Friday, January 21, 2011

Scathing Indictment of Arby's in the Financial Press: I Have to Agree

This article is a pretty good run-down on why some US Fast Food Chains are doing great (The Chinese love the Colonels 11 Herbs and Spices) while others are floundering mightily (Arby's and Long John Silvers.)  The authors seriously sticks it to Arby's though:

Second, even in fast food, quality matters -- the quality of the product, the advertising, and the business strategy. Raise your hand if you've eaten at an Arby's lately. (I did recently, for the sake of journalistic investigation. And I'm still having flashbacks.) 

There's no way of saying this politely, but here it is: Building a business around a pressed, processed protein product that bears little resemblance to roast beef and then trying to make it more appealing by covering it with a glop of molten goo that bears little resemblance to cheese doesn't seem like a particularly good idea. And when's the last time you saw a good ad for A&W? The chains being sold, for whatever reason, lost the ability to differentiate themselves in a crowded market.

I have eaten at Arby's quite a bit and I do enjoy their food for the most part but I have to agree that if it wasn't at the mall near where I work I would not have eaten there in like 15 years. There is nothing that draws you into the store so you can try it out. I'm not rushing out to eat a pile of gray meat covered in cheese-like liquid all on a yellow onion roll.

The only reason I go is as a "let's try something new today" diversion. If there was a Wendy's nearby I would probably never go to Arby's at all because Wendy's just seem to have better food. Plus, Wendy's baked potatoes are about 100 times better than the one you can get at Arby's. You figure that they would be similar because they have the same parent but you never know.

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