Braum's

[Jay]

Pajama-wearing customer finds drive-through changed
By Tricia Pemberton

The Oklahoman/newsok.com

Edmond resident Anne McKay had a recent brush with embarrassment.
Running out to Braum's on an early wintry morning, she knew she could grab a gallon of milk before breakfast and no one needed to know she was wearing only pajamas.
The problem was, Braum's quit selling gallons of milk or other grocery items through its drive-through window in November. McKay then was faced with showing off her nightwear or skipping breakfast.
"I apologized for them having to see me in my pajamas, and now I know not to go out to Braum's like that anymore," McKay said.
Terry Holden, marketing director for Braum's, said most customers, as McKay, have been understanding. But he's sure there are a few that have decided to take their business elsewhere.
"I'm sure it posed an inconvenience, but a lot of folks realize we're still pretty convenient and have some pretty good products. Sometimes we find we have to change whether we want to or not," he said.
Holden said the decision was made once most of the chain's 281 stores had switched to a fuller grocery store concept.
In May 2003, Braum's rolled out its Fresh Market, introducing about 60 varieties of fruits and vegetables as well as fresh cuts of beef, pork and chicken.
The chain also sells fresh-baked items and dry goods in addition to its traditional dairy and ice cream products.
"The question immediately intimates that this is a really horrible thing, and we don't mean it to be that way. We've just added so many grocery items, it just becomes impossible to sell things through the drive-through window," Holden said.
"We really would like to be all things to all customers, but we had to make a difficult decision."
Oklahoma City financial expert Bob Rader, senior vice president of Capital West Securities, said he doesn't think the decision will hurt business for Braum's.
"The store is structured with different cash registers for groceries versus fast food, anyway. Besides, picking produce and meats is hands on. You'd almost need a designated shopper just to service the drive-through window if you were going to have them select those items," Rader said.
That's why grocery stores have had such a problem with grocery delivery services and developing online shopping programs.
"People want to eye their cantaloupes," he said.
Braum's has 120 stores in Oklahoma and 161 additional stores throughout Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas. The first Braum's opened in Oklahoma City in 1968. Holden said the first drive-through opened in 1988.

[Midtowner]

Never knew you could even get groceries at their drive through.

I do like their milk better than supermarket milk though. Their other products seem to be of pretty good quality as well.

[Patrick]

Hmmm....I don't understand why the lady didn't just go home and change!
Anyways, I guess I'm just not that daring.

I'm usually a very organized person, so I'd probably just go inside and get it during the day.

Like Midtowner, I never knew you could get groceries at the drive thru! For the sake of efficiency, I think Braums is making a good call.

[GrandMaMa]

And do you know what else? I was so impressed when I discovered that they grow their own...EVERYTHING, seriously! If you will look at the beef, for example, there are no "gobs" of fat on the edges, instead, there is beautiful marbling throughout the meat...a very good sign of proper feeding and preparing the meat. We have begun buying more and more food there, and are very happy with it. The rib eyes are so large that we can devide them in half and my husband and I still have more than we can eat at one time.

[metalhead]

And do you know what else? I was so impressed when I discovered that they grow their own...EVERYTHING, seriously! If you will look at the beef, for example, there are no "gobs" of fat on the edges, instead, there is beautiful marbling throughout the meat...a very good sign of proper feeding and preparing the meat. We have begun buying more and more food there, and are very happy with it. The rib eyes are so large that we can devide them in half and my husband and I still have more than we can eat at one time.

Their ground beef is the same case-ready prepackaged stuff you can buy at wal-mart, though. Same packaging, everything.

[GrandMaMa]

the same packaging doesn't mean that the same product is inside does it? And no, I'm not just guessing and assuming about what I shared with others, I have a very good friend who is a manager at one of the stores, so I didn't just imagine what I was sharing. I don't know why you think that just because it's the same packaging that it is the same product it isn't.

Their ground beef is the same case-ready prepackaged stuff you can buy at wal-mart, though. Same packaging, everything.

[SoonerDave]

I promise you that Braum's meat source is NOT the same as WalPuke.

A good portion, if not all, of Braum's meat products are provided by Schwab's right here in OKC.

-soonerdave

[MadMonk]

I've purchased a gallon of milk from the drive through on occasion. It was a nice convenience. I'm sorry to see it go away. I know that they sell more stuff now and I wouldn't ask them to grocery shop for me, but how hard would it be to just keep a little fridge near the drive through to sell milk? It's not like I'm asking them to go pick out a good package of hamburger or chicken.

[metro]

I agree MadMonk, I don't think it would be too hard to sell milk ONLY out of the drive through. The one pet peeve that I have is that when I do go inside the "Fresh Market" I have to wait 5 minutes for someone to come over from scooping icecream or frying french fries to check out my purchase.

[Martin]

that's my biggest gripe with braum's... they have consistently slow service. -M

[SoonerDave]

As much as I like Braum's, I *hate* this decision. It's so anti-customer, and anti-service.

An increasing number of businesses continue to treat customers like an inconvenience, and it's getting worse.

Of course, there are those here who would probably hail it as a hallmark of retail progress, and that I should kiss the ring of the benevolent retailer who deigns to take my money and give me a wet rag in return....

-soonerdew

[metalhead]

I promise you that Braum's meat source is NOT the same as WalPuke.

A good portion, if not all, of Braum's meat products are provided by Schwab's right here in OKC.

-soonerdave

In that case, maybe I'll have to start buying more meat there. I just find it odd that they would use identical packaging and labeling as the crap they sell at wally-world.

[metalhead]

that's my biggest gripe with braum's... they have consistently slow service. -M

Not the fault of the employees. I worked there in college, and every burger had to be made fresh. Extra waiting time means fresher food.

[MadMonk]

As much as I like Braum's, I *hate* this decision. It's so anti-customer, and anti-service.

Exactly. The fact that I could get a gallon of milk along with some burgers for the family on the way home was something that differentiated Braum's from the myrad other burger joints in the area. It's a bad move on their part, IMO.

In that case, maybe I'll have to start buying more meat there. I just find it odd that they would use identical packaging and labeling as the crap they sell at wally-world.

They probably just purchase their packaging supplies from the same place.

[bandnerd]

Um, didn't this happen in 2005, though? Looking at the OP...

I love Braum's. I love their burgers. Their yogurt is probably the best I've had. I regularly go there in the summer for dairy staples because I have more time to do my grocery shopping.

I never knew you could even get the milk through the drive through. I always figured it was just for fast food purchases.

[GrandMaMa]

Did you know that they actually have a herd of milk cows located in Tuttle that supplies the local stores? They do the same all over the country, that's why their milk tastes so good, it is much, much fresher.

[SoonerDave]

They do the same all over the country, that's why their milk tastes so good, it is much, much fresher.

Actually, Braum's is not national. Their operating rules dictate that they have to be able to deliver fresh milk within a certain driving radius of their Tuttle plant (which is open for public tours, by the way, which is a lot of fun). That necessarily restricts them to core region in the central/southern Midwest, eg Oklahoma, North Texas, perhaps into southern Kansas (?), and they (per the last tour I took) have no desire to open any other/broader regional farms/dairies.

One of the great stories they'll tell you is that they had one of their milk transport trucks designed *specifically* and *only* for transport within the confines of the Tuttle dairy. It's too big to run on regular roads; they use it exclusively to ship the fresh milk to the processing plant. Depending on their schedule, if you time it just right, it's possible to get milk from a Braum's store that was produced less than 24 hours previously.

During the tour, the tour guides tell you how the original Mr. Braum was an absolute obsessive about running an efficient and clean operation, and after touring their plant, I think the family has done a great job of upholding that tradition. The place is impeccable, and it's evident the processes are refined to the nth degree. You leave the tour just itching to go buy some Braum's milk and ice cream!!

No, I do not work for Braum's, just a big fan. Best milk anywhere, IMHO, and NO BGH (bovine growth hormone).

They also have one of the most sophisticated (and expensive) water extraction systems in the world, and they use it to decrease the water content of their reduced-fat milks. It's why those products taste so much better/richer than the counterparts from other dairy companies.

-soonerdave

[metalhead]

I promise you that Braum's meat source is NOT the same as WalPuke.

A good portion, if not all, of Braum's meat products are provided by Schwab's right here in OKC.

-soonerdave

All this Braum's talk made me hungry, so I went to Braum's for lunch. While I was there I checked out the meat. They have indeed changed the distributor since I had last looked, which was about two years ago. The ground beef, which is what I was referring to, has a generic label and is distributed by Fresh American out of Ft. Worth. But everything else has a Braum's label, so I guess that's the stuff they get from Schwab's.

[Patrick]

Braums actually only makes certain dairy items. They buy the rest from suppliers, which has already been stated, one of their suppliers is Schwabs.

Braums makes: Milk and ice cream/frozen yogurt at their plant in Tuttle, and their baked goods (cookies, bread, cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, etc) come from their bakery, which I believe is still here in OKC.

The meats, veggies, eggs, bacon, butter, soft drinks, pre-packaged dinners, and everything else, are merely distributed with the Braums label, and is made by someone else.

[okclee]

As much as I like Braum's, I *hate* this decision. It's so anti-customer, and anti-service.

An increasing number of businesses continue to treat customers like an inconvenience, and it's getting worse.

Of course, there are those here who would probably hail it as a hallmark of retail progress, and that I should kiss the ring of the benevolent retailer who deigns to take my money and give me a wet rag in return....

-soonerdew

You hate the decision of not selling milk and produce through the drive-thru??

I asked the manager of the Braums at MacArthur and Kilpatrick, why they made this decision, and she said "because of rude and inconsiderate people". They would actually have customers go through the drive-thru order all kind of different produce along with milk and eggs, and when they received their order, the customer would complain about the selection of the produce.

Also how would you like to be in the drive-thru , waiting on your burger , but the car in front of you is trying to decide how fresh the lettuce is??

You can't seriously "hate" this decision, I am sure that you are being sarcastic.

[CanRiv12]

During the tour, the tour guides tell you how the original Mr. Braum was an absolute obsessive about running an efficient and clean operation

Actually, interesting, because I think Braum's stores have gone down in terms of a "clean operation", or at least in the mind's of consumers. I've seen some research that many people choose other fast food retailers because they appear cleaner than Braum's (don't agree with it). Part of that is that most of the Braum's in this area are older, and are due for some renovations, at least compared to the other chains. I think Braum's is beginning to address that...

[jbrown84]

They would actually have customers go through the drive-thru order all kind of different produce along with milk and eggs, and when they received their order, the customer would complain about the selection of the produce.

Then why not do it only for milk?

[Patrick]

I don't think they should be providing this service for any grocery items. You don't see Wal-Mart and grocery stores selling their items at drive thru windows. Braums should be no different.

[Easy180]

Problem with allowing anything other than the traditonal menu to be ordered through the drive thru is it is inevitable that people will then ask for just one more item along with it and so on

Have to have an all or nothing kind of deal at the drive thru or you will be opening up yourself to those lazy folks that will try and work the system.."Well why can't you grab me an OJ since you will be back there"..."Can you just grab a pecan pie as well?"

Bank drive thru is essentially the same...At least 5 or 10 times a day customers came thru asking for an exception to what is provided...Would be the same or worse at Braum's

[Patrick]

Like, can you open me up a marketing account, and give me a car loan through the drive thru? Whatever