Five Guys
Evelyn McAllister
Strayer University
Contemporary Business
BUS508
Dr. Ruether
October 27, 2013

Five Guys
How Five Guys’ philosophy sets it apart from other fast-food chains.

Five Guy’s philosophy focuses on creating a quality product that customers will appreciate. They make sure to focus on the customers and their employees. According to Boone and Kurtz (2012), Five Guys has focused on quality by ensuring that its meat is 80% lean, keeping its plants clean, ordering its quality potatoes from Idaho instead of purchasing cheaper potatoes from Florida or California, soaking its fries to avoid them from absorbing oil, making their burgers to order and ensuring fresh bread gets delivered to each franchise daily (Boone & Kurtz, 2012). Customers appreciate the Small details such as cooking their burgers to order. Each burger is made when the customer orders it unlike most other burger chains where the burgers are already made and sitting in a bin.
They do not offer a wide variety of food products like other burger chains. In an interview for Inc. magazine, Five Guy’s founder Jerry Murrell stated, “Sell a really good, juicy burger on a fresh bun. Make perfect French fries. Do not cut corners” (Welch, 2010). That has been the business plan since they opened the first store in 1986. Five Guy’s has built its business on burgers and fries. Many other burger or fast food chains tend to cut corners. They use frozen products because the cost may be a little less. Five Guy’s uses only fresh products. The focus is on providing the best products to their customers. This focus is one of the things that set Five Guys apart from other restaurants. They keep the menu simple and do not offer a wide variety of food products. They own the bakery that makes their bread and this ensures that every location receives fresh bread every day.
Five Guys does not spend a lot of money on advertising. Their view is that their customers will advertise for them. They rely on the word of mouth advertising that their customers provide for them.
The original values for Five Guys, and how it remains strong today.
According to Gilbert (2012), “ Since the company’s founding in Arlington, GA., in 1986, the chain has grown to over 625 locations in 40 states and four Canadian provinces, with most of that growth occurring in the past seven years” (p. 2). According to Burke (2012), Jerry Murrell initially had the idea for a higher-quality burger restaurant back in 1986, as a way to keep his family nearby and, perhaps, make a little money on the side. Jerry Murrells focus was to keep his family close by and together. All five of his sons and his wife are involved with the family business. Jerry always focused on being and doing things fairly and equally, as well as treating every one with respect and fairness. He instilled work ethics and a sense of inclusion in his sons as well as his employees. According to an Inc. article on Five guys, Murrell states that it is important to make employees’ feel a sense of ownership and accountability. Murrell has secret shoppers and auditors come in to evaluate customer service, quality of food, and cleanliness of the restaurant. If the store passes the audit, the employees get a bonus. Five Guys has never stepped away from its original philosophy of providing a quality product, customer service, and a family oriented environment.
Three (3) factors that contributed to Five Guys’ success in such a short time and what effect, if any, external markets had on these factors.
Customer service, quality product, and franchising are three factors that have contributed to Five Guys success in a short time. Customers come first at Five Guys. By providing made to order meals, excellent service, fresh ingredients, and consistent no frills menu, Five Guys has proven that they take great pride in providing great service. Five Guys has done what many other big burger chains have failed to do. They have a service mentality that is all about the customer and quality. Many of the processes they have in place are a bit more expensive to maintain. Ordering fresh potatoes from a specific region because of the quality is just one example of how Five Guys goes above and beyond to provide their customers with a great eating experience and a quality product. Customers appreciate what Five Guys does as is evident in numerous survey results of America’s best burger.
Quality food products have been part of Five Guys philosophy since the first restaurant opened in 1986. Fresh meat, fresh ingredients, fresh bread, and fresh toppings are all part of offering a great product. Five Guys stores are maintained well and management has implemented internal audit processes to ensure cleanliness and quality control.
Franchising has been a huge contributor to the fast growth of Five Guys. “The private burger chain has 1,039 stores open in the U.S. and Canada, and another 1,500 committed to build. Since 2006 the company has grown 792%”, (Burke, 2012). Burke also comments that Five Burgers has sold out of all of its franchise rights in the US and Canada.
Assess how ethical and social practices are part of the Five Guys’ culture and provide examples to support your choices.
Five Guys ensures ethical and social practices are part of their culture. One ethical process they have in place is the internal audits they conduct weekly on their stores. This ensures that each store operates the same across the board from how they cook to how they service customers to how they maintain the overall condition of the store. Five guys views ethics as extremely important. This is rooted in their family oriented environment. Employees are valued and treated fairly. There are numerous employee incentives in place to demonstrate their focus on ethics and social responsibility. On its’ website, Five guys states that “Five Guys Enterprises LLC and its subsidiaries believe in the importance of international labor and human rights standards and we are committed to lawful, ethical and fair business practices” (Five Guys, 2012). They take the belief a step further by requiring that all of their suppliers, employees, contractors, and franchisees to be in compliance as well. Five Guys also contributes to several local food bank initiatives. In Florida, ten percent of sales go toward Second Harvest Food Bank, (Second Harvest, 2013). In South Palm Beach, Five Guys hosts the Five Guys 5k/10k Charity Run where proceeds go to the South Palm Beach YMCA.
While Five Guys has grown far beyond anyone including Jerry Murrel himself could have ever imagined, the company stays true to its original philosophy and vision. Their vision is rooted in a family operated and oriented environment. They provide a quality product with quality customer service. Their whole focus is on the customer and providing exceptional service. Their beliefs and philosophy is what has contributed to their amazing growth.
References

Boone, L. E. & Kurtz, D. L. (2012 Update). Contemporary business (14th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Burke, M. (2012) Forbes. Five Guys Burgers: America's Fastest Growing Restaurant Chain. Retrieved on October 30, 213 from http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2012/0806/restaurant-chefs-12-five-guys-jerry-murrell-all-in-the-family.html
Gilbert, S. (2010). What Makes Five Guys the New Burger Masters. Retrieved October 30, 2013 from http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/08/18/five-guys-new-burger-masters/
INC.com (N.D) Five reasons why Five Guys is a big success. Retrieved on October 30, 2013 from http://www.inc.com/ss/five-guys-burgers-and-fries#2
Second Harvest Food Bank (2013) Retrieved on October 30, 2013 from http://www.foodbankcentralflorida.org/site/PageServer?pagename=events_fiveguys
Welch, L. (2010). How I Did It: Jerry Murrell, Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Inc. Retrieved on October 30, 2013 from http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100401/jerry-murrell-five-guys-burgers-and-fries.html