Final Position Paper

Burger Planet Cares About Our Customers

Background:

Burger Planet works continuously to improve customer service to ensure that everyone who comes to Burger Planet will want to come again. To achieve this we have polled customers to find out needs to be improved on at Burger Planet and what would customers like to see us start to offer. Having been around since 1934 we know that the customer comes first. In those 75 years we have served over 52 billion customers and we hope to serve 52 billion more. To improve Burger Planet for the future 52 billion customers we know changes will need to be made to adapt to present day circumstances.

Position:

We want to keep the already successful foods that Burger Planet has to offer, but feel we need to expand to some healthy options also, to meet the demands of the consumer. According to an article on streetdirectory.com, people now know that healthy options are available on the market -- even in the fast-food market. “Cities often provide restaurant guides in their telephone books that display full-page menus indicating what a particular restaurant or drive-thru offers. Many of these food vendors now include healthy alternatives to their usual fast-food selection.” “Some of these kinds of restaurants will create their own recipes for healthy food options. This provides the consumer with a totally new choice and encourages them to visit the restaurant again.” Customers now expect at least a few healthy options.

Focus group results also have shown us that our customers often choose to not eat at Burger Planet because of our menu. One woman said when she hears the word Burger Planet she thinks of grease. Another woman polled said she doesn’t take her family there because of the unhealthy menu items. When she eats at Burger Planet she goes through the drive thru and then gets rid of the evidence without her family knowing. The Washington Times reports that lawsuits are starting to be brought against fast food chains because of the food they serve. Lawsuit's have been brought up against McDoncald's Corp., KFC, Wendy's International Inc., Taco Bell and more. There has also been a demand made by the government on the fast food industry to offer healthier menu options. This has come through the lawmakers looking into taxing and regulating foods that we use every day. With these concerns and future governmental changes we know that this change is coming at our right time. We will be able to meet customer needs and continue to stive to become number one in the fast food industry.

Supporting Data:

There are many examples of successful businesses that have a good loyal base with constant products, but they continue to change and refine their products to meet customer’s demands. Dairy Queen started in 1940, and was known for soft serve ice cream. They adapted to the market adding new things along the way. They were struggling in the 1970’s just before they came up with the idea of the blizzard which was a huge hit that started a trend that continues today, putting candy bars in ice cream. In an article about Dairy Queen and secrets of business success, it says, “You have to protect your reputation, have a good product at a good price, be flexible and have good employees,” Browne (Dairy Queen) says. “You can’t try to do everything. You should specialize in one area but adapt to what that market is asking for.” At Burger Planet we can take these principles and use them in our adapting process by protecting our reputation but also being flexible to customer needs. The only way to survive in the fast food market is by listening to the customers, which we have done with focus group results.

Data has been collected and studies show Americans do want healthier choices. According to the National Restaurant Association, Americans spent 44 percent of their food dollars outside the home in 1996, up from 25 percent in 1955 and according to the association's report in 1995, more than half of consumers 35 and older and 2 out of 5 consumers 18 to 34 look for lower fat menu options when eating out. Also, restaurateurs report that their customers are increasingly requesting meatless dishes.

According to the Hoover's Fast Food and Quickservice Restaurant Report, the fast food restaurants industry includes 200,000 restaurants with combined annual revenue of about $120 billion. The industry is highly fragmented: the top 50 companies hold about 25 percent of industry sales. Among the major fast food chains, hamburger restaurant are 50 percent of the market.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports that obesity is now the second only to smoking among the leading causes of preventable death. According to the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA), about 64 percent of Americans are overweight and more than 30 percent are obese or overweight. Higher rates of heart disease, increases in the incidence of cancer, record numbers of clinically obese people, and various other health scares have all drawn attention to the need for healthy lifestyle choices. Rising concerns for health and wellness are bad news for fast food which is generally perceived as fattening and unhealthy. Due to obesity in the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration recently issued a report on away-from-home foods, with recommendations on how restaurants and carry-out chains can offer more variety to customers giving them the choice of healthier menu items. Burger Planet has listened and will apply these recommendations.

Conclusion:


Burger Planet is where we are today because of the food we have made in the past. We will continue to offer the burgers that have kept us around for the past 75 years. However in the past 75 years customer demand has changed. Results have shown that customers and government want to see changes in the fast food industry. Burger Planet is looking into providing these changes through healthier menu options, and with the hiring of Jayne Petersen as Burger Planet's new spokesperson. We will continue to offer the same menu items that we have since being in business. Our number one goal is to make everyone feel comfortable in coming to Burger Planet and feel like they can get a meal which will be accomplished as we add move variety to our menu.

Sources:

http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/24571/food_and_drink/can_fast_food_be_healthy.html
http://www.larsonallen.com/effect/fall03/secrets.pdf
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2003/oct/18/20031018-111031-4117r/