The value of a national chain is consistency. You can get the same crap in Alaska as in NYC. Quality doesn't matter at all as long as it's consistent. This is how Denny's works, and to the largest extreme, Waffle House.
I've been to a lot of local places that sucked for breakfast though. There's something about breakfast that is difficult to make well since it's so generic and also needs that nostalgic homey charm. IHOP does it well by providing lots of variety in 1 meal, but it's not like any individual part of it is good. Making it at home is really the only way to go to.