As part of its strategic priority to create a relevant new school customer experience, Chili’s announced it will launch a new loyalty program−My Chili’s Rewards−during the company’s fourth quarter.
Wyman Roberts, CEO and President of Brinker International (Chili’s parent company), discusses the new loyalty program during the company’s April 21 third-quarter earnings conference call.
“We are introducing our loyalty program called My Chili’s Rewards,” Roberts said, according to Seeking Alpha. “This program provides a fully digital experience where guests can use their mobile phone or website or our Ziosk to sign up for the program and track their points, and they can use the Ziosk to redeem their points when they dine with us. Our focus is to drive incremental business, so we leverage guest feedback to craft a program that delivers what matters most to them.”
Roberts said the guest can choose any food item on the menu within their point balance rather than a limited set of options. What’s more, customers can split their checks down to the item level and their points don’t expire as long as they dine at Chili’s at least once every four months.
“During the fourth quarter, we are driving one month in the loyalty program both in restaurant and by leveraging our extensive email database,” Roberts said. “And based on our results and test, we expect to see sales and traffic lift in subsequent quarters. Next, we are leveraging our partnership with Ziosk and with American Express to introduce a pay with point system for American Express customers. Chili’s is the first casual dining brand to offer this option where a guest can swipe their American Express card on our Ziosk device and pay for their meal with their AMX reward points.”
With both AMX and My Chili Rewards, Roberts explained, the guest is in full control of his or her transaction without the need for any server or manager to intervene.
“We are looking forward to realizing the sales building potential of both these programs,” Roberts said. “But we are not stopping there. Chili’s journey to new school technology has gone from our kitchen to the future to new point-of-sale and back-office systems to our table-top devices and now we are moving to the host stands with new technology called NoWait, which allows our host to provide more accurate wait times and to text guests when their tables are ready.”
Roberts said the journey to “new school is about improving the guest experience and their perception of the brand. It encompasses all aspects of our business, food, service, and atmosphere. It also includes leveraging technology as an additional way to drive relevance and differentiate within the brand. It’s really an exciting time at Chili’s from a technology perspective. We’ve laid the foundation to drive a personalized new school experience, unlike other casual dining companies, and we are reaching three significant milestones during the fourth quarter that will help us improve the guest experience and drive sales and traffic.”