Hey all —

I’ve done hundreds and hundreds of Jack shops by now, and I’ve done pretty well with them. The food prices, however, continue to climb. The latest in one of my local markets is that there is no longer a difference in price between a Jumbo Jack hamburger & cheeseburger — it’s a cheeseburger by default, and if you want it as a hamburger they say “no cheese” but the price is the same — a small combo is now around 9 bucks! For comparison it was closer to 8 last month and 6-7 last year.

That said — Jack runs regular $4.99 small combo specials — like the Sourdough BLT which is basically a Sourdough Jack (an approved burger) with lettuce and bacon added to it, or the Grilled Onion Burger (basically Sourdough Jack minus tomato, add grilled onions) or the Bacon Jack (Jumbo Jack add bacon) — and they are essentially 4 bucks cheaper for the combo! No one in their right mind who isn’t a shopper would opt to pay 9 bucks+ for a Sourdough Jack when you could do a Sourdough BLT add tomatoes, minus lettuce, minus bacon — for $4.99

My question then... I know in the guidelines they have a list of “approved burgers” which I’ve always stuck to — but there’s also that “other” burger option in the survey... has anyone tried to use this? Are they as dead set on the exact burgers as they make it seem? I’m just trying to save $4 at each place with fees and these “specials” they run can be turned into the exact “approved burgers” and also be a special order at the same time (which they require) lol

N

The most I have paid for a JJ Combo is $6.67. I would say 50% of the locations charge that, and the rest vary from $5.30-$6.30.

So, I see the promo combo (I think that its a double jack cheeseburger ?) for $4.99, but I am not risking it.

@SoCalMama wrote:

The most I have paid for a JJ Combo is $6.67. I would say 50% of the locations charge that, and the rest vary from $5.30-$6.30.

So, I see the promo combo (I think that its a double jack cheeseburger ?) for $4.99, but I am not risking it.

Yeah here in the Pacific NW not so much... it used to be around that much. I’m sure they are blaming it on the $15 minimum wage.

See a pic of my “usual receipt” here: [ibb.co]

What blows my mind is they charge this much for a regular combo — but $4.99 for the special combos — so the specials must be corporate edicts.

The cost of the minimum cost meal (Seattle area) is one of the reasons that I don't pick these shops as cheap as I used to and, yes, I would like to be able to opt for a different burger. However, the guidelines are clear when the list what burgers are permissible, so I have no plans to deviate.

Yikes. If it was $9 here, I would not be doing any. I don’t eat them.

Beyond burger combos are over $11 here. I get maybe 1-2 a month. Before the minimum wage went to $13 in California, the combos were only around $9.50.

My average cost for a JIB shop over 1200+ shops is 6.71, which includes the meals with the chicken sandwich, which is about 8.50 vs 6.71. With just the Jumbo Jack meals, the average is 6.52 across all restaurants.

I am personally slowing down my involvement with the JIB program, with the exception of the local restaurants when the fees are higher for them, or when I want a free meal. I do eat the free meals, but rarely eat the meals from a long route of shops...

Shocked to see the “leftovers” drop from $17 to $12 this morning. I guess they’re hoping to catch shoppers who didn’t notice the fees going up all weekend?

I haven't done one in a while but scheduled today at $17. The client requirements say they want a picture of the preview menu board and the order menu board. However on the form itself there is no place to upload the preview menu board pix. It always amazes me when there is a discrepancy like this in a project involving thousands of locations. I guess I'll take the extra picture just in case.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2020 05:52PM by kenasch.

There are a few locations that do not have the preview menu board at all. When that happens, it seems that the survey form is adjusted accordingly. Of course, if you see the board, take the picture while you are there, just in case.

MFJohnston- thanks, that makes sense. Too bad the MSC doesn’t explain it as clearly as you did.

I will never do an evening shop again. Like seven pictures so obvious with flash photo lol.

I do them without flash.... The menu boards show up fine. The other pictures tend to be good enough with the restaurant's exterior lighting.

@sbobgal wrote:

I will never do an evening shop again. Like seven pictures so obvious with flash photo lol.

Actually using flash might make the pictures worse than just using the available light. Most smart phones will do just fine for evening pictures.

They do allow chicken sandwiches now. I accidentally used an old guideline for a shop and ordered an old approved chicken sandwich. I emailed the scheduler and she was fine with it. The shop was not rejected. I don't know if there's anything cheaper than the Jumbo Jack. The meal in my area averages $6.13 - 6.51 but the chicken sandwich is about $8.39 - $8.72.

@MFJohnston wrote:

There are a few locations that do not have the preview menu board at all. When that happens, it seems that the survey form is adjusted accordingly. Of course, if you see the board, take the picture while you are there, just in case.

My shop did not have a preview menu board as you predicted.

@kenasch wrote:

@MFJohnston wrote:

There are a few locations that do not have the preview menu board at all. When that happens, it seems that the survey form is adjusted accordingly. Of course, if you see the board, take the picture while you are there, just in case.

My shop did not have a preview menu board as you predicted.

That happened to me last week too. I was ready with a photo of my hand written "No pre-view menu board" but there was not space for it on the report. So, obviously, they update their forms as needed, which is nice and also very rare.

I keep track of that statistic - Preview board vs no preview board...

I have visited 137 locations, 23 of them did not have a preview board, or a little over 15%. I have also found several instances where there was a preview board, but no place for it in the report (likely installed it later). In those cases I email the photo to the scheduler, and the board spot seems to end up in the report the next time I did the location.

Instead of emailing the unexpected preview menu board to the scheduler, I simply put it as one of the "optional" photos at the end of the report and label it.

@my1958vw wrote:

I keep track of that statistic - Preview board vs no preview board...

I have visited 137 locations, 23 of them did not have a preview board, or a little over 15%. I have also found several instances where there was a preview board, but no place for it in the report (likely installed it later). In those cases I email the photo to the scheduler, and the board spot seems to end up in the report the next time I did the location.