SSLA in the Outback

Flairing is Caring
Typically, flair is associated with casual dining restaurants and is perceived as "cheesy." Even popular movies such as “Office Space” poke fun at this form of adornment.



However, this was not the case at Outback. The flair adds to the Outback experience and emphasizes the importance of customer service. It encourages employees to take care of their customers and to make them feel welcomed.

As our bartender set down the drink “Wallaby Darned” and turned around, we saw a smiley face on the back of his shirt made out of pins, or “flair”. So we had to ask,”Why is your back so happy?”. He then told us that he’s very proud of his flair because of what it symbolizes, which is great customer service. He told us that, “Each time a customer compliments me to the manager, I receive a new pin!”. He went on to tell us that one of his pins was handed down to him. “This one is rare! You just can’t get it…it was passed down to me from another bartender in a different country.” The customers seem to like it too for what it represents.


This type of pride makes the employees also want to stick around for a long period of time. We noticed that a lot of the employees have worked at Outback for an average of five years. This is definitely not a norm in the serving industry.

Truth: Flair is not “cheesy” at Outback. Why? Because, customers appreciate the meaning behind it.


Welcome Home
The laid back, friendly “Aussie attitude” is reflected in all of the employees attitudes. This charisma is a key reason for repeated patronage at Outback. The "welcome home" atmosphere created by the staff establishes a feeling of comfort that the diners want. A husband of a couple that were dining out stated that “When my wife is out of town I still come to Outback because I feel comfortable.” The staff knows him by name, so he can come for dinner and feel like he is at home.


Specialization…Free Of Charge
Along with attention to customer service, there is an "anything you want" mentality at Outback. One of the diners called Outback the "neighborhood steakhouse." He used the word steakhouse because he said that he can order his meal just like he wants it, without any additional cost. He always orders a baseball cut steak with no seasoning. He doesn't usually dine at casual restaurants, he likes to eat at fancy steakhouses. Outback is something he would normally equate to a more expensive steakhouse.

Truth: Specialization at no cost makes for a comfortable and enjoyable dining experience.


What do we look like, Australians?
“There is no such thing as Australian food”. The menu at Outback consists of American food with an Australian theme. This question is one that the staff receives often. The diners notice the Australian theme, but do not see the connection to the food. One of the servers told us that “Outback is a theme restaurant. Australia is the theme, but we don’t serve Australian food. Just like Disneyland is a theme park, but they don’t serve cartoon food." A theme restaurant it may be, but it lacks authenticity and purpose.












Truth: This Australian connection is not what makes the diners come to Outback. The employee atmosphere and "at home feeling" is what makes diners keep coming back.


-Stacey & Regan, LA

Know Who You Are

“My favorite restaurants are the ones who set out to do something and never lose sight of that,” said Scot, a trader for goldman sachs with an affinity for tremendous food.

“The draw to a restaurant is firstly the food, but it’s the whole experience that really keeps you coming back.” He described one of his favorite eateries, explaining that its goal was to be a neighborhood haunt with simple food, warm homey atmospehere, and housing so much charm that you wouldn't even mind when your neighbor’s elbow ends up in your plate. A month or so after opening, it became apparent that the small neighborhood haunt was now a NYC hot spot.




"They were offered the bigger space next door, but they turned it down. They understood who they were, what they stood for, and the actual appeal that cramped corners and less patrons can have.”

“On the opposite end, the places that either try to be what they aren’t, or worse yet, have no idea what they want to be, those are generally the worst spots to go.”

Truth: There’s a certain flow and harmony in any great restaurant; the food at the crux, enhanced then by the drinks, which are served by similar flavor wait staff, in glasses that fit the overall mood to perfection. The only way of intricately lacing all the aspects together is to have a clear sense of what that restaurant wants to stand for, ultimately what it wants to say.

That Peaceful Easy Feeling and The Land Down Under

“I don’t even think I liked peanuts, I think I just enjoyed throwing them on the ground.” Amanda is an architect now living in NYC, originally from Alaska, where she said that Outback was apparently an “institution”. “It was the perfect place for parents to take you and another family. Totally easy going, and you knew the food was always going to be good.”
As we sipped our soda’a and munched on our meals, Barron, the bartender, told us of how he transferred from another Outback in North Carolina to the one we were in, “I used to work at another bunch of bars in the city, but I just kept making my way back here. Everyone’s just friendlier. It’s that awesome laidback attitude that I love.” It appeared that most people populating the restaurant were there for the same reasons. The regulars, amusingly enough, were from the Culinary school next door, and informed me that it wasn’t the food that kept them coming back.



Truth: Ultimately, everyone who walked through those doors was looking for the same thing: a place to hang their hat, down a can, and take a break from anything outside the outback.



“I think the toilet flushes the other way. Dingbats, wallabies, dingoes, that crocodile hunter guy,” these are some of the answers that I got when I asked what the guys sitting at the bar thought of Australia.
“Cool surfer guys. Laid back, throw another shrimp on the barbe. Totally the type of people I’d want to hang with.” When talking about Australians, the eyes lit up, and there was all of a sudden an interest, almost a camaraderie with our beer drinking mates on the other side of the world. People seem to love, almost envy, the Australian way of living. Where there’s a disconnect between Americans and Australia, there’s real connection, and enjoyment, between Americans and Australians.


Truth: It’s that love for another beer, easy live your life attitude that American’s admire about Australians, and that’s exactly the attitude that emanates from each Outback Steakhouse.


Opportunity: Shift Outback’s focus from the place to the person: from touristy Australia to the lovable Australian.