Feed It Forward™ FAQ

Feed It Forward™ Program Basics

• Q: What is the “Feed It Forward™” Program?
  A: The Restaurant.com Feed It Forward™ initiative will aim to pay (or in this case, feed) its restaurant gift certificates forward and allow people to treat friends, family, colleagues, community —and anyone deserving—to savings on a great meal.
• Q: What is Restaurant.com?
  A: Restaurant.com is the trusted and valued source connecting restaurants and diners nationwide. The site offers savings at more than 13,000 restaurants nationwide and to various online retailers with more than 20,000 gift certificate options. Restaurant.com includes some of the hottest names in dining. You can find participating restaurants using our search engine, and learn more about each restaurant by viewing their Web site featuring menus, wine lists, driving directions and more.
• Q: How does Feed It Forward™ work?
  A: Restaurant.com will empower people to give $10 Restaurant.com Gift Certificates through a dedicated “giving” Web site. Overall, Restaurant.com will share $30 million in combined gift certificate value through the length of this initiative, or until the total amount is shared.
  
  To send a gift, givers get to enter their name and email address, as well as a valid name and email address for each person they wish to give to—as many as thirty people every single day.
  
  People can share a brief story, a note of endearment or gratitude for why they are giving. The site will feature some of these messages of appreciation on the home page. In addition, a giver can send a personal message directly to the participant that will be delivered along with the electronic certificate. People who then receive a free $10 gift certificate will be given the opportunity to join in the giving effort and to Feed It Forward™ as well. Main program elements include:
  • $30 million for giving in total Restaurant.com gift certificate value
  • $10 value Restaurant.com Gift Certificates will be given away
  • Givers can “give” up to 30, $10 gift certificates per day or a total of $9,000
• Q: How long does the program last?
  A: People nationwide have equal opportunity to give the free gift certificates away while the quantity lasts. People can visit www.Restaurant.com/FeedItForward until December 25th at Midnight PST.

Feed It Forward™ Facebook Application

• Q: What is the “Feed It Forward™” Facebook application and how can I use it?
  A: The Feed It Forward™ Facebook application allows you to give quickly and easily through the popular social networking site. You can download the application by visiting the giving page at www.restaurant.com/feeditforward or by visiting Restaurant.com’s Facebook fan page.
  
  The application allows you to access your friend network and select those you wish to give to. Once you select your recipients, a message is sent to their Facebook account asking them to accept the Feed It Forward™ Application so they can receive their gift. Once the application is accepted, the free $10 Restaurant.com Gift Certificate will be delivered to the email address that is tied to the recipient’s Facebook account. Your recipient will then have the opportunity to download the Facebook application or go directly to the Feed It Forward™ giving site to participate in the giving. In addition to the message that is automatically sent to your gift recipients, your status will change noting the amount of certificates you gave and who received them.
• Q: Can I give to 30 people through www.restaurant.com/feeditforward and another 30 through the Facebook application?
  A: The program allows you to give up to a total 30 people per day, given through either the giving site or Facebook application. You can reach your daily 30 in any combination you like, so for example, you can give to 15 friends via Facebook and another 15 through the giving site, but you cannot exceed a total of 30. All your giving will be updated in whatever platform you are using, so if you access your giving total on the giving site, the certificates you have given through Facebook will be reflected in that total and vise versa.
• Q: If I give through the Facebook application, how do my recipients receive their gift certificates?
  A: Your recipient will receive a Facebook message alerting them that you have given them a gift certificate, but they can only access the gift certificate by accepting the Facebook application. Once they accept the application and create a login with Restaurant.com, the free $10 Restaurant.com Gift Certificate will be delivered to the email account associated with their Facebook profile. In the email, your recipient can click on a link to the gift certificate, which offers $10 “store credit” that can be used at Restaurant.com.
• Q: What happens to the Facebook application after December 25th?
  A: You will no longer be able to give through Facebook, but you’ll be able to redeem your certificates through the application post-December 25th. The link available through the application will take you directly to the gift certificate redemption site where you can redeem your gift certificate for free.

Participating Restaurants

• Q: Why is Restaurant.com featuring the $10 gift certificates in the “Feed It Forward™” program?
  A: The $10 denomination gift certificate allows us to give to the most consumers possible based on our $30 million giving goal.
• Q: Why are there just 6,500 restaurants participating in “Feed It Forward™” when Resturant.com touts more than 13,000 restaurants in the program network?
  A: Each restaurant participates in the gift certificate program that works best for their business based on their menu’s overall price point. Some of our partners find that a full range of gift certificate denominations are the best fit for their business, while other partners benefit from selected values. Since we are featuring those restaurants offering $10 gift certificates, this precludes those restaurants that do not offer the $10 denomination.

Gift Certificate Redemption and Use

• Q: How are Restaurant.com Gift Certificates delivered?
  A: After receiving a gift certificate via email, people are taken to a page with links to each gift certificate, which offer $10 “store credit” that can be used at Restaurant.com. (See “Feed It Forward™ Facebook Application” section for questions regarding delivery when giving through Facebook)
• Q: How can I redeem my gift certificate?
  A: You can redeem your $10 “store credit” in one of two ways. The first is to click on the link within the notification email you received, which will take you directly to the redemption site, or you can access the redemption site by going directly to the Feed It Forward™ homepage. Both options will require you to key in the redemption code specified in your notification email, which will then register a $10 credit in your Restaurant.com shopping cart. You then can search through a national database of participating restaurants by state, city, zip code and cuisine. Once you select a restaurant, just use your available gift credit and print out your gift certificate instantly. When you are ready to dine at the restaurant you selected, simply present the gift certificate to your server upon arrival at the restaurant who will honor the value.
• Q: How long are Restaurant.com Gift Certificates good for?
  A: There is no expiration date on the $10 “store credit” that you receive. Once the credit is redeemed, restaurant-specific gift certificates expire one (1) year from date of issue, except in California and where otherwise prohibited by law. For more information, please read the terms and conditions included with every restaurant-specific gift certificate.
• Q: Are there any restrictions for using Restaurant.com Gift Certificates?
  A: When redeeming the $10 “store credit” for restaurant gift certificates, people should read the restaurant specific restrictions carefully. The various restrictions placed on each gift certificate ensure that the restaurants enjoy participating in the program. These restrictions vary with each restaurant and range from a minimum purchase amount to specific days when the gift certificate is valid. Remember to fully read the restrictions prior to using the gift certificate.
• Q: What if I want to share my giving story directly with Restaurant.com? Is there a way I can reach out to the company specifically about “Feed it Forward?”
  A: Restaurant.com is inspired by the stories of those who participate in “Feed It Forward™” and welcomes all comments. You can reach out to the “Feed It Forward™” team at thanks@restaurant.com.