really made the company stand apart, however, was the simple act of providing all-you-can-eat breadsticks for dine-in guests who ordered a meal. Several times during your visit, an employee would walk around the place offering hot breadsticks from a basket.

Well, some wizard in the corporate office started playing with a calculator and came to the conclusion that a change was in order. Two breadsticks would come with each meal. If you wanted unlimited breadsticks, you paid a quarter and were given a sign to stick on your table that designated your special status.

The experiment lasted less than a year, as the company recently announced on its TV spots and in signs plastered around each restaurant, "Your free breadsticks are back."

What went wrong? Fazoli's failed to realize that the breadsticks (which are nothing special in a culinary sense) were a key element of its brand. When customers think of Fazoli's, their first thought isn't the Alfredo sauce; it's that you can stuff your face with breadsticks.

What does this lesson mean to the rest of us?

• Diminishing the customer experience is rarely a good idea. Airlines can get away with cutting back on service and frills, because they're a commodity where buying decisions are made mostly based on schedules. But Fazoli's has to separate itself from a pack of rapid dining options. The complimentary breadsticks were an edge that they chose to give away for a quarter per guest.
• Buying decisions aren't complicated. If Fazoli's actually thinks that most of its clientele consider a visit a rare eating treat, they're kidding themselves. Here's the typical thought process: It's close/on the way. It's fairly cheap. It's not a burger. It's usually fairly clean. And, there's breadsticks! (Hop in the car, kids.)
• Put your foot down. This was a penny-wise/pound-foolish decision that must have generated a revolt among franchisees who had to deal with unhappy customers. If the marketing department was left out of the process, shame on upper management. If they were in the room, their timidity was costly.

The message: "Little" decisions often have a big impact on a brand you've spent years building. Think (at least) twice.