Five Guys "haters" - check this out

http://www.marketforce.com/2011/08/market-force-survey-reveals-five-guys-is-favorite-quick-service-restaurant-for-second-straight-year/
 
Where is Waffle House?
 

I gave Five Guys a second chance this week and was very happy with my burger and fries.  I am no longer a HATER.
jrp

JRPfeff


I gave Five Guys a second chance this week and was very happy with my burger and fries.  I am no longer a HATER.
jrp

Te absolve.
Pax vobiscum.

It looks like friendly service is a big factor in rating these outlets.  Like the friendly server at McD who responded to my order of a quarter pounder and a milkshake with a friendly "Do you want anything to drink with that?"

Five Guys is a  smelly loud  madhouse. Never stayed long enough to taste their overdone burger. I hate the Yankees
(baseball) but I merely disdain Five Guys.
 
Cheers, John  

seafarer john


Five Guys is a  smelly loud  madhouse.

Well said!
 
I am not a hater - just don't like them much.

ChrisOC


It looks like friendly service is a big factor in rating these outlets.  Like the friendly server at McD who responded to my order of a quarter pounder and a milkshake with a friendly "Do you want anything to drink with that?"

In all fairness, the server was probably distracted by all the pictures on the register and really meant to say "Do you want fries with that?"
 
Did you get your "free" apple pie?  In Texas recently the policy has been that if you are not offered apple pie, ask for one and it's "free"!

seafarer john


Five Guys is a  smelly loud  madhouse. Never stayed long enough to taste their overdone burger. I hate the Yankees
(baseball) but I merely disdain Five Guys.

Cheers, John  

I certainly agree about the loud part.  When I visited Five Guys #1 next to Brenner's Bakery in Arlington, VA Jerry's kids played DC101 so damn loud I couldn't digest the free peanuts.  I told Jerry about this and only got a shrug and a comment:  "Jim, you've got kids, too". 
 
And, I do recall that when they expanded #2 (on King & Beauregard) into an ajacent laundromat in order to provide seating and a restroom, there was a "funky" smell.  I killed it by sniffing the complimentary malt vinegar.

I'll never understand why they think that putting their french fries in a plastic cup & them sealing them up in a paper bag improves the product.

I'm not a "hater", I can just get a bigger, better burger for less money right down the street. I don't think they live up to their hype is all.

Five Guys is meh in my opinion, so I dont classify myself as a hater, but given the fairly high price of their burgers, I don't plan on returning
 
That said, if there was a survey on cilantro that said 99.9% of people think it is the very best herb in all of existence, it would not change my personal opinion about Cilantro - that it tastes like dish soap - and so it is with this Five Guys survey as well
 
Now if you told me they were lowering their prices by half - THAT might well change my opinion on the place, or at least earn them a second visit to re-evaluate.

cavandre


I'll never understand why they think that putting their french fries in a plastic cup & them sealing them up in a paper bag improves the product.

I agree. 
 
I've been "after them" since Reagan was President to offer a paper plate for those dining in.  That way the burger wouldn't look "smooshed" and I'd have a semi-civilized place for my ketchup instead of a piece of ripped paper bag.
 
Regarding the cup:  why waste good styrofoam when more than half your serving is overflowing into the bag?  Maybe they are trying to be Mama Celeste and show that their serving is "abodanza".
 
Next time I go by I'll take a china plate and tell them to "hold" the foil wrap, paper bag, and styro-cup.  Ever since I married "blue blood" I've become fussy about "presentation".

Jim-Blue blood or not-you are dining in a fast food restaurant!! Thats their schtick, and apparently thay are sticking to it. I would prefer Mcdonalds would serve my food, while dining in, on plates, but they dont.And their products in my opinion, are often squished, fries cold etc. Come on guys!!

A few weeks ago we stopped at a Boston Market. We were in an unfamiliar area and it was the best option because you can just get an order of vegetables. I don't know if they are all doing this, but when you eat in your meal is now served and brought on a china plate! Seemed kind of inefficient because the runner who was delivering the food would go overboard on service getting items, filling drinks and such. Fast food has it's place because most times you are on a lunch break or in a hurry and you want your food, well, fast!

ann peeples


Jim-Blue blood or not-you are dining in a fast food restaurant!! Thats their schtick, and apparently thay are sticking to it. I would prefer Mcdonalds would serve my food, while dining in, on plates, but they dont.And their products in my opinion, are often squished, fries cold etc. Come on guys!!

I'm just wishing.
 
But not kidding.
 
For years (due to their service system) I have seen my burger - literally within my reach -standing fresh and tall on the prep table. 
 
Yet, in the 20 seconds it takes to wrap it in foil and throw it into that @%$* - ing bag with my fries it is smooched when I unwrap it. 
 
Yes, it tastes good; but, we also "eat" with our eyes.  And Five Guy's "presentation" is a stye!

Okay, Jim.I agree......

It is interesting that the top Market Force survey findings are very similar to the ones from the Consumer Reports survey in October 2010, which we discussed in another thread here on RF:
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/Consumer-Reports-Readers-Rate-Best-Burgers-m609636.aspx
http://www.biteofthebest.com/the-worst-burger-in-america/
 
Another survey we discussed here conducted by trade publication NRN shows In-N-Out the champ:
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/tm.aspx?high=&m=667889
 
But I firmly agree with Jim in Dallas that Five Guys could be better if they didn't have nails in their head. Besides their schtick, they do use fresh meat and potatoes rather than frozen. 
I think corporate-owned Nathan's do it right by serving their freshly peeled and sliced fries in paperboard boat containers and hamburgers in paperboard clamshell boxes - keeps the burger from shifting while carrying it to the table.
 
As for why Five Guys became so popular, one thing I was not able to learn was how much the burgers cost for fresh meat and potatoes during their early years. If they served fresh for the price of others' frozen ingredients, it would account for part of their success. 
EDITED to correct various errors. 

 
I agree with Ann Peeples.  Five Guys is FAST FOOD.  It is not fine dining.  For waht they are, they are pretty darn good fast food.   Some of you are saying they would be better if they were not priced so high.   That has nothing to do with whether they are good, only if they are a "good value".   "Good food"  versus "good value" are 2 separate issues.  
 
 I have eaten at top dollar fine dining reataraurants that were very good, but they weren't 8 times better as their prices might suggest.   The fine dining wasn't a "good value".  That doesn't mean the food wasn't good. 
 
A lot of the Five Guys bashing might be just a matter of preference.  I happen to like thinner, well done burgers  along the lines of Steak 'N Shake, Five Guys, Shake Shack, etc.  (Though Five Guys is not quite as thin as Steak 'N Shake, etc.).  
 
Others prefer thicker, less well done burgers.   I don't find the sight of pink/red, undercooked (or nearly undercooked) beef particularly appetizing.   (They don't put those warnings on menus for nothing.)  
  The recent featured photo of the Bobcat Bite burger, with bloody pink/red juice soaked soggy bottom half of the bun was an extreme turnoff to me.  But, I understand, ... there are different tastes for different folks.  
 
My preference is for well-done.  And I find Five Guys juicy, despite being well-done.   Not many places can pull off being both juicy and well-done.   Five Guys seems to do it every time...at least the ones local to me. 
Maybe the Five Guys closer to the original location in northern VA helps?   I don't know. 

 
Glenn
 
 

This is not a bash-post. We have (had) two Five Guys on our side of the river in So Indiana.  It doesn't take much of a marketing expert to figure out that they were fighting an uphill battle in the Burger Wars in this area...Not because of the product, for sure. I think thay make a pretty good Burger. However, their pricing is a bit above the mainstream FF Burger, and that is a Big Deal in the market-share equation, at least in this area.....This side of Louisville is NOT Yuppieville, for sure. While there are some 'nice' neighborhoods, the middle and lower-middle class brackets more closely describe the area. Five Guys has the reputation (deserved or not is not important) that it is an upper-middle class focal point...maybe due to it's origins in the Urbane East??  Culvers, on the other hand is pricing at or above Five-Guys, but pushings it's Mid-west (Wisconsin ) origin and thus "is acceptable".
The second cause for the demise of our two examples of Five-Guys is the lack of a drive-thru service. Folks here want to order-pickup-and get out. No drive-thru was the point of the dagger that brought these two franchise outlets down, IMHO.
Thus the market team blew it in these two cases...not the quality of the product.

I've had Five Guys all over Va, incuding the first two stores at least 15-20 times each, I go to my local Five Guys here in Culpeper, Va on average once a month or so.
 
I've never had a bad experience, the burgers have always been excellent and the fries have always been great, unless you try and take them home, they don't travel well at all, because of this I never get my burger and fries to go.
 
I enjoy  rare burger as much as the next guy...I've been known to spread a hunk of sourdough with some fresh ground chuck, a bit of salt and pepper and a beer and I'm in heaven....but Five Guys does well done very well.
 
The service has always been top notch, he restroom always spotless......
 

 
mayor al -
 
That's interesting stuff.   So, basically, the Louisville / southern Indiana locals perceive (rightly or wrongly) that they get more value from a midwestern product, and are willing to pay for it.  
I have never eaten at Culver's, but their online menu looks great.  Looking forward to trying it some time. 
 
rebeltruce - 
 
Like you, I have never been disappointed by Five Guys ...... except for the fries, which I rarely get any more.    I'm one of few people who don't rave about their fries, ... which are often not very crisp.  I'm just not a big fan of that peanut oil / boardwalk style fries.  I usually just get the burger, and it has always been good.  
 
My favorite fries anywhere are at Dixie Bones in Woodbridge, VA.   That place is well worth the drive for you from Culpeper for BBQ, fries, and pies.   
 
Glenn
 
 

" I'm one of few people who don't rave about their fries, ... which are often not very crisp."
 
I generally ask for extra crisp on the fries and they do it. Not many place will do fries "your way".

ppezalla


" I'm one of few people who don't rave about their fries, ... which are often not very crisp."

I generally ask for extra crisp on the fries and they do it. Not many place will do fries "your way".

I'm surprised they are able/willing to do that. I do know quite a bit about their operating procedure and it would be hard to accommodate that.

Glenn,
  In the upper-end suburbs on the NorthEast side of L-ville the source of the company tends to get blurred by the marketing efforts...But when the customers are a step down from that level, there are those who avoid the contact with things from the "East". As you say,   'rightly' or not it is a train of thinking that does affect the decision making of the burger-buyer !
Funny that White Castle who origins come out of the NE also doesn't face the same competition...the lower prices seem to make a difference in this case.

 
Mayor Al -
 
Thanks for the info.  I have heard of people favoring local places,  ... either out of local pride,  ... or these days because of some of the "buy local" movement.    But, Culver's isn't even based out of the Louisville area.   It looks like their home turf is WI.  
 
Doesn't Louisville consdier itself a "southern" city?  if so, maybe the local Five Guys should market themselves as originating in "the south" (Virginia), versus the "northern" Culvers.    Or, does Lousiville consider itself more midwestern than southern, therefore aligning with the midwestern Culver's out of WI? 
 
As for White Castle, I think they originated in Kansas?
 

Glenn
 
 

MiamiDon

seafarer john


Five Guys is a  smelly loud  madhouse.

Well said!

I am not a hater - just don't like them much.

Miami Don,
I agree I am not a hater,it just here in Indy there are much better, cheaper burgers & fries- -Steak n Shake, Culvers, 96th St Steakburgers(my favorite burger spot, fresh fries, crispy edged burgers).   If you want to go in & sit down there are many more better places- Bubs Burgers in Carmel,IN for one.   Five guys seems to do a bigger lunch business than dinner.

David_NYC

As for why Five Guys became so popular, one thing I was not able to learn was how much the burgers cost for fresh meat and potatoes during their early years. If they served fresh for the price of others' frozen ingredients, it would account for part of their success. 

Very true, it is significantly less expensive to buy bulk ground beef than frozen patties.  Back in the late 1980's bulk ground chuck was significantly < than $1./# and potatos by the 50# bag were then (and now) almost "free".  If I had to guess, they were paying Brenner's Bakery a < a nickel per outstanding bun.  As I recall, a single patty sandwich was then $1.79 and a double was $2.69 so they were still making a high margin even on their burgers.  As the cost of fries and sodas are < 10% (the most expensive component of a Coke is the cup it is served in), Five Guys was always a high-margin concept.  Good for them!
 

I'm not a hater...  just don't understand what all the hype is about.  Yes it is good but not memorable and wouldn't go out of the way for it.

Any place afraid to cook your burger to your desired doneness is not worth eating. Since 5 Guy fries their burgers beyond burnt and squeezes every bit of natural juices out of the patty, I can only assume that they don't trust the quality of the meat, or thier employees. All the free toppings confirm my fears.

db1105


Any place afraid to cook your burger to your desired doneness is not worth eating. Since 5 Guy fries their burgers beyond burnt and squeezes every bit of natural juices out of the patty, I can only assume that they don't trust the quality of the meat, or thier employees. All the free toppings confirm my fears.

"Since 5 Guy fries their burgers beyond burnt and squeezes every bit of natural juices out of the patty".  This is simply not true.  They fry their burgers until the juice runs clear (which means that they have reached an internal temp of 165), NOT until no juice remains.  (See Glenn1234's "testimony" above).
 
And the reason they do this has nothing whatsoever to do with "not trusting the quality of their meat or employees".  As has been recognized by most above, Five Guys is is "fast food".  Success in the "fast food" category requires a consistent, predictable product:  visit any McD's in the world and their food is the same; I have choked down their crap in New Castle, PA, NYC, Paris, McKinney, TX, B.A., and Rio and it's always the same. 
 
Of that group, (McD's, Wendy's, BK, In-N-Out, Steak 'n Shake, Culver's, Whattaburger, DQ, Jack-in-the-Box, etc.) they serve the juiciest burger. 
 
If you want to order something less than well-done, then bitch about what you are served, go to Chili's, TGI's, Ruby T's, or Applebee's!  With wait service they are confugured to cook-to-order -- and they charge accordingly!
 
As Five Guys originated in Northern Virginia where (I know it's hard - and somewhat frightening - to believe) one out of every eleven adults has a law degree, their frying their burgers until the juice runs clear has everything to do with avoiding litigation!  Back in the 1980's when Jack-in-the-Box had an e-coli "incident" in the Pacific NW, their NOVA stores closed almost immediately - never to return to that lucrative market.
 
---------------------
(And before Mr. Hoffman tells us yet again how Waffle House prepares his burger to order I will, based on my former Maryland and Virginia food & health certifications, assert that the highest risk of e-coli comes from cooking frozen patties to anything less than well-done)!