Chockstone Launches Meet & Greet Loyalty Functionality

First available to select restaurants within the Chockstone customer portfolio in 2007, the Meet & Greet service has provided participating restaurants with an average frequency increase of 27 percent from enrolled guests year over year. Seven of Chockstone's restaurant brands currently use its Meet & Greet service to connect with customers, and have noted a significant increase in visits and spending.

"The most effective loyalty programs are not just about handing out points, they're about personalizing the experience to create that 'wow' factor," said Jeff Lipp, CEO of Chockstone. "It's a pretty simple concept: invest in your customer and you'll earn their loyalty."

The information returned on a receipt slip can include the customer name, "member since" date, customer status rating based on historical frequency, a last visited on date, menu preferences, discount eligibility, and instructions to the restaurant staff on how to best personalize the eating experience for the guest. Chockstone is currently rolling out Meet & Greet to its merchant network and expects several other brands to sign onto the service as part of their overall loyalty initiatives. As consumer discretionary funds dwindle in light of recent economic shifts, restaurants are leveraging loyalty programs as an innovative way to retain the current customer base.

Earlier this year, Chockstone introduced SingleSwipe(TM) to the market, a unique technology that enables merchants to build loyalty programs around credit and debit cards that consumers already carry in their wallets, track their customers' preferences and purchase history, and immediately provide savings and promotional offers that are most relevant to each individual customer.