If you are living in the United States or the few select cities in Mexico or Canada you might have noticed this breakfast franchise chain, IHOP. They are catering for people who like to have a tasty and cheap breakfast without having to bother with it themselves.
There are almost 1400 restaurants connected to this chain and despite the secondary name, International House of Pancakes, the vast majority is in the US somewhere.
Fast food chains greatly differ in the areas to which they cater. Some offer the “traditional” fast foods like burgers or fries, some are more active in the breakfast business or pride themselves in providing healthy sandwich alternatives, such as Subway.
Due to the attribute all of these franchises have, namely they are not run by one central business entity, there are differences between them. It means that most aspects of the restaurant are controlled by the network but there are parts of the business that the franchisee decides about.
One of these is participation in promotions. Since franchise restaurants are copies of the original business they look exactly like it. It has enormous marketing power, a McDonald’s for example is going to sell more burgers than the small family run burger flipper the next block running the business under own name. While both restaurants are run by individuals the former will have greater brand recognition through promotion.
Most franchise networks cut a percentage of the gross income and use it for promotion. One of the ways of promoting the business is through media appearances, but the one most people prefer is the coupon solution.
IHoP restaurants tend to release their coupons, which can be redeemed for a free ice cream or a certain amount off the final bill. These coupons can be found in Sunday papers, the local mall through cold mails or on site. According to the company IHoP itself the preferred version is through the paper but you will be able to pick up coupons with your menu as well.
For those who don’t like to leave the house without at least some planning checking the net for printable IHoP coupons may sound like a reasonable idea. Websites cater for people looking for these coupons and collect them in an organized manner.
You can rate, flag or share coupons, but a word of advice for people who have never tried to print a coupon off the net. Always check the terms and conditions found on the site or the coupon itself. There may be minimal purchase needed, your local IHoP may not be participating but the most often occurring problem is the expired coupon.
Color printer is suggested because monochrome coupons may look strange but it’s not mandatory, however checking the terms is. Don’t forget to bring a coupon every time you eat out and you will most probably cut a few hundred dollars off the final food bill on the long run.
