Five Guys Burger and Fries has a different philosophy from the other fast food chains. James Murrell and his five sons, owners and founders, started the restaurant with the perfect idea of concentrating on the quality of their product and the satisfaction of their customers. This was not what their competitors had in mind. For example, McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc started his business with his philosophy of individual creativity but at the same time focus mainly on quality, service, cleanliness, and value along with quick service. Chick-fil-A, another competitor, came up with the philosophy “to have a positive influence on all who come into contact with the business.” (Interactive Case Study) This particular competitor’s philosophy has nothing to do with the quality of food they serve. So you can see some of the differences. Five Guys Burger and Fries focus on quality products and excellent customer service while their competitors focus more on the service rather than the quality of food. Murrell and sons felt that both quality food and service is the best combination for success.
Five Guy Burgers and Fries has a different philosophy from the other fast food chains. Since the beginning in 1986, James Murrell’s business plan and philosophy was simple. He wanted to “supply a really good, juicy burger on a fresh bun along with the perfect fries without cutting corners.” (Interactive Case Study) With this in mind, Murrell and his five sons “concentrated on the quality of their product and the satisfaction of their customers.” (Interactive Case Study) The basis of his philosophy was the recipe for a great business plan to create the fastest growing American fast food chain. After the initial focus on quality food and service, Five Guys then went on to make their employees feel like they were a part of the success of the company. This is another factor that adds to the high quality mantra of the Murrells.
To ensure that each burger, all fries, all buns, and each location was living up to the Five Guys Burger and Fries philosophy, Murrell and sons had a set of standards developed for each location. The first standard that was to be adhered to was the burger meat. Each burger was made fresh with 80 lean beef. The second requirement was to have fresh, never frozen fries made daily. These fresh fries are cut from perfect potatoes from Idaho. To top off the great burger taste, they serve fresh buns daily from the same person that made their original bread. James Murrell made him a partner so that they could have the buns the same through all locations created. No matter how far a Five Guys chain is from their bakeries, they are insured a fresh delivery each morning. Another key factor about their fries is that they don’t absorb any oil which prevents them from being greasy like other chains.
The high quality of the food is able to be upheld because they use their money to put towards their products rather than the décor of the locations and its advertising. The Murrells believe that “their best salesman is the customer.” (Interactive Case Study) James Murrell says, “Treat that person right and that person will go out the door and sell for you.” (Interactive Case Study) So his chain follows the old saying, “The product speaks for itself.” I guess Murrell is a firm believer in word of mouth is the best advertisement. Five Guys Burger and Fries doesn’t use its money to lure in customers through the regular conventional way of commercials and gimmicks.
After the company puts a bulk of the money in the quality food the then turn to the aspect of making the employees feel like they are a