Compare and Contrast McDonalds and In-N-Out

McDonald’s is undoubtedly the world’s largest fast-food chain with a presence in 120 countries, 31 000 outlets and serving 15 million customers daily. Its annual revenue is a whopping $ 41 million per annum, of which 80% is from eight of its major regional markets including Japan, Canada, Brazil, France, Germany, Australia, the UK and the US. McDonald’s is synonymous with globalization and is often identified with a representation of American values and way of life. George Ritzer (1995), wrote a book titled The McDonaldization of Society, where he described McDonaldization as a process through which society adopts the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant, which has four components; calculability, efficiency, predictability and control. They are known for having a very wide and diver menu (McDonalds, 2008).

On the other hand, In-N-Out is a relatively small privately owned business that has made a name in the provision of high quality food and service. The company’s principal philosophy aims at “giving customers the freshest, highest quality foods you can buy and provide them with friendly service in a sparkling clean environment.” This is their success secret that has enabled them to compete favorable with larger industry icons like McDonald’s. In contrast to the McDonalds’ menu, the In-N-Out menu is relatively narrow and is popularly known as the secret menu. This menu consists of customized burger, something that has been very popular with the clients (In-N-Out, 2008).

These two companies are similar yet different. Despite the fact that the staff hired by McDonald’s is mostly untrained and inexperienced, these recruits undergo vigorous training on food preparation and customer care. The same applies at In-N-Out, which has established the “In-N-Out University” where intensive training on the company’s core objectives and values is conducted (Green, 2003).

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The main difference is in their advertising strategies; while McDonald’s emphasizes on the customer experience, In-N-Out emphasizes on the food. The McDonald’s marketing strategy has been successful at identifying the consumers’ needs, meeting this need and maintaining loyalty; the motto being customer first. In-N-Out on the other hand has been successful in the quest of promoting and provision of high quality food, something that they have been at the forefront off since time immemorial. They are therefore known for their consistence service provision, which makes them more appealing to the consumers (Green, 2003).

In the fast food industry, speed is of the essence and this is the main attraction of McDonald’s. In contrast, In-N-Out is known for being less fast and this is because they custom make their order and being the preparation process from the start. They are known for not freezing of even microwaving their food before selling. McDonald’s has been accused of exploiting its staff members by over working them and poorly paying them. IN-N-Out is however highly praised for fairly remunerating its staff, in fact, they offer more than the prevailing minimum wage rates (Green, 2003). McDonlad’s has very often being at the center of criticism, for example, for the promotion of unhealthy lifestyles accusation in the What’s wrong with McDonald’s campaign. This has resulted in the popularization of In-N-Out as an alternative to the mainstream fast food restaurants. Eric Schlosser, known for his book, Fast food nation, has also approved the In-N-Out chains stating that although their food is not the healthiest option, it was at least food with integrity. In-N-Out is popular with 15 to 35 year old males, who find the service utterly convenient while McDonald’s is popular with a wider ranged clientele (Green, 2003).

Works Cited

1. Green F. (2003). In-N-Out Burger carves niche in the fast-food market. Last retrieved form the World Wide Web on the 6th July, 2008 from http://qsrweb.com/article.php?id=493
2. In-N-Out (2008). In-N-Out Burger. Last retrieved form the World Wide Web on the 6th July, 2008 from http://www.in-n-out.com
3. Ritzer George (1995). The McDonaldization of Society. Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press.
4. McDonald (2008). McDonald’s. Last retrieved form the World Wide Web on the 6th July, 2008 from www.mcdonalds.com

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