FAN FAVORITES

‘Lunatic customers’ give restaurants a boost

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Adam Moore once drove 500 miles just to eat a burrito at a Chipotle he’d never been to.

Alan Klein is working on a smartphone app to help fellow enthusiasts track down the transient McRib sandwich.

And Ben Skelton made an unusual choice for best man in his upcoming wedding: the Chick-fil-A cow.

“I’ve already told my best man that he’s going to be my second-string best man,” said Skelton, a 28-year-old chaplain’s assistant in the Air National Guard. “I just haven’t told him that he got beat out by a cow.”

Call it fanaticism or simply dedication, but these are the type of ultra-enthusiastic fans that every restaurant craves. Restaurant groupies have always been around, but they’re more valuable at a time when the economy is forcing consumers to choose carefully when they eat out, and a few online posts can inform the opinions of thousands. While there are no known statistics on these fanatics or even agreement on who qualifies as one, restaurant chains realize that influencing a few hyper-excited fans with free food and T-shirts can sometimes be more effective — and cheaper — than a big advertising campaign.

“You really can’t buy publicity like that,” said Chris Arnold, spokesman for Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., referring affectionately to “lunatic customers” who do things like dress up as burritos to score free meals at the Colorado-based chain. He adds that the company tries to cultivate “loyalty and, in extreme cases, even evangelism.”

Fast food has indeed become the gospel for many. About 23 percent of Americans eat fast food at least 20 times a month, according to Jeff Davis at Sandelman & Associates, and another 20 percent indulge 12 to 19 times a month. But few restaurants inspire cultlike dedication. Those that do usually offer only one or two main products, or they’re able to create an aura of scarcity.

That’s why the ubiquitous McDonald’s usually sells its pork sandwich, the McRib, in only a few markets at a time. Last year, when McDonald’s briefly made the McRib available at all U.S. locations, it said that the “obscure availability,” as well as the barbecue sauce, led customers “to perform extraordinary feats” for a taste of the sandwich. McDonald’s Corp. said the McRib helped fuel November sales, but declined to give details.

Chick-fil-A, an Atlanta-based chain with a big presence in the South, has a whole rulebook for how to reward super fans.

Whenever it opens a new restaurant, the first 100 customers get 52 coupons for free meals. Fans usually have to be in line 24 hours in advance to make the cut — and sometimes even that’s not enough.

The restaurant turns the overnight wait into a party in the parking lot, with hula-hoop contests, karaoke and lots of free chicken. It does line checks to make sure people don’t leave, and distributes wristbands to make sure they don’t split shifts. Sometimes Dan Cathy, the president and chief operating officer, shows up in Chick-fil-A pajama pants.

“There’s no better way to get to know your customers,” said spokesman Mark Baldwin.

Skelton, who will stand beside the Chick-fil-A cow at his wedding, certainly understands the desire to marry his favorite restaurant fare with the love of his life. The managers at a Chick-fil-A in Concord, N.C., who will provide his bovine best man, are also enthusiastic, Skelton said. Conveniently, Chick-fil-A already has a cow tuxedo, which it designed last year for some marketing programs during the Oscars.

Skelton’s fianc e, Heather Harmon, said she’s on board, too.