McDonalds Hamburgers, Rating 1 To 10

Ed the Roofer

No, this is not really intended to be a discussion about McDonalds Hamburgers, but.....

Last night, I took Little Eddie to the show to see The Spiderwick Chronicles, but before going there, we stopped off at a McDonalds for his Happy Meal. I ordered 2 Double Cheeseburgers for myself.

I know that they are not revered for their quality, but it tasted like I was eating fragments of bone particles in the meat and was inundated with excessive salt flavor, and I just threw the rest of mine away. I would tend to believe that most adults would have a similar impression of the quality of their food from that establishment.

Yet, they are the worlds most popular restaurant, because they successfuly have targeted the kids that like to eat there. Also, because no matter where you go, you can find one around the corner and they all are similarly set up and have a uniformity that is recognizeable instantly when you walk in the premises.

It got me to thinking?

Oh-Oh, some of you may be saying to yourself right now.....Here goes Ed again!



Well, is quality really that important in the over all scheme of things?

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would be hard pressed to use a whole number to rate my satisfaction, becuase it was so miniscule and disappointing, yet Eddie got his current toy and he was Happy.

I and many other contractors state that we strive for near perfectionist type quality when we do our jobs, so that we know that we provided the best that there was to offer to our custoimers.

For instance; Lets say, that on a scale of 1 to 10, in my own mind, I consistently rate no lower than an 8, sometimes a 9 and usually don't leave until we achieve a 10.

Due to that dedication to striving for a higher performance criteria, I know that I recieve a higher premium price for my efforts and an inherently delivered motivation for the customer to have chosen our company for their home improvement in the first place.

What about the magnitude of other customers, who would have been satisfied with a regular hamburger from McDonalds?

My point is, by not diluting the quality significantly, would striving for an 8, instead of a 10, still return the same psychological affect on the consumers end resultant feelings about the quality recieved?

How much additional time and expense, on things that only I and a very few particularly acute observers or co-workers/employees, are actually being spent to deliver an extra 1 or 2 on my own self-outlook on the grading scale?

I would generalize the norm in the industry, as contractors who dwell in the 3 to 6 rating category on a regular basis, yet still brag that they get referrals and customers who are generally satisfied, due to a lack of knowledge of what is necessary for a proper long term working system to function for as long as the warranty provisions state.

So, are we hurting ourselves by striving for a higher level?

Would we be able to sell just as many jobs, by producing at the 8 level instead of at the 10 level?

Would we lose any significant amount of sales that would affect us? After all, we already know how to sell, and perception is reality in most home owners minds.

Would we obviously make a higher profit if that were to be the route chosen?

What level of perfectionism do you strive for, both consceince wise and financially merit wise?



Just a topic for discussion to see if contractors would be willing to slightly shave some quality to earn more profits, or if they would not be able to live with themselves if they did.

Ed

rbsremodeling

I just had a similar conversation with my old project manager who is now a contractor. He does low to mid end remodeling. He says HO in this range are less picky and he has less hassles and little to no punch lists. He charges a less than me 10-15% less and gets the jobs I loose because of the mark up I have to charge.

So can i do more volume lower my mark up and have less hassles with lower end clients who are not as fussy about stuff as the high end clients. I will still give a quality job but with a bit less perfection and HO are still happy? It really got me thinking. I spend a lot of time and energy on highend remodels and the art of perfection right now

__________________

KentWhitten

They have done something with their hamburgers and fries, IMO. It just doesn't taste good anymore. We have noticed that McDonalds is quite expensive compared to going out to a regular restaurant and having a sit down.

So I would think you are 100% right or very close. it is all marketing and they have targeted successfully. A good marketing plan will always trump a good sales plan.

Keep up the quality, it's what separates you from the hacks.

Ed = 5 star restaurant
Hacks = McDonalds

__________________
If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place ~Lao Tzu

Custom Cabinetry - Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, Kennebunkport, Yarmouth, Falmouth, Cumberland, Ogunquit, Maine

Salmon Falls Cabinetry

rbsremodeling

This is true but booth feed you. Sometimes you want a 5 star restaurant and sometimes you want a quick drive through meal. Both serve their purpose.

Like remodeling your home you live in and remodeling your rental property.

__________________

ChrWright

For some types of work, I think it's a hard distiction to make...the difference between an 8, 9 or 10 is so very subjective.

Personally, I'm probably in the "couldn't sleep well at night" catagory.

Some things I find--mistakes, flaws, etc., are corrected before the client even knows there's a problem. If I'm ever torn about whether or not to fix something, I usually fix it anyway. The thought process being: they may not have noticed it yet--but if I let it go and they do notice down the road it'll be 10x harder to fix.

You would think, intuitively, that giving good customer service would be at the top of any list of priorities--for any company in any industry. On the macro level, that's certainly true. But we as consumers demonstrate everyday that in certain circumstances we see service as less important than, say price...or convenience...or variety...etc. etc.

__________________

Christopher Wright, CR: President @ WrightWorks, LLC/President @ Central Indiana NARI, Named to the 2010 REMODELING Big50
www.WrightWorks.net - Facebook - Twitter - Carmel Remodeling
Indianapolis Kitchen Remodeling Contractor - You Can Get There From Here

painterman

Ed great post.... I think that I am doing it for me...that is striving for perfection on each job.It just makes me feel good about what I am doing. I do not think the HO would ever know the difference between a 8 or 10 job. Hell my 10 maybe anothers 6, who knows.

skylands

This is a good topic.

I think it's more than just lowering the quality. I think some carpenters couldn't lower it even if they were ordered to.

I've had guys who can hang a door, make it close and be happy. Then I've had carpenters who hang the door, fuss with the reveal to make it perfect and tweak it until it closes just perfectly.

It's just the way they are.

Mike Finley

Ed, I'd say your almost on to it, but it's really not about quality. You should still deliver a perfect 10 in quality always. Workmanship is not variable.

No customer goes to a McDonald's and complains that the wine list is lacking, and nobody goes to a fine steak house and complains because there is no prize delivered with their child's meal.

At McDonald's you will not accept waiting 10 minutes for your food to come to you once you place your order. In a fancy restaurant you will accept waiting 25 minutes from the time you place your order to your food delivery.

The real issue for success for McDonald's, the steak house or any of us to focus on is customer experience and customer expectations. If you establish the customers expectations to the correct level before the job starts and then use your companies systems to deliver to those expectations you will have a very satisfied customer.

Quality is just a given for a customer and if it is acceptable it won't even be one of the top 10 things a customer will measure and gage their experience with your company by.

fez-head

Great post Ed.


We used to strive for 10 on workmanship and customer service on every service call. Sometimes on a bad day we would provide a 6 or 7 as far as the workmanship and the client was tickled pink anyway.

We Finally started asking some clients if they wanted to pay for "perfect" or just "looking good".......every one has said "looking good" was just fine with them and they have all been perfectly happy with the results and so are we.

We are now striving for a 8-10 on customer service and provide a 7 on workmanship. Sort of the "Ruby Tuesdays" of contracting instead of the "McDonald's" low end or "Ruth's Kris" on the opposite end of the spectrum. Like "The Rock" used to say in a deep-authoritive and rumbling voice "No Your Role Boy".

fez-head

Beautifully said Mike. We are now in an "Experience Economy" where the customer experience will dictate much of our success. Or at least mine anyway

silvertree

Mike and Jesse, you guys have covered this topic pretty well. I will ask prospective clients on the sales call if they are looking for perfection. I know I'm one of the good guys, but I don't do perfection. In spite of this I tend to get high marks for craftmanship and customer relations. My strong suit is communication before during and after the job. I think you guys have very good thoughts on this subject so thats 2 more quotes I print for my manual.

__________________
Vote for Pedro
Kitchen, bath, St Paul remodeling
Minneapolis Remodel Blog
203K Loan Consultant Minnesota

Mike Finley

I'm going to quote myself. In regard to this:

How many think that quality is for us? What I mean is regardless of what a customer uses to judge quality, I think we all pretty much deliver our personal levels of quality for ourselves, not really the customer.

I know for my company that is the way it is. Our standards are our own and we deliver them no matter who the customer is or what the job is, we have a way of doing something and we are going to do it because that is what we do.

I'm also sure with single guys you have your personal standards based upon your pride of workmanship.

I also think there is a certain percentage of thought about somebody else ever finding our work. We don't want our peers to think of us as hacks.

Quality is always a very interesting topic I think.

Tiger

I'm a perfectionist so it's ALL about quality for me. I don't care if the client understands anything more than their lights work when I'm done. The perfectionism is about my own peace of mind. McDonalds may be successful but I wouldn't eat it if you paid for it. The only thing I like about their business model is their training and systems. As a restaurant the food is pretty sad.

Dave

Jason Whipple

I've had both types of customers. Ones who are looking for a "cheeseburger" and ones looking for "fine cuisine".

At first I was more than happy to work for either of the group, happy just to get the work. After a while I noticed that I wasn't real proud of making cheeseburgers. There was nothing in the end to be proud of. nothing to brag about, and nothing to offer the "fine cuisine" type that would show them why they could count on me to preform the best.

I've also found that the cheese burger type often lives beyond there means and it's always hard to get them to spend a little more to do things correctly.

One of the things I want to do is focus on High end (well paying) customers. For me, I've decided no more cheeseburger work. Would you order a fillet minion from Mc Donald's if they started selling them? Of course not, you'll go to the best steak joint in town.

I'm in a major "Branding" mode at the moment and will not be clasified as a 7 on a 1 - 10 scale. Besides, after the years I've spent doing this work, it takes little to no extra effort to achieve a 9 or 10.

__________________
Jason E Whipple, General Manager
Historic House Restoration, Cincinnati, Ohio
Facebook | Twitter

Vinny

Geeeze Ed, 1 wouldnt do it? Did that order come with a crash cart too?

__________________
Roccies Asphalt Paving
The Right Way Driveway Company
If you say you cant, your a loser. If you say you wont, your a quiter. Which one do you want to be?

PARA1

UNDER PROMISE and OVER DELIVER is what I preach. I used to be in the restaraunt biz and food quality is third on the list after, atmosphere and service. I wont cut quality for a fast buck and endanger the health of the public. I see it too much in my profession. If you dont want to pay to have the job done to even the minimum standards by code then good luck, see ya.

__________________
YESTER DAY IS HISTORY, TOMORROW IS A MYSTERY http://paradiseplumbinganddrains.com...bers-dallas-tx

Putty Truck

Hey, its all about marketing....

What if we dress as clowns and offer cheap products at low prices?

RenaissanceR

If you get a chance, watch the documentary movie "Supersize Me" on one
person's 1 month experience eating only McDonald's food. After 1 month of eating the food, he nearly died.

__________________

Jason Whipple

I think Service Magic has already got that one covered

__________________
Jason E Whipple, General Manager
Historic House Restoration, Cincinnati, Ohio
Facebook | Twitter

Ed the Roofer

Wow, talk about timing. I just now received this e-mail newsletter and it discusses one of the points I was making about customers being satisfied with mediocre, because they don't know the difference.

Ed



Today's Article:

Discovering Your Competitive Advantage
__________________________________________________ ___

What advantage do you hold over the competition?

In other words, why should a builder or owner hire
you instead of your competitor?

By any chance, was your answer "better quality"?
All contractors think they produce better quality
than the competition.

Hate to break this to you, but that's rarely a
competitive advantage in the construction industry.
Even if you do build better, your client
probably can't tell the difference.

Heck, most customers have unrealistic
quality expectations. Your idea of great quality
is their idea of barely-acceptable quality.

Many customers actually believe they are paying for
perfect quality. Which is both unreasonable and
impossible.

Now, back to the question - what advantage do you hold
over your competition?

Until you can express your answer simply and
pursuasively to your prospect,you are going to have
difficulty landing good work.

Here are a couple of rules that apply to competitive
advantage:

1. Your competitive advantage must be something
prospects care about.

2. Your past customers should be willing to testify
to your competitive advantage.

3. Your competitive advantage should resolve a
specific problem your prospects would have if your
competition did the work.

Here are some potential areas of competitive advantage:

* Quicker response
* Better communication
* Budget assistance
* Superior on-time completion
* Cleanliness
* Perfect safety record
* Adequate financial resources to allow slow payment

Competitive advantage: once you discover it or create
it, it must become a permanent part of how your
company conducts business.

Your employees must understand that failing to live up
to the promise of your competitive advantage is
unacceptable.

It is the reason your clients hire you. It is the
reason their jobs are secure.

Your marketing materials and selling scripts should be
centered around your competitive advantage.

Once your competition realizes that you are landing
the best clients, they will try to copy your competitive
advantage. If they succeed, you will return to price
competition until you develop a newer and better competitive
advantage.

It seems like the majority of contractors struggle to
live up to the minimum standards of performance. You
may get lucky and be able to live off your current
competitive advantage for a long time.

But, if your competition has the competitive advantage,
you'd better get to work creating your own!


Ron Roberts,
The Contractor's Business Coach
___________________________


The Contractor's Business Coach, P.O. Box 14825, Lenexa, KS 66285-0825,
USA