Comparisons of similar restaurants/retailers

Started by hbelkins, June 26, 2020, 06:37:17 PM

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hbelkins

How do you rate two (or more) similar businesses?

Obvious one for me is Sheetz > Wawa.

Also, Raising Cane's > Zaxby's.
Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.


US71

Quote from: hbelkins on June 26, 2020, 06:37:17 PM
How do you rate two (or more) similar businesses?

Obvious one for me is Sheetz > Wawa.

Also, Raising Cane's > Zaxby's.

I prefer Cain's to Zaxby's.  I have no personal data on Wawa or Sheetz
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Bruce

Fried chicken: Ezell's > Popeye > KFC > Chick-fil-A

Burgers: Dick's > Wendy's > Jack in the Box > Burger King > McDonald's
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NWI_Irish96

Burgers: Wendy's > 5 guys > Culver's > McDonald's > Dairy Queen > Burger King > Hardee's > White Castle
Chicken: Chick-fil-A > KFC > Popeye's
General Fast food: Rally's/Checkers > Sonic > Arby's
Big Box Retail: Meijer > Target > Wal-Mart > Kohl's
Big Box Hardware: Menard's > Lowe's > Home Depot
Drugstores: Walgreen's > CVS
Gas Stations: Speedway > Shell > BP
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Wisconsin: counties 86%, highways 23%

Rothman

Quote from: cabiness42 on June 26, 2020, 07:41:09 PM
Burgers: Wendy's > 5 guys > Culver's > McDonald's > Dairy Queen > Burger King > Hardee's > White Castle
Chicken: Chick-fil-A > KFC > Popeye's
General Fast food: Rally's/Checkers > Sonic > Arby's
Big Box Retail: Meijer > Target > Wal-Mart > Kohl's
Big Box Hardware: Menard's > Lowe's > Home Depot
Drugstores: Walgreen's > CVS
Gas Stations: Speedway > Shell > BP
Wrong.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

webny99

Quote from: Rothman on June 26, 2020, 11:59:24 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on June 26, 2020, 07:41:09 PM
[big long list spanning multiple industries]
Wrong.

:eyebrow:

That's me, trying to decide if this is the Most Dismissive Post of All Time ™. Tough choice, but you own it either way.

TheHighwayMan3561

#6
Burgers: Culver's > Freddy's > Wendy's > Hardee's > White Castle > McDonald's > Carl's Jr. > a toilet seat with cheese and ketchup > Burger King

Pizza: Pizza Hut > Domino's > a rubber tire with marinara > Papa John's

Chicken: Popeyes > KFC > CFA

Others: Taco Bell > Arby's > Taco John's

Diners: Cracker Barrel > Perkins > Denny's > IHOP

Scott5114

uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

CoreySamson

Chicken: Popeyes > Chick-Fil-A > Canes > KFC > Chicken Express

The top three in Chicken are really close, but Popeyes sandwich and spicy chicken give it the win.

Burgers: Whataburger > InNOut > Five Guys > Sonic >  Carl's Jr. > Wendy's > Jack In The Box > McDonalds > Burger King > Dairy Queen

Other: Arby's > Dairy Queen > Taco Bell > Taco Cabana

Gas Stations: Buc-ee's > everyone else
Buc-ee's and QuikTrip fanboy. Clincher of 27 FM roads. Proponent of the TX U-turn. Budding theologian.

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webny99

Quote from: Scott5114 on June 27, 2020, 05:04:29 AM
Quote from: webny99 on June 27, 2020, 12:14:37 AM
Quote from: Rothman on June 26, 2020, 11:59:24 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on June 26, 2020, 07:41:09 PM
[big long list spanning multiple industries]
Wrong.
:eyebrow:
That's me, trying to decide if this is the Most Dismissive Post of All Time ™. Tough choice, but you own it either way.

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=7519.msg169933#msg169933

That's another good one, although it would be better if it was more clear what, exactly, was being yawned at: the thread? life? the preceding post?

Scott5114

Quote from: webny99 on June 27, 2020, 01:29:44 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 27, 2020, 05:04:29 AM
Quote from: webny99 on June 27, 2020, 12:14:37 AM
Quote from: Rothman on June 26, 2020, 11:59:24 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on June 26, 2020, 07:41:09 PM
[big long list spanning multiple industries]
Wrong.
:eyebrow:
That's me, trying to decide if this is the Most Dismissive Post of All Time ™. Tough choice, but you own it either way.

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=7519.msg169933#msg169933

That's another good one, although it would be better if it was more clear what, exactly, was being yawned at: the thread? life? the preceding post?

Given the frequency of NE2's "yawn" posts (of which this is the oldest extant example), it'd be safe to assume "all of the above", thus making it the most dismissive post on the forum.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

ftballfan

Burgers: Culver's > A&W > Dairy Queen (Brazier/Grill and Chill locations) > Steak n' Shake > Wendy's > Checkers > McDonalds > Burger King
Chicken: Chick-fil-A > Raising Cane's > KFC > Popeye's
Pizza: Jet's > Papa John's > Pizza Hut > Domino's
Other fast food: Arby's > Taco Bell > Sonic
Big box: Meijer > Target > Walmart
Gas stations: Wesco (regional chain in western Michigan) > Circle K > Speedway
Drug stores: Walgreens > CVS > Rite Aid (yes, Rite Aid is still around in Michigan)

SectorZ

Quote from: hbelkins on June 26, 2020, 06:37:17 PM
How do you rate two (or more) similar businesses?

Obvious one for me is Sheetz > Wawa.

Also, Raising Cane's > Zaxby's.

HB, wanna wager? How long before Sheetz is forced to change its name because 2020...

Also, Wawa is better.

hbelkins

I can't really compare big-box home improvement stores, because we only have Lowe's in my area. Home Depot isn't as common, and Menards isn't in this region.

As for big grocery chains, Kroger really has no competition around here. I'm just outside Food City territory, and IGA is a network of independent stores, not a chain. And I know everyone loves Wegman's, but I've never been in one.

I purposely didn't get into the burger wars, because I consider Five Guys/Culver's/Smashburger/Freddy's/CookOut and McDonald's/Wendy's/Burger King to be on two different levels.

As for chicken, it's Lee's Famous Recipe > Chick-Fil-A > KFC > Bojangle's. I'm not a fan of cajun spices so I don't do Popeye's. For fish, Long John Silver's > Captain D's.

For me, big-box general merchandise retailers is Walmart > Meijer > Target. If Kmart was still around and in its prime, I'd probably rank it above Target.

For general-merchandise dollar stores, Dollar General > Family Dollar. (Partly because of familiarity; we've had DG in my area since I can remember since it was founded in Kentucky. For "$1 only" stores, Dollar Tree > everyone else.
Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

US71

Quote from: hbelkins on June 27, 2020, 06:19:23 PM

I purposely didn't get into the burger wars, because I consider Five Guys/Culver's/Smashburger/Freddy's/CookOut and McDonald's/Wendy's/Burger King to be on two different levels.

We have a small chain around here "Butcher Boy" which I find better that 5 Guys.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

ilpt4u

#15
Burgers: Portillo's, then all the rest of the standard Fast Food, it is kinda Meh. Maybe Culver's and Five Guys as a 2nd and 3rd before heading down to Wendys, Hardees, McDonalds, and Burger King land

I do miss Meijer. I really am not a fan of Wal-Mart...

Popeye's is way better than KFC for some fried chicken

Casey's = 7-Eleven for Conveinence Stores. I really think Casey's is the 7-Eleven of the Rural Midwest

Kroger > Schnuck's for Grocery Store. When I lived up in Peoria, I thought Hy-Vee > Kroger. When still up in Chicagoland, Jewel >>> (all other grocery competition)

Pizza Hut > Papa John's > Dominos

US71

Quote from: ilpt4u on June 27, 2020, 06:35:18 PM
Burgers: Portillo's, then all the rest of the standard Fast Food, it is kinda Meh. Maybe Culver's and Five Guys as a 2nd and 3rd before heading down to Wendys, Hardees, McDonalds, and Burger King land

I do miss Meijer. I really am not a fan of Wal-Mart...

Popeye's is way better than KFC for some fried chicken

Casey's = 7-Eleven for Conveinence Stores. I really think Casey's is the 7-Eleven of the Rural Midwest

Kroger > Schnuck's for Grocery Store

7-Eleven's around here were never that great: tiny, dirty. After Kum & Go took them over, there wasn't much change. Casey's has them beat, IMO.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

bing101


Big John

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on June 27, 2020, 04:52:50 AM
Burgers: Culver's > Freddy's > Wendy's > Hardee's > White Castle > McDonald's > Carl's Jr. > a toilet seat with cheese and ketchup > Burger King

Isn't Carl's Jr and Hardee's the same outfit?

ilpt4u

#19
Quote from: Big John on June 27, 2020, 08:21:47 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on June 27, 2020, 04:52:50 AM
Burgers: Culver's > Freddy's > Wendy's > Hardee's > White Castle > McDonald's > Carl's Jr. > a toilet seat with cheese and ketchup > Burger King

Isn't Carl's Jr and Hardee's the same outfit?
They split about 2 years ago. They were the same outfit for a while, tho

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/06/19/hardees-carls-jr-split-fast-food-shakeup/715586002/

I will clarify, they still are owned by the same company, but that company decided to separate the 2 Brands into distinct restaurants, whereas for awhile, they were ran and marketed as the same establishment and menu with 2 different Brand Names

TheHighwayMan3561

I ate at Carl's for the first time this week. Their menu is somewhat different and I found it to be an inferior version.

dlsterner

#21
Just my humble (or not so humble) opinion ...

Burgers ("Fast food"): Hardee's > Wendy's > Burger King > McDonald's > White Castle
Burgers ("Not-quite-as-fast food"): Fuddruckers > Five Guys > Smash Burger > Steak 'n' Shake  (as a general rule these are superior to the "fast" list)
   (Only been to In 'n' Out twice, Culver's once, Cook Out once, so they grade "Incomplete")
   (Also been many decades since being in Whataburger territory)
   (McDonald's does much better when ranking French Fries - although too bad that they dropped the beef tallow years ago)
Chicken:  Zaxby's > Chik-Fil-A > Popeyes > Bojangles >> KFC
   (Heard good things about Cane's, but none in my area)
Roast Beef:  Baltimore style Pit Beef (e.g. Chaps, the Canopy) > Roy Rogers >> Arby's
Subs: Quiznos > Jersey Mike's > Potbelly > Jimmy Johns >> Subway

Grocery stores: Wegman's > Harris Teeter > [most of the others] > Aldi
Big Box Department:  Target > Walmart

(Edited:  Forgot about Smash Burger)

RobbieL2415

Italian (excluding pizza-exclusive joints): Carrabbas > Bertucci's > Olive Garden > Uno

Pizza joints: Frank Pepe > Domino's >  Pizza Hut > California Pizza Kitchen > Premio > Sbarro (its like cardboard with sauce)

Casual American: Wood n' Tap (a chain exclusive to the Hartford area) > Ruby Tuesday > Red Robin > Friendly's > TGI Fridays > Applebees

Traditional fast food: Burger King > Wendy's > Chick Fil A > Dunkin Donuts > Sonic > Subway > McDonald's

Upcharge fast food: Panera > Chipotle > Five Guys > Noodles and Company (I can make better pasta at home) > SmashBurger

Upscale American: Bonefish Grill > Smokey Bones > Longhorn Steakhouse
__

General retail: Amazon > Target > KMart > Walmart

Department store: Penny's > Macy's (Filene's) > Kohl's > Sears

Auto parts: RockAuto > eEuroParts > Advance Auto Parts > Autozone > O'Reilly > NAPA

Grocers: Wegmans > Stop & Shop > Geissler's Big Y > Price Chopper > Shop Rite

Electronics: CompUSA* > Best Buy > Circuit City*
* No longer exist but were subjectively better back in the day. All three did coexist for a time.

Convenience stores: CVS > Walgreens > Rite Aid

Fueling stations (not including stores): Cumbys > Citgo > Shell > Valero > Gulf > Mobil > Sunoco

Fueling station stores: Wawa > Cumbys > Xtramart
__

State service plazas, overall: DE, NY, CT, MA, NJ

Architecture, design and layout: same

Services offered, variety: NJ, CT, DE, NY, MA

Cleanliness: CT, DE, NY, MA, NJ

Nostalgia: NY, MA, NJ, CT, DE 

ilpt4u

Quote from: US71 on June 27, 2020, 06:39:03 PM
Quote from: ilpt4u on June 27, 2020, 06:35:18 PM
Casey's = 7-Eleven for Conveinence Stores. I really think Casey's is the 7-Eleven of the Rural Midwest

7-Eleven's around here were never that great: tiny, dirty. After Kum & Go took them over, there wasn't much change. Casey's has them beat, IMO.
Part of my thought is that 7-Eleven is kinda the "default" in some urban areas, and Casey's certainly is in some rural areas

Personally I usually liked most 7-Eleven's I've been to up in Chicagoland, both City and Suburbs

kphoger


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