A Five Guys customer criticized the chain's pricing model after she spending $40 for two cheeseburgers, a milkshake, and an order of large fries, she claims.
TikToker @theysaywhothat expressed her frustration in a TikTok about the pricing discrepancy, adding that she wasn't just angry at how much she spent on her meal, but that the employees who made her burger didn't prepare it the way she requested (it was missing pickles).
"So I'm gonna show you guys how much—I was craving Five Guys you know I'm pregnant, craving Five Guys, so me and my fiancé we went and this is my burger, I just wanna say, this meal, OK we got two cheeseburgers, we got a large french fry, look at this large french fry this was like $8 you guys, $8, and they didn't even put pickles on it like I requested, as you can see I requested mayo, lettuce, pickle, tomato, no pickles on my sandwich, and all of this came up to $40," she says at the end of the video before it ultimately closes out.
In her video, she shows off the pickle-less cheeseburger in question, along with the large bag of french fries, which has been a talking point for numerous customers on social media who've commented on the burger chain's fried potato offerings. Many have discussed the massive quantity of fries that often come with a large order, stating that it's ultimately just cost effective for the burger chain to charge as much as they do for the large portion because potatoes are so inexpensive. Another said that Five Guys gives such a large amount of fries with its large orders that an employee convinced them to get a smaller offering instead.
The TikToker also isn't the only person to criticize Five Guys' pricing, either—several other users on the popular social media application have called out the chain for the cost of their items. One shopper for the chain expressed their ire with the fast food chain after being shocked at how much they forked over $22 for the "smallest" meal offered at the fast food franchise. The worst part, for the aforementioned customer, is that they didn't even seem to enjoy the grub all that much, stating it wasn't "nice."
@theysaywhothat added in a caption for the video that Five Guy's CEO "is making record breaking profits" so there's no excuse for the store to be charging as much as they are only for employees to not get her order right: "We all know the CEO of Five guys is making record breaking profits. #fyp #fiveguys and yall better get my order right next time!"
The Fast Food industry as a whole enjoyed a surge in revenue growth throughout 2023—but it seems that for some franchises this comes at a cost of alienating specific customer demographics. McDonald's has even gone on record stating that the business is prioritizing affordability after reports that lower income patrons have stopped frequenting the franchise due to a spike in item costs.
While inflation spikes in the United States have, at large, increased the cost of nearly all goods and services in the country, it seems that fast food prices have been increasing at a disproportionately faster rate when compared to food prices in other business sectors. In fact, many have argued that it's more cost effective for them to purchase meals from sit-down restaurant chains. One woman has even taken to ordering curbside kids meals to go because food prices have become so prohibitively expensive.
Several users who responded to her video stated that the fast food chain's offerings have always been on the more expensive side and that the high costs of burgers and fries is nothing new: "I love five guys and they’ve always been pricey," someone wrote.
Another penned: "Yea me an my husband went the other night it was $36"
Someone else replied: "Five guys has alwayssss been expensive I’m not even surprised"
@theysaywhothat We all know the CEO of Five guys is making record breaking profits. #fyp #fiveguys and yall better get my order right next time! #burgers #jerrymurrel ♬ Need No One - Prod. Dior
And then there were folks who shared their own ordering "hacks" when it comes to buying food from Five Guys, like one person who said purchasing anything other than a "little" size when it comes to fries is a waste: "I always order the little fry because they dump enough extra fries in the bag to equal a large"
However, there were others who seemed to share in the TikToker's frustration, like one person who said getting burgers from the chain will creep up to the $100 mark: "yesss five guys is always 70+ dollars for me my boyfriend and my daughter! and the drink is also SEPERATE?! like no combo for that price is wild"
"40 dollars for 5guys is bananas," another wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Five Guys via email and @theysaywhothat via TikTok comment for further information.
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