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An article highlights customer complaints against In-N-Out Burger, focusing on issues like soggy fries and long lines at drive-thrus, despite recent ingredient upgrades such as switching to sea salt and real sugar for ketchup. Critics also point out that meals sometimes arrive cold or with incorrect orders, and they wish the chain would offer plain mayonnaise, which is currently unavailable. The piece notes that while customers endure lengthy waits, employees are well-compensated for their efforts during these chaotic times.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In-N-Out Burger, a California-based fast-food chain known for its fresh ingredients and affordable burgers, has faced criticism recently over the quality of its fries. Despite In-N-Out's claim that their fries use farm-fresh potatoes sliced and cooked on-site with 100% sunflower oil, many customers are dissatisfied with the texture, describing them as tasting like cardboard. This discontent is echoed by celebrities such as Hilary Duff, who prefers to skip the fries altogether even when enjoying an In-N-Out meal. The criticism comes at a time when In-N-Out has been making other changes, including switching from iodized salt packets to sea salt and using real sugar in its ketchup instead of high-fructose corn syrup, but these alterations do not address customer complaints about the fries' quality.
Written for “In-N-Out Burger Criticism” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 16735 · logged 2026-09-17
The California-born fast-food institution has spent decades cultivating a cult following around its wallet-friendly burgers and famously fresh ingredients — but a new article tackling top chain customer gripes has exposed cracks in the sainted empire.
asserted
article → bear → empire
From soggy spuds to parking lot gridlock, the Animal-style addicts have been busily airing their beefs online — a backlash that comes during an unusually eventful stretch for the normally change-averse burger chain.
asserted
that → air → chain
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The West Coast-founded company swapped iodized salt packets for sea salt, removed sesame flour from its buns in several states, and started making its ketchup with real sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup.
asserted
company → sign → syrup
According to the hungry hordes, they should have started with the fries instead.
uncertain
they → accord → fries
While In-N-Out boasts that its fries are made from potatoes that come straight from the farm, sliced inside the restaurant and cooked in 100% sunflower oil, that painstaking freshness can’t stop critics from savaging their texture.
“They seem to taste like cardboard and they seem to take pride in how crap they are,” one disgruntled diner said on Reddit — echoing the feelings of many others, including superfan Hilary Duff — who once notably said that while In-N-Out would be her death row meal, she’d skip the fries entirely.
asserted
she → boast → fries
Other diners have complained that their meals occasionally arrive cold, whole others have reported order mix-ups ranging from missing fries to incorrect burger toppings.
asserted
others → complain → toppings
Another grease-slicked grievance is the persistent lack of mayonnaise.
asserted
grievance → slick → mayonnaise
Customers can get ketchup, mustard or the chain’s famous spread, but plain mayo’s a no-go, apparently.
asserted
mayo → get → ketchup
Drive-thru lines are a whole other story, with customers describing waits of around 40 minutes.
asserted
customers → describe → minutes
“If the drive thru is full and parking lot is somewhat empty, dining room will be faster,” one person, who identified as a former employee, wrote on Reddit.
asserted
who → identify → Reddit
“If the parking lot and drive-thru is full it’s about the same wait time.”
asserted
it → ’ → ?
While customers might complain about having to wait around for those burgers, the people running the show are being handsomely compensated in spite of the chaos.
uncertain
people → complain → chaos
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