Five Guys
“Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Ingredients for Success”

Company Overview

The Five Guys business venture was founded on a few well thought out principles which they saw as a unique way of not only penetrating a competitive market dominated by many other well-established franchises, but also making a name for themselves and expanding their business.
The main principle that the Five Guys operated by was, and still is, providing a high-quality product and maintaining that level of quality throughout, regardless. They decided they would never compromise on the quality of the product, and this not only became part of their brand, but also attracted a loyal following. Because he was adamant on regulating, supervising and controlling the standards of production and the quality of the final product, Jerry was not as eager as his sons were on franchising the business (Hatten, 2003). However, after much persuasion by his sons, he gave in.
Five Guys ‘philosophy sets it apart from other fast-food chains
Jerry had decided that in order to make Five Guys the best fast-food store, he had to make sure that they did not cut corners. One of the Five Guys policies is that the customer always comes first, and that is the code that the Five Guys’ staff works by. They offer nothing but the best for their customers. To achieve this, Five Guys always use fresh buns for their burgers to make them the freshest and juiciest burgers in the market. Furthermore, they also make the perfect fries that are usually hand-cut to a perfect size and fried using a suitable formula.
At Five Guys, another fundamental principle is that the customer is the best salesman. This means that if contented and satisfied, the customer will do the sales pitch to others, whether friends or relatives, and consequently there will be an increase in sales. The customer is the most prominent partner in the business, and as such, Five Guys adopts the approach that a customer is not an outsider, but part of the business.
Original Values for the Start-up Company
As part of their business plan, the Five Guys Burgers and Fries fast-food store had made it clear that they were not going to compromise on the quality of their products. They instead focused on making the customer happy by satisfying and exceeding the expectations of their customers. This, they achieved in several ways; instead of spending a lot in décor and adornments, they concentrated their efforts on the provision of good affordable quality food. They maintain this up-to-date with their simple work uniforms and spacious uncluttered restaurants.
The Five Guys store has also had a practice that it has maintained from its inception; instead of mass-producing the burgers, each burger is made to order and served with the toppings that the customer wishes alongside hand-cut fries. The procedure of laying the slices of topping has not changed either (Kaputa, 2012).
Factors that contributed to Five Guys’ success
Once a small suburban burger place in Washington DC, Five Guys has, in just a few years, developed into America’s fastest-growing fast-food chain. A number of factors have led to the success of the Five Guys Burgers and Fries venture. One of these has been the requirement that any prospective franchisees must have enough capital or financial resources, to put up and operate at least five restaurants. The franchise should also be managed by skilled personnel who have acquired managerial experience and a strong business background (Hughes & Kapoor, 2011). This ensures the continuity and reputation of the brand is not impaired.
Another factor is the fact that Five Guys have maintained the original burger-and-fries formula. They make sure that the same process is repeated in each and every store assuring their customers of the same high-quality, great-taste regardless of the location of the store. This consequently creates a loyal clientele base therefore increasing sales.
Ethical and social practices as part of the Five Guys’ culture
One of the most highly emphasized ethical practices in every Five Guys’ store is the maintenance of quality products (Kaputa, 2012). All their products pass quality assurance not only from the customers, but more importantly from a 3rd party audit. In the pursuit of maintaining quality and high standards of food production and preparation, each of the Five Guys’ restaurants undergo two-weekly audits by 3rd parties. The safety audit is meant to check and confirm that all the kitchen equipment, including cutlery and utensil, are safe and in excellent condition. The hygiene audit, on the other hand, is carried out to report on the cleanliness of the entire facility, courtesy displayed by the staff, and more so the standards of preparation of food. To avoid undue advantage, the auditors walk in as customers, and this helps them to get a genuine perspective of the facility and staff (Hughes & Kapoor, 2011). After the audit, the highest scoring team is awarded with $1000 to boost their morale, making them feel they are part of the Five Guys family and that they are accountable and valuable. The Five Guys CEO, Murrell, explains, “Treat your employees and customers right...".
Part of the Five Guys policy also entails rewarding staff for quality customer-service by setting aside 1.5% of all revenue collected, and awarding them bonuses instead of using these funds to engage in advertisement and marketing. In a market with as stiff a competition as the fast-food industry, every competitor dedicates a sizeable portion of the revenue generated to advertisement as a means of attracting new customers. In the Five Guys model, however, the main objective seems to maintain the customers through consistency in quality production and relying on the product’s reputable quality to “sell” itself to the public.
The Five Guys formula for burgers and fries also ensures that the proper health code standards are met if not exceeded. Right from purchase, to the preparation and serving of the potatoes, strict guidelines are followed in order to ensure that the products on sale are not only tasty but also safe and healthy.
It would be a calculated guess that it is this kind of reputation for upholding ethical standards that might have encouraged President Obama to visit one of the Five Guys’ stores where he ordered a cheeseburger with tomato, jalapeno pepper, lettuce and some mustard, taking 10 fries and additional 8 burgers to go. What better way to market your brand than by having the head of state as your satisfied customer.
It is clear that with the ethical and social practices that the Five Guys franchise employ, they have indeed enchanted their customers and consequently driven them to the rapid growth they have gone through in the last few years. In conclusion, Five Guys has been able to expand and grow at a steady fast rate since it became a franchise mostly due to its ability to maintain the high-quality of its products that made it a successful business in the beginning.

References
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Longenecker, J. G. (2007). Small business management: launching and managing new ventures
(3rd Canadian ed.). Toronto: Thomson Nelson.

Creel, J. S. (2010). The availability of healthy food options in fast food outlets in six rural counties. College Station, Tex.: Texas A&M University.