Most fast-food executives improve their flagship burger by convening focus groups, commissioning market research, or bringing in a food scientist. Tom Curtis did it differently.
The president of Burger King published his phone number and waited for the calls to come in. What happened next shows up in the chain’s latest earnings report.
“We’ve been listening to our guests a lot lately,” Curtis told Jim Cramer on CNBC’s Mad Money on May 8. “I’ve personally taken 1,800 calls from guests, and we got over 70,000 incoming calls.”
The calls were not a marketing stunt that stayed in the marketing department. They fed directly into product decisions.
Customers told Curtis what they thought of the Whopper, what was missing, and what needed to change.
The result is what CNBC describes as the “Elevated Whopper,” a new glazed bun, creamier mayo, and clamshell packaging that CEO Joshua Kobza said is “driving positive guest feedback and the highest Whopper average unit volumes in over three years.”
Curtis took so many calls that on weekends his wife banned him from taking them inside the house. “My wife wouldn’t let me in the house and take calls for hours on end,” he said. He took them on the porch instead.
Burger King’s same-store sales growth and Q1 earnings beat
The strategy is showing up in the numbers. Restaurant Brands International, Burger King’s parent company, reported better-than-expected Q1 2026 results. Burger King U.S. posted 5.8% same-store sales growth, according to CNBC.
The customer feedback effort also extended to restaurants and operations. When a caller from Great Falls, Montana told Curtis about a broken sign at his local Burger King, the company used AI to scan its entire U.S. network and identified 81 restaurants with broken or missing signs, many of which have since been fixed, according to Entrepreneur.
Beyond the Whopper, the customer focus is helping the chain attract families.
After launching King Junior meals and SpongeBob-themed promotions, kids meal sales rose approximately 40% over the past six months.
Curtis said families are a core part of the turnaround because they require both product quality and a restaurant environment worth trusting.
Why the Elevated Whopper changes matter for Burger King’s brand
The Whopper is not just a menu item. It is Burger King’s identity. When the flagship product underperforms, every other effort at the chain, marketing, promotions, value offers, restaurant upgrades, faces a higher barrier. Fixing the sandwich first gives everything else a stronger foundation.
The changes are subtle but deliberate. The new glazed bun gives the burger a more finished appearance. The creamier mayo improves texture and taste. The clamshell packaging keeps the sandwich intact and presents it more cleanly.
None of these changes is dramatic on its own, but together they create a noticeably different eating experience, according to Restaurant Business.
Curtis going viral by taking a big bite of the Whopper on video, and joking that it “only needed a napkin,” added a layer of authenticity that a traditional ad campaign could not have manufactured.
The moment contrasted sharply with McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski’s social media video of the Big Arch, which was widely criticized as staged.
Julian/Getty Images
What the Burger King turnaround playbook means for the fast-food industry
The broader lesson from Burger King’s approach is one the entire restaurant industry is watching. In a market where inflation has made consumers more selective and value-driven, brand perception matters enormously. A company that can demonstrate it is genuinely responding to what customers say has a differentiated story to tell.
Burger King is leaning into that. The chain retired its “Creepy King” mascot after customers said the marketing felt disconnected from the product. Franchisees voted 97% in favor of raising their marketing fund contribution to 4.5% of revenues, tied to profitability metrics, suggesting they believe in the direction, according to Restaurant Business.
“The act of listening and acting over the last few years has put us in a more competitive place,” Curtis told Nation’s Restaurant News. “We have targeted not what we thought we should be doing but what our guests are telling us we should do.”
Key figures from Burger King’s Q1 2026 results and Whopper turnaround:
- Burger King U.S. same-store sales growth in Q1 2026: 5.8%, Restaurant Brands International beat earnings expectations, according to CNBC
- Customer calls received: over 70,000 total; Curtis personally took 1,800, CNBC confirmed
- Whopper unit volumes: highest average in over three years since the Elevated Whopper launched, CNBC noted
- Kids meal sales growth: approximately 40% over the past six months after King Junior meals and SpongeBob promotions, CNBC confirmed
- Broken signs identified using AI after customer tip: 81 restaurants across the U.S., according to Entrepreneur
- Franchisee marketing fund contribution increase: to 4.5% of revenues, with 97% of operators voting in favor, according to Restaurant Business
Whether Burger King’s momentum can last
The immediate results are strong. But the fast-food industry is littered with turnarounds that started well and stalled when the novelty of a new product wore off. The test for Burger King is whether the sales lift from the Elevated Whopper is structural or whether it represents an initial curiosity bump that fades as competitors respond.
Curtis and his team seem aware of that risk. The customer call program is not framed as a one-time initiative but as an ongoing feedback loop.
The Whopper by You platform, which allows customers to submit ideas for Whopper variations, has already produced multiple limited-time entries and is targeting new demographics, particularly women and Gen Z, according to Restaurant Business.
The most important signal from Burger King right now is not any single sales figure. It is that the company has found an approach to customer engagement that is generating earned media, operational improvements, and product improvements simultaneously.
If Curtis keeps taking the calls and keeps acting on what he hears, Burger King has a genuine platform for sustained relevance in a market that rarely rewards standing still.
Related: Burger King’s menu adds wild new take on the classic burger
