Would you Miss The Cheesecake Factory?

BACKSTORY | In the book, MAVERICKS AT WORK, the authors included a very provocative question every business must ask itself: "If your company went out of business tomorrow, who would really miss you and why?” That inspired me to run a series of posts in 2007 asking if you would miss a certain business if it went out business.

I'm restarting the “Would You Miss” series with a question about The Cheesecake Factory.

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Does The Cheesecake Factory provide such a unique product and customer experience that we would be saddened if it didn’t exist? Does The Cheesecake Factory treat its employees so astonishingly well that those workers would not be able to find another employer to treat them as well? Does The Cheesecake Factory forge such unfailing emotional connections with its customers that they would fail to find another restaurant that could forge just as strong an emotional bond?

What say you?

Comments

[Oliver Wünsche]

What a dump question. The question must be: If there was no Cheese Cake Factory, what would be your alternative? If there is none, then you really, really miss the factory. Or your are simply not flexible enough. I mean hello! Is thre any such unigue brand business, product, service that is so unique that you cannot do without? I think no. We just like the idea of such uniqueness because we want to justify our choices. Making choices has become so complex these days that we love the notion of making the right choices because there is no such other thing as lets say starbucks. Hey, my italian restaurant arround the corner produces a way more better latte that I would not even think twice if I would miss starbucks at all. People don't go to Mc Donald's, Starbucks, CheeseCake Factories because there is no alternative. People go there, because these joints embrace the concept of "the brand is the interface": http://www.informationarchitects.jp/the-interface-of-a-cheeseburger
It is convenient, easy and it feels like home, when going there. Which is poor, burt which is true. You can rely on the same experience every day. Which is not true of my italien restaurant arround the corner. Because when Milan lost, the pasta is far away from al dente, but I might bump a couple of more grappas a long the way. So, I am pretty damm sure that no one ever will miss the Cheese Cake Factories of the world. Go out there and try something else for a change.

[johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy)]

Oliver ... sorry to insult you with a "dump question." But isn't the dream goal of most businesses to deliver a product or service that if gone, people would miss?

I'm sure there are some Cheesecake Factory fanatics out there that totally adore the place. Adore it so much they would miss it, if it were to go away tomorrow.

[Kelly King]

I think it's a great question. I never personally choose to go to Cheesecake Factory, but when I end up there, I find their biggest differentiator is the portions. I'm sure no one's health would miss those.

[Sean]

I'm in the same boat -- while I have been there, I make an effort to avoid it. Not so much for the portions, but because they don't seem to know who they are. Their menu is about 95 pages long and since I don't have the time to go through all of it to find something good (God forbid your server actually tells you), I just assume it's called the Cheesecake Factory for a reason. They must do cheesecake well. But how often am I gonna eat that? Even though they don't seem to focus on anything, this is certainly the favorite restaurant of many people I know. Perhaps because "there is something for everyone."

[Valerie Conyngham]

I would not only not miss the Cheesecake Factory I would rejoice to see its demise. The portions are grossly obscene, the food poorly crafted (I once had crab shell in my crab cakes) and it’s a restaurant filled with families, yet among all of their choices they have no kids menu. I would agree with the other commenter that its differentiator is its overly large portion size, but without quality why would an organization want to differentiate itself as offering more of a bad thing? With that said I too know many people who love it, think the food is wonderful and return again and again for the experience. Which leads me to think I’m either really missing something or I’m just not their demographic.

[Joel D Canfield]

*The* Cheesecake Factory? Naw.

But *a* cheesecake factory? Already missing it. A little company in San Diego called 'Issimo' made the best cheesecake on earth. I rarely eat cheesecake now because theirs was so obviously superior to anything else I've tried. I wish they were still around.

They made a variety of desserts; every one was similar to other things out there, but Chef Will Howard was so totally over the top about quality ingredients (and an utter disdain for oxymoronic 'healthy desserts') that each one was missable.

I doubt I'd miss *any* restaurant with the word 'factory' in its name. Isn't the point that, if you wouldn't miss it when it's gone, you're not a raving fan even now? If I were going to make cheesecake, I'd sure rather be Issimo than the Factory.

[Shama Hyder]

John,

I wouldn't miss it. I don't find the customer service or the food so spectacular that it would leave a void in my life.

Now, Outback Steakhouse-that would cause an outrage in our family. = )

[Craig Kistler]

I remember the first time I went into The Cheesecake Factory, thinking they would have mostly cheesecake and not much else. Boy, was I wrong.

Talk about the ultimate Paradox of Choice. I was paralyzed with indecision on what I should choose to eat. I ended up choosing some run of the mill sandwich which I could get at any chain restaurant. I left feeling less than satisfied, with both my meal and the cheesecake.

Not a place I would miss.

[johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy)]

Kelly ... portion-size does seem to make TCF stand-out from others.

Valerie ... wise thought you shared, "without quality why would an organization want to differentiate itself as offering more of a bad thing?"

Joel ... totally agree with you about 'Factory' in the name. It suggests mass-production and not individual-creation. Smart thought.

Shama ... those in the restaurant industry I know revere Outback for its quality and consistency.

Craig ... with such a large menu, I bet others also get overloaded with choice and choose something they really don't want to.

[Virginia Miracle]

This is an interesting one. I seek out the CF and think it is special among chain restaurants - but that is largely because I know their backstory. For example, they make all of their sauces and salad dressings from scratch, the CEO has a personal hand in developing all of the menu items, and to answer to the concern over their portions they have added salads under 600 calories to the menu. I enjoy the range of choice. That being said, I eat there frequently so I probably wouldn't notice if it was gone.

[johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy)]

Hmm ... maybe if we knew CF made stuff from scratch and didn't just open up sauces and such from a supplier-delivered packages, more people would miss them if they went away.

[Persia]

The scratch sauces and the like almost contradict the "Factory" name, don't they? I've never eaten at one because I always assumed they were fattening-- guess I was right!

[Marty Moore]

Given that most of Cheesecake Factory sites are in shopping malls tell me they're not even trying to be unique. They're like a gastronomic Gap. The menu is almost tiresome to read, and the same can be said for their sister eatery Grand Luxe. That menu is so diverse I'm not sure where I'm eating (except those mashed potato rolls are delicious). The only time I've welcomed seeing a Cheesecake Factory is when I was in the midwest on business and near a mall. I also think their over-the-top portions are matched only by their over-the-top prices. Wouldn't miss it one bit.

[Doug Fleener]

I personally wouldn't care but one of the reasons I don't eat there is I'm not wiling wait two hours for a table in the middle of the afternoon. They seem as crowded as their portions are obscene.

So while very few may care they go under, they still seem to be highly successful?

So does that mean you don't have to build an emotional connection to be successful? My everyday shopping and dinner experience proves that is the case.

[Lisa Hollis]

I think everyone is allowed their own opinion, but anyone who says anything bad about The Cheesecake Factory is simply WRONG. It's great family restaurant with even better customer service.

Sure, the portions are huge! Great value for your money. My family knows how to stop when we're full and ask for sauces on the side and take the rest home. We've got left-overs for one or two more meals. We love it! We also exercise regulary, so our bodies don't really notice the extra calories.

And when I don't feel like baking on that special occasion, well my neighborhood Cheesecake Factory always has what everyone wants.

So my answer...I would be devistated if The Cheesecake Factory disapeared. It's my kitchen away from my kitchen. Where else would I eat and not have to dress up?

[Jeffrey Summers]

I really wouldn't miss any of the chains (Outback included) even if all of them went out of business - and this from someone who worked with them for decades.

Portion size isn't a differentiator - size overall is - from the cattle-call at the door to the herd mentality to service, etc...

They're just another commodity.

[windo]

fries from mcdonald's. the maui bowl from wahoo's fish tacos. the animal-style double double from in-n-out burger. you get the point. these chains have something unique that i can't find anywhere else. if these chains would go away i would miss them. i've been to cheesecake factory a few times, there is nothing on that gi-normous menu that is uniquely crave-able. i would not miss them if they went away.

[rad tollett]

nobody misses a restaurant. they miss the idea of a restaurant. that's why the only chain restaurants that survive generations resort to building "brands" on television. think fast food. think brinker restaurants like chili's and olive garden. would any of us miss them if we didn't see them on television? probably not. that's because, without the company thrusting an idea onto us, we are left with their food and atmosphere. and consistency in food and atmosphere in the restaurant business is deadly IF that food and atmosphere is readily available everywhere.

that's the reason one-offs (and two-offs, and ten-offs) in every town in every country survive. they have not taken the plunge and built a model to spread across the globe.

[Jeffrey Summers]

People won't miss the idea of a restaurant, they will miss - or reminisce - about their experiences there.

[KeraC]

I wouldn't miss TCF because I view it primarily as a dessert restaurant (despite the large menu), and I haven't been impressed with the desserts, or the prices, on any of the occasions I've eaten there.

There are other nice places to go that serve well-made food, and fabulous desserts, as well as provide a nice atmosphere (another pitfall for me...TCF has always been really noisy when I've been there).

[Kelly King]

I think one of the reasons the menu seems so huge (even though it is lengthy) is because there is an advertisement on every other page. Why do they need to sell ads in their menu if they're great at what they do? I'm all for maximizing revenue opportunities, but that one just strikes me as a little over the top. I think it adds to their overall feel of trying to be too many things to too many people.

[CraigAbdul]

I know there are lots of naysayers on this issue, but I love Cheesecake Factory for its delicious corn cakes that I can't get anywhere else. I don't live in a town that has a TCF, so for me it's still somewhat of a special occasion to have those corn cakes once or twice a year. I'd miss them if they were gone.

That said, I agree with all those who have cited the oddity of the use of the word "Factory" in the name. Seems like I remember some sort of Egyptian theme last time I was there. I don't know what that has to do with the factory idea. Also, a factory makes me think of mass produced food, not the idea I get with the freshly made sauces.

I'd be satisfied if they renamed it Corncake Issimo. That would be more aligned with how I experience their brand, but I'm just one customer.

[Scott White]

First if you think the portions are too big then don't eat it all (can't believe people are complaining on that). Secondly they have unique menu items which you can't find anywhere else. The food is much better than any other chain restuarant there is. So they have quality. Any finally their cheesecake rocks.

I would miss them. I especially like the Cajun Steak and the low carb cheesecake....yummy.

[HEATHER PALACIOS]

I would not miss Cheesecake Factory. I would not miss the gluttoness proportions, the borderline expensive bill, and the "pleasing to the lips; fattening to the hips" cheesecake.

[ecomanbra]

The Cheesecake Factory appeals to Middle America because quite simply, it is the height of culinary fare in Middle America. I reluctantly dined here once while living in Los Angeles and vowed to never go back to such an overpriced and mediocre establishment. We've already got an obesity problem in this country, can't imagine eateries such as CF are helping to curtail this disease.

[Chris]

Joel is right(about the use of the word "factory")and wrong (about the chessecake-he should be missing Stork's or Cascon's from Astoria, Queens, NYC).

The problem with "The chessecake factory" is that Joel and I both know that it's crap-we've been to the mountaintop of taste and know that these outsiders are merely trying to hustle us for our coin. Maybe that's why they'll buy it in Iowa because 1)their grandmothers didn't walk them two subway stops and a half dozen blocks to stand in line with all the other folks who knew what good cheesecake tasted like and 2)well, i have to admit it's a step up from the Mrs. Smith's Freezer case chessecake.

Like Joel, I've had the transcendent experience. The level of service or product by which I judge all other. Faced with the choice of a bad cheesecake or no chessecake, i side with none.

[Brian Gillard]

Although I eat there from time to time, I don't think that I'll miss it. Besides some of the reasons why the rest of you guys mentioned, I think that TCF has two glaring problems.

First, they don't seem to have a true brand identity. I think that's why the menu is so big. Their trying to be everything to everyone, and we all know that with the exception of Wal-Mart, that is a recipe (no pun intended) for disaster. That's why you see them in malls too.

The second reason deals with the menu too. Too many choices make people like me order basically the same thing every time we go there. Not a good way to keep the adventurous eaters amongst us clamoring to come back.

[Scott]

If the Cheesecake Factory went out of business, how would my company (portionpal.com) sell 467,854 (as of yesterday)portionpals with ZERO advertising in only our 1st 6 months? The more people get attached to the CF, they soon realize that the portions are so exaggerated, they eventually want to make a change. So, no none of us would care of they went out of business....except maybe for me.

[kmackenney]

Chicago, IL: Grand Lux Cafe. Spectacular tree-lined view from the booths in the rotunda alcove overlooking Michigan Ave. Pair that with a box of the chocolate chip pecan cookies, and now you're talking about something I would truly miss.

And perhaps, as rad tollett said, it really is about the memories shared with good friends at the restaurant.

Everything else about the chain, from the outrageous portions to the odd design scheme of CF? Wouldn't miss in the least.

[Robert K.]

It needs to go away. Now. Please. America is fat enough.