Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Or maybe it's just the taste of the mysterious "spread." For a New York-based carnivore, though, there's something thrilling about a trip to In-N-Out Burger.
(All photos are by the incomparable Willow Lawson.)
The Double-Double. An American classic.
I've grown fascinated, in recent months, by the popular California-based fast food chain. And while the unbeatable burgers certainly touched off my curiosity, it's In-N-Out's old fashioned values and radical corporate approach that have ultimately captured my attention.
Consider:
1) In-N-Out, as it's grown from a single restaurant to a chain with 140+ locations, has added not a single food option to its five-item menu.2) The chain's ingredients are never frozen on their way from the farm to the customer's plate; it steers clear of additives, fillers and preservatives; it has its own butchers, bakes its own buns, and uses real ice cream in its shakes.
3) Hamburgers, made-to-order, are priced at $1.50 each including all the fixings.
4) Pay packages for full time In-N-Out "associates" start at $8.25 an hour. Packages include paid vacations, a 401K plan and tuition reimbursements, as well as health and dental coverage.
It's almost as if in building the chain, the Snyder family--the folks behind the (still privately held) 56-year-old company--deliberately set out to turn every bit of conventional fast food wisdom on its head.
Prices are for In-N-Out's location on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood as of May 23, 2004.
And yet In-N-Out hasn't suspended the laws of economics. So what's the secret?
Part of the formula, certainly, has been the decision to stick stubbornly to the simple, old fashioned idea of doing a few things and doing them well: In-N-Out sells a handful of high-quality items, and then uses economies of scale to drive down prices.
And because In-N-Out's success is predicated on high volume--and because so much of the food preparation occurs on site--In-N-Out needs to seek out motivated, high quality employees and pay them accordingly.
This isn't charity. It's simply good business. But in an age of efficiency-wringing and stagnant wages for the unskilled, of Cheez Whiz and Hot Pockets, staying with this strategy took some serious corporate willpower.
And so if In-N-Out has become a model corporate citizen and a poster child for capitalism, it's gotten there by daring to be boring: Sticking with what it knows, ignoring trends and taking the long view.
My guess is that radical conservatism of this sort isn't what's being taught in business schools. But In-N-Out's success suggests that the ability to resist the lure of innovation and short term gains can be as important factors as any in building a successful, enduring business.
Eat, drink and be merry. But be quick about it.
The only dispiriting thing about In-N-Out's story, in fact, is how unusual it seems among companies its size.
So: What is it about America's business culture and economic climate that makes In-N-Out's corporate path such an anomaly? The answer is bound to be complicated. But it seems like a question worth exploring...
ANOTHER THOUGHT: It would be notable (and in some ways less impressive) if In-N-Out had achieved its market position by casting itself as the Green Mountain Coffee of hamburgers. But while the chain certainly isn't shy about its corporate values or its freshness standards, it isn't overly aggressive about trumpeting them either.
The people behind the company seem to understand that winning a large, mainstream clientele in a crowded marketplace depends first and foremost on building a better burger. And that, rather than Benetton-style social activism, is clearly where they're focusing.
