I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It • Hacker News Board

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#61

Post by cf498 » Fri, Nov 16, 2018, 6:54 PM UTC

narrator wrote: post #22

There's an easy solution to having too much business : raise prices. I think this is one of A16Z's big insights into most businesses[1]: they don't charge enough. If you look at the best restaurants in America like the French Laundry in Napa, they charge astronomical ridiculous prices and they still have reservations for months ahead of time. The oldest restaurant in Paris requires you put down a 400 euro deposit jus…

That poses a substential risk to the business. You are changing your entire customer base over night. If you are a small restaurant like the one in the article, it is unlikely, that your earlier customers will book month in advance, even at half price.

Your old customer base was hopefully working, but your new customers expect the words greatest burger. Can you deliver on that hype?

The owner above payed month of utilities for an empty restaurant and has to make a sizeable investment to cater to that new customerbase.

Unless you didnt have a functioning business model beforehand, this is a real curse and puts your livelihood at stakes.

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#62

Post by gilrain » Fri, Nov 16, 2018, 6:54 PM UTC

narrator wrote: post #22

There's an easy solution to having too much business : raise prices. I think this is one of A16Z's big insights into most businesses[1]: they don't charge enough. If you look at the best restaurants in America like the French Laundry in Napa, they charge astronomical ridiculous prices and they still have reservations for months ahead of time. The oldest restaurant in Paris requires you put down a 400 euro deposit jus…

They live in a community. If they raise prices such that their friends and neighbors can not afford to eat there, they will become social pariahs. It would be very difficult to do, and it would alienate the very people they probably wanted to be serving.

If you’re a restaurateur, you probably don’t even live near that restaurant. But this advice is tantamount to: tell your friends and everyone who helped you get where you are that they’re too poor for you, now.

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#63

Post by hathawsh » Fri, Nov 16, 2018, 6:55 PM UTC

narrator wrote: post #22

There's an easy solution to having too much business : raise prices. I think this is one of A16Z's big insights into most businesses[1]: they don't charge enough. If you look at the best restaurants in America like the French Laundry in Napa, they charge astronomical ridiculous prices and they still have reservations for months ahead of time. The oldest restaurant in Paris requires you put down a 400 euro deposit jus…

In this case, Stanich wanted to serve his community, and if he raised the prices, he would drive away his own community.

If I were Stanich, I would raise the prices but also offer reusable vouchers/coupons to all past customers, friends, and family so they can pay the original prices.

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#64

Post by joshstrange » Fri, Nov 16, 2018, 6:55 PM UTC

gerbilly wrote: post #44

This reminds me of the first thing everyone asks when you tell them you just got back from Maui: "Did you go see the sunrise on Haleakalā?" And, no I have not, because I don't want to wake up at 5:00am while on vacation and drive to a crowded parking lot to watch the sunrise in the cold with 80-100 strangers. Why is it that we all have to have the same experiences?

This coupled with the articles I've seen on people on vacation all hoarding together to get the perfect picture of $insertMonumentOrSkylineHere. I remember one in particular that showed this gorgeous picture then showed what was behind the photographer and it was mob of people all taking the same picture. It honestly makes me sick. Those are the people that do thing to say they did them rather than for the experience IMHO.

If your life looks perfect on FB/Insta/Snap I just assume you are empty inside. Well "produce" our lives a little but some people go so far out of their way I just don't understand how people can follow that shit and not see how vapid/fake/BS it all is. Like serious this [0] fuck right off. I in no way endorse or support the backlash she got but it just all seems so stupid and wasteful to me.

[0] https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/blogge...

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#65

Post by daveslash » Fri, Nov 16, 2018, 6:55 PM UTC

mujoco wrote: post #46

narrator wrote: post #22

There's an easy solution to having too much business : raise prices. I think this is one of A16Z's big insights into most businesses[1]: they don't charge enough. If you look at the best restaurants in America like the French Laundry in Napa, they charge astronomical ridiculous prices and they still have reservations for months ahead of time. The oldest restaurant in Paris requires you put down a 400 euro deposit jus…

Raising prices would reduce the volume of customers, so the restaurant could maintain its quality standard, but Stanich felt his mission was to give back to the local community of regular diners. He didn't want to price out regular, repeat customers from the neighborhood and have only tourists eating there.

What about raising prices (at the exclusion of the locals), and then using the increased revenue to philanthropically give back to the community in a meaningful way?

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#66

Post by torstenvl » Fri, Nov 16, 2018, 6:56 PM UTC

JPKab wrote: post #19

People are lemmings. Franklin's BBQ in Austin has hours long lines. It's very good brisket. The hill country of Texas is FILLED with equally good brisket joints that don't have lines. People who wait in line for 4 hours won't admit this. Cognitive dissonance kicks in, and Franklin's is unique and better than everyone else in their minds. Try telling a person that their Bose headphones are overpriced and overrated, an…

Yes. My Bose headphones are absolutely overrated and overpriced. They're 2-3x as expensive for being maybe 10%-20% better than the competition.

But they're still 10% better. They're the best consumer grade noise canceling headphones available. None of the offerings from Sennheiser or the like have both a comparable comfort and the same or better noise canceling. So, for me, there just isn't anything else that solves the problem of having to do high-concentration work in an open office for hours at a time.

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#67

Post by tjoff » Fri, Nov 16, 2018, 6:56 PM UTC

siphor wrote: post #29

JPKab wrote: post #19

People are lemmings. Franklin's BBQ in Austin has hours long lines. It's very good brisket. The hill country of Texas is FILLED with equally good brisket joints that don't have lines. People who wait in line for 4 hours won't admit this. Cognitive dissonance kicks in, and Franklin's is unique and better than everyone else in their minds. Try telling a person that their Bose headphones are overpriced and overrated, an…

do you know of a pair of better/cheaper over the ear noise cancelling headphones?

I believe Sony WH-H900N is both better and cheaper. Sony and bose are the only ones (that I have heard) that does noise cancellation that is worth it.

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#68

Post by dsfyu404ed » Fri, Nov 16, 2018, 6:57 PM UTC

siphor wrote: post #29

JPKab wrote: post #19

People are lemmings. Franklin's BBQ in Austin has hours long lines. It's very good brisket. The hill country of Texas is FILLED with equally good brisket joints that don't have lines. People who wait in line for 4 hours won't admit this. Cognitive dissonance kicks in, and Franklin's is unique and better than everyone else in their minds. Try telling a person that their Bose headphones are overpriced and overrated, an…

do you know of a pair of better/cheaper over the ear noise cancelling headphones?

https://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Honeywell-Hi-Visibility...

They're not even active noise cancelling. They work just as well with no battery. They're not "dead silent" but I can be making no noise and you have to yell to get my attention.

As an added bonus they're reflective, not that that in any way makes up for the massive reduction in situational awareness you are causing by purposefully handicapping your hearing ability while in/around traffic.

Edit: Did you edit your comment or was it someone else who mentioned wanting to listen to audiobooks while walking down the street?

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#69

Post by IncRnd » Fri, Nov 16, 2018, 6:57 PM UTC

>> Apparently, after my story came out, crowds of people started coming in the restaurant, people in from out of town, or from the suburbs, basically just non-regulars. And as the lines started to build up, his employees -- who were mainly family members -- got stressed out, and the stress would cause them to not be as friendly as they should be, or to shout out crazy long wait times for burgers in an attempt to maybe convince people to leave, and as this started happening, things fell by the wayside. Dishes weren’t cleared quickly, and these new people weren’t having the proper Stanich’s experience, and Steve would spend his entire day going around apologizing and trying to fix things. They might pay him lip service to his face, but they were never coming back so they had no problem going on Yelp or Facebook and denouncing the restaurant and saying that the burgers were bad.

Poor management is what caused the shutdown. Stanich knew about the problems and didn't fix them. Instead he went around apologizing about the problems that he shoulds have fixed in the first place.

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#70

Post by briandear » Fri, Nov 16, 2018, 7:00 PM UTC

gerbilly wrote: post #47

comis wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most confusing thing about the line at Franklin's is you can just order it to go and skip the line entirely. Granted, you have to plan ahead a bit, but who's deciding at the spur of the moment to go eat lunch at Franklin's anyway?

I believe there is such a thing as "queuing culture." I don't know if it's driven by Disney resorts and cruises, but it seems as if people like standing in line for some reason.