The Jack in the Box Jumbo Jack is sort of a lame version of a Whopper hamburger from Burger King. OK, not even close as tasty or pretty but, it’s been their answer to the quarter pound burger frenzy that started back in the sixties. It has the meat, lettuce, onion and tomato and a hamburger patty on it, so it is similar to a Whopper. But notice, there’s no cheese on it. Of course a good order taker would always ask if you wanted cheese on your Jumbo Jack and, if you did, they would charge you accordingly.
So I’m fine with all of that and when they would ask me if I wanted cheese, I always said no. That’s because they charged a lot for a single slice of crappy American cheese and I’m pretty much a cheap bastard. By the way, if I was ordering at the drive through window, I never ordered a drink either. But that’s another story. This story is about the cheese upsell.
I noticed a difference in the cheese upsell on my last three trips through the Jack in the Box drive through. Bear in mind that the order taker repeats the order through the loud speaker and that’s when they traditionally offer any upsells like fries, better to get a combo, a drink or a slice of crappy American cheese. What they’ve been doing when they repeat my Jumbo Jack order through the loud speaker is say, “One Jumbo Jack with cheese.”
Remember, cheese doesn’t automatically come with a Jumbo Jack, I didn’t order it with cheese and yet, just like that, they added it to my order. It’s suppose to be an extra request, or a separate product that they call a Jumbo Jack Cheeseburger. And, just to let you know, it’s a huge charge to get cheese on a Jumbo Jack. In my state it’s 24% more if you order a Jumbo Jack with cheese. Look up your state here.
The last time that they repeated back my order with the addition of cheese, I raised my voice and huffed, “No cheese!” As I drove up to the take out window I thought about it and I decided to ask the lady, “Do they teach you to add cheese to any Jumbo Jack order when you repeat it over the loud speaker?” She meekly smiled and simply said, “Yes.”
To be fair to Jack and the Box, this technique isn’t new. Car dealers, furniture stores and others have used it for years. They often add things to the invoice without even saying anything beforehand. And if Jack in the Box is repeating the order back, I guess it’s on the customer to pay attention and change it if they want to. But let’s be honest: It’s a way of tricking some people into paying 24% more for a hamburger.
A reminder about a crappy cheese option is one thing. But to sneak it onto the order is carrying the up sale concept too far. And I’m not buying it.
