Restaurant review: Five Guys Burgers & Fries (Scarborough)

Like many Canadians, I have the habit of visiting fast food chains not available in Canada while visiting the United States. This means that when a U.S. fast food chain decides to set up shop nearby (or, of course, if a new Canadian fast food chain is started), it calls for a trip there, especially if I have not previously had the chance to try them out in the States!

The latest U.S. fast food chain coming north is Five Guys Burgers & Fries. The recipient of many awards, it has grown from its first location in Virginia (opened 1986) to over 750 today. One of the newer Canadian locations is in 810 Warden Avenue in Scarborough:

Stepping in front of the cashier, I was already impressed by the staff. They are so happy and clearly glad to be working. Caitlyn, who took my order, explained thoroughly the distinctive characteristics of each menu item. I decided to get a Bacon Cheeseburger (2 patties, with lettuce and tomato as my customized toppings, $8.49), Regular Fries ($3.49), and a Regular fountain drink (free refills, $1.99):

The burger was excellent and well worth the short wait for it to be made upon ordering. You can really taste the freshness in the meat, and the grilling was perfect in that the taste and texture (crispiness) of the patty was just right, with nothing coming across as burnt. With the bacon nice and crisp and the cheese done right as well, it was one of the best burgers I ever had.

Just as Caitlyn told me, the regular order of fries was indeed a lot. They are of the soft variety, which was not my preferred type (I prefer crispy). Unless you specifically enjoy this type of fry, it would not be a good value. For my next trip I plan on having a hot dog with my burger instead.

Bottom line, great people and excellent burgers, but skip the fries.

Response from Loblaw (No Frills)

I received this email response from Loblaw regarding the No Frills incident.  I consider the response to be satisfactory:

“Dear Mr. Yu,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us. Please accept my most sincere apologies for the fact that you have not received a more timely resolution of your concern.

At Loblaw Companies, it is our hope that customers have a positive experience every time they visit us. This includes maintaining a store environment in which our customers feel comfortable while doing their shopping. I’m so sorry to learn about your recent experience at Michael’s No Frills. Please know that I have been in touch with James Chung, the Associate Store Manager at your No Frills, who also asked that I extend to you his apologies for any undue inconvenience the presence of these two individuals have caused, as well as for the fact that store colleagues did not alert management of the concern when you shared it with them. James informed me that the matter was brought to his attention and the solicitors were asked to leave immediately, as they did not have permission to collect donations in front of the store. Please be assured that James will certainly monitor this situation closely moving forward and asked that I invite you to speak to either himself, or Michael Lo Presti, the Store Franchisee, if you have any further concerns.

Thank you again for bringing this matter to our attention. I truly hope you will continue to allow us the pleasure and privilege of serving you as one of our valued customers.

Sincerely,

Julie Dunham

Senior Customer Relations Representative

Loblaw Companies Limited”

Customer harassment at No Frills

I visited Michael’s No Frills (Silver Star Blvd., Scarborough, Ontario) recently. At the entrance were two individuals who were aggressively soliciting money, which they claim were for some charity. They were very persistent and were harassing customers who were entering or leaving the store. I informed the pharmacist about this, and she said “I don’t know” and did not do anything. I next informed the cashier in the lane nearest to the entrance (not the express lane, it was the lane next to the express lane) about this, and she also said “I don’t know” and did nothing.

I have two concerns about this:

1. Customers should not experience harassment when entering or exiting a No Frills store. If these two individuals were authorized by management to solicit funds at the store entrance, I ask that this authorization be revoked immediately. If they were trespassing, I ask that store management be more vigilant to ensure that such harassment does not occur again.

2. The “I don’t know” response from the pharmacist and the cashier were unacceptable. Security and maintaining a harassment-free shopping experience are the responsibility of every employee in the store. At the very least, employees should immediately contact management when they hear that customers complain about harassment. Saying “I don’t know” and doing nothing is absolutely wrong. In this case, the worst that could happen is customers be scammed of some money by a fake charity; if the situation were a pedophile abducting a child, would the pharmacist and the cashier also reply “I don’t know”?

I ask that store management take these events very seriously.