In-N-Out’s Owner Just Made a Big Announcement About the Company’s Future

These days, you’re an outlier if you don’t have online ordering. Virtually every chain restaurant and grocery store now offers customers the ability to place orders on their app or website, or through a third-party service like DoorDash, and pick up their food a short while later. Chains are also constantly innovating to make their ordering processes easier, smoother, and more user-friendly, as recent changes from Starbucks and Domino’s have demonstrated. 

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You know who isn’t that interested in any of that, though? In-N-Out. The burger chain has recently stated that it’s keeping things in the past and holding out on online ordering. Here’s why. 

For In-N-Out, The Old Methods Are Better

The confirmation of In-N-Out’s continued resistance to introducing online ordering or pickup was provided by owner Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson, the granddaughter of the chain’s founders, in a conversation at Pepperdine University. As KTLA 5 reported, Snyder-Ellingson was asked about whether In-N-Out would go the way of other chains and automate some of their processes, including the way that customers buy their food. 

“We have, for sure, had that put in front of us, and the answer is no,” said Snyder-Ellingson during the conversation, which can be seen on YouTube. “The main reason is part of what makes In-N-Out and the experience so special is the interaction and the customer service that we’re able to give, the smile, the greeting. Just that warmth and feeling, the culture.” 

Snyder-Ellingson went on to state that if In-N-Out introduced mobile ordering, it’d remove that personal touch from things, which is key to its business model – and it may also diminish the freshness of its food, which is, of course, a huge factor in its appeal. There’s a reason why food professionals like Padma Lakshmi, Guy Fieri, and good old Gordon Ramsay call this place their favorite, after all: In-N-Out manages to resist that stale effect that can plague burgers from places like McDonald’s and Burger King, where they might have been sitting in a heat rack for a while before you get them. 

A Bespoke Approach

One of the other reasons why online ordering might not work for In-N-Out is because of its massive emphasis on its “secret” menu, which gives customers the feeling of choice. Whether you’re going for Animal Style or getting a Pup Patty, the fact that you can tweak your order at will and on whim is a big thing for the chain. And yes, In-N-Out could easily introduce options like that in an app, but there’s something about leaning in and asking for a secret item in a conspiratorial tone. It just makes everything feel so much more special, doesn’t it? 

Whether In-N-Out can hold out on automation forever remains to be seen – it might be coming for us all in the end – but for now, we have a quiet respect for its approach.