Consistency is, of course, one of the most critical cornerstones of the QSR experience. A consumer comes to count on the fact that a Big Mac in Columbus will taste just as delicious in Gainesville or Topeka. It’s not simply that I like the taste of the two all-beef patties, special sauce, etc., it’s that I explicitly know what that taste is going to be. That first savory bite not only delights my taste buds but also unequivocally confirms my expectations. All is right and good in the world.
The Speedee Service System, designed by the McDonald brothers in the early 1940s was the model of consistency that drove the post-WWII QSR boom. The premise of the process was simple, and essentially derived from the successful automation of car production by Henry Ford. Through specialization, food prep moved from the hands of one trained short-order cook into an assembly line of unskilled workers – each performing one small and specific task. The big benefit, as the name of the process suggested, was speed. As with early car production, though, one of the greatest liabilities was variation. Ford famously said at the advent of the Model T, “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.”
Consistency is also, it’s been suggested, “the hobgoblin of small minds.” While it’s an expression worth using – if no other reason – than the chance to use the word hobgoblin, it also provides one of the leading objections to the fast food offering: “Where’s the culinary adventure?” By extracting any variation, you’ve also eliminated is any opportunity for improvement. Or surprise. Consistency = sameness = boring. Years before Burger King’s current creepy-plastic-head-King-positioning, the “have it your way” campaign successfully attacked their “arch”-rival’s inflexible sameness.
Of course, the thought of McDonald’s manager across the world tinkering in the kitchen to derive a new version of Special Sauce is not only impractical, but also a little bit scary. Fast food consistency, after all, isn’t just about operational efficiency; it’s about always meeting – but never, alas, exceeding – expectations.
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