Five Guys Case Study Essay
Interactive Case Study “Five Guys Burgers and Fries”
Assignment #1 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course
BUS 508 Contemporary Business
Summer 2013
One would think that the restaurant business is booming across the country. Well, according to an article in Forbes, “One study by researchers at Ohio State University showed that up to 60% of restaurants failed within three years, with the first year seeing the most casualties. (That figure is even higher in places like New York where the competition is fierce) . Five Guys is one restaurant has beaten those odds. Some of the main reasons for that are convenience, price, and customer service. Five Guys has done a wonderful job in incorporating all of these factors into their business. Their philosophy is set apart from all other food chains. Because of the original values for the start up, they have remained strong throughout their career. Having strong ethical and social practices are another reason as to why …show more content…
the restaurant have remained in business for so many years. Five Guys is definitely leading the pack when it comes to running a successful family business. When the Mr. And Mrs. Murrel gave their sons the option of going to school for start a business, little did they know that more than twenty five years later they would have over a thousand locations across the country.
Five Guys has a philosophy that sets it apart from all other restaurants.
They serve only fresh meat that has never been frozen and fries that are prepared fresh each day. According to the Marketing Bookcase, the company restrains from serving frozen or dehydrated products to customers which sets its taste apart from the clutter. The company makes; what is called the perfect fries with potatoes coming from Idaho with a juicy burger on a fresh bun . Unlike other fast food resurants such as McDonalds and Burger King, Five guys never advertise how great their burgers are as a result; they have to rely on the word of mouth method. Five Guys believes that if you give a customer a good quality burger, made exactly how the customer wants it, made from 80% lean beef at a good price, with a bun that is baked fresh everyday, the word about this fantastic burger will get out pretty fast. Five Guys prides itself on the great way they do
business.
Five Guys started its restaurant in the Washington, DC area in 1986 when Jerry and Janie Murrell offered sage advice to the four young Murrell brothers: "Start a business or go to college.". The boys were extremely excited, as a result, Jerry Murrell took the seventy thousand dollars he had saved for the boy’s college tuition and opened his first restaurant. Murrell has stuck with the original values it started with as a result; it has remained strong today. While other fast food restaurants such as McDonald, Burger King and Wendy’s spend millions of dollars each year on advertisement such as commercial, newspaper ads, in addition to running all types of specials offering their product at a special price. Five Guys believe that you do not have to spend money on advertisement if you have a product that speaks for itself. Five Guys do not feel it is necessary to run special deals on a product that is already of excellent quality and a fair price. Therefore; they do not have to overprice their product. All of their products are affordably and at a reasonable priced. If the product is of good quality, your customers will advertise through word of mouth. Five Guys also sticks to the idea not spending a lot on the décor of the restaurant. As a result, Five Guys just keep it simple. Red and white tile is all the decoration that is needed. Customers want to eat at a place that is clean and the food is good therefore, when it comes to fast food restaurants, it really does not matter what the décor is. By sticking to the original start up plan, Five Guys has remained strong and has stayed on top of their business.
There are three factors that Five Guys focus on to insure a successful business in such a short time and that is customer satisfaction, offering a product of higher standards and keeping their employees happy. First, Five Guys makes it habit to give the customers what they want at the time that they want it. For example; if the customer want a burger with tons of the topping found on Five Guys menu, then that is what they will offer them. Five Guys does not try keeps up with the changing times by adjusting their menus to meet the needs of the consumer as a result; Five Guys keep their menu simple. By offering the customers a quality meal that is at an affordable price they are able to satisfy the customer and turn a profit at the same time. Second, Five Guys only uses the best of the best when it comes to making the perfect burger. In his own words, Murrell’s business plan was simple-“Sell a really good, juicy burger on a fresh bun. Make perfect French fries. Don’t cut corners” . Five Guys added the following to the menu, chicken sandwiches and coffee but later found, other than the hotdogs, that it would be best if they just stuck with what they know best and that is burgers and fries. Third, Five Guys keep their employees happy by offering positive incentives to insure they give the best customer service they can give on a daily basis. Every week Five Guys do customer service and safety audits is when they send auditors in to check to see if the employees are holding up to the standard that Five Guys is known for. If they do well on the audits they receive a special bonus to split amongst themselves. While other companies such as McDonald and Burger King put a percentage of their profits into marketing and advertising, Five Guys take a percentage of that money and give it back to the employees as a bonus. These are just a few ways Five Guys go out of their way to insure that their employees are happy. They make sure that each employee feels they are a very special part of the company and they are a special asset to the success of the business.
The social and ethical practices of Five Guys stand above the rest. Five guys refuse to sell anything that is not of high quality. Five Guys is able to do so well is buy offering the public an opportunity to own restaurant. According to fiveguys.com, in early 2003 Five Guys thought it would be a great idea to offer franchise opportunities and in less than eighteen months they sold more than three hundred units . This is just another way the company says thank you to its customers and employees and give them an opportunity to fulfill their own dream of becoming business owners. "Five Guys does zero advertising, but by delivering consistently great customer experience, they’re able to build a word-of-mouth buzz that continues to bring new customers through the door," says Janet Eden-Harris, chief marketing officer for Market Force, in a release on the survey. Displayed in the chart below are the results of this survey. Running a business that is based on ethics and social practices can be extremely challenging but Five Guys is leading the pack. They pride themselves in the way they do business and the results of the survey are showing that the customers are pleased as well.
References
Burke, M. (2012, July 18). Five Guys Burgers: America 's Fastest Growing Restaurant Chain: Forbes. Retrieved from Forbes Web site: http://www.forbes.com/sites/monteburke/2012/07/18/five-guys-burgers-americas-fastest-growing-restaurant-chain/
Five Guys;. (2012). About Us: Five Guys Web site. Retrieved from Five Guys Web site: http://www.fiveguys.com/about-us.aspx
Huffington Post;. (2012, September 19). Five Guys Is America 's Favorite Burger, Says Recent Market Force Survey: Huffington Post. Retrieved from Huffington Post Web site: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/food/
Le Draoulec, P. (2007, November 15). So, You Want To Open A Restaurant?: Forbes. Retrieved from Forbes Web site: http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/11/restaurant-entrepreneurship-business-forbeslife-food07-cx_pl_1113resto.html
Maketing Bookcase;. (2012, September 27). Entrepreneurial Leadership at Five Guys Burgers & Fries!:The Instant Black Box. Retrieved from The Instant Black Box Web site: http://instantblackbox.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/entrepreneurial-leadership-at-five-guys-burgers-fries/
Project Manager Online Ltd;. (2013). Project Proposal Template: Project Manager.com. Retrieved from Project ManagerWebsite: http://www.projectmanager.com/
Wiley, John. (2013). A Recipe For Success Web site. Retrieved from Case Study ll Five Guys Burgers and Fries: http:/edugen.wiley.com/edugen/lti/main.uni
Assignment #1 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course
BUS 508 Contemporary Business
Summer 2013
One would think that the restaurant business is booming across the country. Well, according to an article in Forbes, “One study by researchers at Ohio State University showed that up to 60% of restaurants failed within three years, with the first year seeing the most casualties. (That figure is even higher in places like New York where the competition is fierce) . Five Guys is one restaurant has beaten those odds. Some of the main reasons for that are convenience, price, and customer service. Five Guys has done a wonderful job in incorporating all of these factors into their business. Their philosophy is set apart from all other food chains. Because of the original values for the start up, they have remained strong throughout their career. Having strong ethical and social practices are another reason as to why …show more content…
the restaurant have remained in business for so many years. Five Guys is definitely leading the pack when it comes to running a successful family business. When the Mr. And Mrs. Murrel gave their sons the option of going to school for start a business, little did they know that more than twenty five years later they would have over a thousand locations across the country.
Five Guys has a philosophy that sets it apart from all other restaurants.
They serve only fresh meat that has never been frozen and fries that are prepared fresh each day. According to the Marketing Bookcase, the company restrains from serving frozen or dehydrated products to customers which sets its taste apart from the clutter. The company makes; what is called the perfect fries with potatoes coming from Idaho with a juicy burger on a fresh bun . Unlike other fast food resurants such as McDonalds and Burger King, Five guys never advertise how great their burgers are as a result; they have to rely on the word of mouth method. Five Guys believes that if you give a customer a good quality burger, made exactly how the customer wants it, made from 80% lean beef at a good price, with a bun that is baked fresh everyday, the word about this fantastic burger will get out pretty fast. Five Guys prides itself on the great way they do
business.
Five Guys started its restaurant in the Washington, DC area in 1986 when Jerry and Janie Murrell offered sage advice to the four young Murrell brothers: "Start a business or go to college.". The boys were extremely excited, as a result, Jerry Murrell took the seventy thousand dollars he had saved for the boy’s college tuition and opened his first restaurant. Murrell has stuck with the original values it started with as a result; it has remained strong today. While other fast food restaurants such as McDonald, Burger King and Wendy’s spend millions of dollars each year on advertisement such as commercial, newspaper ads, in addition to running all types of specials offering their product at a special price. Five Guys believe that you do not have to spend money on advertisement if you have a product that speaks for itself. Five Guys do not feel it is necessary to run special deals on a product that is already of excellent quality and a fair price. Therefore; they do not have to overprice their product. All of their products are affordably and at a reasonable priced. If the product is of good quality, your customers will advertise through word of mouth. Five Guys also sticks to the idea not spending a lot on the décor of the restaurant. As a result, Five Guys just keep it simple. Red and white tile is all the decoration that is needed. Customers want to eat at a place that is clean and the food is good therefore, when it comes to fast food restaurants, it really does not matter what the décor is. By sticking to the original start up plan, Five Guys has remained strong and has stayed on top of their business.
There are three factors that Five Guys focus on to insure a successful business in such a short time and that is customer satisfaction, offering a product of higher standards and keeping their employees happy. First, Five Guys makes it habit to give the customers what they want at the time that they want it. For example; if the customer want a burger with tons of the topping found on Five Guys menu, then that is what they will offer them. Five Guys does not try keeps up with the changing times by adjusting their menus to meet the needs of the consumer as a result; Five Guys keep their menu simple. By offering the customers a quality meal that is at an affordable price they are able to satisfy the customer and turn a profit at the same time. Second, Five Guys only uses the best of the best when it comes to making the perfect burger. In his own words, Murrell’s business plan was simple-“Sell a really good, juicy burger on a fresh bun. Make perfect French fries. Don’t cut corners” . Five Guys added the following to the menu, chicken sandwiches and coffee but later found, other than the hotdogs, that it would be best if they just stuck with what they know best and that is burgers and fries. Third, Five Guys keep their employees happy by offering positive incentives to insure they give the best customer service they can give on a daily basis. Every week Five Guys do customer service and safety audits is when they send auditors in to check to see if the employees are holding up to the standard that Five Guys is known for. If they do well on the audits they receive a special bonus to split amongst themselves. While other companies such as McDonald and Burger King put a percentage of their profits into marketing and advertising, Five Guys take a percentage of that money and give it back to the employees as a bonus. These are just a few ways Five Guys go out of their way to insure that their employees are happy. They make sure that each employee feels they are a very special part of the company and they are a special asset to the success of the business.
The social and ethical practices of Five Guys stand above the rest. Five guys refuse to sell anything that is not of high quality. Five Guys is able to do so well is buy offering the public an opportunity to own restaurant. According to fiveguys.com, in early 2003 Five Guys thought it would be a great idea to offer franchise opportunities and in less than eighteen months they sold more than three hundred units . This is just another way the company says thank you to its customers and employees and give them an opportunity to fulfill their own dream of becoming business owners. "Five Guys does zero advertising, but by delivering consistently great customer experience, they’re able to build a word-of-mouth buzz that continues to bring new customers through the door," says Janet Eden-Harris, chief marketing officer for Market Force, in a release on the survey. Displayed in the chart below are the results of this survey. Running a business that is based on ethics and social practices can be extremely challenging but Five Guys is leading the pack. They pride themselves in the way they do business and the results of the survey are showing that the customers are pleased as well.
References
Burke, M. (2012, July 18). Five Guys Burgers: America 's Fastest Growing Restaurant Chain: Forbes. Retrieved from Forbes Web site: http://www.forbes.com/sites/monteburke/2012/07/18/five-guys-burgers-americas-fastest-growing-restaurant-chain/
Five Guys;. (2012). About Us: Five Guys Web site. Retrieved from Five Guys Web site: http://www.fiveguys.com/about-us.aspx
Huffington Post;. (2012, September 19). Five Guys Is America 's Favorite Burger, Says Recent Market Force Survey: Huffington Post. Retrieved from Huffington Post Web site: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/food/
Le Draoulec, P. (2007, November 15). So, You Want To Open A Restaurant?: Forbes. Retrieved from Forbes Web site: http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/11/restaurant-entrepreneurship-business-forbeslife-food07-cx_pl_1113resto.html
Maketing Bookcase;. (2012, September 27). Entrepreneurial Leadership at Five Guys Burgers & Fries!:The Instant Black Box. Retrieved from The Instant Black Box Web site: http://instantblackbox.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/entrepreneurial-leadership-at-five-guys-burgers-fries/
Project Manager Online Ltd;. (2013). Project Proposal Template: Project Manager.com. Retrieved from Project ManagerWebsite: http://www.projectmanager.com/
Wiley, John. (2013). A Recipe For Success Web site. Retrieved from Case Study ll Five Guys Burgers and Fries: http:/edugen.wiley.com/edugen/lti/main.uni