There’s still a Sharks-Jets turf war (sans snapping) when it comes to famous cheese steak rivals Pat’s and Geno’s. So while I and four other team members were in Philadelphia for the PRSA International Conference, we decided to jump into the cheese steak fray and come out with a favorite between the two most famous steaks, along with a few marketing takeaways and of course, dinner.
On our taxi ride to the site of our steak standoff, while we were trying to determine an early steak favorite, our driver informed us that the meat at Pat’s was “stinky,” meat servings were paltry at Geno’s, and that both of them had gone generally downhill in recent years. Online reviews weren’t much help either, with comments like “Pat’s was garbage,” “Every time I’m in Philly I have to stop at Pat’s … I still think that Pat’s is the best,” and “Geno’s and Pat’s – Perhaps the worst quality steak you can find in Philly.” How’s a person to decide which is better without actually trying them both?
The Pat's cheese steak
This happens when you read comparison reviews for any type of service or product – everyone loves it, everyone hates it. Sometimes going to your network for reviews is equally as unhelpful; there’s nothing like first-hand experience.
We weren’t sure what to expect by the time we split up and queued both lines. But as three traditional cheese steaks with Cheez Whiz from each vendor weighted down the table, along with two or three cups of cheese fries from each stand, we were ready to decide for ourselves.
First up: Pat’s. Salty and a bit squishy, it was edible. The cheese fries were crisp and similarly salty (no doubt the Cheez Whiz was to blame). While we had no complaints, nor had we any lavish praise.
The Geno's cheese steak
Next up: Geno’s. There was silence as everyone tasted these, and we all quickly agreed that the meat had an odd, almost metallic taste, which wasn’t hidden by the trifling squirt of bland Cheez Whiz.
We arrived quickly at our unanimous decision: Pat’s was better, but we never wanted to eat a cheese steak again.
We came away with a few marketing and PR takeaways:
It’s all about positioning – Pat’s and Geno’s may not be the best cheese steak providers in a city known for cheese steak – we certainly hope they’re not– but they have the best PR, positioning themselves as the rivals, drawing tons of celebrities and press. It may not be a real rivalry after all, their success shows a rivalry is excellent PR positioning – even after 10pm on a chilly night, both stands were doing brisk business.
All sizzle, no steak – Don’t be fooled by glitzy media campaigns or flashy packaging; real needs can’t be met by aesthetics or PR positioning alone. Geno’s is lit to the hilt with neon lights; Pat’s looks more like a traditional diner, sans flash. While the pretty lights of Geno’s may be dazzling, they seemed incongruous with the very disappointing sandwiches.
Listen to others’ opinions, but don’t form your opinion around them – A number of locals suggested we bypass Pat’s and Geno’s and instead head for Jim’s. Since our time was short and our stomachs bowed out of eating any more cheese steaks, we didn’t give those a shot, but if we had, we may have found the cheese steaks that did it for us. Social media allows everyone to express their opinions freely and copiously, but out of context, they aren’t meaningful. Remember to have an expressed measurable goal; we weren’t looking for the best cheese steaks in Philly, we were deciding which of the two options we liked better.
Pat's cheese steak stand
Decide for yourself – Trying to decide between two or three similar services? Instead of taking someone’s opinion at face value, try them all yourself and make your own conclusions. In the case of Pat’s, Geno’s, and potentially Jim’s we needed to better understand the preferences of those making the recommendations to determine how they decide what’s “better.” Similarly, if you’re looking for a service referral in your peer network, you need to understand their needs and preferences to determine what they find satisfying, especially since services, including monitoring, can be very different for small, large, regional, national, and international businesses.
