FIVE GUYS IS BACK!!

First
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Last

They can only sustain that pendulum for so long in that direction. When our $12.70 reimbursement covered a meal, the restaurants were crowded. Now, not so much.

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

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

More About Five Guys Mystery Shopping

@HonnyBrown wrote:

It would not be feasible to pdf each report and dig them out a month or so later when the MSC needs clarification once every 7 years. At the end of the day, the report remained approved, so that's even less of an incentive.

Well, it's not really that difficult to do if you wanted to. Just print the web page to PDF using PDFCreator and save it in a file named for the shop date and location. That said, I don't think it's really worth doing.

@BirdyC wrote:

A little burger, little fry, and small drink was over $15 the other day! The prices are getting unrealistic.

The little fries at the shop I did today were up to $4.99! The veggie sandwich with cheese (which I never order but did today) was $6.09. The restaurant I did had incorrect prices posted, they claimed the normal veggie sandwich was $6.09 and the one with cheese was $5.99, so when the cashier asked if I wanted it with cheese I said OK. Turns out it was $6.09 and according to their website the plain veggie sandwich was $5.29. Ended up going over with small fries and drink. If I wanted a burger, it would have been another $2. Fortunately, I got $25 for doing the shop.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/2022 04:52PM by MisterBill.

@MisterBill wrote:

@BirdyC wrote:

A little burger, little fry, and small drink was over $15 the other day! The prices are getting unrealistic.
The little fries at the shop I did today were up to $4.99! The veggie sandwich with cheese (which I never order but did today) was $6.09. The restaurant I did had incorrect prices posted, they claimed the normal veggie sandwich was $6.09 and the one with cheese was $5.99, so when the cashier asked if I wanted it with cheese I said OK. Turns out it was $6.09 and according to their website the plain veggie sandwich was $5.29. Ended up going over with small fries and drink. If I wanted a burger, it would have been another $2. Fortunately, I got $25 for doing the shop.

Those prices are crazy! I guess I'm lucky that in my area, I can still get a meal for under reimbursement. I think on my last shop a little burger was around $5.39, little fries was $2.99, and large drink was $2.49. Shakes are $4.59 here now. I remember when they were $3.99 or something like that a couple of years ago.

Of course, Five Guys shops are popular in my area, so I'm lucky to get a $15 fee every so often. Since I don't like dining in, I try and get the online order shops, but most of the time I miss them when others take them at base fee or $12.

On another note, the MSC's MAO seems pretty worthless in my area nowadays also, not just for Five Guys but their other shops as well. They had another fast food shop over the holidays listed at $10 with MAO. I submitted for $15 and was denied, then $12 (had to be at least $3 lower) and was denied. If I wanted to submit another MAO, it would have had to be $9, which is BELOW the listed fee of $10...or I could have accepted the $10. But why have MAO if you won't actually accept over the currently listed fee? I guess they might have accepted $11, but $1 doesn't seem like much negotiation, lol.

@sstsau wrote:

Those prices are crazy! I guess I'm lucky that in my area, I can still get a meal for under reimbursement. I think on my last shop a little burger was around $5.39, little fries was $2.99, and large drink was $2.49. Shakes are $4.59 here now. I remember when they were $3.99 or something like that a couple of years ago.

The two FG that are closest to me "only" charge $4.89 for a regular size fries and $4.49 for a veggie sandwich, so I can get those and a large drink ($2.89) for $13.30. At least for now.

But one of the shops I do is in the same shopping center as a McDonalds, and you can get a large Big Mac meal for around $10 with tax. So I guess people prefer Five Guys food. I know that I wouldn't pay that kind of money (but I don't eat burgers and only get the veggie sandwiches since you need to get something to go with the fries).

Each Five Guys around me (there are 3 equidistant and 2 more that I go to when appropriately bonused) seem to have different prices. A month ago, I paid $6.65 for a Little Hamburger, $4.10 for Little Fries, and $2.79 for a regular drink. Add $0.89 sales tax, and that totals $$14.43. I have one tomorrow, so I will see what has happened to the prices. The NJ minimum wage increased to $13/hour on January 1st, so I suspect prices will have gone up. I can still stay under budget if I order a Hot Dog.

Edited to add: Occasionally, all of the seats are taken and there are large take-out orders. I am amazed.

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

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/2022 02:36PM by myst4au.

@myst4au wrote:

The NJ minimum wage increased to $13/hour on January 1st, so I suspect prices will have gone up. I can still stay under budget if I order a Hot Dog..

I'm in Westchester County, NY, where minimum wage also went up, and my local FG seems not to have raised their prices.

I have started my MAO purposely high so that I can come down once or twice to get the price I want/need to do the shop.

The last call I had, I gave them a price that was $2 more than what I had done the location in the past. The overseas caller asked me if I could do it for the same amount this time. So apparently they can see some information. But I can't believe if they can see what I did the shop for last time that they can't see what the current shop is being offered for on the board.

I don't eat there unless it is a shop. It's too expensive IMHO. I'll go to a fast casual for what it costs me at Five Guys.

@wrosie wrote:

I don't eat there unless it is a shop. It's too expensive IMHO. I'll go to a fast casual for what it costs me at Five Guys.

We can eat at Red Robin now for about what it costs at Five Guys, whereas the price difference used to be quite a bit. And RR has their unlimited fries, or you can get a salad instead at no extra charge, which I prefer. Sit-down service, huge variety of burgers.... I love their Black & Bleu burger.

BTW, is Red Robin shopped?

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

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/2022 07:08PM by BirdyC.

@BirdyC wrote:

We can eat at Red Robin now for about what it costs at Five Guys, whereas the price difference used to be quite a bit. And RR has their unlimited fries, or you can get a salad instead at no extra charge, which I prefer. Sit-down service, huge variety of burgers.... I love their Black & Bleu burger.

BTW, is Red Robin shopped?

I agree. I usually get the unlimited salad at RR. I don't know if it's shopped but I do know I can get a meal for Veterans Day and for my birthday. For the birthday, you have to sign up for their rewards program. You might even get a sign up bonus of some sort. .

I tip accordingly to what the meal would have cost if it wasn't a free meal. i see many Vets not tipping at all unfortunately. But then again, I've never been in Vietnam, just the seemingly forgotten first gulf war.

I think everybody should tip based on the original value of the meal. It's incredibly tacky not to tip at all! I mean, if someone's getting a meal for free, they should at least throw in a couple of bucks!

My husband and I have gotten dirty looks and/or poor service at times when we show up with a coupon or other discount at a restaurant. We figure it's because servers have encountered customers who tip on the reduced amount, even though these discounts always say to tip on the gross amount, not the net after discount. Often the servers are great until you mention the discount or show a coupon. Then things change, and not for the better....

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

I've seen Red Robin shops, but I dont search specfically for them.

In my opinion, their broccoli is surprisingly good. It's also unlimited.

@wrosie wrote:

I usually get the unlimited salad at RR.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

I'll have to go on the hunt for who does RR shops! But, given the comments here, it seems to me that a person's better off eating at RR than Five Guys, even if you end up paying a couple bucks more for the drink. I live Five Guys' burgers and fries, but spending $15 to $20 for a meal there (the higher end if you get a double-patty burger) is crazy. I want table service and a nice atmosphere for that $$!

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

I live in SoCal where In N Out is king. I tell people, if 5 guys was the SAME price, I would take 5 guys all day over In N Out. I love In N Out, but for simple taste, i like the burger and fries better at 5 guys. A Double-Double combo at In-N-Out is like $10. The same combo at 5 guys is like $17. If it was maybe $1 or $2 more fine, but not for 70% more in cost. I've always said there were "too many guys with their hands in the $." If it was 3 guys instead of 5 guys...maybe it would be more reasonable cost.

I look at In N Out and they are always packed regardless of time of day. Good food, quality, good service and reasonable price will always do much better than an overpriced place. In N Out makes up for it in sheer volume and loyalty.

Habit Burger is also better than 5 Guys and more reasonable and healthier with salad options. Too bad I haven't seen any shops for them since covid.

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

Mark Twain

Habit has a nice menu selection with more sandwiches and salads. I don't think their burgers are better than In N Out or 5 guys. They also use FROZEN fries. That's just a no-no in my book. They are being cheap and lazy by not making fresh fried. Why is it so hard to do FRESH fries like In N Out and 5 guys?

Yes, I miss the Habit shops. Habit got purchased by YUM Brands and I'm sure the shops either got stopped or sent to a new MSC by the new owners. I liked the small SASSIE company that did HABIT shops before they lost them.

When I lived in So Cal, I was one of those folks at the In-N-Out drive thru before they they opened. They have very good food.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

I live in SoCal where In N Out is king. I tell people, if 5 guys was the SAME price, I would take 5 guys all day over In N Out. I love In N Out, but for simple taste, i like the burger and fries better at 5 guys. A Double-Double combo at In-N-Out is like $10. The same combo at 5 guys is like $17. If it was maybe $1 or $2 more fine, but not for 70% more in cost. I've always said there were "too many guys with their hands in the $." If it was 3 guys instead of 5 guys...maybe it would be more reasonable cost.

I look at In N Out and they are always packed regardless of time of day. Good food, quality, good service and reasonable price will always do much better than an overpriced place. In N Out makes up for it in sheer volume and loyalty.

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

The called me about $18 MAO online shop. This is the first time I would do an online shop.

Do you order online and pick it up to go?

Or are you required to stay and evaluate everything like a regular dine in shop, minus the orddring process?

BTW, the rejected my $30 MAO, which is what I normally get for this location. When I lowered it the required $3, I never got a resplnse and the 3:45 ending of the meal time has passes.

Like someone else said, I guess MAO isn't really that.

Unless they've changed the requirements, you can take your online food and leave. They shouldn't start the fries until you get there. The only other requirement is a bathroom observation.

@wrosie wrote:

The called me about $18 MAO online shop. This is the first time I would do an online shop.

Do you order online and pick it up to go?

Or are you required to stay and evaluate everything like a regular dine in shop, minus the orddring process?

BTW, the rejected my $30 MAO, which is what I normally get for this location. When I lowered it the required $3, I never got a resplnse and the 3:45 ending of the meal time has passes.

Like someone else said, I guess MAO isn't really that.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

@KathyG wrote:

Unless they've changed the requirements, you can take your online food and leave. They shouldn't start the fries until you get there. The only other requirement is a bathroom observation.

And of course, you have to check the food as soon as you get to your car to make sure that it's prepared properly and hot. Or you CAN stay and eat in person, but then the 15-minute requirement applies.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/2022 10:30PM by MisterBill.

Hello, does LongHorn Steakhouse get shopped? TY, Night Owl at9:10 pm

@annelehman wrote:

Hello, does LongHorn Steakhouse get shopped? TY, Night Owl at9:10 pm

You should probably start a new thread asking this question as this thread is talking about Five Guys pretty much exclusively.

Longhorn is owned and operated by Darden Restaurants, Inc. I do believe it was mentioned that Darden used to or is shopped.

Try searching for Darden or Longhorn.

RR used to be shopped by a major MSC, but I haven't seen anything in quite a while, so I don't think they are anymore.

Finally got back into FG recently and boy did I have a doozy of a shop today. The food was fine, but the staff was smoking weed behind the restaurant and had left the alarmed fire door open. Apparently they disabled the alarm. And I could smell the weed in the restaurant. That's just...wow. They got the worst rating possible.

It wasnt that long ago that smoking weed smelled like burning grass. Now its like burning skunk...

weatherman, wow!

The worst one that I had to report was an employee in the trash enclosure playing on his phone.

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

Wow, indeed! How did you fit all the information in 500 characters? Although I guess just stating the facts like you did here doesn't take much space.

It wasn't hard. Just the facts. They don't really require an essay anyway.

Anyone???

This was suppose to be added to this previous message.
I've been doing alot of these lately. I feel like I'm always putting the same information in each report when there are no problems, which is most of the time in my case. Is this ok, or any other ideas?

First
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Last

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

FIVE GUYS IS BACK!!

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine