And why is this simplicity so important? Two reasons. First, by keeping things simple, they limit the number of things that can go wrong, and they enable their cooks to concentrate on doing one thing perfectly. Second, their service is top notch. Because the per-store overhead is so low (limited menu, no playground, no national advertising, etc.) they can afford to pay their workers top dollar and still make a profit on every order. In-N-Out employees make a good wage for restaurant workers, and it shows: the kids at In-N-Out work harder because they're not treatd like crap, they are willing to be trained (who wants to be yelled at by some loser manager for what McDonald's pays?), and, because management pays them well and treats them with respect, they respond with respect and actually care about the quality of the food and service they provide.
I ate at the In-N-Out on the corner of Ventura and Van Nuys as often as I could for the five years I lived in Sherman Oaks and I never had a bad meal or received less-than-excellent service. The store was always humming, the kids behind the counter were consistently clean and on-the-ball, and the place was always spotless. If McDonald's wants to get their customers back, they should follow the In-N-Out model:
1. Slash menu. Sell only the Quarter-Pounder and Big Mac (with or without cheese), switch to fresh-cut, tallow-fried fries, and limit the drink selection to Cokes and ice-cream milkshakes. That's it. Nothing else. If I want a chicken sandwich, I'll go to Chick-Fil-A.
2. Get rid of franchises. Company-owned stores are much better run. Fire corporate bureaucrats; hire documented, English-speaking personnel of good character and train them thoroughly, then pay them a real wage ($12-$15/hour to start).
3. Dump idiotic uniforms; store personnel can work just fine in blue jeans, white t-shirts, white cloth aprons, and paper hats.
4. Hire intelligent older folks (authority figures) to manage stores, and pay them a wage appropriate for a managers ($35-50K/year) in return for results.
5. Get rid of playgrounds, toy giveaways, coffee and tea service, breakfast, salads, fake Tex-Mex, fake Chinese, fake ribs. Strip your business down to the bare minimum and then hone that minimum.
6. Hire enough people to keep register lines short, dining area spotless, bathrooms hospital-clean. Who cares if it cuts into your precious margin -- ou'll make it up in volume.
7. End tolerance of bad behavior in stores. Unruly kids, loiterers, ghetto gangs should all be evicted from premises.
8. Gut corporate structure. Have only bare minimum management needed to keep company going. If a store is in trouble, don't fire the employees -- fire the manager in charge of that store.
9. Slash advertising. Hire a Dave Thomas-like Guy Next Door for ad campaign, and limit same to advertising the food. Sample: "Hi, I'm B-chan, McDonald's hired me to tell you about our great burger. It's 100% all U.S. beef, grilled with melted cheese and served on a toasted sesame bun. You can add cheese if you like for a little extra. They come dry -- no toppings -- or wet -- with mustard, onions, lettuce, and pickles. We also have fresh-cut french fries, milkshakes made with real ice cream, and self-service soft drinks. Our stores are clean, our staff is friendly, and our food is inexpensive. Please drop by your neighborhood McDonald's and have a meal whenver you can. Thank you."
10. Dump clown. Jack in the Box has the clown thing sewn up. Concentrate on seling hamburgers, dammit.
Damn. Now I've got that In-N-Out Urge!
B-chan