Denny's to impose 5% Obamacare surcharge

Page 11 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

stormkroe

Golden Member
May 28, 2011
1,550
97
91
Lol, where are you getting these numbers. First you cite a random article about McDonalds and now this. Second, it doesn't take a restaurant owner to know if you actually add up the numbers yourself, with basic knowledge of how a restaurant is ran, you'd know those numbers would not add up correctly. Third, I do not know where you're getting this 175k NET weekend from because I never said that. For one thing, you cannot really calculate precisely the NET profit of a single weekend, it doesn't work like that. Why? Because when you look at yearly or quarterly numbers, they tally up variables like who got hired, who got fired, sick days, worker's comp, etc. Stuff that usually the span of a weekend is not enough to influence the over precision of the end numbers.

Do yourself a favor and read this article, because you have brought zero to the discussion, and thanks for posting because it's good to know you're just another dense one.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/30/dineequity-results-idUSL3E8LU3ZI20121030

Are you sure you're reading the same posts as everyone else? First, I cited restaurants.org, not some random article about McDonald's.
Second, hurr durr numbers 'n shit, you can guess with maths skillz! Or you can read the actual research.
Third, I got that quote FROM YOU, Chief.
I see the problem of why you're getting zero from the discussion, it looks like you're not reading it.
 

sactoking

Diamond Member
Sep 24, 2007
7,639
2,909
136
Do yourself a favor and read this article, because you have brought zero to the discussion, and thanks for posting because it's good to know you're just another dense one.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/30/dineequity-results-idUSL3E8LU3ZI20121030

Or, you know, you could use some critical thinking skills. For example, you can pull up Denny's 2007-2011 Income statements here:
http://ir.dennys.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=113027&p=irol-fundIncomeA

Then, you could easily Google articles on Denny's and find one like this one:
http://www.franchiseherald.com/arti...nny-s-open-two-stores-sacramento-earnings.htm which indicates that Denny's has 1600 locations.

Then you could use those two resources to determine that at ~$112,000,000 income after taxes on 1600 stores, Denny's nets ~$70,000 per store annually.

Then, someone like me could come in and say that the "discussion" is still pointless because if you actually read the Franchise Herald article you'd see that the 1600 store were mostly franchises. Franchise profitability doesn't affect parent company profitability dollar-for-dollar. In fact, Denny's profits likely come mostly from franchise fees and other non operational (in the traditional restaurant sense) sources.

Then, I would also point out that not only does the Reuters article you linked fall into the same franchise trap (Applebee's and IHOP have a lot of franchises, which means their financial statements are driven by franchise fees and not store profitability) but it also reports the financials for DineEquity, the parent holding company of Applebee's and IHOP. If you spend any amount of time researching, well, anything business related you should quickly come to the realization that holding company financials often are no reflection of the companies within. Consolidated investments, intra-company transfers, allocated deferred tax assets, and all sorts of other derivative accounting tricks are used to obfuscate the actual financial picture.

In other words, nobody is likely to find a legitimate source that lays out per-store profitability numbers for the world to see.
 

sigurros81

Platinum Member
Nov 30, 2010
2,371
0
0
Or, you know, you could use some critical thinking skills. For example, you can pull up Denny's 2007-2011 Income statements here:
http://ir.dennys.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=113027&p=irol-fundIncomeA

Then, you could easily Google articles on Denny's and find one like this one:
http://www.franchiseherald.com/arti...nny-s-open-two-stores-sacramento-earnings.htm which indicates that Denny's has 1600 locations.

Then you could use those two resources to determine that at ~$112,000,000 income after taxes on 1600 stores, Denny's nets ~$70,000 per store annually.

Then, someone like me could come in and say that the "discussion" is still pointless because if you actually read the Franchise Herald article you'd see that the 1600 store were mostly franchises. Franchise profitability doesn't affect parent company profitability dollar-for-dollar. In fact, Denny's profits likely come mostly from franchise fees and other non operational (in the traditional restaurant sense) sources.

Then, I would also point out that not only does the Reuters article you linked fall into the same franchise trap (Applebee's and IHOP have a lot of franchises, which means their financial statements are driven by franchise fees and not store profitability) but it also reports the financials for DineEquity, the parent holding company of Applebee's and IHOP. If you spend any amount of time researching, well, anything business related you should quickly come to the realization that holding company financials often are no reflection of the companies within. Consolidated investments, intra-company transfers, allocated deferred tax assets, and all sorts of other derivative accounting tricks are used to obfuscate the actual financial picture.

In other words, nobody is likely to find a legitimate source that lays out per-store profitability numbers for the world to see.

Again some random bloke jumping into the end of a discussion and acting like he has something smart to add. For one thing, this started with me addressing some random number some idiotic poster made up, and what I referenced had nothing to do with the numbers of Denny's, and if you paid attention, the discussion shifted towards talking about restaurant profitability in general, not Denny's. :rolleyes:
 

sigurros81

Platinum Member
Nov 30, 2010
2,371
0
0
Are you sure you're reading the same posts as everyone else? First, I cited restaurants.org, not some random article about McDonald's.
Second, hurr durr numbers 'n shit, you can guess with maths skillz! Or you can read the actual research.
Third, I got that quote FROM YOU, Chief.
I see the problem of why you're getting zero from the discussion, it looks like you're not reading it.

Where are you getting this? A restaurant, especially a popular chained one like BWW or Hooters net this much in a month. A restaurant can make a gross profit of about 200k in a weekend, especially if it's something big like The Superbowl.
Just like a jackass trying to defend greed, you pull shit out of context just to justify your lack of understanding of how it work, let alone actually paying any attention to what people are talking about in this discussion. I did not say anywhere a restaurant make 175k in profit in a month. LOL.

I hate to have to repeat myself, but if it aids in your understanding just so you can stop talking, I will. I say GROSS profit in a special event weekend like the Superbowl. When you talk about weekend profits, you refer to Friday evenings, Saturday, and Sunday. That's the weekend for a restaurant to hit it big (200k gross profit). Most normal days, a restaurant, whether it's franchise or not, does not generally make this much, that's why I mentioned Superbowl.

Now if you are referring to the post by some other dude talking about how a restaurant does not NET 175k in a year, I am pointing out how BS the number is because it is not accurate, because he pull up this highly inaccurate number just to say that a restaurant cannot afford 175k in health insurance per year for their employees. Here's a hint, 175k in health insurance does not come out of the 175k in net profit of the franchise, because that would defeat the definition of net profit. That's retarded. Understood?

And yes, you bring nothing to the table when you reference an article talking about McDonald's yearly numbers, when we're talking about casual dining restaurants. You might as well link Barnes and Nobles' yearly revenue, it would have been just about as useful.

And in case you still have not gotten it, the point of the discussion is that the ACA really does not affect the bottomline of the overall numbers as much as the alarmists are making it out to be. It's only the CEOs and shareholders who are panicking because instead of making 5 million this year, they're only making maybe 4. You good? Brain hurting?

One more thing, zeroing in on a number I posted and then going Dick Tracy on google just to find some random articles to discredit what I say does not make you seem smart, especially when the article doesn't do anything. I mentioned BWW and hooters to illustrate a point because we have done marketing for similar restaurants. Casual dining concepts like these go all out for special event weekends like the Super Bowl, so it's pretty easy to gross 200k over the superbowl weekend. Again, the point is that a franchise can easily afford ACA for their minimum wage workers. It's a billion dollar industry and they can't afford to give the very people who are the very foundation of their success some health benefits? Talk about greed at its most obvious, and these guys have the audacity to go on TV to say they're flipping the cost to the consumer. Eat a dick man if you support this shit.
 
Last edited:

OverVolt

Lifer
Aug 31, 2002
14,278
89
91
Its a shame companies go crazy-crazy due to all the pressure these days. The publicity (versus just raising prices) will do them no good, they are just trying to spread woe.
 

mikegg

Golden Member
Jan 30, 2010
1,975
577
136
I didn't read the thread but why is this a problem?

If Denny's could actually charge 5% more, then they would have done so anyways. It's all supply and demand here. Nothing to see.
 

michal1980

Diamond Member
Mar 7, 2003
8,019
43
91
Just like a jackass trying to defend greed, you pull shit out of context just to justify your lack of understanding of how it work, let alone actually paying any attention to what people are talking about in this discussion. I did not say anywhere a restaurant make 175k in profit in a month. LOL.

I hate to have to repeat myself, but if it aids in your understanding just so you can stop talking, I will. I say GROSS profit in a special event weekend like the Superbowl. When you talk about weekend profits, you refer to Friday evenings, Saturday, and Sunday. That's the weekend for a restaurant to hit it big (200k gross profit). Most normal days, a restaurant, whether it's franchise or not, does not generally make this much, that's why I mentioned Superbowl.

Now if you are referring to the post by some other dude talking about how a restaurant does not NET 175k in a year, I am pointing out how BS the number is because it is not accurate, because he pull up this highly inaccurate number just to say that a restaurant cannot afford 175k in health insurance per year for their employees. Here's a hint, 175k in health insurance does not come out of the 175k in net profit of the franchise, because that would defeat the definition of net profit. That's retarded. Understood?

And yes, you bring nothing to the table when you reference an article talking about McDonald's yearly numbers, when we're talking about casual dining restaurants. You might as well link Barnes and Nobles' yearly revenue, it would have been just about as useful.

And in case you still have not gotten it, the point of the discussion is that the ACA really does not affect the bottomline of the overall numbers as much as the alarmists are making it out to be. It's only the CEOs and shareholders who are panicking because instead of making 5 million this year, they're only making maybe 4. You good? Brain hurting?

One more thing, zeroing in on a number I posted and then going Dick Tracy on google just to find some random articles to discredit what I say does not make you seem smart, especially when the article doesn't do anything. I mentioned BWW and hooters to illustrate a point because we have done marketing for similar restaurants. Casual dining concepts like these go all out for special event weekends like the Super Bowl, so it's pretty easy to gross 200k over the superbowl weekend. Again, the point is that a franchise can easily afford ACA for their minimum wage workers. It's a billion dollar industry and they can't afford to give the very people who are the very foundation of their success some health benefits? Talk about greed at its most obvious, and these guys have the audacity to go on TV to say they're flipping the cost to the consumer. Eat a dick man if you support this shit.

Your too stupid to see how wrong you are over again over again.
 

Ausm

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
25,213
14
81
spidey and nehalem both lying off their ass in the same thread, what a treat!

They never fail to impress but I think the most disturbing part is they actually believe this shit which makes them perfect Republicon sheepal.
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
167
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
It's affordable, remember that.

The irksome things seem to be that people are annoyed that true costs associated with mandates is being explicitly stated and that businesses aren't being good little soldiers and taking a bullet for team dem. Sorry, but this was a cluster from day one and I think credit should be given for good or ill, and obvious unintended consequences of political solutions for real healthcare problems should be in the limelight. There were better ways, but those were shouted down.
1. It's not going to change a thing.
2. Let's say I was completely in favor of it, knew it would cause prices to go up, and even expected the prices to go up 20%. Having it tossed in my face that prices only went up only 5% wouldn't be 'good news' to me - it would be obnoxious behavior by the restaurant.
3. There are tons of mandates - I don't see sub shops charging a 10 cent surcharge per order because employees have to wear a pair of gloves while making my food, I don't see a surcharge because now sub shops need more containers for sliced meats - they can't be stacked more than 2" high (or something retarded like that.) Etc. - there are tons of trivial little mandates you never hear about, but add more and more to costs - I don't see, nor do I want to see people whining about this while I'm eating.
4. Of course Denny's is "affordable - it's the McD's of breakfast food. You certainly don't get more than you pay for.
 

1prophet

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
5,313
534
126
Oh god, we have that crap going up all over our place too.. ugh
I'm all for adopting Japanese ideals in the workplace though.. We will start working on Kaizen in Engineering when they start practicing Seppuku in Management ;)

Kaizen requires everyone from the CEO to the line workers participation in order to work, since American CEO's rarely sacrifice for the good of the company and even get golden parachutes when they get replaced for not performing it won't work.
 

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
Its a shame companies go crazy-crazy due to all the pressure these days. The publicity (versus just raising prices) will do them no good, they are just trying to spread woe.

This. If they simply raised the prices, I'll continue to do business with them as normal. If they politicize it, I'll drop them. It's as simple as that.
 

EagleKeeper

Discussion Club Moderator<br>Elite Member
Staff member
Oct 30, 2000
42,589
5
0
<snip>
4. Of course Denny's is "affordable - it's the McD's of breakfast food. You certainly don't get more than you pay for.


There is the all you can eat pancake stack :biggrin:
 

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
I can't wait for Liberal cities to tell them to GTFO!

If the city is liberal enough, they will vote with their money and the company will close down and leave. No need to tell them anything, especially forcing them out (which would be ridiculous).
 

michal1980

Diamond Member
Mar 7, 2003
8,019
43
91
This. If they simply raised the prices, I'll continue to do business with them as normal. If they politicize it, I'll drop them. It's as simple as that.

you fall right into the tax increases hands - willful ignorance of how much in 'taxes' you really pay.
 

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
you fall right into the tax increases hands - willful ignorance of how much in 'taxes' you really pay.

It's my decision so I could care less what you think. If my boss comes to me and politicizes it and changes things, I'll leave here, just as my dollars have now left those businesses. Again, simple as that.
 
Last edited:

Londo_Jowo

Lifer
Jan 31, 2010
17,303
158
106
londojowo.hypermart.net
If the city is liberal enough, they will vote with their money and the company will close down and leave. No need to tell them anything, especially forcing them out (which would be ridiculous).

Wonder who the real losers will be if the companies are forced to close down.......the workers who will lose their jobs.
 

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
Wonder who the real losers will be if the companies are forced to close down.......the workers who will lose their jobs.

That's the same with any business and their decisions and how it effect customers. Nothing new here.
 

EagleKeeper

Discussion Club Moderator<br>Elite Member
Staff member
Oct 30, 2000
42,589
5
0
Wonder who the real losers will be if the companies are forced to close down.......the workers who will lose their jobs.
We had a similar thread on this w/ respect to Red Lobster.

company cut back worker hours
 

PokerGuy

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
13,650
201
101
I can't wait for Liberal cities to tell them to GTFO!

Yep, great idea, that takes out even more jobs from those liberal cities that are pretty much all running massively in the red already financially. Liberal logic for ya ;)
 

EagleKeeper

Discussion Club Moderator<br>Elite Member
Staff member
Oct 30, 2000
42,589
5
0
Yep, great idea, that takes out even more jobs from those liberal cities that are pretty much all running massively in the red already financially. Liberal logic for ya ;)

Liberals can not comprehend the color Red; Must destroy - ingrained into their personality
 

techs

Lifer
Sep 26, 2000
28,559
4
0
I claim SHENS. Turns out the Papa Johns claims of how much Obamacare would cost per pizza were wildly exaggerated.

I claim that is the case at DENNY'S. NO freaking way it costs them FIVE PERCENT more to implement Obamacare.

Basically, SHOW US THE MATH, DENNYS!!!
 

Ausm

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
25,213
14
81
The rage. It's so amusing.

Indeed!

Cry-Baby-GOP.gif
 

stormkroe

Golden Member
May 28, 2011
1,550
97
91
Quote:
Originally Posted by waterjug
Honestly, he's paying more for his employees healthcare now as a result of Obamacare. Where do you think that money is going to come from? He makes a point in the article that the average restaurant will have $175,000 in additional costs now on account of this, and that most of their restaurants don't net that much in profit per year. So it's a choice between A) shuttering their locations and EVERYONE losing their jobs or B) Cutting hours & raising prices.

sigurros81 said:
Where are you getting this? A restaurant, especially a popular chained one like BWW or Hooters net this much in a month. A restaurant can make a gross profit of about 200k in a weekend, especially if it's something big like The Superbowl.


Just like a jackass trying to defend greed, you pull shit out of context just to justify your lack of understanding of how it work, let alone actually paying any attention to what people are talking about in this discussion. I did not say anywhere a restaurant make 175k in profit in a month. LOL.

My bad when I said 'weekend' one time when you actually said 'month'.
 
Last edited: