Pancakes against the HST – I love it!
From De Dutch….
De Dutch customers have joined the restaurant’s public stand in full support and continue to denounce the proposed HST in response to a point-of sale campaign launched August 21in all eighteen De Dutch restaurants in BC featuring the restaurant’s position against the proposed HST.
The campaign which includes menu covers as well as printed postcards addressed to Premier Gordon Campbell and Finance Minister Colin Hansen generated a quick and loud response from customers as soon as the campaign started. Customers continue to fill out postcards during their dining experience as well as take copies home for friends and family to voice their opinion. Some are making trips to the restaurants specifically to obtain a supply of postcards. As a result, only one week after the launch, the 10,000 postcards which were initially printed were already running low and an additional 8,000 postcards were distributed to the restaurants at the beginning of September.
De Dutch President, Bill Waring says, “The instant and strong response from our customers clearly indicates our customers’ opposition to the proposed HST. I personally have received numerous e-mails and phone calls from customers to express their thanks for taking a public stand and expressing a vocal position against the implementation of this tax. I have also heard several stories about surrounding business owners coming to our various locations throughout the province to obtain the postcards for distribution and even that a customer drove from Creston to Prince George specifically to pick-up some postcards. We as a company will continue to offer to mail these postcards for our customers to Premier Gordon Campbell and Finance Minister Colin Hansen and monitor all feedback that we receive.”
Bill Waring expressed the following opinion at the launch of the point-of-sale campaign, “Based on industry findings, if the HST is implemented and the PST is applied to restaurant meals, you can simply expect to pay 7% more for every item on every menu at every foodservice outlet in the province. Come July 1st, 2010, we will all have 7% less to spend on restaurant meals because the government will be taking that money out of our pockets. This concerns me as a BC consumer, business owner and employer. Therefore, it is our main intent to stop the HST. If the Government however continues with its plan to implement the HST, we ask that the foodservice industry continue to be exempt from what would be the PST portion as other major food providers such as grocery stores will be.”
The thirty-four year old De Dutch franchise with 19 locations in Calgary, Alberta and BC’s Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Fraser Valley, Okanagan, and Cariboo has successfully carved a niche in the competitive food service industry. While offering dinner at its Strawberry Hill location, De Dutch Pannekoek House specializes in breakfast, brunch and lunch, offering their customers a unique blend of European ethnicity in its menu items. The Pannekoek, a 12″ in diameter Dutch-style pancake, is their signature dish and continues to draw loyal customers.
For more information and a listing of De Dutch locations, visit www.dedutch.com.
