Five Guys CEO hands out $1.5 million bonus after promo fail — his reason turns heads

Apparently, a celebratory moment for Five Guys’ 40th anniversary quickly turned into a chaotic few days for the burger chain. A buy-one-get-one burger promotion on February 17 drew far more customers than expected, leaving restaurants overwhelmed, supplies running low, and the app crashing under pressure.

As frustration spilled onto social media, CEO Jerry Murrell responded in a way that immediately grabbed attention: by handing out $1.5 million in bonuses to staff across the United States.

The move, and especially the reason he gave for it, has since become one of the most talked-about business stories surrounding the fast-food chain, as per a report by Dexerto and The Daily Mail.


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What went wrong with the Five Guys promotion?

Five Guys’ 40th anniversary promotion was expected to create a small sales lift, but instead it triggered a wave of customer traffic far beyond what the company had planned for. The chain launched a buy-one-get-one burger deal on February 17 to mark its 40th anniversary. Instead of a modest increase in demand, the response exploded.

According to Murrell, the company had expected only a limited sales bump, but demand surged by around 130%.

The result was immediate disruption. The Five Guys app reportedly crashed, several locations began running low on stock, and many stores were forced to end the promotion early because teams could no longer keep up, as per a report by Dexerto and The Daily Mail.

Customers were seen waiting in lines that stretched down streets outside stores, while staff inside struggled to manage the volume.

The backlash soon spread across social media, where customers voiced frustration over long waits and unavailable food, as per a report by Dexerto and The Daily Mail.

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Why did Jerry Murrell give $1.5 million in bonuses?

Speaking about the aftermath, CEO Jerry Murrell explained that the chaos led him to issue $1,000 bonus checks to each of the 1,500 U.S. stores, bringing the total to $1.5 million.

His explanation quickly turned heads. “I didn't want anybody shooting me in the back or anything after the first day, because we really screwed it up,” Murrell joked. "We had no idea that we were going to get that kind of response."

The remark was made while discussing how badly the promotion had spiraled beyond expectations. He also stressed that the decision was about recognizing how hard employees had worked during the crisis.

“They worked so hard. They were so overwhelmed,” he said, as per a report by Dexerto and The Daily Mail.

Murrell added another personal remark, joking that he had considered buying his wife a new fur coat but felt the money was better spent rewarding staff.

“She still looks at me like I'm stupid, but I thought it was worth it,” he said.

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How did Five Guys respond after the backlash?

After the failed first rollout, Five Guys publicly acknowledged that it had “vastly underestimated” demand and issued an apology to customers.

The company later relaunched the offer as a four-day “do-over” promotion in March, giving customers another opportunity to take advantage of the anniversary deal.

In its statement, the company admitted, “You visited our restaurants in overwhelming numbers, and we weren't ready for you.”

It added, “We didn't meet our own standards, and that's not something we take lightly.”

Murrell also reflected on the scale of the public response, as per a report by Dexerto and The Daily Mail.

“We were genuinely humbled by the response,' Murrell added. "Forty years is a long time, and the outpouring of support for our 40th birthday reminded us why we love what we do."

The incident may have started as a promotional failure, but the company’s response — particularly the employee bonuses — has now become the bigger story, highlighting both the scale of the demand and the pressure placed on store teams.


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FAQs

Why did Five Guys give staff bonuses?
The company rewarded employees after a promotion caused major operational chaos.

How much was the bonus?
Each U.S. store received a $1,000 bonus, totaling $1.5 million.