In-n-Out Burger

[Jeepnokc]

You can't really compare the two. One's a gas station and the other is a fast food chain. There's a designated group of staff members at Buc-ees that can clean the restrooms and not worry about a drive-through lunch rush. Braums has to utilize the same few staff members to do everything, even during peak hours. Braums is generally clean when I go between lunch and dinner too. Not to mention that Buc-ees staff members get paid way more than Braums employees do.

This is exactly what I mean by an institutional problem. They don't value clean dining areas. Buc-ees places value on clean restrooms. Braums does not appear to place value on clean dining rooms. Braums should have an assigned person to the dining room during busy times instead of it being an afterthought for the drive thru people. May be different type of businesses but they are both customer service driven and providing a public space. I sell legal services but there is a person assigned in my office to walk the parking lot every day to clean it as that is important and I place value on presenting a clean first impression.

[Rover]

This is exactly what I mean by an institutional problem. They don't value clean dining areas. Buc-ees places value on clean restrooms. Braums does not appear to place value on clean dining rooms. Braums should have an assigned person to the dining room during busy times instead of it being an afterthought for the drive thru people. May be different type of businesses but they are both customer service driven and providing a public space. I sell legal services but there is a person assigned in my office to walk the parking lot every day to clean it as that is important and I place value on presenting a clean first impression.

I’m just thinking staffing a law firm and a restaurant may be two different challenges. I’m thinking the scale of a Bucees operations may pose different staffing challenges than a Braums. I’m not sure how i feel about someone cleaning the bathroom then rushing back to their station making my lunch.
The comparisons and judgement should be to like operations. Walking a parking lot and then going back and filing papers is way different than cleaning up people’s waste and sloppiness and then preparing food. Judgements are easy… analysis is not.

[Dob Hooligan]

This is exactly what I mean by an institutional problem. They don't value clean dining areas. Buc-ees places value on clean restrooms. Braums does not appear to place value on clean dining rooms. Braums should have an assigned person to the dining room during busy times instead of it being an afterthought for the drive thru people. May be different type of businesses but they are both customer service driven and providing a public space. I sell legal services but there is a person assigned in my office to walk the parking lot every day to clean it as that is important and I place value on presenting a clean first impression.

I guessing you do not, on a daily basis, employ a large number of low wage employees in a relatively transitory work force? Absenteeism is a real issue with no easy and cost effective solution. Of course Braum's wants to have clean tables. But when they have 8 employees working a shift, 2 don't show up, and our current job market doesn't allow for a pool of spot shift workers, then store management has to make decisions about service priorities. When most people are at the counter, or in the drive-in waiting on service, they don't want to hear that they have to wait so that employees can clean tables and sweep the floor.

[MagzOK]

I guessing you do not, on a daily basis, employ a large number of low wage employees in a relatively transitory work force? Absenteeism is a real issue with no easy and cost effective solution. Of course Braum's wants to have clean tables. But when they have 8 employees working a shift, 2 don't show up, and our current job market doesn't allow for a pool of spot shift workers, then store management has to make decisions about service priorities. When most people are at the counter, or in the drive-in waiting on service, they don't want to hear that they have to wait so that employees can clean tables and sweep the floor.

I think you're spot on. We very rarely eat in there we're usually getting it to go when we do go or getting a quick grocery item or two, so dirty tables do not really bother me. Our experiences in eating at tables are pretty much after football games late at night during football season we'll take the kids and go get a scoop of ice cream, sit and eat, and there's usually an employee in the eating area wiping off tables after everyone hits the place up for ice cream.

[Tyson]

I guessing you do not, on a daily basis, employ a large number of low wage employees in a relatively transitory work force? Absenteeism is a real issue with no easy and cost effective solution. Of course Braum's wants to have clean tables. But when they have 8 employees working a shift, 2 don't show up, and our current job market doesn't allow for a pool of spot shift workers, then store management has to make decisions about service priorities. When most people are at the counter, or in the drive-in waiting on service, they don't want to hear that they have to wait so that employees can clean tables and sweep the floor.

This is exactly what I’m getting at. One company isn’t refusing to value interior cleanliness. They have different capacities and one has gained a higher reputation for that reason.

[Tyson]

Anyway, back to In-n-Out…

[baralheia]

What-A-Burger lost me when they discontinued the Monterey Melt.......

This'll get you close enough to scratch the itch: Start with a Sweet & Spicy Bacon Burger, then ask for no Sweet & Spicy sauce, extra grilled onions, add grilled jalapenos, add jalapeno ranch. If you don't want bacon, then start with a double meat Whataburger instead, remove all veggies, add monterey jack, extra grilled onion, grilled jalapenos, and jalapeno ranch (it comes out 30 cents cheaper that way). The jalapeno ranch will come in a dipping cup and you'll have to put it on your burger yourself. Strongly recommend only ordering this amount of customization when they aren't overly busy, but it's 100% worth it imo. It tastes very close to what I remember.

I really do wish they'd bring it back on the permanent menu though.