Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Ingredients for Succes

Running head: Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Ingredients for Success Case Study

Entrepreneurial Leadership

Abstract

Five Guys' has evolved from a small family eatery, to one of the largest restaurant chains in America. They haven't utilized any major marketing methods, but have accomplished this simply by understanding what their customer's want, and how to consistently provide it. Five Guys' was founded in 1986 with its original restaurant located in Arlington, Virginia, and quickly became a Washington, D.C. area treasure. It was Jerry and Janie Murrell who presented their four sons with two options, start a business or go to college. The Murrell brothers chose the latter opening their first restaurant location with their parents' supervision. The family operated five restaurants by the year 2001 and began to offer franchise opportunities in 2002. Now, 26 years later, there are in excess of 1000 Five Guys' locations throughout the nation, with plans for 1500 locations in development. This paper examines what differentiates Five Guys'' from other restaurant chains. The literature notes the factors that contributed to Five Guys'' success and rapid growth.

How Does Five Guys' Philosophy Set It Apart?

As stated on the company's website "We follow the philosophy of focusing on a few items, and serving them to the best of our abilities," this is what sets Five Guys'' apart from other fast food chains. Unlike their competitors, such as Burger King and McDonalds, Five Guys' has a specific goal, which is to serve the highest quality hamburgers and fries achievable. Their intent is to focus on "food" rather than "fast"; hence, Five Guys' doesn't offer drive-thru services and their food is made to order using fresh ingredients. Furthermore, they don't rely on gimmicks such as, toys, prizes, coupons or celebrity endorsements, which are often seen with other chain restaurants. Five Guys' success relies solely on the quality of their products and word of mouth advertisement. This approach has set them apart from competitors; in addition, it has created a substantial fan base, which continues to grow.

Values

Five Guys' company values have remained consistent from the beginning: Commitment to fresh ingredients of the highest quality, superior customer service, and cleanliness. Throughout the years Five Guys' has been devoted to supplying consumers with the very best; in fact, they spare no expense when it comes to ingredients, regardless of the state of the economy. The Murrell's have always prided themselves not only on providing great food, but also delivering a great experience. Therefore to ensure customers receive a first-class experience, weekly audits are conducted by secret shoppers to measure quality of service, safety and cleanliness. The restaurants that score the highest are rewarded $1,000, to divide amongst the staff. In order to keep employees motivated, Murrell and his sons believe it's important that each employee feel a sense of ownership and responsibility.

Three Contributing Factors to Five Guys' Success

I contribute Five Guys'' swift advancement and