Brought fine-dining freshness to fast food. Built an open kitchen where customers watched their meals prepared. Hit massive scale with just 1.5% spent on advertising — the product was the marketing.
E.coli and salmonella outbreaks in 2015 exposed how rapid growth had outpaced food safety systems. New CEO Brian Niccol brought Taco Bell tactics — factory standardization, digital ordering, efficiency focus. The turnaround boosted profits 700% but killed the value proposition: portions shrank, prices rose, warmth disappeared.
Same-store sales down 5%. Net promoter score of 17 versus In-N-Out's 63. Many locations have sub-4-star ratings. CEO left for Starbucks. Customers who once loved it now actively hate it.
