A Rebate With Your Burger?

With the dreaded summer driving season in full swing, a hit from the gas pump isn’t quite what most optimistic vacationers had in mind. Quick-minded penny pinchers have already begun opting into new ways to save a few bucks in planning for the family vacation.

While eating out is likely one of the first family budget items to get nixed, one local establishment has devised a way to meet gas-crunched drivers halfway.

Fatburger, the popular California-based burger chain with six Valley locations, has instituted what its owner, Mark Walberg, calls the “Gas Rebate Program.”

The program, while simple, is proving to be a great win-win promotion for the establishment and its many loyal burger-eating clients. Customers bring in their most recent gas receipt and receive a 15-cent discount for each gallon of gas purchased.

“Any customer that brings in their gas station receipt will get a 15 cent-per-gallon rebate they can use to buy food at Fatburger,” Walberg says.

Like any consumer, Walberg says he understands how demanding this time of the year can be on the wallet.

“What we were hearing from our customers was this: They’ve only got so much cash in their pockets for lunches, gas and those types of expenses per week,” Walberg says. “When gas prices start creeping up near three bucks a gallon, people in turn start to trade down, get smaller burgers, or they come in less often.”

The popular rebate program does have its rules. In order to qualify, the total purchase price must be at least ten dollars. The program, which began in June, is scheduled to run through Labor Day. The program is just one way Fatburger is touching new customers across the Valley. According to Walberg, there are ten new stores planned throughout the state in the next few years.

Fatburger was started in 1952 and over the past 55 years has become a bit of an iconic name among burger joints. Famous personalities like Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tyra Banks have all cited Fatburger as a guilty pleasure.

Customers seem to have taken to Walberg’s promotion, enjoying the rebates and recognizing its marketing ingenuity. “This rebate program seems like a great way to get customers in the door,” says Michael Clark, in town from the East Coast to check out potential Phoenix real estate for relocation. “This seems like a town that requires a lot of driving and commuting – a great way to save for the penny pinchers out there,” he said.

The Fatburger promotion runs through Labor Day. For a list of Valley locations, visit their Web site at www.fatburger.com.