Five Guys Falls Down on the Job!

Good points Metro. I try to 'shop' no different than if I'm just a customer - although for shops of course I observe more specific items. If I do a cursory search at years of online reviews I've written for hotels, foods, etc.....I'm 70% positive, 30% negative.

I think it's about calling it like we see it. Some people will just sit back, accept lukewarm food, so-so-service and they are the reason things decline. On the other extreme, there's the customer with the "I wanna speak to the manager" attitude before they've even done a transaction -lol.

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@big_sky_thunder wrote:

I haven't noticed a quality change in their food here in central CA. Several times I have been given a cup and not charged for the beverage. Darn, then I have to explain why TWICE in the survey. One time it was the black shirt crew member!

This happened to me today - at a FG I really like and they always do perfect everything. Part of me feels like it's my fault. I waited for her to prompt me. I then ordered fries, drink, shake. THEN(before she rung it up) - I said "oh I forgot.....I wanted to add extra cheese and she was friendly and kept doing the order. I then paid, ate and left thinking "you know what, it wasn't as expensive as before".......then I got home, can't find soda on receipt. My two concerns:

1.)Nice girl. Great store. I hope they don't get dinged for this - but it's FG's business. My job is to report it accurately.

2.)I hope my shop doesn't get disqualified. I ordered soda. The Surveillance tape will show she put a cup on counter, I took it, filled it -- -even refilled it after that.

Over the years, I have been given a cup and have not been charged twice. Each time, I reported what happened. I was not questioned. The most recent time, I realized it in time to take a photo of the cup with the rest of my food, "just in case." Had I been questioned, I would have had backup, but of course, it could have been anyone's cup. It must happen often enough that they have the option to report it.

@BabyBooey19 wrote:

2.)I hope my shop doesn't get disqualified. I ordered soda. The Surveillance tape will show she put a cup on counter, I took it, filled it -- -even refilled it after that.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

I wonder if the franchise really will take the time to look at surveillance tapes to see if you got a cup, if you stayed 15 minutes after eating, if you went to the bathroom? Seems to me that would be a lot of trouble-I follow all the rules- even if it means sitting 4 minutes extra to hit the 15 minutes after you get your meal. Sometimes I call someone and chat to make the time pass- not sure what the 15 minutes after order receipt is all about- I suppose to count if there were ever more than 2 people at register without another opening- but if you sit with back facing the counter how can you tell? And how will surveillance identify you as the shopper? I have done MANY fg and never been questioned.

I am curious...... is FG giving soda - and not charging "a thing"? I ask because someone here said it happened twice. It happened to me now, once. AND on the report - it specifically asks "did you order soda, and were you charged" -- it doesn't ask if I was charged for a burger - but specifically asks if I was charged for soda - I wonder why.....

@SueW70 wrote:

I wonder if the franchise really will take the time to look at surveillance tapes to see if you got a cup, if you stayed 15 minutes after eating, if you went to the bathroom? Seems to me that would be a lot of trouble-I follow all the rules- even if it means sitting 4 minutes extra to hit the 15 minutes after you get your meal. Sometimes I call someone and chat to make the time pass- not sure what the 15 minutes after order receipt is all about- I suppose to count if there were ever more than 2 people at register without another opening- but if you sit with back facing the counter how can you tell? And how will surveillance identify you as the shopper? I have done MANY fg and never been questioned.

I think it's also to give them that time to address any cleanliness issues. As long as they clean the tables, floors, bathrooms, etc. before you leave, you have to mark them as clean on the report.

This has happened to me, also.

Maybe they feel bad about how outrageous their prices are and are just being nice by giving a free drink.

Ok, I'm sorry. Now I really want to know what's with this soda thing. When I'm traveling and not shopping I almost want to ask a manager why this is a thing,

You can get a salad (Veggie Bowl) at Five Guys.

@ColoKate63 wrote:

I can get a salad or maybe a wrap or baked potato at the chains you listed. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is healthy at Five Guys.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

One time , my wife helped me with a mystery shop (Not Five Guys) The requirements were to order food and drink.

When the server brought the ticket, she had charge us for two meals but one drink.. I mentioned to the server that she forget to charge us for one of the drinks.

She said that she was sorry and she corrected the ticket.

Drinks usually run between $ 2.00 and $ 3.00 depending on where you go

99 % of the time when I go out to eat, I get water.. Unless it is a mystery shop and I get sweet tea.

Now if I go to a fast food place and they have combo meals I get sweet tea.

@SueW70 wrote:

I suppose to count if there were ever more than 2 people at register without another opening- but if you sit with back facing the counter how can you tell? And how will surveillance identify you as the shopper? I have done MANY fg and never been questioned.

I'm just wondering if you sit with your back to the counter how you can make that observation as well as seeing the fries cooked? Not trying to be snarky, but how do you answer those questions if you're not facing the counter and kitchen? Or do you mean just in general?

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

You can get a salad (Veggie Bowl) at Five Guys.

@ColoKate63 wrote:

I can get a salad or maybe a wrap or baked potato at the chains you listed. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is healthy at Five Guys.

My daughter gets a burger WITH lettuce (and tomato, pickle, mustard) on a lettuce wrap. We ask for a bowl and she basically has a burger salad. She's allowed 15g of carbs per meal (she can't subtract any fiber content either) so she will have about 10 fries with her 'salad'. If she didn't have the fries the burger salad isn't horrible.

I always get tea for my drink. Your peach vanilla creme soda sounded delicious, so I gave it a try during my luch shop. Mine was lacking also. It was a peachy fizz with a vanilla finish.

@cooldude581 wrote:

they my main squeeze right now. if its not easily verified by the cameras I dont report it. If its their word against mine i dont get paid. Had that happen more than once. DGAF anymore. Been doing the shops for 10 years or so. Fries are always great. I always order a regular instead of a small. Its $1 more for 2x the order. Both the locations here have the Coke Freestyle. Looks like Barqs just got a peach vanilla creme soda. I was pretty disappointed in the flavor. They never add enough vanilla for my tastes. When I worked at mcds at night I would add 3 pumps of the sugar free vanilla coffee syrup to a large diet coke. main drink there is Peach Fanta zero with Strawberry Fanta zero now. someone new this past fall came to my area so i can no longer wait for them to hit almost double the starting pay. not happy but thats economics 101.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

Does your daughter consider the carbs in the veggies?

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

@HonnyBrown wrote:

You can get a salad (Veggie Bowl) at Five Guys.

@ColoKate63 wrote:

I can get a salad or maybe a wrap or baked potato at the chains you listed. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is healthy at Five Guys.

My daughter gets a burger WITH lettuce (and tomato, pickle, mustard) on a lettuce wrap. We ask for a bowl and she basically has a burger salad. She's allowed 15g of carbs per meal (she can't subtract any fiber content either) so she will have about 10 fries with her 'salad'. If she didn't have the fries the burger salad isn't horrible.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Does your daughter consider the carbs in the veggies?

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

@HonnyBrown wrote:

You can get a salad (Veggie Bowl) at Five Guys.

@ColoKate63 wrote:

I can get a salad or maybe a wrap or baked potato at the chains you listed. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is healthy at Five Guys.

My daughter gets a burger WITH lettuce (and tomato, pickle, mustard) on a lettuce wrap. We ask for a bowl and she basically has a burger salad. She's allowed 15g of carbs per meal (she can't subtract any fiber content either) so she will have about 10 fries with her 'salad'. If she didn't have the fries the burger salad isn't horrible.

Yes, but we aren't perfectly strict when we are out to eat (we consider it a treat)
She has a metabolic disorder called Glycogen Storage Disease (she's a type 1a)
Basically she can't control her own blood sugar.

@Isaiah4031a wrote:

One time , my wife helped me with a mystery shop (Not Five Guys) The requirements were to order food and drink.

When the server brought the ticket, she had charge us for two meals but one drink.. I mentioned to the server that she forget to charge us for one of the drinks.

She said that she was sorry and she corrected the ticket.

Drinks usually run between $ 2.00 and $ 3.00 depending on where you go

I'm curious why you would have mentioned that to the server? The client is wanting to see if customers are charged correctly. I sure hope you noted it in clear comments that the server did not initially charge you for the 2nd drink (and I can't recall ever seeing any guidelines telling shoppers to have their receipt corrected if they were not charged for all items).

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Does your daughter consider the carbs in the veggies?

There are very few carbs in the veggies--like 7 total in the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, pickles, and green peppers. So you do have to plan the rest of your meals to account for that. But some of the toppings are a little more carb-heavy individually, so add them in and it's easy to get to 15...

When I get a burger, I get it in a bowl, and all things considered, it's fairly healthy for fast food. Even the sodium content isn't too bad. Granted, the fat content is high, but, again, I try to balance that out with other food I eat during the day.

I tried the lettuce-wrapped burger once, but it was too messy, so I just eat it with a fork and knife.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

Well after a few bad visits - my last (2) FG's including today were downright delicious and the staff was great. The bun had no red meat. The burger patties had no carbs. I got calcium from the cheese. And the Cherry Coke probably had anti-oxidants in it. Seriously this was a good sandwich. I think it got my throat pregnant.

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