"jack in the box" news and stories

It's a tragicomic lament that hovers like a cartoon thought-bubble over the heads of many fast-food burger eaters these days: Why, oh why, does the Big Mac in my hand look almost nothing like the one pictured in the McDonald's ad?

If any conclusion can be drawn from a new Consumer Reports survey, it may be that customers are getting fed up with chains that tantalize with mouth-watering pictures of plump, juicy burgers perfectly trimmed with all the fixings only to deliver a pallid simulacrum in reality -- sad, gray little patties topped with a loveless smear of ketchup and sandwiched between two tasteless buns.

Because when you look at who fared worst in the survey of more than 28,000 Consumer Reports subscribers on their fast-food burger preferences, they seem to have one thing in common (other than, apparently, terrible burgers): outsized advertising budgets.

Consumer Reports asked participants to rate the burgers at 18 different chains on a classic 1-to-10 scale. With a miserable average score of 6.3, Burger King and Jack in the Box both tied, vying for second-to-last place. (Maybe that's a sign that Jack in the Box needs to pick a "CEO"/spokesman that doesn't have an oversized ping-pong ball for a head.)

First it was ATMs at the bank; then e-tickets at the airport and automated checkout at the supermarket. Now, the fast-food industry is on the technological bandwagon. The newest Jack-in-the-Box restaurants are offering self-serve kiosks as an alternative to dealing with, you know, people.

The idea has been around for several years -- kiosk demos were big at the Foodservice Technology expo five years ago, and now they are entering the real world. From a business standpoint, it would seem to be a no-brainer: A kiosk is always on time, never needs a bathroom break, and won't give the customer -- or the manager -- any lip. But are they cheaper hires?

Michael Norwich, Jr., who owns a new Jack-in-the-Box with a kiosk in El Paso, TX, explains that cost savings aren't part of the appeal. "It may be that the kiosk results in a higher-than-average check or increases the volume of sales, but it's hard to quantify that so far, since we only opened two weeks ago." He's not at all sure the kiosk will end up costing less than a live employee.

Jamba Juice
Deal: Buy any smoothie, and get another one of equal or lesser value for free.
Date: Today through April 25
Couple available here.

Starbucks
Deal: Free cup of coffee for any customer that brings in a reusable travel mug.
Date: April 15

Jack in the Box
Deal: Free small order of fries
Date: April 16
Location: At participating restaurants. Offer not valid in Spokane, WA; Tulsa, OK.

More offers after the jump.

Customers asked, and now Jack in the Box has answered: New French fries are on the way, with improvements to crispness, texture and freshness, Nation's Restaurant News reported.

"Fewer menu items generate more polarizing opinions than French fries," Tammy Bailey, division vice president of menu marketing and promotions for Jack in the Box, said in a statement. "So we created our new French fries with a crispier outside texture that enhances the potato flavor and helps them retain their temperature."

The new fries will be available at participating Jack in the Box restaurants later this month. They will come in small, regular and large sizes, costing approximately $1.39, $1.79 and $1.99, respectively, plus tax.

San-Diego based Jack in the Box operates about 2,200 franchises.

The Humane Society, which has business departments devoted to combating puppy mills, stopping animal testing in laboratories and putting an end to animal cruelty, to name just a few, has recently bought stock in two fast-food chains: Jack in the Box and Steak 'n Shake restaurants. Um, what?

Before the righteous indignation kicks in, there's actually very clever reasoning behind the seemingly bizarre sale. The plan intends to influence both chains to change how they do business. The Humane Society wants both companies to stop buying eggs from hens confined to cages and pork from hog farmers who breed pigs in crates.

HSUS Corporate Outreach Director Matthew Prescott told Slashfood, "Americans don't support cramming farm animals into tiny cage and crates. It's cruel, illegal in multiple states, and many of Steak 'n Shake's and Jack in the Box's competitors are moving away from this type of abuse."