(KTLA) – Red Robin’s website crashed on Thursday during a “Bottomless Burger Pass” promotion, which offered fans the opportunity to buy a $20 pass that would entitle them to a burger and fries each day throughout the month of May.
“We did everything we could to anticipate interest in the Bottomless Burger Pass, including working with our web and gift card partners to prepare for the influx of traffic, but due to overwhelming excitement in the pass — 12 million visits in the matter of seconds — our website and supporting systems crashed,” a Red Robin spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement shared with Nexstar. “We’re sorry that this happened to our loyal guests. All passes have been sold.
Red Robin’s spokesperson did not say how many passes were sold, in total.
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Ahead of the promotion, which was launched in honor of National Burger Month in May, Red Robin had instructed customers to visit a specific webpage on Thursday morning, at which point a “limited quantity” of the passes would be available. But some fans complained the page wouldn’t load, or the pricing was wildly higher than $20. One also said he seemed to secure a pass, only to be told it was sold out at the checkout stage.
“So annoying when companies aren’t prepared to launch something like this,” one Reddit user wrote of their issues with the website.
“Did anyone actually get through[?]” another asked. “We got to enter our info but no way to compete the transaction.”
“Lost a customer here, Red Robin,” someone else wrote.
In addition to an apology, Red Robin’s spokesperson also noted that the company is still operating a “Red Robin Royalty Sweepstakes” in honor of National Burger Month, which plans to award 12 members of Red Robin’s loyalty program with free burgers for a year. Royalty Members who buy a burger and a drink while logged into their loyalty accounts will automatically be entered to win, according to Red Robin. Additional details can be found at Red Robin’s website.
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Red Robin’s customers who managed to buy a Bottomless Burger Pass, meanwhile, will receive their black-and-gold cards in the mail. The pass is redeemable for a burger and a bottomless side once per day from May 1 to May 31.
“With more than 20 gourmet burgers on our menu, Red Robin is the authority on a great burger experience,” G.J. Hart, president and CEO of Red Robin, was quoted as saying in a press release prior to Thursday’s sale.
