A new In-N-Out burger recently opened near me to much fanfare. The store opening caused traffic jams all day. Radio stations touted the opening and the ensuing swell of excited customers.
While this is mildly exciting for our neck of the woods, I can’t help but wonder, what is the big deal? Don’t these guys just sell burgers? In fact, I often hear questions from friends and family ‘what is so great about them?’. I decided I would try and find what they are doing right. Talk about a crowded market space – McDonalds, Burger King, Carl’s Jr, A&W and various local competitors! They seem to be competing strong with much more established players.
Bias disclosure: I should mention any biases I may be subject to before I continue… 1. I like burgers, I probably eat one every 7-10 days. 2. I have been to In-N-Out in the past, one in San Diego, one in Las Vegas and one in St. George. All were ok experiences, not memorable. 3. I seem to have a general favorable impression about them, I am not entirely sure when or how that got generated.
So, I decided to trek down to the new In-N-Out in Draper, Utah. My intent was to pay attention to everything and see if I could pull out what makes In-N-Out highly successful.
The Scene
Upon arrival, on a Saturday evening, I was greeted with a line out the door. Parking nearby had been hard to find. The line moved fairly quickly. As you have no doubt heard, In-N-Out’s menu is quite lean. You have a choice of 3 combo meals. No kids meals. You can choose to have a shake instead of a drink. You may also customize the burger (vegetables and condiments).
The decor is cohesive – red and white and sparse. It reminds you of a 50’s diner. The employee uniforms reinforce the diner theme. All are dressed in red and white and have on exactly the same hats, shirts, pants and aprons. Besides the menu, and exits, there is a sole sign which reads “Quality you can taste”.
The Experience
Once the food was ordered, we were forced to stand to wait for our food. All seats were taken. I mean every single sittable area was occupied. We waited at least 10 minutes for our order. I rarely wait that long for ‘fast’ food. Then, it came time to find a seat. As you can imagine, with such demand for seating, it was cutthroat. We were vultures circling for vacancy. My wife ended up sitting next to a stranger to ‘claim’ the rest of their table once they were done.
The restaurant was quite clean. Incredibly clean considering the traffic flying through it. It appeared there were two employees whose sole job it was to clean. Tables were cleaned the moment people got up to leave.
The prices were great! The price for a cheeseburger combo in Utah was $4.82. I didn’t think it could be beat. However, I checked a local McDonalds, and their quarter pounder combo meal is $4.79, beat by 3 cents! When comparing In-N-Out’s combo to McDonalds, I felt like the former was a much healthier and fuller meal.
Finally we settled into our meal. The hamburger looked appealing but nothing special. Lots of thick vegetables with the meat. The fries came with salt on the side (nice touch). The Fries quantity was generous although my shake was rather small (12 oz). The burger was good, but nothing better than what I get at Carl’s Jr. Certainly better than McDonalds. The fries seemed slightly healthier and tastier than traditional fast food fare. When they were mostly consumed I noticed there weren’t oil stains on the bottom of the carton. Nice!
During the entire meal, I felt like I was being watched. The coyotes were howling for my table. It wasn’t comfortable. However, an employee came up and asked how our meal was, that helped ease our comfort. We ate quickly as we felt bad for the standers. I didn’t even finish all my fries (which is rare). We tossed our trash and left (although it looked like an employee there was perfectly willing to do it for us).
What In-N-Out is Doing Right
So, with that experience in mind, here is what In-N-Out is doing right:
- Quality food - whether perception or reality I felt like the burger was done just about as well as possible (for fast food). The quality stemmed from the lack of grease, fresh vegetables, great taste, nice packaging and a reinforcing yellow-bulbed sign. The food preparation was also nicely done. Lots of packaging on the burger so you don’t slop on yourself. Since Carl’s Jr. is the pinnacle of fast food burgers (in my mind), this would be just slightly below them 9.5 out of 10.
- Pricing - The prices were fantastic. I couldn’t get as much food for the same price anywhere in town (based on my current awareness). They are at or near the bottom of the pricing range for burgers.
- Customer service – Employees were helpful (they held the door open for us), cheerful, friendly and incredibly clean looking. They treated customers well and seemed to be getting good treatment themselves.
- Laser focus – In-N-Out focuses solely on hamburgers. That is all you can get there. This means the three above qualities can be honed around just burgers. They don’t cater to everyone and don’t seem to care. They emulate the old adage ‘do one thing and do it well’.
Final Thoughts
I am starting to see why In-N-Out is so popular. I enjoyed their food and prices. If I (and everyone else with me) want a burger, they are now on or near the top of the list. Strangely, while standing or eating, I overheard at least 3 people exclaim how much they love the food. I don’t hear that at other fast food restaurants.
To be fair, my experience there wasn’t fully awesome. Frankly, I don’t want the stress of finding a location to sit and being rushed so others can sit. When you find me at an In-N-Out it will be at the drive through, not the interior. Also, there must have been 25 or more employees working that evening. I would guess at least 1/3 of them didn’t have enough things to do – there was plenty of standing around staring at walls. Maybe that was just new-restaurant inefficiencies.
What does this mean for retailers? Well, you just follow In-N-Out’s pattern. Focus on doing one thing incredibly well. Make sure quality, pricing and customer service are all tuned to the one thing. Beat everyone else at that one thing.
Any thoughts? Tell me!
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