Serious Eats
T.G.I. Friday’s Loyalty Program, 'Give Me More Stripes,' Lets You Cut the Line and Get Free Food
Ever go to T.G.I. Friday’s and say to yourself, "Hey, this line is really long! I wish there was a way to cut ahead of all these people!"? Now there's at least one way to get some V.I.P. treatment in the local strip mall without slipping the maître d' a twenty. Not sure how we missed this, but T.G.I. Friday’s launched their loyalty program, "Give Me More Stripes" on July 14, and the numbers are astounding: more than 380,000 members signed up, which evens out to more than 600 members per U.S. restaurant.
In a way, it's not surprising when given these perks: a free appetizer or dessert upon sign-up, a one-time use jump-the-line-pass, and an $8 certificate for every $100 spent (excluding alcohol). T.G.I. Friday's has got promotion right. Who needs to pretend-blow up fake restaurants? People just want free food and a shiny, personalized membership card.