Five Guys Essay

Submitted By nateperry
Words: 2103
Pages: 9

STRAYER UNIVERSITY
BUS. 508; CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS

Assignment #1
Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Ingredients for Success

By
Ignatius B. Perry Sr

Presented to
Professor Lundondo Mumeka

Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Ingredients for Success
Introduction
What if you woke up one day and said I would like to make the very best hamburger there is. In your mind you said I don’t want to be like McDonald, Burger King, Wendy’s or any other hamburger maker that is out there. You decided that you didn’t want to people to have the ‘normal” experience of going to a fast food restaurant when they cam into your hamburger shop. Not only that you didn’t want your customers to be confused with tons of choices on your menu. So instead you would keep it very simple and be the most customer friendly establishment out of all burger joints there where. If this was you then you would be the owner and visionary behind the restaurant know as Five Guys. We will take a look at what set the Five Guys restaurant apart from the other fast food chains. We will look at the values of the food chain and how they are still growing strong today just like when they first started. We will look at a few of the factors that have made Five Guys so successful and it’s effect on an all ready crowded market. We will look at the company’s ethical and social practices and see how it affected its success.
Factual Analysis
Five Guy’s philosophy sets apart from other fast food chains because of their ideal burgers. “Five Guys goal is to sell the best quality burgers possible. To sell the best burgers possible they focus on quality, service, and cleanliness”. (Five Guys 2012) When a customer leaves Five Guys the aim is for them to really find the products and services irresistible. The high quality food does the talking. Another way they differ from other food chains is they don’t invest a lot into advertising. (Five Guys 2012) 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. (Five Guys 2012)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 in at their Central Park location in Fredericksburg, Virginia 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 placate waiting customers. “These peanuts have now become a trademark” (Five Guys 2012). Jerry Murrell stated “Treat that person right, he’ll walk out the door and sell for you” (Five Guys 2012). Jerry Murrell’s success at Five Guys’ Burgers and Fries is a result of hard work. The Five Guys mission statement, as simple as its menu, 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:
Five Guys goal is to sell the best quality burgers possible. To sell the best burger possible, we focus on Quality, Service, and Cleanliness.
Many customers have noticed a sign that hangs on the beverage machine at every Five Guys restaurant, which is sometimes referred to as a mission statement, but is really more of a Service Promise:
"You the customer