Why You'll Never Run Out Of Ways To Customize A Whataburger

It was Burger King advertising executives who devised the catchphrase "Have it your way" to describe the ample customization options available for customers to build their own personalized version of the Whopper. They first introduced the slogan in 1974, with an accompanying jingle to compete with rival McDonald's Big Mac song. Burger King's ditty featured lines like "Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don't upset us."

While it may not have the nationwide recognition or marketing clout of Burger King, the smaller, regionalized Texas-based chain Whataburger is certainly no slouch when it comes to offering an abundance of different burger combinations, and custom orders have been a long-standing tradition for the fast food franchise. To illustrate that point, they issued a press release in 2009 announcing a month-long campaign to promote individualized, special orders at their restaurants.

The announcement shared the precise math on the jaw dropping number of choices patrons had in designing their own Whataburger: 36,864 to be exact.

Just to give you an idea of how large that figure is, a person would need to eat one Whataburger a day, every day, for approximately 100 years to try every single possible menu combination. Hopefully you don't require a Harvard medical professional to tell you that eating a burger a day does not in fact keep the doctor away, and that you should under no circumstances attempt to achieve this artery-clogging milestone.

However, the takeaway here is that Whataburger focuses on made-to-order creations and encourages customization. People can choose from among four meat options, four bread selections, and a litany of condiments and veggies as well as extras such as bacon, cheese, and jalapenos. The amount of unique options expands even further because you can also request double or triple meat.

So, whether you enjoy your Whataburger triple-stacked as a beef patty on thick Texas toast with cheese, bacon, and mayonnaise, or as a single grilled chicken patty piled on wheat and dressed in lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onions, you can rest easy knowing that if you decide to swap out your usual, you're not running out of alternatives any time soon.