Perhaps you have seen one of the several hundred articles (here, here, and here for example) posted today about Five Guys topping In-N-Out Burger in The Harris Poll’s annual EquiTrend Study. The results might seem a bit surprising until you realize that the whole thing is garbage.
There are a few problems with this study:
- Those behind it got their results by asking people to rate burger joints based on familiarity, quality, and how likely they are to consider purchasing its items. Yeah, not too many people outside of the west coast and Texas are familiar with how great In-N-Out is, so that seems ridiculous.
- Ever hear anyone on an airplane proclaim that the very first thing they are going to do when they get off is to eat a Five Guys burger? No, you haven’t. Ever see a Five Guys location with a line of cars around the block and you were still ok with going there? No, this has never happened either. Yet, this not only happens with In-N-Out, it happens all the damn time.
- Look at these two photos:
The burger in the top photo looks good and I would gladly drive a few blocks and pay $5 for it. As for the tray of burgers in the second photo, I would murder someone for them if I had to.
This isn’t to say that Five Guys is bad. It isn’t. It is actually pretty good. But, and let’s all be honest with ourselves here, it’s not even close to In-N-Out Burger.
Feel free to disagree in the comments below, but just know: you are wrong.
