The secret sauce to a corporate comeback

Burger King has the Whopper. McDonald’s has the Big Mac. Wendy’s has the Baconator. For decades, America’s fast-food giants have jostled over who makes the better burger.

But Burger King’s US president Tom Curtis may have found another way to win the fast-food fight—by listening to people who think his burgers aren’t good enough.

Back in February, Burger King debuted an unconventional feedback form: The chain made their CEO’s phone number public, inviting any customer to call in with concerns. Curtis has since received more than 100,000 calls and messages. Curtis personally returns about 40 calls a week, sometimes while sitting at home on the weekends. And while the experiment was supposed to last just a few weeks, it’s been such a smash that it’s still going.

Turns out, customer complaints can be good for business. Burger King has revamped its Whopper with a new bun and better mayo, while upgrading its chicken nuggets and restaurants. Sales of the improved Whopper have risen about 20%, according to Curtis. Last quarter, Burger King’s US same-store sales jumped 8.5%, compared with just 0.8% at McDonald’s.

Customer is king

At a time when companies are pouring billions into AI and automation, some executives are finding value in doing something surprisingly old-fashioned: talking to their customers.

Former Apple CEO Tim Cook famously started his mornings at 5am by reading customer emails, while Delta CEO Ed Bastian has said that he reads every email sent to his public inbox. Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has similarly made conversations with customers and baristas part of his turnaround strategy, as the coffee chain reported 8.1% same-store sales growth in North America last quarter.

In fact, Burger King has learned the importance of human conversation in more ways than one. The chain is rethinking its test rollout of AI-powered drive-thrus after finding that some customers would rather drive away than talk to a robot. Last month the company said it was making it easier to request a human instead.

Will Wall Street bite?

Burger King’s parent, Restaurant Brands International, has gained roughly 12% this year. Yet despite Burger King’s sales growth, shares fell after its last earnings report thanks to rising beef costs and weaker performance at other brands. Burger King’s turnaround campaign has also cost hundreds of millions in restaurant renovations and marketing, making it difficult to isolate the financial impact of Curtis’s phone calls.

Restaurant Brands will report third-quarter earnings tomorrow morning, allowing us to see whether Burger King’s momentum continues. Sometimes the recipe for a corporate comeback is as simple as a better bun, a little more mayo, and a CEO willing to swallow some criticism.—HC