Sonic Corporation

[kelroy55]

I wonder if this was his choice or not.

Sonic Corp. President Scott McLain will step down as president | NewsOK.com

[ljbab728]

I wonder if this was his choice or not.

Sonic Corp. President Scott McLain will step down as president | NewsOK.com

Why?

[kelroy55]

Because he's still a fairly young man.

[ljbab728]

Well that's certainly a great reason to think he might have been pushed out. LOL
I've seen more than one report about this with nothing hinting at it being anything but voluntary.

[SoonerDave]

Because he's still a fairly young man.

No idea. But while we've kinda backed off fast food in general the last couple of years, I will say we'd backed off Sonic a lot even before then. We just got frustrated with cold, stale, undercooked food, greasy, limp, undercooked fries, slow service, and....shall I continue? Worse still is that they just don't act like they give a you-know-what.

We still go there every once in a great while, as I will partake of an occasional grilled chicken sandwich, but more often than not, it becomes an exercise in frustration. Mind you, I understand that's as much a franchise problem as a "corporate" problem, but if this kind of (non) QC has more than one franchise playing fast and loose with their own standards, eventually it reflects very badly on the corporate side. Sonic has tried to improve its menu, but until they get better, more consistent food and better service, I'm not sure how bright Sonic's future is.

[ljbab728]

I don't think this topic really has anything to do with Sonic's quality of food or service but I still go there just as often as ever and it seems exactly the same as it has been for years. I see no reason to question Sonic's future.

[SoonerDave]

I don't think this topic really has anything to do with Sonic's quality of food or service but I still go there just as often as ever and it seems exactly the same as it has been for years. I see no reason to question Sonic's future.

Hmmm..perhaps I'm just weird, but to me the quality of food at a restaurant chain might be quite germane to the departure of that restaurant's CEO. For us, the decline in Sonic has been precipitous and unmistakable across many of their outlets. They made a strident effort to improve things about three years ago, I think, but those efforts IMHO have faded. I'm glad your experience has been different.

[ljbab728]

Yes it has and I see absolutely no connection.

[SoonerDave]

Yes it has and I see absolutely no connection.

You don't see how the quality of food and service at a company that exists solely to serve food might be related to the departure of that company's leadership? You see absolutely no connection? C'mon, dude, you can't be that naive. I'm not saying it is in this case, but to state categorically there's absolutely no connection's a bit out there.

Oh, well, who knows. Maybe they caught him eating at Burger King.

[ljbab728]

No, I see no connection and I also see no problem with the quality of food or service. I was talking about Sonic specifically and you may have been making a general observation about food service companies in general. I'm hardly naive about anything. You are connecting dots that are a little too far apart.

[RadicalModerate]

He should have listened to my suggestion from at least 10 or 15 years ago that Sonic should reincarnate the Cheese Frenchees and the Tuna Frenchees that used to be served by King's Fine Foods Drive-Ins back in the day. (or . . . could it be . . . the "new opportunities" mentioned will be a different chain of drive-ins that specialized in them??? =)

Or maybe the shareholders decided that he hadn't acted fast enough to correct the singular blemish to the Sonic name represented by the location at 122nd and Penn . . .

[SoonerDave]

No, I see no connection and I also see no problem with the quality of food or service. I was talking about Sonic specifically and you may have been making a general observation about food service companies in general. I'm hardly naive about anything. You are connecting dots that are a little too far apart.

No, this is a thread about Sonic, so as to end any confusion, I'm making a very specific observation about the abject deterioration of Sonic in general, across multiple restaurants at multiple locations. And I'm brazen enough to infer I"m not the only one making such an observation, as I've seen several local stores offer "Under new ownership" banners, at least indicating issues with one (or more?) franchise owners. Maybe that does indicate some level of response on the part of the corporate entity in response to reports of poor performance, deteriorating food, deteriorating service, and indifferent management over a period of years.

All that aside, your strident defense makes it fairly clear I've it some personal nerve of yours, and perhaps you know the departed executive and/or someone who owns a franchise, so I apologize if I've caused offense. It's just burgers.

[RadicalModerate]

That was a great post. Still, I wonder . . . Has Sonic REALLY deteriorated that much over the years? (honest question, no snark implied or intended).
Personally, I think their offerings are as good or better than they ever were, but I should mention that I only eat at Sonic maybe once every two months (and I tip the carhop). Besides that, their commercials are some of the best on TV. =)

Please be advised that my observations regarding a non-slide in the quality of Sonic overall does not apply to the location at 122nd and Penn. It was bad when it opened and has only gone downhill from there. (of course, to be fair, I never go to that one but rather the one on Britton Rd or the one on N. May so my opinion in this context may not be completely accurate--as compared to my normal opinion =)

"It's Just Burgers" . . .
(classic: should be a motto to live by. or a bumpersticker.
perhaps, in order to create a taste of ConFusion Cuisine, even a Zen Mantra! =)

[s00nr1]

I'm in agreement with SoonerDave that many of the older Sonic locations have put out food recently that is nowhere near the quality of years past. It really is a crapshoot depending on the location you visit whether or not you're going to get a decent product.

[RadicalModerate]

I'm in agreement with SoonerDave that many of the older Sonic locations have put out food recently that is nowhere near the quality of years past. It really is a crapshoot depending on the location you visit whether or not you're going to get a decent product.

Hopefully, in terms of basic food prep hygene and protocols, the term crapshoot will remain only metaphorical (or analogilogical or similiarian or whatever) specifically as applied to Sonic. Say! I wonder if there would be a way to work this idea into one of their humorous commercials! The guys could drive by a Taco Bell . . . a McDonalds . . . a Burger King . . . a Long John Silvers/A&W . . . a Popeye's Chicken . . . a KFC . . . and pull into a Sonic. Then one of them could say something like: "Fast Food that isn't Sonic is a Crapshoot . . ." (Igor! Gather a focus group immediately!)

[SoonerDave]

That was a great post. Still, I wonder . . . Has Sonic REALLY deteriorated that much over the years? (honest question, no snark implied or intended).
Personally, I think their offerings are as good or better than they ever were, but I should mention that I only eat at Sonic maybe once every two months (and I tip the carhop). Besides that, their commercials are some of the best on TV. =)

Please be advised that my observations regarding a non-slide in the quality of Sonic overall does not apply to the location at 122nd and Penn. It was bad when it opened and has only gone downhill from there. (of course, to be fair, I never go to that one but rather the one on Britton Rd or the one on N. May so my opinion in this context may not be completely accurate--as compared to my normal opinion =)

"It's Just Burgers" . . .
(classic: should be a motto to live by. or a bumpersticker.
perhaps, in order to create a taste of ConFusion Cuisine, even a Zen Mantra! =)

LOL thanks Rad

I really do believe Sonic has deteriorated in all honesty. Now, its easy to develop that one opinion over a single data point, and I fully understand one data point does not a conclusion make. But with kids/teenagers that like drinks (esp in the summer) and activities often necessitate quick if less-than-ideal meals, we happen to frequent several Sonics around our area, and we see the problems fairly consistently.

Simple example: The fries and tater tots used to be great, but now are seemingly always undercooked. Okay, one store at one time, in a rush, they pull the things out of the fire too soon. That happens. But from store to store to store, we observe the same level of "undercookedness." To me, that's a pattern.

A few years ago, Sonic started using these "puffy" buns that dwarfed the meat, were never toasted, and were sometimes refrigerator cold -- again, at multiple Sonics. A supplier changed, I presume, that affected several places, and the bun was so "poofy" all you could taste in the burger was the bread. All that, coupled with wrong orders, slow service (which I won't go into detail about here) we just decided to go somewhere else. It wasn't more than a few months after that they started a campaign about their "improved food, bigger and better burgers.." As much as I'd LOVE to think that was JUST because of me , I know that a campaign like that had to emerge from their own feedback/research that told them they had a quality problem. And it did, in fact, improve. For a while. But that appears to have been temporary.

Now, as I said, my dietary wisdom has increased greatly over the last 18 months, and I haven't had a decent burger in that span (58 pounds ago!) so my recent experience with Sonic has decreased. But we do go there for things like (some) drinks and grilled chicken sandwiches...but we still finding the same inconsistency, wrong orders, cold food, hit-and-miss, slow service that was their bane before, so I just do what most consumers would do, vote with my feet and my dollars....just go somewhere else if I can.

[ljbab728]

No, this is a thread about Sonic, so as to end any confusion, I'm making a very specific observation about the abject deterioration of Sonic in general, across multiple restaurants at multiple locations. And I'm brazen enough to infer I"m not the only one making such an observation, as I've seen several local stores offer "Under new ownership" banners, at least indicating issues with one (or more?) franchise owners. Maybe that does indicate some level of response on the part of the corporate entity in response to reports of poor performance, deteriorating food, deteriorating service, and indifferent management over a period of years.

All that aside, your strident defense makes it fairly clear I've it some personal nerve of yours, and perhaps you know the departed executive and/or someone who owns a franchise, so I apologize if I've caused offense. It's just burgers.

You've not hit a nerve at all and my only connection with Sonic is as a regular customer since the early 60's. I'm just commenting as I see things and obviously I see it differently than you do and disagree with your theory without better evidence.

[ThomPaine]

I hate to pile-on, but I've been a loyal Sonic customer for the last 30 years, and I have absolutely stopped buying food there. I still buy drinks, but I've had my last burger, rings, or fries there. Their hot dog options were pretty good there for awhile, but the last four or five times (four different locations in the metro), their food has been awful. In all honestly, their rings have gone down hill to the point of being inedible.

i'm still in on their great selection of drinks, with their Sonic cups filled with Sonic ice, but no more food for me as there are plenty of better options.

[ljbab728]

A question I would have, because I really don't know, is does anyone know how Sonic's bottom line has changed since the departing president has been there? I would think that would be much more important to them if they were considering making a change at the top than individuals complaining about food or service.

[RadicalModerate]

Here is a sample of one facet of the diamond of "bottom line" corporate priorties . . .

Lesson Two is to make sure that the contents of the bag are fit to eat.
(i, personally, have no complaints . . . except regarding the location at 122nd and Penn. And the fact there are neither Cheese or Tuna Frenchees on the ever-changing menu board)

[Pete]

Interesting strategy by Sonic.

Believe it or not, there are still only a handful of Sonics in Southern California and the ones that are open seem to do a huge business. They are all franchises out here but the closest one to me is over an hour a way.

*************

SONIC Drive-In Expands Franchise Development in Small Town, USA

As SONIC (NASDAQ: SONC) continues franchise development across the country, the company has its sights set on a particular market segment that’s showing major demand: small towns throughout the Central United States. In recent months, SONIC has opened drive-ins in Shattuck, Okla., and Valliant, Okla., and signed 13 franchise development commitments in other small towns, including: Iowa, La.; Cherokee, Okla.; Medford, Okla.; Verdigris, Okla.; Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Boyd, Texas; Cotulla, Texas; DeQuincy, La.; Dilley, Texas; Nixon, Texas; Shallowater, Texas; Stockdale, Texas; and Three Rivers, Texas.

“New SONIC Drive-In development continues to be an important priority for the company, and our strategy is creating strong momentum,” said Cliff Hudson, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Sonic Corp. “In addition to bringing SONIC to new major markets, we’ve identified an opportunity to bring SONIC to small towns, particularly in our core markets in the heart of the country. The redesign of our prototype building offers a number of benefits, including reduced building costs and land requirements, making it easier for these local owner-operators to open a drive-in and see a greater return on their investment. In addition, our increase in funding for national advertising creates increased consumer demand and positions our franchisees for successful new drive-in openings.”

“Many of these small town economies are thriving due to local energy plays, and civic leaders, residents and workers are craving new restaurant options. We’ve met a number of entrepreneurs who know their local communities, see the opportunity and recognize that SONIC is the perfect franchise to seize it,” said Bob Franke, senior vice president of franchise sales and international development for Sonic Corp. “We’re in a unique position to meet their needs, and we’re flexible in working with our franchise partners. For example, we’ve worked with them to reduce the building footprint, reduce the number of drive-in stalls and add a drive-thru, without sacrificing sales capacity and the SONIC experience our customers expect and love.”

SONIC is currently discussing opportunities with prospective owner-operators in small towns across the country, and many franchise opportunities are still available. Individuals interested in pursuing a SONIC Franchise are encouraged to visit sonicdrivein.com/franchise for more information.

[Rover]

I used to drive by the Sonic in Ontario, CA and it was always PACKED. Frankly, there were more cars waiting there than the nearest In-N-Out. Never understood why they don't expand in Cal.

[Plutonic Panda]

I don't want to derail this thread, but I ate at an In-N-Out and it sucked.

[dmoor82]

I remember seeing Sonic food and a cup on Entourage,and another tv show I can't remember! I bet getting a Sonic in an area that doesn't have one would kind of be like us getting an In N Out burger!

[Pete]

Yeah, for those guys on Entourage to make a Sonic run, they would have to drive over an hour to go to Palmdale or Anaheim. The few that are around here are in out-lying areas.

I looked into the franchise rights for L.A. but they had already been committed. Wish whoever bought them would get going!


I miss their drinks.