Steers vs Burger King

sand_man said:
There been 2 major changes to the way Steers prepare their beef patties that could have altered the over all customer exprience for the better/worse.

Not too sure of the timeline but originally our precooked beef patties were kept in a bainmarie in a thin bbq solution which was basically water and Steers BBQ sauce. The purpose of this was to keep the patty moist and hot and for the most part it worked well.

Then due to changing health regulations Steers moved to the current system where the patties are kept in the bainmarie but no longer in a thin bbq solution but rather a stainless steel insert with holes drilled through it in specific areas allowing hot steam into the closed container thus keeping the patties moist, hot and more importantly, at a temperature where bacteria cannot grow IE above 60C. This steaming process tends to dry and dehydrate the patties out over time and doesn't work as well as the thin bbq solution did (IMHO). Within 10 minutes, a cooked patty sitting in the bainmarie can lose up to 6% of its net weight. Patties not sold within an hour of being cooked are discarded.

The most significant change and the one that I reckon may have had an adverse effect for the customer was to the grill and the grilling procedure.
In the past Steers used gas grills which made use of volcanic rock. It's this volcanic rock and the way the meat cooks that gives it its flavour and character.

Now Steers still uses gas grills but they've done away with the volcanic rock. The benefits for the franchisee are significant. The grills reaches optimum temperature a lot quicker as there is no volcanic rock to heat up. Cleaning the grill is a lot easier, as again, there is no volcanic rock to clean. The savings on gas usage as well is significant as burners are hot enough running at 60% as opposed to 85%-100% when using rock.

The downside: the taste profile of the end product is too clean and clinical, almost synthetic and has lost the smoked, char grilled, seasoned character only a volcanic rock based grilling procedure can bring to a cooked piece of meat or patty.

As for BK and their decision to go halaal. I personally believe it's the wrong one. McDonalds went the same route and I can tell you they haven't been nearly as successful locally as they would have liked. 170 branches in almost 20 years is well below their expected rate of growth.

Anyway time will tell...
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Thanks for the detailed explanation Sand_man! This explains exactly what the burgers have been lacking. They taste "bland". I've always loved steers for that typical flavour which now seems a bit lacking. I guess there's no going back, is there?
 
sand_man said:
The downside: the taste profile of the end product is too clean and clinical, almost synthetic and has lost the smoked, char grilled, seasoned character only a volcanic rock based grilling procedure can bring to a cooked piece of meat or patty.
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Agree completely that is exactly it! It now tastes like a boiled(but dry) patty instead of a braai'ed patty. They must have surely lost business over this, mine and everyone I speak to included.
 
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isie said:
1 out of 1 is 100%

has anyone confirmed that all BK's will be halaal or will it be franchisees choice
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http://www.slicktiger.co.za/2013/05...irst-double-whopper-in-sa-cries-tears-of-joy/

From the article:

During the tour, the whole issue of not having bacon on the burgers was raised, but Jaye was very straightforward in his reply – by including bacon products on their menu, Muslim and Jewish customers are immediately being excluded from Burger King.

His aim is not to discriminate against any of his customers and obviously including bacon on the menu contradicts that imperative.
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So 2 things:
1. So that means in the US and UK he doesn't mind discriminating against Muslim and Jewish customers.
2. In SA he doesn't mind discriminating against non-Muslim and Jewish customers by giving us an inferior meal.

As I mention earlier.

Please send them a mail asking about when we'll be getting a branch with bacon.
customercare @whopper.co.za
info @whopper.co.za
 
Qwikslver said:
http://www.slicktiger.co.za/2013/05...irst-double-whopper-in-sa-cries-tears-of-joy/

From the article:



So 2 things:
1. So that means in the US and UK he doesn't mind discriminating against Muslim and Jewish customers.
2. In SA he doesn't mind discriminating against non-Muslim and Jewish customers by giving us an inferior meal.

As I mention earlier.

Please send them a mail asking about when we'll be getting a branch with bacon.
customercare @whopper.co.za
info @whopper.co.za
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oh didnt read corectly thought Jaye was just the francishee didnt know he was the CEO of BKSA.


I cant remeber was their an uproar about the bacon issue when Mcdonalds came to SA or is it standard across the world they dont serve bacon (my experiance with most of these franchises was in the middle east so no bacon on those menues)

on the other hand its not mentioned that it is halaal (or Kosher )for that matter just they dont do bacon.
 
isie said:
oh didnt read corectly thought Jaye was just the francishee didnt know he was the CEO of BKSA.


I cant remeber was their an uproar about the bacon issue when Mcdonalds came to SA or is it standard across the world they dont serve bacon (my experiance with most of these franchises was in the middle east so no bacon on those menues)

on the other hand its not mentioned that it is halaal (or Kosher )for that matter just they dont do bacon.
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Just look at the main banner:
http://www.burgerking.co.uk/

3/4 have bacon

and another thing we're missing:

http://www.bk.com/en/us/menu-nutrit...bacon-cheddar-stuffed-burger-m2673/index.html
 
Qwikslver said:
Just look at the main banner:
http://www.burgerking.co.uk/

3/4 have bacon

and another thing we're missing:

http://www.bk.com/en/us/menu-nutrit...bacon-cheddar-stuffed-burger-m2673/index.html
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meant Mcdonalds - if theres no bacon there world wide.
But googled they do serve so its just us and Middle east that do bacon (and india but they do only veg)
SO basically it loks as if BK is using the same business plan as Mcdonalds.
personal opionon aside it doesnt seem like a good idea but then again except for food being not great dont remmeber seeing any boycots twhen Mikidees went baconless
 
Zenbaas said:
Thanks for the detailed explanation Sand_man! This explains exactly what the burgers have been lacking. They taste "bland". I've always loved steers for that typical flavour which now seems a bit lacking. I guess there's no going back, is there?
Click to expand...

Trends tend to go full circle with Steers every so often however, it's unlikely that we will go back to volcanic rock anytime soon which is a pity. I've never been a fan of the new grill despite its ease of use and the cost savings associated with it.
 
SYNERGY said:
You mean Famous Brands. They already have Wimpy & Steers, so I don't see it happening.
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Famous Brands is an absolute monster locally. Maybe not so big by international standards but in the local context they huge!! Share price closing in on R90!!

I wouldn't put anything past them... but buying out BK would be a serious conflict of interests considering they own Steers. Having said that, that didn't stop them acquiring Wimpy.
 
sand_man said:
Famous Brands is an absolute monster locally. Maybe not so big by international standards but in the local context they huge!! Share price closing in on R90!!

I wouldn't put anything past them... but buying out BK would be a serious conflict of interests considering they own Steers. Having said that, that didn't stop them acquiring Wimpy.
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Yup I know. Their really trying to punt their new chicken brand...
Their also buying up the supply chain, wrt manufactured products and decentralizing.
 
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sand_man said:
Famous Brands is an absolute monster locally. Maybe not so big by international standards but in the local context they huge!! Share price closing in on R90!!

I wouldn't put anything past them... but buying out BK would be a serious conflict of interests considering they own Steers. Having said that, that didn't stop them acquiring Wimpy.
Click to expand...
It seems that Wimpy is focusing on breakfasts, rather than burgers.
 
sand_man said:
Trends tend to go full circle with Steers every so often however, it's unlikely that we will go back to volcanic rock anytime soon which is a pity. I've never been a fan of the new grill despite its ease of use and the cost savings associated with it.
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And none the savings went to the customer. So basically, Famous Brands sacrificed the distinctive taste of Steers at the risk of losing customers. The reason why I don't go to Steers often anymore (apart from the crazy pricing) is the "single cheese or double cheese" phrase they throw in, even when the burger you are buying doesn't come with any cheese. Petty, but irritating.
 
IzZzy said:
And none the savings went to the customer. So basically, Famous Brands sacrificed the distinctive taste of Steers at the risk of losing customers. The reason why I don't go to Steers often anymore (apart from the crazy pricing) is the "single cheese or double cheese" phrase they throw in, even when the burger you are buying doesn't come with any cheese. Petty, but irritating.
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+1. I've moaned with our one repeatedly because they make it sound like single cheese comes standard with the burger and you simply have a choice to add another one. That said I simply get blank stares when I raise it with them.
 
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