This secret shopper was rooting for Five Guys, but unfortunately they had to fail the store. The reason might surprise you, as the failing grade wasn’t related to customer service or food quality.
What’s a secret shopper?
In an effort to keep brand quality high, companies often hire secret shoppers. Secret shoppers get paid to visit stores and see if stores are meeting certain standards that usually include food quality, customer service, and store cleanliness. For example, one secret shoppers company, Secret Shoppers, states that “armed with specific evaluation criteria, these mystery shoppers embark on missions to gauge the quality of service and the overall shopping experiences onsite, online, and on the phone in every industry.”
Kayla (@Kaylalaughsoutloud) is a longtime secret shopper of at least 14 years. Their TikTok page is filled with secret shopper reviews at a plethora of stores. They even offer classes to help you become a secret shopper on their website.
The Daily Dot just recently covered another secret shop Kayla did at Five Guys, where the store failed because the employee behind the register was eating nuts as they took the order.
What happened at Five Guys?
While this Five Guys had a few good things going for them, they ultimately failed due to its lack of cleanliness around the store.
“What they failed on was how nasty this location was. Even the women’s restroom was nasty. There wasn’t even soap to wash my hands with. The commode was beyond disgusting. I’m not even gonna put that in detail,” Kayla says.
The video has 68,900 views and over 2,800 likes.
Kayla continues to explain that the rest of the store was also a mess. The condiment and drink station was dirty. The indoor seating area had several puddles of water on the floor and the outdoor seating section was also dirty with fries and napkins on the floor.
“It feels like they haven’t cleaned in days, and I don’t think there’s any reason for that,” says Kayla.
@kaylalaughsoutloud Mystery Shop: This Is NOT The Five Guys Way‼️ Where is your favorite burger spot⁉️ @Five Guys #fyp #mysteryshopping ♬ original sound – 😂 Kayla Laughs Out Loud 🤣
Is cleanliness a non-negotiable?
Viewers generally agree with Kayla that a store’s cleanliness is a non-negotiable.
“I can’t stand it when the drink and condiment station is gross,” one commenter said.
“You gonna need a line of credit at 5 Guys,” another wrote.
“If I go to a restaurant and it’s dirty like that, especially the restroom, I won’t go back. My uncles used to own a Sundries store and we had to be constantly cleaning it. Outside too,” a third shared.
“Puddles are a slip and fall hazard. Lawsuit material. I do like their decor,” another claimed.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Kayla via email and TikTok message and to Five Guys via email.
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