The Elderly Couple Who Are Cracker Barrel's Biggest Fans
How many of us can be considered loyal to a brand or a company? By loyalty, we don't mean that you would drop down on your knees and worship the company's name like a golden calf, but loyalty in the sense of how much you frequent or purchase from that company or its particular items. For example, are you someone who prefers McDonald's over any other fast-food restaurant? Do you know someone who thinks Pepsi is better than Coke? We are loyal to one company or another, even if we don't realize it.
When it comes to certain companies, some people are more than eager to show their love for them. BuzzFeed reports that there are people known as "Disney SuperFans" who practically live and breathe everything Disney, to the point that some move across the country to just be closer to the House of Mouse. Eat This, Not That! writes that there are those so devoted to McDonald's and the Golden Arches that they even decorate their homes in the classic golden and red colors of a McDonald's restaurant or fill their homes with elaborate shrines made of Mickey D's memorabilia.
In the case of one elderly couple, their love for Cracker Barrel isn't quite as extreme as turning their home into a Cracker Barrel museum. However, it's still a fascinating look into the relationship between customer loyalty and the quality of a business.
The Yoders try to visit every Cracker Barrel in the U.S.
Ray and Wilma Yoder's quest to dine at every Cracker Barrel wasn't one made as part of a bucket list or some competition with other couples, but one that was born simply because Ray Yoder, like any Cracker Barrel patron, was hungry. As Wide Open Country reports, Ray previously worked for an RV company forty-some years ago and was tasked with driving motorhomes all the way across the country to awaiting dealerships.
As any long-haul driver can tell you, the open road makes one hungry, and perhaps on a whim, Ray decided to stop at a Cracker Barrel in Nashville for a change of pace. While not too impressed at first glance, repeated trips to Cracker Barrel helped to nurture a love for the old country store in Ray and Wilma, who would accompany him on his long cross-country trips. It was these trips that instilled a desire to try and visit each Cracker Barrel in the United States — and in 2017, the Yoders accomplished that dream.
According to ABC News, almost as if they were being repaid for their loyalty, Cracker Barrel flew the couple to Oregon to the chain's 645th location, where they could sit down to a meal of blueberry pancakes and complete their life-long quest. They were not only welcomed by an applauding crowd but gifted their own personalized rocking chairs just like Cracker Barrel's.