I've mystery shopped Five Guys for 8 and a half years. Locations all over the US.
Today was my 50th visit...so about 1 shop every other month or about 6 per year. The price was only slightly
above reimbursement.
I've made a lot of noise in the past about their pricing - because I think they're over priced for what they offer,
but now looking over their operation, I am inclined to say that even so, they have their act
together far more than similar eateries.
In all these 50 visits, I have only encountered 1 visit that was really bad and 1 that was just plain bad - and both of those took place during the pandemic and the employees appeared brand new and clueless.
Other than these two, not once have I encountered a dirty FG location, inside or out.
Never have I met a FG crew member who was rude or unhelpful. To the contrary, most are great.
I have had the occasional stale bun or limp fries, but otherwise their food is consistent.
You know what you are going to get - every time....and that's good to know when traveling.
I suspect their MSing program may not be so much about uncovering problems, but more about
gaining support for these positive observations. They want the evidence that they're doing well.
Dollars be damned, apparently.
I wonder how long it can last - as over the years, the dining rooms seem less busy, even during peak hours.
ok and here's the big question:
Have you ever caught an employee not wearing gloves? LOL.

Never.

I'm not sure how many shops I've done over the years, but I've never seen an employee not wearing gloves when they were supposed to be wearing them. But I have seen grill cooks not change gloves after handling raw beef a number of times over the years. I believe I even saw a manager do it once.

The dining rooms are not often busy but they have a steady stream of online orders as does many restaurants these days. I was in one that had an order for 400 burgers for a visiting football team.

And I will add, they are very clean overall but many of them don't understand that sweeping near tables with diners will stir up dirt and dust into the food. I once had the OWNER of a franchise chain I worked for explain this to me.

Five Guys was one of the first shops I did when I started MSing in 2007. There was only one location within 10 miles of me. Now, there are eight. Not much has changed with Five Guys' business model or menu. Consistency has worked well for them. The dining rooms have fewer tables post-Covid, so less customers dining in. Online and take-out orders have increased. Their prices, as with everything else, have also increased. In '07, I could buy a regular hamburger, fries and drink for about $10. Now, depending on location, it's about $19.

A long-gone MSC had the account back then. We used to have to report, among other things, on the use of a patty press, the different stages of the grill, and the number of hanging baskets of fries. And always - gloves.

I did once. Also had my burger served without the paddies. Other than that, no problems.

The only one that stands out in my mind was when the cook was wearing jeans that were below his butt and his unders were literally visible to me while he cooked my burger. That one made me feel ill. One other time I found a coockeracha crawling across the restroom floor. These were both a distance from my immediate area while I was traveling to the south of the state. Around here, they are almost always clean and the food is good. The best deal was at the one that offered the combo deal. Some do and some don't...go figure. I'm doing much less of them these days with the low fees. Maybe one or two per month at most when/if I get a call from Georgia or an offer.

I haven't done Five Guys in a while, but when I did, there was a dramatic difference between the Five Guys near my hometown (which are either perfect or had only minor issues), and the Five Guys locations in another market I often shop in about 100 miles away, which were mediocre at best. At one of those locations on one shop, I was answering "no" to questions I could never have imagined I would ever answer "no" to (including but not limited to the gloves question). Not coincidentally, that particular Five Guys closed down less than a year after that experience.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2026 11:27PM by KA047.

I really like 5g. Of course it's cost prohibitive when comparing to In n Out....But if price was not an issue, I would pick 5g over InO all day every day. It's a bigger burger and there are more options for toppings. I love In N Out for the quality, friendliness, and cleanliness. But if we are comparing burger to burger, 5g burger is BIGGER and better. The fries are not even close. The fries at In N Out are weak.

My wife still says she likes InO better, but she is wrong and knows it. I will never go to 5g on my own dime, but if someone else offers or I can get a shop, I will take 5g

Some of the ones near me now seem quite busy compared to other locations where they were not so busy. Location probably makes a big difference. I remember one closing down in Cypress, CA. I was in a spot where I hardly ever saw anyone dining in. Yes, they had online orders or 3rd party orders, but essentially that particular franchise location shut down.

i caught one store closing up early. another time they gave my order to the wrong person. i got a free milkshake for that one.

That's an interesting comparison - FG to InO.....
I tend to think of them in different categories....like InO is more like fast food and FG is more like fast casual...interesting.
I used to be a huge InO fan but I visited one location not far from Port Hueneme in 2025 and it was very
underwhelming - especially since I hadn't been to an InO in over a decade (east coast person) - it crushed my memories....the quality seemed....off or something.
Next week, I will be in Las Vegas.....maybe I will try again.

I have an InO t shirt in my bottom drawer....I bought it around 2000.....makes me feel a bit aged lol.

@BarefootBliss

In N Out food is not spectacular. It has a cult following because they operate efficiently, offer fresh quality ingredients, hire the best people that work in that industry, pay their employees better than the competition, and charge reasonable prices.

I can expect the same quality and taste regardless of location. I can expect the same happy employee and willingness to help at any location.

This makes them the leader in that category. It's a limited menu and they do it well.

I prefer 5G food (burger size and cajun fries) over InO, but I will never go to 5G with my own money. It's a value thing for me.

I actually saw a commercial for 5 Guys while watching a movie on Tubi last night. First time ever.

My most memorable 5G was a late-night shop last 30 mins before closing. 3 employees (including one shift manager). 1 male and 1 female employees (both late teens/early 20s) were giving each other quasi insults, and not in the 'playful' way that friends sometimes give each other a hard time. They got pretty graphic, involving different areas of the body that an employee should not be discussing in front of other customers nor with other employees. The 3rd employee (a female, late teens/early 20s) was trying to remain neutral. After a series of back-and-forth between the problem employees, the 3rd employee shouted out "OH MY GOD!" in an attempt to distance herself from the mess. As I got up to leave, the 3rd employee called out "Have a nice night!" I looked and smiled and nodded at her as I left. I placed it all in my report. The next shop I did ~2 weeks later, the 3rd employee apparently had been promoted to assistant manager, while the 2 problem employees were not observed.
Another location, there was apparently a grease fire in the hood that closed them down for the rest of the day.

By and large, the dozens of 5G shops I've done over the years have been fairly consistent overall with good service, although there were 1 or 2 other outliers (like having to stand at the register for 2 minutes, waiting for someone to even acknowledge me). Once when I was traveling, a Boston location had the first (and only!) location that I've ever seen light bulbs out - they had about HALF of the bulbs not working in the restaurant. Plus the floor was somewhat dirty behind the counter.

BTW
I just left a Five Guys, and I saw that they’re turning 40 this year! The big 4-0!

Tuesday 2/17 was a BOGO at 5g. That was the first time I ever spent my own money there (non-shop). There was a code for online order only. Place was busier than usual. Not as busy as an In N Out, but busy enough for a place that does not do near the volume InO does.

InO is operational excellence in fast food. You can complain about the lameness of their fries, but they are the gold standard for service, quality, and value. I will always prefer a 5g burger (taste), but I won't go to 5g on my own dime except for today with a BOGO! I don't need a bogo to go to InO

I saw that ^^^, but wasn't able to take advantage. I got a text and email that they were celebrating their 40th birthday!

I LOVE In n Out fries.. I know I'm not the only one. I do NOT use ketchup on fries. And In n Out fries just need a little bit of black pepper to be perfect. It's been 10 years now, but every time I go to In n Out I get an extra salt pack and a pepper pack. The salt goes on my double double and the pepper goes on my fries. And of course, because they are In n Out, they don't give you just one pack of each, so I had a pretty good stock of spare salt and pepper packet in my car..

I'm starting to feel the need for a road trip to TX.. because I believe the In n Out there is the closest to where I am. My son said he saw an article somewhere that In n Out is opening a new headquarters building on the East coast, and that we're going to start getting restaurants here soon.

In N Out is building in Franklin, Tennessee to target "east coast" locations.

You can love In N Out fries. Most people are not excited about them and tolerate them. I prefer them well-done from In N Out.

Like I said, I will spend my own $ because of the quality of the food, value, cleanliness, freshness. But I usually get 2 double double animal style with both grilled and raw onions and chopped chilies and skip the fries.

I can look out the window here in this hotel and see the closest In N Out, so I think I will make a visit before leaving this area lol.

Starbucks started west then moved east and then....well IMO, downhill since....on well I guess the pandemic took them down several notches....so whenever I read about their business problems, I nod to think they did it all to themselves.

@MsJudi wrote:

The only one that stands out in my mind was when the cook was wearing jeans that were below his butt and his unders were literally visible to me while he cooked my burger. That one made me feel ill. One other time I found a coockeracha crawling across the restroom floor. These were both a distance from my immediate area while I was traveling to the south of the state. Around here, they are almost always clean and the food is good. The best deal was at the one that offered the combo deal. Some do and some don't...go figure. I'm doing much less of them these days with the low fees. Maybe one or two per month at most when/if I get a call from Georgia or an offer.

Haaa! Yeah… the unders … nobody wants to be seen that! The funny thing is, whenever I see any type of undergarments if there’s a way I can incorporate it into my report I do what I talk about the color and the texture and all of that so they know it’s authentic! I mean, if I can see a red lacy bra, I’m going to report it! If I can see SpongeBob silky boxers, I’m gonna report it! One of the companies I work for they many times put comments about the report when they say, “Your attention to detail is much appreciated,” I just crack up when I know it was an underwear sighting!

Also, Five Guys is turning 40 years old! I saw that a few nights ago. Yippee!!!