The Homa Files

Punchline: Law-enforcement officials say “alcohol, loud noise, thick crowds and the high emotions of children’s birthday parties make Chuck E. Cheese restaurants more prone to disputes than other family entertainment venues.”

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Excerpted from BrandChannel: Someone Please Save Chuck E. Cheese’s, March 10, 2010

Generally, a strong, popular brand can weather a bad mention in the press. Even a second bit of bad press should be no big deal. However, three, four, or five are cause for alarm. And family dining and entertainment establishment Chuck E. Cheese’s should be alarmed.

The Chuck E. Cheese’s brand name has been turning up in the news with rather disturbing frequency, and each report evokes more of images “jail time” rather than “fun time.” Here is a list of some of the reports from the last few months:

• “One day, three police incidents at Susquehanna Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurant”
• “Brawl At Memphis Chuck E. Cheese”
• “Two Crooks Target Mom At Chuck E. Cheese’s”
• “Fight breaks out at St. Louis Chuck E. Cheese’s”
• “Chuck E. Cheese Riot In Tennessee Leaves Several People Facing Charges”
• “Customers brawl at Toledo Chuck E Cheese”
• “Brawl breaks out at Chuck E Cheese in Flint Township”
• “Three Arrested After Greenville Chuck E. Cheese Fight”
• “Testimony Begins in Chuck E. Cheese Slaying”

“Fights among guests are an issue for all restaurants, but security experts say they pose a particular problem for Chuck E. Cheese’s… Law-enforcement officials say alcohol, loud noise, thick crowds and the high emotions of children’s birthday parties make the restaurants more prone to disputes than other family entertainment venues.” 

Chuck E. seems to be dragging his feet to address the situation.

So far, the only action the brand has taken is to post “rules” in his 530-plus locations:

• No gang-style apparel.
• No gang-type conduct or behavior.
• No weapons, knives, chains, screwdrivers, glass cutters.

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Ken’s Take: Gee, woulda thought those rules would have been enough to remedy the situation.  What kind of gang member disrespects a “No” sign ? 

Full article:
http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2010/03/10/Someone-Please-Save-Chuck-E-Cheeses.aspx

This entry was posted on March 12, 2010 at 6:51 am and is filed under Mktg - Brands, Mktg - Buzz - Word of Mouth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.