Burger King 9 -681-045
'.
H arvard B usiness S chool
9 -681-045
Rev, F ebruary 27, 1998
B urger K ing C orporation
T he first Burger King restaurant in M iami in t he mid-1950s featu red a w alk-up w indow, a limited m enu ( burgers a nd s hakes for 19~, s odas a nd fries for 1 0~), a nd "your food rea dy b y t he time y ou'd p aid for it." As one early m anager r ecalled, " Our w indows faced front s o w e c ould see customers d riving in. With t he l imited m enu, w e p retty m uch k new w hat t hey'd o rder a nd w e'd have it ready." In the 19605 a nd 1970s, Burger King d eveloped an assembly-line p roduction process t hat d elivered a f resh, hot, high-quality s andwich, y et t hat h ad t he flexibility to c ustomize t hat s andwich. O ne e xecutive explained, "Market research s howed u s that our ability to give t he c ustomer w hat h e w anted clearly differentiated u s f rom McDonald's, so w e capitalized on it." The following jingle w as u sed b y Burger King i n the 19705:
. Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce
Special orders don't upset us
All we ask is that you let us serve it your way.
Later, however, Fortune n oted;
H old t he j ingle. The B urger K ing h amburger c hain h as a bandoned t hat b ouncy p romise to b uild its s andwiches to s uit t he customer. Tailoring W hopper
S andwiches w as m anageable w hen relatively few fast-food fanciers w ere c oming t hrough t he doors. But n ow so m any a re lining u p, a t least a t p eak hours, t hat special orders are, well, upsetting. Burger King will still m ake i t y our way, i f y ou insist, b ut i sn't gOll1g to invite you to a nd r ather h opes you won't. 1
The B urger K ing C orporation
F ounded i n 1954 b y Jim M cLamore a nd D avid E dgerton, B urger K ing C orporation h ad g rown f rom o ne s tore in 1954 to 2,766 u nits, i ncluding 136 outside the U nited S tates, in 1980.
Milestones in t he c ompany 's d evelopment i ncluded t he i nvention by E dgerton o f t he c ontinuous c hain
H arvard B usiness S chool
9 -681-045
Rev, F ebruary 27, 1998
B urger K ing C orporation
T he first Burger King restaurant in M iami in t he mid-1950s featu red a w alk-up w indow, a limited m enu ( burgers a nd s hakes for 19~, s odas a nd fries for 1 0~), a nd "your food rea dy b y t he time y ou'd p aid for it." As one early m anager r ecalled, " Our w indows faced front s o w e c ould see customers d riving in. With t he l imited m enu, w e p retty m uch k new w hat t hey'd o rder a nd w e'd have it ready." In the 19605 a nd 1970s, Burger King d eveloped an assembly-line p roduction process t hat d elivered a f resh, hot, high-quality s andwich, y et t hat h ad t he flexibility to c ustomize t hat s andwich. O ne e xecutive explained, "Market research s howed u s that our ability to give t he c ustomer w hat h e w anted clearly differentiated u s f rom McDonald's, so w e capitalized on it." The following jingle w as u sed b y Burger King i n the 19705:
. Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce
Special orders don't upset us
All we ask is that you let us serve it your way.
Later, however, Fortune n oted;
H old t he j ingle. The B urger K ing h amburger c hain h as a bandoned t hat b ouncy p romise to b uild its s andwiches to s uit t he customer. Tailoring W hopper
S andwiches w as m anageable w hen relatively few fast-food fanciers w ere c oming t hrough t he doors. But n ow so m any a re lining u p, a t least a t p eak hours, t hat special orders are, well, upsetting. Burger King will still m ake i t y our way, i f y ou insist, b ut i sn't gOll1g to invite you to a nd r ather h opes you won't. 1
The B urger K ing C orporation
F ounded i n 1954 b y Jim M cLamore a nd D avid E dgerton, B urger K ing C orporation h ad g rown f rom o ne s tore in 1954 to 2,766 u nits, i ncluding 136 outside the U nited S tates, in 1980.
Milestones in t he c ompany 's d evelopment i ncluded t he i nvention by E dgerton o f t he c ontinuous c hain