Burger King upgrading the Whopper after fans say burgers were “smushed”

Burger King is making big changes to its Whopper for the first time in a decade after customers began complaining about the burgers’ quality.

The fast food chain kicked off a fan feedback initiative in mid-February, allowing customers to call or text Burger King President Tom Curtis with their opinions on how the company was performing.

It’s already implementing some big changes based on this feedback, announcing substantial changes to the Whopper just a week later.

As reported by Burger King in a press release, the Whopper will now come with a “more premium, better-tasting bun,” creamier mayonnaise, and will be served inside a cardboard box instead of a bag.

Burger King upgrading Whopper, but won’t raise prices

This change comes after customers complained of their Whoppers falling apart in transit, coming out of the kitchen smushed and messy.

“The Whopper being smushed, literally, I’ve heard it… and we’ve seen it,” Curtis said in an interview with CNN. “(We) improved packaging that kind of holds it together. The creamier mayonnaise frankly just came from some franchisees who said they wanted to see a more premium mayonnaise. And then also upgrading and premium-izing the bun.”

Although the Whopper is getting an upgrade, customers won’t have to worry about paying more for their fast food fix. Curtis explained that Burger King franchisees are eating the cost, which will run locations an additional $4,000 a year.

The company believes this investment will eventually increase sales, something that comes as a direct result of Curtis’s customer feedback hotline. He told CNN that he’s on the phone chatting with fast foodies for four to six hours a day, including Saturdays.

“There are a lot of people saying, ‘Hey, can you work on your French fries?’ So when I see patterns like that over the course of 12,000 calls, you know you need to go work on this stuff,” he admitted.