If I really like it, I'll be back anyway. If it has lots of competition and isn't too special, I'll never darken their door again. If, like a couple in the Sacramento area, they come and go, I'll just be befuddled. :confused:

I do most of my rewards network dining while on the road. And I seek out those restaurants. When I return to a city, if that restaurant is no longer in the program, I find some other place to dine. (This is not 100% true. If it is an exceptional restaurant, I will return anyway).

Locally, if they drop out of the program and I like the place, I will continue to frequent it, but less often.

If a restaurant drops the iDine program:

1) If it drops without notice on the website, I *never* go back again. Yes, I punish them. I have had way too many of these experiences, and I hold a grudge, you betcha, for a LONG time. It's just plain bait and switch.

2) If it drops WITH notice on the website ("Benefits Alert!"), I may not patronize the restaurant as soon as the alert shows up--- I'm unsure whether I'm really going to get the miles. But if it's a decent restaurant, one that we like, I ALMOST ALWAYS TRY TO PATRONIZE IT ONCE OR TWICE BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYE. Then, if it's a really decent place, with good food, I never blackball them, but I find I seldom have occasion to visit again. Not saying I avoid them; I just usually find someplace else. But not a hard and fast rule. So, no, I don't punish them; they just changed the price/payoff ratio relative to other restaurants.

3) If the miles fail to post (forcing me to argue with iDine), or the restaurant drops in/out of the list on the website, or the place requires the "reservation" from the idine website, the place is VERBOTEN for at least 3 months. They SHALL be punished. I don't have time for games. This is also true of the various restaurants that DO participate for the AA program, but not for the UA or AS programs: puck 'em. I haven't got the time or discipline to play a high-involvement game of checking every single iDine website before I eat, every darned day. IDine, to me, has a lot of hubris to consider that these programs are so darned compelling that we are willing to play a puzzle game of benefits and bonuses AND musical restaurant participation. PUNISHMENT for the disappointments I've suffered is the ONLY WAY TO FIGHT BACK, if you choose to keep participating with the "GOOD" restaurants which are available on a set, fixed schedule, using your choice of programs, on terms that are convenient to you.

And this is the only way Rewards Network can survive---- make this program work for both the restaurants AND THE PARTICIPANTS. So I do my best to participate and make them successful, but I refuse to play if I end up having to guess. There's just *too many really, really great restaurants* in my town which don't participate: I'm not going to let iDine's less-than-gourmet rep choose which of the establishments I eat at. Unless they REALLY, REALLY make it worth my while.

So far, so good (we all thought the changes last year would tube the program, but the recurring boni have really made me keep participating....).
Best wishes, iDine, from someone who got about 150 dines last year.

In general MOST idine restaurants are NOT good enough to get miles in. Luckily there are some that I used to go to anyway and one days miles started appearing. Some of these are now leaving the network or limiting earnings and I'll still go back.

Like Thai Tanic in DC. If they ever left I would still go back. Its that good.

But 99% of them will never see me again if they leave.

I ran into the situation where one of the restaurants I eat at dropped the program for ... three weeks ... and came back. Unfortunately, I had four dines during those three weeks. Upon calling idine, they told me no luck, but did offer a sympathy 300 miles, none of which have shown up yet.

I had a related problem where the joint dropped Alaska only, AS dining then had a swell promo I missed out on because of that, the place dropped RN altogether, and now they're back AS and all!

Wow. Pity miles. I had dated some women who wouldn't even give me that :D

I had the impression that restaurants are "in the program" by virtue of financing thru RN ~ and are "out" when the loan's paid off (or perhaps defaults?).
Anybody want to correct my thinking?

As for "punishment": do you think they'd even notice your absence?

/.

That was my understanding too, but I can't recall where I picked this bit up.

If it is good, I go back. :)
If not, then no I don't go to the restaurant

Idine is a LENDING company for restaurants!
 

Do you understand, that restaurants don't join Idine to give points out?
They borrow money from Idine to make improvments, and Idine uses their Rewards network, and collects a percentage of the income to repay the loan. Once the loan is bad back, the place is finished with Idine! I sure there is interest calculated, that the restuarant has to pay also. Some places try to collect cash to beat Idine out of their percentage. Idine used to want to know, who those were.
That is it in a nutshell, and might have changed some from a couple of years ago.

:( :rolleyes: :D

Any way, that is why restaurants come and go. They are not trying to beat you out of your miles anymore then they want the chef to beat them out of their pay back.

Excatly! It has changed from a couple years ago (or perhaps our insight into it has changed).

:( :rolleyes:

Some (many?) restaurants get a loan. But there are several setups a restaurant can have with iDine, and at least one of them is not the loan repayment type.

Do you understand? We have had tons of threads about this, including input from different restaurant owners at times, in this forum over time. If you only read up on what's posted here about how iDine operates once every couple years, please don't act as if you have all the knowledge.

There are definitely some restaurants which get it just to drum up business.

What's it all about?
 

Sorry, IDINE lead me to believe it was a Lending company. Perhaps that was more true before Rewards Network came into the picture.

:(

The only placed that I really boycott is the one who tries to trick me and not post my miles. If I have a receipt which clearly states their restaurant name and matched iDINE and they DO NOT post my miles, I never ever go back!

I fully understand where you're coming from on this, but it is possible that the problem was of a behind-the-scenes banking nature, rather than a deliberate attempt on their part to circumvent the system. If it were an otherwise pleasant experience, I'd give them a second chance. That having been said ... my tab for a first-time visit at a new-to-iDine local joint came to $20.77 - I added a tip of $4.03 for a multiple of $.20 for a even number of AA miles.

It posted as $24.77, so I lost an airline mile! :eek:

I am leery of going back again, no matter how delicious their lamb-burger with polenta fries may have been. :(