302869 Sat Jan 21 17:29:57 -0800 2006 2 29 Not About Food 0 1698745 When a chain, say Quiznos for instance, gives a 2 for 1 coupon, who eats the cost, the franchisee or the parent company? Sat Jan 21 17:29:57 -0800 2006 0 malibumike 1 1698748 Depends on whether the coupon was distributed by the franchisee or the parent company. If it's the franchisee who distributed the coupon (you can usually tell simply because they're not as glossy or fancy), the franchisee eats the cost. If it's the parent company who distributed the coupon (national ad campaigns in newspapers, websites, etc.) the coupon will always say "at participating restaurants only", which means that the franchisee who chooses to participate eats part of the cost, and the parent company eats part of the cost. Sat Jan 21 18:55:59 -0800 2006 1698745 0 Das Ubergeek 2 1698756 from my business experience in franchising, i think it's very, very rare for the franchisor to pay for all or part of the coupon offer. typically, the ads are paid for by the marketing funds that the stores are required to pay to the franchisor and then the cost of the free item is born by the franchisee as well. Sun Jan 22 13:58:31 -0800 2006 1698748 0 kennycandy