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@Heeps21 wrote:

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?

Can't say I've had a problem with that so far. They know what questions they're asking.

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More About Five Guys Mystery Shopping

I just want to chime in to say BRAVO to Five Guys for probably being the most continued thread on this forum. 571 posts at the time of writing this. It is almost like some people make a career out of Five Guys. I had my moments back in the day but its getting harder to eat. More for all of you!

They have to pay better than $9 for a shop. And even though they upped the reimbursement rate %guys just raised the prices so I do not do it even if Sam offers $15.

@2stepps wrote:

They have to pay better than $9 for a shop. And even though they upped the reimbursement rate 5guys just raised the prices so I do not do it even if Sam offers $15.

Samantha rarely offers a decent price, unless it's after the weekend. Of course, you have to figure out how high the website or scheduler price will go in your area and decide what to take, if anything.

Got a call today for a retail shop from the same MSC. Scheduler offered me $17. When I said no, he offered me $20. It's on the website for $25.

@MisterBill wrote:

Got a call today for a retail shop from the same MSC. Scheduler offered me $17. When I said no, he offered me $20. It's on the website for $25.

I have heard of this happening on the forums a few times. A pretty down right disgusting tactic if you ask me. Easy for them to cover up to and probably say it was a mistake or something.

@jrj76 wrote:

@MisterBill wrote:

Got a call today for a retail shop from the same MSC. Scheduler offered me $17. When I said no, he offered me $20. It's on the website for $25.

I have heard of this happening on the forums a few times. A pretty down right disgusting tactic if you ask me. Easy for them to cover up to and probably say it was a mistake or something.

Yeah as I've mentioned before, I never take a "live" call from the schedulers anymore. I screen, then boot up the job board and call them back. If they offer less than the board price, I call them on it. And require a few bucks more in bonus than I would have if they'd fed it to me straight.

I don't remember this tactic happening before Covid, but then, I only started shopping about 6 months before Covid hit so ...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2022 07:22AM by KokoBWare.

It's been a while since i shopped but I did one of these right before Christmas. When did Five Guys get so expensive??

@eyelove2shop wrote:

It's been a while since i shopped but I did one of these right before Christmas. When did Five Guys get so expensive??

Around 2 years ago prices started going up pretty quickly.

Everyone is trying to blame price increases on supply chain issues.

I've experienced this in snowmobile/ATV/UTV shops where they can't get product or parts of product, like things being shipped without gauges. Grocery stores where they claim they can't get certain produce. Convenience stores that can't get groceries. Shops asking how many empty slots are on shelves and coolers.

Whether these are real or engineered shortages I don't know. Apparently there is nobody willing to farm or manufacture or drive goods to market. Therefore, the items that do make it to market can charge a premium since they have product.

That's interesting. I don't see the any shortages at the local, international market that I go to. I definitely see them at the national chains and price hikes at the regional markets.

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

@HonnyBrown wrote:

That's interesting. I don't see the any shortages at the local, international market that I go to. I definitely see them at the national chains and price hikes at the regional markets.

Depends on who they have doing the delivering and the stocking.

Holy cow! I haven't done a milkshake shop in probably more than two years, and did one today. A small shake was $6.29 without the tax! C'mon. That's ridiculous. So I went over reimbursement on that and had no choice on staying under. For my main meal, I had a toasted cheese sandwich, little fry, and small drink--$14.28. So went over on that, too. And then I left a tip on top of that. This was a location I'd never done, but I was doing another shop a few minutes away, so picked this one up. I did it for less than the $25 I normally ask for, but I figured I'd never get that much more than what they were offering, so I made a lower offer, which was accepted. At least I still made money on it. But the fries were pretty bad at this location. I didn't even finish the standard cup. Too bad, too, 'cuz the place was one of the cleanest Five Guys I've been in in a long time, and the crew were actually enthusiastic. Hate to mark them down on anything, but the fries were almost raw.

These prices are truly getting crazy! Pretty soon they're not going to have shoppers ordering burgers anymore! There's absolutely no way to order even a little burger in my area and stay within reimbursement. If they don't up that again, they're just going to have to start paying higher fees.

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

They definitely pull the switcharoo on fees.

So I cold called them. Lol! I said “I’m on my way to the location now I can take care of it for you for $27, but I cannot log in to assign before I need to be there”

It put the pressure on them, they knew it had sat, and they thought the price was already agreed upon.

They were confused briefly as they looked me up.

Then they changed the time from the lunch to the dinner which made my drive less stressful.

Fee acquired. No shenanigans.

@BirdyC wrote:

And then I left a tip on top of that.

Who and where did you tip? I have never tipped at a fast food restaurant where I order from the cashier and pick up my food at the counter.

@kenasch wrote:

Who and where did you tip? I have never tipped at a fast food restaurant where I order from the cashier and pick up my food at the counter.

The FG registers have been prompting for a tip for a while now. Of course, I never leave one since I'm sure they would not reimburse me for it. Agree that it's unusual for a FF restaurant.

@BirdyC wrote:

But the fries were pretty bad at this location. I didn't even finish the standard cup. Too bad, too, 'cuz the place was one of the cleanest Five Guys I've been in in a long time, and the crew were actually enthusiastic. Hate to mark them down on anything, but the fries were almost raw.

What was wrong with the fries? If they were soggy, I find that reheating them at home makes them almost as good as fresh.

@BirdyC wrote:

These prices are truly getting crazy! Pretty soon they're not going to have shoppers ordering burgers anymore! There's absolutely no way to order even a little burger in my area and stay within reimbursement. If they don't up that again, they're just going to have to start paying higher fees.

Yeah, when they initially raised reimbursement from $12.75 to $14.20 that helped for a while, but now inflation has made the $14.20 paltry in its own right. In my high-population area there are numerous Five Guys and they don't have uniform pricing. Some locations you can actually do the burger-fries-drink within the $14.20, in others, yikes.

I know they "prefer" you order a burger but there are now some locations where I just won't do that anymore unless the bonus is really bitchin'. One is in a summer resort town, you'd wish they'd think on their feet and adjust their winter prices down but no. Burger-fries-drink in this place can run to nearly $18! So veggie sandwich for me from now on at that locale.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2022 06:20AM by KokoBWare.

@MisterBill wrote:

@kenasch wrote:

Who and where did you tip? I have never tipped at a fast food restaurant where I order from the cashier and pick up my food at the counter.
The FG registers have been prompting for a tip for a while now. Of course, I never leave one since I'm sure they would not reimburse me for it. Agree that it's unusual for a FF restaurant.

I've seen tip jars near the registers in the past. I haven't done an order-in-restaurant shop for a while, so I'm not sure about the register prompts that you mention. Last month I did a couple online orders, and I think there is an option to leave a tip on the checkout page. But like you, I haven't left a tip as it wouldn't be covered by the MSC. Although I might consider leaving a tip out-of-pocket for stellar service, I haven't gotten anything to warrant that recently, unfortunately.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2022 06:19AM by sstsau.

I know that the tip isn't reimbursed, so I always make sure that the fee I get covers it plus a lot more. I don't mind throwing in a couple of bucks, and yesterday the service I received was really outstanding. I wish I could have given a more positive report about the food.

The fries had that taste of raw potato, not just slightly undercooked. I'll heat them up at home and eat them, but they weren't anywhere near up to standard. Everything else was really excellent--some of the best service I've gotten at any 5G location recently, and I was sure to comment highly on 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.

@BirdyC wrote:

I know that the tip isn't reimbursed, so I always make sure that the fee I get covers it plus a lot more. I don't mind throwing in a couple of bucks, and yesterday the service I received was really outstanding. I wish I could have given a more positive report about the food.

The fries had that taste of raw potato, not just slightly undercooked. I'll heat them up at home and eat them, but they weren't anywhere near up to standard. Everything else was really excellent--some of the best service I've gotten at any 5G location recently, and I was sure to comment highly on that.

Yeah now that the card reader is prompting tips, I'll usually leave 5% because what the heck. That's plenty when I'm not getting table wait service, I think.

As to the fries, that seems to be the bugaboo where I am, too. As I mentioned earlier I live in a high-population area, there have to be at least 10 or a dozen FGs I've shopped in my area, and almost universally, the burgers are great (I've done a few hundred FG shops and only had one bad burger), the service is friendly or at least respectful (I've dealt with rudeness twice maybe, once at LaGuardia Airport and once in the resort town I mentioned upthread), and the cleanliness is always anywhere from tolerable to sparkling. The fries are incredibly hit-and-miss, though, and no location seems to be consistently good or bad at them. Sometimes they hit the standards all the way, sometimes it's a soggy bland mess that comes out of the cup in a pale, sickening lump. I can't be the only shopper in my region to notice this so I wonder if FG is even reading the reports. It's the most glaring "needs improvement" category in my region, by a lot.

Their inconsistency amazes me. A few weeks ago, they accepted my $25 MAO on Thursday, allowing me to schedule it for when I wanted over the weekend. Today I made the same offer, and it was rejected. That means I will need to wait until they raise the price on the website or call me to do this location, since they always have problems filling it.

I haven't had any issues with food quality. I do not "pre-tip" at the counter/cashier of any restaurant of any type. I still think a tip is earned and is not an entitlement.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2022 02:18AM by jgardn02.

@KokoBWare wrote:

As to the fries, that seems to be the bugaboo where I am, too. As I mentioned earlier I live in a high-population area, there have to be at least 10 or a dozen FGs I've shopped in my area, and almost universally, the burgers are great (I've done a few hundred FG shops and only had one bad burger), the service is friendly or at least respectful (I've dealt with rudeness twice maybe, once at LaGuardia Airport and once in the resort town I mentioned upthread), and the cleanliness is always anywhere from tolerable to sparkling. The fries are incredibly hit-and-miss, though, and no location seems to be consistently good or bad at them. Sometimes they hit the standards all the way, sometimes it's a soggy bland mess that comes out of the cup in a pale, sickening lump. I can't be the only shopper in my region to notice this so I wonder if FG is even reading the reports. It's the most glaring "needs improvement" category in my region, by a lot.

Same where I am. It seems the fries are either outstanding or really bad. Sometimes kind of in-between the two, but usually at the extremes. When they're right, they're about the best fries I've ever had. But then they miss, they're not a little off, they're a lot off.

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'd say over here on the East Coast the food is really good 90% or more of the time. I would still NEVER pay the prices they charge unless it was a shop and at least $15 minimum. And when are they going to add a chicken sandwich??? Ever?

@ravensr4real wrote:

I'd say over here on the East Coast the food is really good 90% or more of the time. I would still NEVER pay the prices they charge unless it was a shop and at least $15 minimum. And when are they going to add a chicken sandwich??? Ever?

Chicken sandwiches would be great, but it seems like they would need to change their whole grill setup to do that. Easier would be plant-based burgers.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2022 04:13AM by MisterBill.

@ravensr4real wrote:

I'd say over here on the East Coast the food is really good 90% or more of the time. I would still NEVER pay the prices they charge unless it was a shop and at least $15 minimum. And when are they going to add a chicken sandwich??? Ever?

Gonna go with "never". Where would they cook one? Can't do it in the fry cookers, and I don't think they wanna add on to their supply chain anymore.

This behavior is disrespectful and unprofessional; especially with inflation and enormous gas prices. The FG employees are earning more than the MS. MF is hovering @ $18 on a Saturday so that the MAO comes in under $25 or at $20. What is the purpose of MAO if they are sitting there waiting to reject in 2 minutes. Depending on what state one is in, the pay after taxes is less than minimum wage. Let their FG shops sit there until they stop playing these foolish games.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2022 03:08PM by klovie.

IMHO, this is not relevant. The minimum wage is always a before taxes number. Someone making minimum wage is subject to taxes. What rate they pay at varies, as does the rate that each of us pays taxes at on the money we earn as mystery shoppers.

@klovie wrote:

Depending on what state one is in, the pay after taxes is less than minimum wage.

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

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2022 04:16PM by myst4au.

@klovie wrote:

This behavior is disrespectful and unprofessional; especially with inflation and enormous gas prices. The FG employees are earning more than the MS. MF is hovering @ $18 on a Saturday so that the MAO comes in under $25 or at $20. What is the purpose of MAO if they are sitting there waiting to reject in 2 minutes. Depending on what state one is in, the pay after taxes is less than minimum wage. Let their FG shops sit there until they stop playing these foolish games.

While I won't do it for that price, the fact is that $18 for a quick fast food shop is actually higher than almost any other dining shop out there. Heck, there are bank shops that can take a half hour to do including wait time that are paying $15 and do not include a meal. MS is rarely a high-paying job.

And since the shop takes 30 minutes or less to complete, even the base price of $9 is higher than minimum wage.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2022 03:56PM by MisterBill.

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