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It's in the Bag

July 16, 2008
One of the early learnings at the newly public Chili's (pre-Brinker) was that you don't overpromise Wall Street anything. You certainly don't tell them a few weeks before the quarter ends that the consensus earnings are "in the bag." But the company was having a great quarter, and it looked like nothing could stop them. As karma would have it, shortly after the announcement that "it's in the bag," sales started slowing and it began looking like earnings may not even get near the bag. A cliffhanger of a quarter resulted in making the promised earnings, but the company picked up a new warning cry. At future officer meetings, whenever someone got a little too aggressive in what they were committing to, a chorus of "it's in the bag" could be heard. 
 
However, that is not what this is about.
 
The subject is brown paper bags, and how they are an integral part of the Which Wich sandwich concept. Does the world really need one more sandwich concept? The customer has certainly given every indication that there is room for one that cleverly, and easily, lets them design their own sandwich. Usually, to offer 50 toasted sandwich choices in a fast casual environment would be an ordering nightmare. You can imagine the line growing as the person at the front agonizes over which bread, which meat, which toppings, etc. Not in this concept.
 
The customer places their order on a pre-printed menu on brown sandwich bags using red Sharpie pens. They select one of 10 different bags based upon the protein category (turkey, beef, Italian, seafood, etc.). They then select one of five choices within that category.  For example, the turkey bag is preprinted with a choice of Turkey, Turkey Reuben, Thanksgiving Turkey, Turkey Wich, or Turkey Pastrami.
 
From there you choose from white or wheat bread, one of six types of cheese (optional), four types of mustard, four types of mayo, five spreads and sauces, three onions, nine veggies, and six oils and spices. All of your choices, except the cheeses, are included in the base price of $4.75 for each of the 50 sandwiches. You mark all of your choices on the bag, write your name at the bottom, and turn it in to the cashier.  You pay and pick up your sandwich when your name is called. Served to you in the bag that you ordered from.
 
Low tech and very effective. I now dread going to Potbelly, or other sandwich places, and waiting in line as each customer recites their order over the counter to the sandwich maker. It seems so old-school.
 
Speaking of old-school, there is a big personality difference between the atmosphere of a Potbelly and that of a Which Wich.  Potbelly looks like a sandwich shop from Mayberry. It has its roots in an antique store that added sandwiches. Which Wich has an edgy, yellow and black interior that lets you know that you are in for something different. 
 
Prefer not to have a sandwich? You are in the wrong place. Unlike Potbelly, which has been adding a line of salads to its menu, in addition to soups and chili, Which Wich is keeping it simple. There is no attempt to broaden its customer base outside of the core mission. It's a sandwich or the highway.
 
Jeff Sinelli, the Which Wich founder, started the concept in 2003 after selling the Genghis Grill Mongolian Feast concept, which he also founded. Today, Which Wich has 56 locations in 14 states with rapid growth under an active franchise program. The concept was designed to be franchised, so the operation has been streamlined with efficiency and low buildout cost as a goal.
 
In an industry where "me-too" concepts abound, Which Wich offers something new with its order system. Hopefully, success will be in the bag.
 
 

Posted by Lane Cardwell on July 16, 2008 | Comments (2)