MIAMI, July 23 (Our Florida Times) — Burger King is using a new round of customer feedback to change how it handles service and one of its most famous sandwiches.
In a company announcement posted from Miami, Burger King said it is introducing two updates: a reworked restaurant manager role called the “Your Way Champion” and a “Whopper Guarantee” for customers who say their sandwich does not meet expectations. The changes are meant to make orders more accurate and visits more satisfying, according to Burger King.
Why Burger King says it is changing
Burger King said the changes grew out of a feedback campaign it opened earlier this year. The company said customers called and texted with comments about their experience, and Burger King later said it received thousands of messages.
Tom Curtis, president of Burger King US and Canada, has said in interviews that he personally responded to customer calls and that the feedback pointed the company toward more menu and service changes. Burger King has framed the effort as a way to live up to its long-running “Have It Your Way” slogan.
What is a ‘Your Way Champion’?
Burger King describes the Your Way Champion as a reimagined restaurant manager role that puts the guest experience first.
The company says the person in that role will be a point of contact for customers, help oversee customization, and work to make sure orders are prepared the way guests want them. Burger King also said the role will have a dedicated uniform.
Burger King has not said whether the position will appear in every restaurant or only in some locations. It also has not said whether the change affects wages, staffing levels or franchise costs.
What is the ‘Whopper Guarantee’?
The Whopper Guarantee is Burger King’s promise to remake a Whopper right away if a customer says it is not right.
According to the company, if a Whopper does not meet expectations, Burger King will make a new one on the spot and give the guest a free Whopper for a future visit. The company said the offer is tied to a QR code.
Burger King has not shared the full rules for the QR-code redemption, including any time limits or limits on which Whopper versions qualify.
How this fits with Burger King’s earlier Whopper changes
The service changes follow a separate update Burger King made to the Whopper earlier this year.
On its official blog, Burger King said the sandwich was updated with a glazed bun, creamier mayonnaise and clamshell packaging instead of paper. The company said those changes were rolled out at more than 7,000 locations nationwide and marked the first major update to the sandwich in nearly 10 years.
Burger King also said the Whopper remains more than a quarter-pound of 100% flame-grilled beef. In a company post, Burger King said it did not set out to reinvent the sandwich, but to improve it based on direct guest feedback.
Restaurant Brands International CEO Joshua Kobza later said on an earnings call that the updated sandwich was drawing positive feedback and producing the strongest average unit sales for the Whopper in more than three years, according to CNBC’s report of the call.
What readers should know
For now, the big takeaway is simple: Burger King is trying to make both the product and the service more reliable.
The company’s new manager role is meant to put a person on the floor who can handle guest concerns. The Whopper Guarantee is meant to give customers more confidence that if a sandwich is wrong, it will be fixed.
The changes are chainwide in purpose, but Burger King has not said exactly how they will be rolled out in individual restaurants.
