The Birthday Disaster That Cost Five Guys’ Founder $1.5 Million (and Why He’d Do It Again)

When Five Guys’ birthday BOGO deal overwhelmed crews nationwide, the founder’s response said everything about how he runs his company.

BY AMAYA NICHOLE, NEWS WRITER

Jerry Murell, founder of Five Guys. Photo: Getty Images

A birthday promotion gone wrong resulted in Five Guys founder Jerry Murrell doing what few CEOs would: giving his employees a $1.5 million bonus—and offering a master class in crisis leadership in the process.

“I didn’t want anybody shooting me in the back or anything after the first day, because we really screwed it up,” Murrell said to Fortune.

The trouble began on February 17, when Five Guys offered a buy-one-burger, get-one-free (BOGO) promotion to celebrate the company’s birthday, a deal that Murrell had initially doubted. “I never thought they worked. We tried this one, buy one, get one free. Holy smokes. I couldn’t believe all the people who jumped on that,” he said.

The response was unlike anything the burger chain had ever seen. “The promotion spread far beyond what we anticipated, and our hardworking crews were placed in a difficult situation,” Five Guys explained in an apology statement. “Some locations ran out of product and had to close early. Online and app ordering experienced sporadic issues that prevented some of you from redeeming the offer.”

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Five Guys decided to bring back the promotion the “right way” by having the 40th after-party from March 9 to 12. “We fell short of that commitment on February 17, and we’re determined to get it right this week.”

For Murrell, the apology wasn’t enough, so he paid the workers back in a big way by distributing $1.5 million in bonuses—$1,000 per store—to the frontline crew. “I was gonna buy my wife a new fur coat, and I spent it on [the bonus] instead,” he said. “She still looks at me like I’m stupid. But I thought it was worth it. They worked so hard. They were so overwhelmed.”​

Murrell’s generosity isn’t an isolated incident. According to its website, Five Guys donates 20 percent of sales from in-store community events to local organizations and charities. In the past, it has worked with non-profit organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and Paper for Water. 

Murrell hopes to pass down his philanthropic mission to his kids. “We got 14 grandkids and 11 great grandkids, and I think nine or 10 of the grandkids are in the business too, so they seem to like the business. Looks like it’s going to carry on the way we have built it,” he said.​

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