New book on service super star In-N-Out Burger

Those of us lucky enough to live near an In-N-Out Burger know they relentless deliver two things: tasty burgers and outstanding service. A new book by BusinessWeek writer Stacy Perman explores how In-N-Out has consistently outperformed much larger fast food chains such as McDonald's and Burger King.

Check out an interview with Perman and an excerpt from her book here.

Get the book on Amazon:

Why do I love In-N-Out?

In-N-Out is one of the few brands or companies I'd consider myself an evangelist for. As a customer, I enjoy their food and service. They also serve as a terrific model for doing things right. Here are just a few things we can all learn from them:

Relentless focus.  All companies need to decide who they want to be and then be the best at that. In-N-Out's menu is very simple: hamburger, cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, fries, drinks. That's it. No double bacon guacamole taco sliders, no kung pao southwestern cheese dumplings, and certainly no McRibs. They are a burger and fries place so they focus their energy on making the best burgers and fries possible.  And, they're all made to order from fresh ingredients.

Remarkable consistency. Everything they do, from hiring to training to supervision focuses on delivering a consistently positive experience for their customers. I've never had a bad experience at In-N-Out. Everyone has a bad day once in awhile, so I'm sure it will sooner or later, but by then I'll have had hundreds if not thousands of good experiences.

Simplicity. In-N-Out's focus and consistency allow them to keep things simple. This allows their associates to focus on quality, not complexity, which in turn produces stronger margins and better profitability per store than comparable restaurants.