...quality burgers possible. To sell the best burgers possible they focus on quality, service, and cleanliness”. (Elan, 2007) When a customer leaves Five Guys the aim is for them to really find the products and services irresistible. The high quality food does all the talking. Another way they differ from other food chains is they don’t invest a lot into advertising. York (2009) points out that Five Guys’ invest in an intensive secret shopper program where restaurant crew members can earn additional pay by getting high scores from secret shoppers. Also, a wide variety of topping choices for their burgers is offered. Welch (2010) explains how they “prepare their fries by soaking them in water so that when the fries are pre-fried, the water boils forcing steam out of the fry”. While visiting Five Guy’s Burgers and fries for the first time back in 2003, during a brief conversation with the friendly cashier, I was amazed to find out that they use coolers instead of freezers. The truth is, I had never heard of that being done before in a restaurant. Another thought that I have that makes Five Guys’ different from other food chains is the way they execute the processing of the orders. As a customer, I can watch my burger being made to ensure it is as I requested. “When the customers start lining up, they distribute free, unshelled peanuts to please waiting customers. “These peanuts have now become a trademark” (Yu, 2009, p. 2). Jerry Murrell stated “Treat that person right, he’ll...
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...apart from other fast-food chains. In 1986, the Murrell family began Five Guys Burgers and Fries in Arlington, VA, with the mission statement, “We are in the business of selling burgers.” ; simple and to the point (Byrne, 2008). Their beginning philosophy, which still fuels their business today, is to serve simple quality food that will meet the needs of their customers. The focus will not be on fast food but on quality food (“Grand Opening”, 2011). Five Guys’ determination to give fresh quality products has gained them lots of success over the last two decades. The 80/20 beef used in the burgers come from the same vendor that the Murrell family has used since the inception of the business. The Murrell’s also chooses to use Idaho grown potatoes for their fries because they are grown slower, rather than faster, cheaper grown potatoes from Florida and California. Burgers are hand formed every morning, and fries are hand cut every day. The buns used for the company are baked fresh daily just as when the store first opened in 1986 (Welche, 2009). By sticking to their belief in quality burgers fries that are made with freshest ingredients possible, Five Guys has been able to surpass their competition as a burger place. All food is cooked to order. The company believes that a quality product is made no matter what the cost to the company may be. By thriving on made to order burgers and fries with fresh quality ingredients, Five Guys has accrued various awards for top burger especially...
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...operators, getting recognition from its customers, the business grew up rapidly. Five Guy’s and their business are not limited to U.S. Today, there are about 670 stores across U.S and Canada. What is the company’s sanctified philosophy that enabled it to best compete with its counter fast food chains? How the original values of the start-up company remained strong today? What are the possible factors that contributed to the success of the business in such a short time? How is Five Guys responsive to its customers and the community at large? This case study examines issues brought for the discussion using the interactive case study “Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Ingredients for Success” and other body of literature as a secondary source. Five Guy’s Philosophy Five Guy’s strongly believe living by strong values is the key to good business. It seems that Murell and his family strictly adhere to the values they set at the heart of every decision they make and in their daily operations of the business. As we heard the story, the basic philosophy of Five Guys’ is that they believe in the quality of their product and the satisfaction of their customers. No matter how long the time takes to prepare a burger with all the 17 toppings, they prepare it carefully. That...
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...Murrell family served only hand-formed burgers cooked to perfection on a grill along with fresh-cut fries cooked in pure peanut oil. Five Guys was the place to get a fresh, juicy burger with all the toppings you could stuff between fresh-baked buns. What started as a modest burger shack in a Virginia strip mall has exploded into America’s fastest-growing restaurant chain, with five stores opening each week. Five Guys serves up made-to-order burgers with beef that’s never frozen and absurdly large servings of hand-cut fries. The fresh, generous meals allow them to charge more than fast food chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King (Weise, 2011) The Five Guys mission statement is aligned with the philosophy that if you're going to sell hamburgers and french fries in a restaurant industry that is crowded with hamburger-french-fries chains, you'd better do hamburgers and french fries better than anyone else. Simply stated, the mission statement of Five Guys Burgers and Fries is: "We are in the business of selling burgers." "Five Guys goal is to sell the best quality burgers possible. To sell the best burger possible, we focus on Quality, Service, and Cleanliness." In addition to their goal, the family owned and operated business focuses on perfecting their limited menu and building a devout local following. Sell a really good, juicy burger on a fresh bun. Make perfect French fries. Don't cut corners. That's been the...
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...Five Guys: An Honest Business Built on Simplicity Reyna Haynes-Smith Professor Barry Adkins Contemporary Business BUS 508 October 19, 2012 Food. It’s a major topic of discussion today. What’s healthy, what’s not. What’s filling, what’s worth the money. There are many factors that contribute to the reason consumers choose one business over another. Most choose fast food options because they don’t have the time for a sit down meal. Time is short and many want a meal that is filling but also want something healthy. Enter Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Five Guys was founded in 1986 by Jerry and Janie Murrell in Washington DC. They wanted to give their sons the opportunity to either build a business or go to college. The business route won and the family opened a carry out burger joint in Alexandria, VA. Their premise was to concentrate on the quality of their product and the satisfaction of their customer. From that a simple yet beneficial business was born. The “Keep it simple” mindset has brought Five Guys tremendous success. “Now, over 20 years after Five Guys first opened, there are over 1,000 locations nationwide and over 1500 units in development. Five Guys continues to receive media attention and has grown a cult-like following around the world”. Five Guys took many years to perfect their business practices. Many of their practices differed from those of other businesses...
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...GENERALS DIE IN BED – Charles Yale Harrison JR’s TEACHER NOTES Explain and speculate what the title of the novel is inferring about the Generals. A. * The title is a pun or is having a go at the generals. * Generals die in bed while the soldiers die on the front lines. * Generals don’t fight. Instead they command soldiers from a safe distance behind the frontlines * The title suggests that there is a total lack of respect for generals or for people in positions of power/ authority. If this happens in war then there is a breakdown in the chain of command, therefore making it difficult to win the war itself. Glossary Compile a comprehensive list of words/ terms/ phrases/ places from the text and from the period in which the novel is set in. These words and terms should then feature in your coursework and text responses. * Trench warfare * Western Front * Alliance * Mother Country * Over the top * No mans land * Parapet * Sniper * Artillery * Shell Shock * Shrapnel * Minewerfer – mine throwing trench mortars * Parados – the wall of the trench * Blighty – England * Bosch/ Heine – derogatory term for a German * Estaminet – French café * Propaganda – exaggerating the truth * Lice/ louse – small parasitic insect * Funk-hole – a cavity carved out of the inside of the trench * Raid * Interrogation Quotes Choose at least 3 quotes per chapter and attach who said...
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...chains. Sell a really good, juicy burger on a fresh bun. Make perfect French fries. Don't cut corners. That's been the business plan since Jerry Murrell and his sons opened their first burger joint in 1986. When they began selling franchises in 2002, the family had just five stores in northern Virginia. Today, there are 570 stores across the U.S. and Canada, with 2009 sales of $483 million. Overseeing the opening of about four new restaurants a week, the Murrells are proof that flipping burgers doesn't have to be a dead-end job. Four years ago, before franchising, Five Guys was just a little family burger operation with five locations and a steady, if cultish following, in Northern Virginia. Today the business is by some estimates heading toward $1 billion in value. Five Guys has 87 locations. Most are in the Washington region, but a hundred more will open along the East Coast this year, and another thousand are being phased in. Each store, the company says, pulls in about $1 million a year. How Janie and Jerry Murrell and their five sons, the Five Guys, so quickly bit into the nation's $58 billion-a-year burger business is a little bit of a burger whodunit. The Murrells can be gregarious, but they are given to moments of silence when asked how their business grew so big. Their success probably includes a combination of ingredients, though: keeping the business strategy simple (sell burgers and fries) while implementing quick and crucial cooking procedures (press down on the...
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...Murrell is the founder and owner of the first Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Their business plan includes making the very best burger around, matching that with perfect fries and not cutting any corners in the process. They started in 1986 and in 2002 when they began selling franchises they only had 5 burgers joints. Today there are over 570 of them and annual sales reach the $483 million mark. The Murrells spend their time overseeing the opening of around four new stores each week. And just think your parents said flipping burgers was a dead end job. When Jerry Murrell began franchising he was just a small burger operation with an almost cultish following in Northern Virginia. Today, the business is, by some, estimated heading in the direction of the $1 billion in value mark. Five Guys only has 87 locations. That is 87 cities or areas where their stores are located. Most of these are in the Washington region, but a hundred more are located along the East Coast this year. There are thousand more being phased into the business plan. Each store, the company says, will make around $1 million per year. Jerry and Janie Murrell and their sons are often asked how they turned Five Guys into such a huge success in such a difficult industry. These questions are often met with a moment of silence. The formula probably includes a combination of ingredients, keeping their business model simple (sell the burgers and fries only) while implementing quick but crucial cooking procedures...
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...given to the four sons by their parents ‘start a business or go to college.” Their growth since opening has grown tremendously to where the family never expected it to grow, between the year they opened and 2002 which was the year they began franchising the family opened six locations all in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Many have wondered how has a mom and pop organization become so successful in such a short amount of time? What’s the magical secret? Other fast food chains have been around for years and have not risen to success in the short amount of time it took Five Guys to get where they are today. The difference between Five Guys and some of its competitors is the promise to only serve fresh food, nothing is ever frozen. What gives Five Guys the leg up from others in the industry is they do not have to keep remaking themselves, they keep it simple by having the same menu today that they had in 1986 (Kulikowski, 2011). According to Jerry Murrell, the family stuck to their guns and decided to never stray from their original plan, which was to only offer burger and fries, fresh ingredients – never frozen, never have a delivery service, and focus on what’s in front of them which are the customers. Murell’s philosophy is the best salesperson is the customer standing right in front of them, if they are treated right they will go and tell others about their experience (Melnick, 2011). Other burger chains are known for constantly changing their menus, adding new things, making...
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...Strachey, Leonard Woolf, and Clive Bell. These Cambridge friends subsequently become known as the Bloomsbury Group, of which VW was an important and influential member. 1904. Death of father. Beginning of second serious breakdown. VW’s first publication is an unsigned review in The Guardian. Travels in France and Italy with her sister Vanessa and her friend Violet Dickinson. VW moves to Gordon Square in Bloomsbury. Other residents of this Square include Lady Jane Strachey, Charlotte Mew, and Dora Carrington. 1905. Travels in Spain and Portugal.Writes book reviews and teaches once a week at Morley College, London, an evening institute for working men and women. 1906. Travels in Greece. Death of brother Thoby Stephen. Writes a group of short stories now collected as Memoirs of a Novelist. 1907. Marriage of sister Vanessa to Clive Bell. VW moves with brother Adrian to live in Fitzroy Square. Working on her first novel (to become The Voyage Out). 1908. Visits Italy with the Bells. 1909. Lytton Strachey...
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...Why Not Burgers and Fries? | Successful Leadership and Entrepreneurship of Five Guys Burgers and Fries | | | | 10/28/2012 | Assignment 1: Entrepreneurial Leadership Contemporary Business Abstract This paper will analyze the business Five Guys Burgers and Fries to determine what has made this business and franchises successful. Five Guys operates in the food service industry and is among the top profitable franchises that offers a simple menu of burgers and fries as its main product. Five Guys’ is a family owned business that started in Arlington, VA that over time became one of the most popular places for fast food that did not require any marketing strategy to be a well-known place to eat. Five Guys’ prides itself of being such a simple company offering the best burgers and fries for a low-cost. Also, the business maintains a sense of integrity and ethics that continues to drive the business profits and keeps customers coming back for more of the burgers and fries. History There are plenty of restaurants available for quick choices of food and also price; one company has improved over time with being number one for a simple hamburger and fries combo. This company, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, are well known in the United States as a fast growing company that started from humble beginnings. The Murrell family, which consists of Janie and Jerry and their five (5) sons, help run the business from the beginning in Arlington...
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...Jay Shuster grew up in Birmingham, Michigan. He started working at Pixar in 2002 as a character and environments designer for Cars and Wall-E. He won an Academy Award in 2009 for 'Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture' for Wall-E. He recently worked on Cars 2 as the character art designer. He also worked as a sketch artist in Toy Story Toons: Small Fry (short film), Toy Story Toons: Partysaurus Rex (short film) and Toy Story 3 (2010), as a concept artist in Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace (1999) and in Star Wars: Episode II-The Attack of the Clones (2002) and as a production designer in The Blue Umbrella (short film). So Jay, did you always think you would be in the Art Department for Pixar? Jay: Well I am the son of a car designer, so no. But I guess as a child I grew up around a nest of blue prints, drawings, posters, machines and models of all things connected to mechanised transportation. Seeing lots of drawings kind of inspired me to draw, especially vehicles. What was your first designing job and what did it involve? Jay: My first job was for Lucasfilm (Star Wars), it was an opportunity to work in a creative environment. I designed a variety of vehicles and environments for the Star Wars prequel film trilogy. How did you gain your skills and have they always been helpful in your jobs? Jay: I went to school and studied industrial design that gave me the greatest skills for the work I do. My personal skill set didn't...
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...“So much held in a heart in a lifetime. So much held in a heart in a day, an hour a moment. We are utterly open with no one in the end- not mother and father, not wife or husband, not lover, not child, not friend.” Brian Doyle is widely recognized as a remarkable storyteller that depicts life lessons for young people. In Joyas Valadores, Doyle introduces us many aspects of writing. He uses a variety of details that help us imagine and feel real life situations. Joyas Valadores is a heartfelt short essay that has creative imagery, a variety of metaphors, and a powerful way of using repetition. Throughout Joyas Valadores, a great amount of imagery is used. When Doyle is describing the hummingbird in his story, he tells us to take a moment to consider the hummingbirds that did not open their eyes today. He goes on and says, “Each the most amazing thing you have ever seen, each thunderous wild heart the size of an infant’s fingernail, each mad heart silent, a brilliant music stilled.” Can you imagine the size of an infant’s fingernail? In reality, when we imagine the infant’s fingernail we get amazed by how small the hummingbird’s heart is...
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...CASE STUDY: MCDONALD’S DENNY ARCHIBEK AND JERRY D. MARSH II WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY DECEMBER 19, 2015 Author Note This paper was prepared for Advanced Microcomputer Applications MJTG 5302- SA01, taught by Dr. Nick A. Lockard. Abstract Since the McDonald’s restaurant was founded by the McDonald brothers and bought by Ray Kroc, it has become the quintessential pop icon of American culture and made fast food a staple of the American diet. Their history cannot be disputed as having paved the way with a business model their competitors have followed; because of this their future remains uncertain. Changes in culture, changes in menu items, changes in business practices and just overall change has adversely affected the fast food giant. The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the ways McDonald’s has suffered a loss in profits, as well as some of the things McDonald’s is doing to revitalize itself and bring itself back to the forefront of not just American pop culture, but as a globally recognized icon of quality and excellence. It is no secret that McDonald’s has not been doing as well as its competitors within the fast food industry. Ask anyone why and varying answers might be given; the food does not taste the same, the service has drastically gone downhill, the prices are too high, it is more like a coffee shop now, and they stopped serving my favorite sandwich are some of the responses a person might get. Overall, the one constant is...
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...seems to have come from concluding early enough to concentrate on the food and provide a simple recipe with fresh ingredients. There is only one main item on the menu at Five Guys besides the occasional hot dog, and that is the burger. It is made of fresh lean meat which can be topped of with several choices of fresh vegetable and several condiments and is accompanied with the ever present potato fries. The menu is not complicated and the food is fresh and tasty. Analyze the original values for the start-up company and how it remains strong today. Five Guys was started as a family venture with simple family values at its core and not expansion and or market domination. It was not a bunch of executives designing a formula for market domination; rather it was a father who opened up a humble hamburger take-out shop in Arlington, Virginia in an effort to keep his sons employed and staying closer to home. Decisions affecting the business are made not by shareholders but by the family. “From the beginning the seven Murrells have made business decisions by a unanimous vote. To this day the entire family meets every Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Lorton headquarters to talk business.” Although the company has expanded via franchising to keep in pace with the ever stretching US market economy, the majority assets are still held by the family giving them free reign to exercise their values and control...
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