Five Guys — Restaurant in Louisiana

TIPPING AT A SELF-SERVE FAST FOOD JOINT?! NO WAY. NEVER. $35 for 2 burgers, 2 drinks and 1 regilular fry! No thanks.

Before I begin my rant, let me be clear:

When we dine at full-service restaurants I always tip appropriately. And if service is above-and-beyond I'm happy to tip 25%+ instead of the usual ~20%, but that's AFTER our service experience is over. Five Guys is most decidedly not a full service restaurant; it's fast food without a drive-thru window, nothing more.

Begin rant/review:

Five Guys has no table service or wait staff, it's a "counter service" place (aka - fast food). Unlike wait & bussing staff at the full-service places, Five Guys employees are paid starting at a little over $13/hr, which isn't a lot, but is WAY more than what actual restaurant servers make on their paychecks. Real service staff have to live off tips, sadly, but as non-service staff the workers at Five Guys make many times more on their paychecks.

Unlike a full-service restaurant, you have to order at the counter, pay at the time of ordering, get your own drink, ketchup, straws, utensils, clear your table, etc. which is traditional for fast food places. But now they've begun asking for a tip at the point of payment BEFORE getting food and with no table service! Even at a full-service restaurant I'd balk at the very idea of being asked to tip before service was rendered (happy to afterwards). Having the customer do all the traditional work of a server yet having the nerve to ask me to tip for services they don't offer is insulting - insulting enough that we likely won't return until this inappropriate ask of tipping for no service is stopped.

The entire point of tipping is to show wait staff your appreciation for good service at the table and to supplement the much, much lower pay they receive than workers at Five Guys. (I personally believe everyone should be paid a living wage, tips become extinct, and the difference should be made up in the cost of the product/food.)

After paying nearly $34 for 2 burgers, 1 regular fry, and 2 small drinks that we had to get ourselves, asking for a tip is an insult to the customer and an even bigger insult to all the hard-working, criminally underpaid service staff at real restaurants.

For us, Five Guys is now Bye, Guys. We'll take our business where it's appreciated and where we're not asked to tip for services before they're rendered and especially since such services are actually never rendered at all. In fact, we'll just frequent the full-service restaurants in town that have great burgers and where staff not only deserve the tips,...

I’m not one to leave reviews. Unless I have an excellent experience or a horrible one. Sadly this was a pretty bad one. Literally went in to order 2 regular sized cajun fries. Upon walking in; we stood at the counter for a good while making eye contact with many employees but being ignored. Finally after a while someone from the back comes out front to take our very simple order. We waited not too long but upon seeing the order realized they got it wrong.. they gave us 2 regular not cajun fries. I went back to the counter to let the employee know. Instead of taking a moment to even talk with me or remake the fries she just gave me one, one cup of the seasoning on the side. Not even 2 for the two orders lol.. i just wonder if you struggle to take an order for 2 fries.. what is everyone else getting. It was not enough seasoning to cover both orders of fries btw :(....

We're from the D.C. area, so Five Guys is a taste of home. This location is pretty new, and the quality is very consistent. IMHO Five Guys has mastered their processes and must have a fantastic training program. They also hire people who are great with the public. You never get the sense that they're doing you a favor by fixing your food.

On this visit the food was excellent! We've learned when ordering carryout to have them hold the wet condiments and apply them at home, which makes a big difference (it's about a ten minute drive).

Pro tip: while nobody makes better fries (this is a known fact, and I'll die on that hill - fresh, not frozen, hand-cut on-site, prepped perfectly, then fried to perfection), for carry-out they can use a little recharge when you get home. We pop them into the air fryer for about two...