Cousins Subs Ups Customer Convenience, Insight into Purchasing Behavior with Chockstone Gift Card Program.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Chockstone Inc., provider of the world's most innovative stored value, customer loyalty and payment processing solutions, announced today that sandwich chain Cousins Subs will implement Chockstone's gift card and stored value technology in all of its 160 locations.

Cousins Subs, founded in the Milwaukee, Wis., area in 1972, will use Chockstone's solution to replace its previous paper-based gift program, offering increased convenience for its customers. Chockstone's solution will also allow the sub sandwich shops to tailor and deliver instantaneous promotional offers to individual customers based on insight into their buying habits and preferences.

"Offering an electronic gift card program has moved from being a differentiator to something customers demand," said Larry Weissman, vice president of marketing for Cousins Subs. "That said, delivering truly personalized service goes beyond simply putting a piece of plastic in our customers' pockets. There are any number of vendors out there who can do that; what Chockstone offered was an intimate understanding of our business and a technology that helps us better understand our customers. That is the differentiator that will keep our guests coming back."

In addition to in-store gift card functionality, Cousins Subs plans to leverage Chockstone's client-branded Web site offering, which allows the chain's customers to visit its Web site to register their card, check and transfer balances, and protect their card against loss. The Web offering also provides an option for Cousins Subs to offer targeted promotions directly to web registrants who sign up to receive special offers.

"Our goal is to make it easy for our clients and their franchisees to get up and running with a card program, while still offering sophisticated features that provide the most value for their business and for their customers," said Dave Baldwin, vice president of client management for Chockstone. "Cousin's Subs is a strong, growing brand. We are pleased to partner with them by delivering the most robust gift-card solution in the industry."

About Chockstone

Chockstone provides the most flexible and innovative stored value solutions available to merchants today. Designed to increase customer loyalty and drive profitability, Chockstone's programs are used by leading brands in the retail, restaurant, and convenience store markets. Headquartered in Portland, Ore., Chockstone, Inc., is a privately held corporation. To learn more about Chockstone's products and services, visit www.chockstone.com.

About Cousins Subs

Cousins Subs is based in Milwaukee, Wis., and is a national sub sandwich chain with stores throughout the Midwest and on the West Coast. The tradition of Cousins Subs started in 1972, when two transplanted cousins from Atlantic City saw the need for an East coast-style sub shop in their new hometown. They patterned their subs after the hoagie, grinder, hero and sub sandwiches they enjoyed back East. And with a dedication to delivering quality subs at fair prices, they opened their first restaurant. From the start, the two used bread baked fresh every morning and insisted on using only the finest, freshest ingredients.