Olive Garden can boast all it wants about breadsticks and unlimited soup and salad, but at the end of the day, a chain that big requires more than just word of mouth to drum up business. That’s where the Eclub newsletter comes in. But how can Olive Garden encourage people to sign up for it in the first place?
To better entice people to register for their newsletter, Olive Garden has not only made it completely free but also offers a reward to those who do. Should someone sign up for the Eclub, they can be eligible for a free appetizer or dessertthe next time they visit their local Olive Garden — provided they are a first-time member, of course. If that wasn’t enough for you, Olive Garden will also give you a free dessert on your birthday if you’re subscribed to the newsletter. The rewards you get seem to be worth it, as one Arizona customer on TripAdvisor noted that they enjoyed lunch for a “greatly reduced cost” thanks to being an Eclub member.
Oddly enough, Olive Garden actually did have something along the lines of an “exclusive pass” before. You may remember that, a few years back, Olive Garden experimented with something known as the “Lifetime Never Ending Pasta Pass,” a subscription that offered customers — you guessed it — a metaphorical “lifetime” of never-ending pasta dishes.
