Value Added Junk

Bill Waddell over at Evolving Excellence talked about serving up value at In-N-Out, a Southwest region burger chain that is extremely profitable and consistently delivers value to customers through a simple, focused strategy. When I saw the low prices on the menu and, subsequently buried within the comments section, fabulous reviews of the food and service – it got me thinking about what the competition has to offer:

Cardboard crowns. Always a hit at your seven year old’s birthday party, but guess who else loves these? Your teenager, while in the back seat of an Audi with neon ground effects on a Saturday night at 11:15 p.m. with a bad case of the munchies! And they are 'free'!

Another freebie: indoor-playground-induced-swine-flu. When the food isn’t unhealthy enough for your kids, send them into the petri dish for a little while!

Cheap, plastic, branded toys from China. Hey kids! Let's play a game: "I spyyyyy with my little eyyyyye...lead paint!"

Creepy mascots watching you sleep.

Grimace and Hamburgler puppet! Does anybody remember these wastes plastic bags that instantly ripped apart at the seams - after waving Grimace's arms only one time?

Seagulls. O.k., In-N-Out also has seagulls, but at In-N-Out's prices - it costs less to feed them!