A quick video of Fajitas made in the Lone Star, (YouTube) suggests freshness, right? Look again 🙂
Hospitality Marketing One
MKT2235: Learning to solve customer problems in Hospitality
defensive strategies, Imitative strategies, Module 4, Proactive strategies, Product life cycle, Reactive strategies
What is Fresh?
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17 thoughts on “What is Fresh?”
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Ian W McVitty
Email: mcvitti@algonquincollege.com
Phone: (613) 727-4723
Drop By: H204C
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This looks delicious, i’m definitely sold on the freshness of their fajitas! When I think “fajitas”. First thing that comes to my mind is LONE STAR 🙂
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Posted by Brittany Giles | November 11, 2014, 7:53 pmI am getting hungry just looking at this. 😀
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Posted by Ian W. McVitty | November 11, 2014, 7:56 pmWould it disappoint you to know that the chicken and beef are frozen, the tortillas are also frozen and are only “freshly-baked” which is not the same as frozen, plus the pico de gallo is mass produced from pre-prepared ingredients?
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Posted by Ian W. McVitty | November 12, 2014, 7:52 pmPersonally I would prefer to eat a meal that had fresh and healthy food items, not a meal that was once frozen. It is a little disappointing knowing that their meats are frozen but it seems like using frozen foods is what’s most convenient for a restaurant. If they were to use meats that aren’t frozen, they would have to throw away what ever is left at the end of the day since they cannot freeze it and then thaw it out again. It would also be a concern that some of the food would end up spoiling, leading to it being tossed out as well. In order for a restaurant to use fresh meat that is not frozen, the restaurant would have to have a good control on how much will be needed and how much of it to order.
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Posted by Anonymous | November 13, 2014, 4:48 pmInteresting comment. Most restaurants purchase frozen goods I guess unless their volume is so high that they can afford to buy only fresh. I am happy there is more awareness of food quality and preparation these days. Thanks for your comment.
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Posted by Ian W. McVitty | November 14, 2014, 12:24 amPeople would like to enjoy the fresh food, no one want to spend money to buy foods and get sick. Foods on this video looks yummy and fresh!!! Hungry now.
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Posted by junweihu | November 13, 2014, 4:18 amThanks June! I wonder if the video was produced before they changed to more to pre-packaged foods. They use to have prep cooks just making the tortillas from scratch. Now they buy frozen dough. It is still “freshly baked” however which just means that it is recently baked, not necessarily fresh!
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Posted by Ian W. McVitty | November 14, 2014, 12:29 amThis commerical to me, sells the fact that its fresh. If I didn’t know any better I would 100% believe that everything there is made fresh to order. The way they show the tortillas being made is very realistic, and might be true, However.. they never once state that they’re made IN the restaurant prior to them being ordered. They could very well be made fresh – then wrapped – then froze – then shipped to various restaurants. I personally don’t ever order the fajitas from Lone Star, not because I don’t believe the things they say but because of the portion sizes! I would much rather make my own than pay an arm and a leg for a piece of lettuce, a tiny cup of pico de gallo, and 1 or 2 tortillas each! The included chips are a bonus though! 🙂
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Posted by Nikki Smith | November 13, 2014, 5:46 pmNikki,
Insightful comment. I like that you are a bit cynical about what you see in ads. The profit on fajitas is quite high and it is not surprizing that the lone star was/is so profitable.
I wonder how sustainable large portions and high profits are. I look forward to hearing your comments tomorrow in class. Marc Brennan, former manage at the lone star will be joining us and you can ask him anything you like.
Ian
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Posted by Ian W. McVitty | November 14, 2014, 12:42 amI like the commercial but with most restaurants now, majority of proteins are brought in frozen. I would love to see a restaurant be positioned beside a butcher, having a back door connecting them both. That way the restaurant can say fresh food, made daily and everything about that would be true. Either way in the case of Lone Star having freshness, I would love to know what products have now be switched from fresh to premade. I find some products are not that bad premade, but some come with a certain distinguishing taste that lets you know it is not fresh. With society more on the healthy side of life now, not to mention the high number of people with multiple allergies, having premade items might not be such a great thing. Controls product standards, but with the loss of how many customers. Yes, the commercial looks delightful, would love to meet the person who shot it. I bet they can make a mud pie look just as delightful.
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Posted by Kimberley McCullough | November 13, 2014, 7:31 pmKim,
Thanks so much for this comment. Marc Brennan a former graduate of the program and manager of the Lone Star will join us in class tomorrow so you can ask him this question.
Ian
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Posted by Ian W. McVitty | November 14, 2014, 12:37 amNikki, i was just about to say that. Completely true, way to be realistic and thinking hard.. :p
Kimberley, I couldn’t agree more..
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Posted by BabeHick (@kristenhowes77) | November 13, 2014, 11:30 pmThe commercial definitely sells the “fresh food” aspect however, just based on what they said alone i know for a fact nothing in that commercial (except for the vegetables) is fresh, its a little disappointing to be honest, when i go to a restaurant i want the food to be prepared freshly on the spot, not be already pre-made and frozen, don’t get me wrong some frozen foods don’t taste frozen at all but for the price and the level of expectation i have with Lone Star, I expect fresh not frozen.
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Posted by Reanna | November 13, 2014, 11:38 pmReanna,
Interesting. It is definitely meant to imply fresh. We will have a former manager of the Lone Star in class tomorrow to answer your questions 😉
Ian
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Posted by Ian W. McVitty | November 14, 2014, 12:32 amLooks can be deceiving. Other companies promote that there food is fresh but, in reality your better off going organic.
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Posted by Shawn Nageer | November 14, 2014, 3:00 amI would love to know when this advertisement was released. Before all the changes in the fajitas, or after. As it is known now that Lone Star does not use fresh ingredients to make their fajitas, I find this ad very misleading, even to the point of false advertisement. They repeatedly use the word “fresh”, and use the term “made in house”, which leads customers to believe they are getting something that they clearly are not when they dine at Lone Star. I have been going to the restaurant personally since I was a kid, and I can say for sure that their quality in food has been on a steady decline. To the point that I very rarely even go there anymore. This troubles me as going there was always a great time when I was younger but has gotten progressively less worth while. My last experience dining there about two months ago was the worst yet. The food was a mere shadow of what it used to be, although the service was excellent. This is one area that Lone Star has always excelled at, whether it be the ridiculously over the top “birthday tradition”, or the enthusiastic servers. Here’s to hoping that the restaurant eventually finds a way to match their service with their quality of food, before it becomes even more detrimental then it already has been.
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Posted by Nick | November 14, 2014, 4:29 amNick,
Thanks for your insight. Not sure when the ad was produced, but the fact that it is still visible on Youtube is surely misleading. Remember Communication gaps? A gap between what you promise and what you deliver.
I was thinking about the birthday song last week. They use the same birthday song at Boston Pizza. Couldn’t they come up with a traditional song from Texas to do this?
What do you think?
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Posted by Ian W. McVitty | November 14, 2014, 2:39 pm