Employees at popular burger chain Five Guys received cash bonuses after an ill-considered deal left stores across the U.S. overwhelmed with customers.
“I didn’t want anybody shooting me in the back or anything after the first day, because we really screwed it up,” CEO Jerry Murrell told Fortune in a recent interview. “We had no idea that we were going to get that kind of response.”
Five Guys introduced a BOGO (buy one get one free) deal on February 17 to mark its 40th anniversary, later describing the response from customers as “unlike anything we’ve seen.”
As a result, the chain said in a press release, staff were “not ready” with many stores running out of food and being forced to close early, while some customers were unable to redeem the offer through the app.
“You visited our restaurants in overwhelming numbers, and we weren’t ready for you. We didn’t meet our own standards, and that’s not something we take lightly,” the release said.
Five Guys offered a “do-over” the next month from March 9 to 12. The extra promotion was described as an “after party” for the franchise’s milestone which vowed to be better prepared.
In addition to the apology to customers, Murrell, 82, wrote checks of $1,000 for all 1500 stores to acknowledge the extra strain that had been put on employees – amounting to some $1.5 million.
“Our store crews were put in an incredibly difficult position, and the way they performed under pressure did not go unnoticed,” the company said in a release.
According to Five Guys’ website, each store averages around 25 employees, working out at roughly $40 per person.
“I was gonna buy my wife a new fur coat, and I spent it on [the bonus] instead,” Murrell told Fortune. “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 told the outlet that he had been particularly surprised by the response to the BOGO promotion, having never really believed in their effectiveness.
“I always think it’s funny when people go to sales. I never thought they worked. We tried this one, buy one, get one free. Holy smokes. I couldn’t believe all the people that jumped on that.
“I thought maybe increased sales [of] like 20 percent or something – that was like 130 percent. So I felt I screwed up.”
The generosity towards employees is reflective of a wider philosophy at Five Guys, which donates 20 percent of sales from in-store community events to local organizations and charities, according to its website.
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