Five Guys stay 15 minute rule

I often do 5 Guys and do stay the 15 minutes after getting the order but I do not really eat their food. I will look at the burger to be sure it is all there, taste one or 2 fries and get a drink from the machine BUT I do not love their food- my son does so I bring it home for him. I wonder if I really need to sit there 15 minutes- who would know if I did not? and what am I supposed to do for 15 minutes besides look at my phone? I know there is a question about whether there were ever more than 2 people in line but I often sit where I cannot see the register clearly. Does anyone have any idea as to this 15 minute thing and has anyone ever been caught leaving say 10 minutes after getting your food? the shop form says the client watches security cameras- but how do they know it is Me?

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It is not recommended to blatantly lie on your questionnaire. Especially if you value continuing the partnership. If it's a hardship, just don't do the visits.

I have always stayed 15 minutes- time it on my phone- I have not lied but often feel foolish sitting there on my phone.

@mfisherri wrote:

It is not recommended to blatantly lie on your questionnaire. Especially if you value continuing the partnership. If it's a hardship, just don't do the visits.

I'd add that just "looking" at the burger isn't enough. You're asked to judge the taste and "juiciness," so I'd think at least one bite is necessary since you can't judge those things by sight.

I always stay the full 15 minutes. If I'm not eating the meal, I work on the report on my phone and usually can finish almost all of it while sitting there waiting. I also use it as a time to observe the employees and to see what they are doing.

Cut off a tiny piece of the burger to taste, even if you spit it into a napkin. Eat your 2 fries very, very slowly. Try finding a seat that offers a view of the fryolator and register for line and fry-shaking observations and spend the 15 minutes filling out the report. Works for me.

I can't really understand why you are doing these shops. Tasting the food, including the hamburger, is part of the shop. If you are not doing that, then with all due respect you are lying on your report. Being able to see the line is also needed if you are going to perform the shop accurately. If you are able to sit where you view you the line, you need to do that. I realize that sometimes they may be busy and that isn't feasible, but you should not deliberately avoid it, if that's what you are doing. As far as the 15-minute requirement, yes you need to sit there. If you do not want to feel foolish, eat the meal or stop doing the shops.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2024 06:15PM by ServiceAward.

I hear you- I am not a fan of the food there- I usually bring the burger home for my husband. I will eat the fries that are not in the fry cup (that way I can get a count of how many extras they give me with my little fries with extra scoop). Sometimes I sip a little bit of the fountain drink. I get the drink with at most 2 cubes of ice (to see if the ice machine is working). I usually get a lemonade with a splash of limeade and use it as margarita mix at home!

If you report something as dirty or messy, you had better be sure you stayed for the full 15 minutes to see if it's cleaned up, which most of the time it is (around here anyway). And yes, I do believe they check the video if they get a low score.

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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

Average time to get my meai is usually 8 minutes. I am not a fan of the food either, but I do take a bite of the burger, eat a few fries and enjoy my drink while I observe and fill out my report for the other 7 minutes or so. If you are discovered as the shopper and I feel like they know who the frequent shoppers are, then they could complain if you mention any issues and did not stay the entire time. The manager is probably observing you.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2024 10:02PM by gigishopper.

@MsJudi wrote:

If you report something as dirty or messy, you had better be sure you stayed for the full 15 minutes to see if it's cleaned up, which most of the time it is (around here anyway). And yes, I do believe they check the video if they get a low score.

100% if you’re going to cut corners just give them a perfect score. If you don’t? They are going to check and out you.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2024 10:48PM by Nikki21.

The 15 minutes is AFTER you receive your food, not total time after ordering

Great idea I will take my phone and do my report while sitting there. Not sure what great observations I can make doing the report sitting there and probably will be there a lot more than the required 15 given the narratives

Has the 5G shops changed that much in the last couple years? The only narrative that I remember is a sentence about the food in a couple places. There were no paragraphs or tons of typing..

With the comments here about using your phone while you are completing the shop, who remembers the instructions used to say don't take notes on your phone during your shop because you will be recognized as the shopper. This was years ago, but when I completed the shops back then, practically everyone in the dining room were on their phone at one time or another. Did they really think anyone using a phone was a possible shopper? If that was the case, they would be on guard from opening to closing, 7 days a week!

@hamptonroadsva wrote:

With the comments here about using your phone while you are completing the shop, who remembers the instructions used to say don't take notes on your phone during your shop because you will be recognized as the shopper. This was years ago, but when I completed the shops back then, practically everyone in the dining room were on their phone at one time or another. Did they really think anyone using a phone was a possible shopper? If that was the case, they would be on guard from opening to closing, 7 days a week!

I remember ACL used to have that instruction I believe it was... I always thought if I DIDN'T touch my phone that would be suspicious, lol.

The only time I didn’t taste my burger was when I saw a man blowing his nose with his apron. I noted this in my report and was paid, even though I didn’t eat the food. Stay the 15 minutes.

@Morledzep wrote:

Has the 5G shops changed that much in the last couple years? The only narrative that I remember is a sentence about the food in a couple places. There were no paragraphs or tons of typing..

They want 50-300 characters on the service, 50-300 more on the burger, 50-250 more on the fries, a sentence on the bun, 50-300 on the cleanliness, 50-300 on the crew "enthusiasm" if you score less than 5, and 50-300 on overall impressions. Not onerous by any means but a lot more than "a sentence."

@KokoBWare wrote:

Not onerous by any means but a lot more than "a sentence."

That one sentence is only 5 characters short of the minimum. And it would only be 4 short with a comma before the "but", which is standard usage.

These reports are not narratively intrusive in my book.

Have synthesizers, will travel...

@Morledzep wrote:

Has the 5G shops changed that much in the last couple years? The only narrative that I remember is a sentence about the food in a couple places. There were no paragraphs or tons of typing..

They used to ask for a count of customers in line, percent full of dining room, number of crew present, and a few other questions I don't recall. But the form has changed over the years, but only slightly.

The best shop i ever experienced at a five guys was 5 guys actually excited having a hell of a good time while working yelling orders to each other while waiting on customers. It was insane but it was the only time i could actually say the employees were happy doing their jobs. It was really pretty cool. It was a site to be seen.

I do not write my report in the location. I will get my food, check on it, take a bite of the burger, eat a few fries and some peanuts along with a soda. I check on my phone a few times to see if anyone has called. If I tried to write the report it would be a disaster. If the MSC wants observation spending time writing the report would detract from that. I wait until I get home to do the report.

@SueW70 wrote:

I wait until I get home to do the report.

I've only done a couple since being reinstated by the MSC after a 15+ year ban. So far I've done the reports on my phone in my car immediately after the shop.

First one was on a route and I needed to stay on schedule while trying to avoid hotel room reporting. That used to be my MO until the platform shift for a couple of the major gas brands.

Second one was local, but stuck with the workflow from the first one.

So far so good. Have another local tomorrow night.

Have synthesizers, will travel...

Just do the Online Order shops. That would avoid the temptation..

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230

Just do the Online Order shops. That would avoid the temptation..

5G shops are so easy, but they gotta be at the right price. Perfect scores across the board, instant approval and boom $20-$25 shop fee plus the reimbursement.

I used to regularly get $35-$55 for these, but those days are long gone.

The Rutland, VT shop however routinely gets to high double digits if there are any shoppers up there. I was offered $85 for the shop, but I was leaving and it was for lunch the next day.

@CoolMusic wrote:

@KokoBWare wrote:

Not onerous by any means but a lot more than "a sentence."

That one sentence is only 5 characters short of the minimum. And it would only be 4 short with a comma before the "but", which is standard usage.

These reports are not narratively intrusive in my book.

Not sure what your point is. I specified that I didn't think the requirements were burdensome. I was just responding to the idea that it's just "a sentence." I'd also add that at least where the service, cleanliness and overall impressions are concerned, a good response should be more than 50 IMO.

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