Why McDonald’s is Worth $102 Billion and Big Macs Aren’t the Best Burgers in Town

When I moved to New York City in May of 2013 I was trying to save as much money as possible. I was in the transition between my old job in California and figuring out the next phase of my professional career (i.e. I was unemployed). Most of the food offerings and items in my apartment were reminiscent of my time living in college dorms; and, when I say “my apartment” I really mean my grandmother’s house in Brooklyn where I stayed for free.

When it came time to get a haircut, I found a great deal in the East Village of Manhattan: $13 all in. I was elated that in a city known for expensive rent and lifestyles I had found this gem. The first haircut was decent. Maybe not up-to-par of my old barber in San Diego, but I could live with the quality. The second and third haircut actually came out pretty good. Lots of confidence when leaving the shop and walking down to the coffee shop to use free WiFi. Then came the fourth haircut.

It was mid-December 2014. I went in for the usual. Sat down with the same barber who completed the first three cuts, and asked for a #3 buzzer on the sides with 0.5" off the top. Blend the sides into the top. Square the back and trim sideburns at mid ear. We started off well, but I realized after about 10 minutes that the barber was so involved in talking to his counterpart at another chair, his buzzers had drifted up well beyond the usual definition of “sides”. Within a couple of minutes, what was supposed to be 0.5" off the top was closer to 3" of the top in a very awkward spot on my head. He did his best to hide the egregious mistake (no apology on his end, of course), but there were limited options. If the barber shop were a trauma unit of patients after a large disaster, I would have been moved to the pile that is “too late to save”.

It turns out it is really odd to wear hats in all of your holiday pictures. I wouldn’t encourage it. You look like a creep. I remember visiting my dad in San Diego and him saying, “You should sue the guy who gave you that haircut. You look like an idiot.” Similar, more vulgar insults were received from closer friends. That’s when I learned one of the most important lessons in consumer purchasing behavior. You don’t pay for quality. You pay for consistency.

The reason that McDonald’s is a multi-billion dollar business has nothing to do with making the best burger. It has to do with consistency. You know what you are going to get every time you purchase the #1 meal deal, regardless of whether you are in NYC or San Diego. That’s the value. Every successful retailer and consumer facing product is built on a repeatable experience. Quality is secondary in customer consideration. Granted consistently poor quality products might not be a recipe for success, but consistently mediocre products won’t lead to failure.

It is funny to me how often people overlook this fact. I recently read an article in the food delivery space, where Business Insider ranked several competitors based on a single order experience. This is the worst way to predict and judge the best service. Instead, each service should have been ordered from 20 times, and then compared on consistency relative to one another. That is the best way to tell the consumer what to expect. Even better, this should be done in multiple geographies. Does someone in San Francisco have the same experience as someone in Chicago or NYC?

I don’t go the same barber in the East Village anymore. I pay $50 per haircut now (it turns out NYC is as expensive as I thought), but I consistently get the same haircut each time. It’s worth every penny.