Val's Hamburgers — Restaurant in St. Cloud

The last time I went here, I ordered my food online. I got the notification that it was ready for pickup so I went there to grab it. I still had to wait approximately 20-30 minutes for my food to be done. People who came in after me and who ordered at one of the kiosks got their food before me. I ordered online so I didn’t have to wait at the place for my food to be done.

I have also never seen so many flies buzzing around a restaurant before either. I saw more than one employee swat at them while they were cooking food.

That’s not the worst of it though. The worst was watching the man who was handling cash turn around and scoop fries WHILE WEARING THE SAME GLOVES. As soon as I saw that, I should have demanded a refund and walked out and I’m not sure why I didn’t. I’m not sure why I still ate the food which tasted fine going down. Not so much coming back up as I dealt with one of the worst cases of food poisoning I’ve ever had. I blame it on Val’s because that’s the only thing different that I ate and the timeline matches. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was caused by the man who decided it was acceptable to HANDLE MONEY AND THEN SCOOP FRIES RIGHT AFTERWARDS WITHOUT CHANGING HIS GLOVES or washing his hands or doing anything remotely sanitary.

To be fair, I do have an autoimmune disorder that weakens my immune system but I’ve never gotten food poisoning from eating out in the past. I’ve even eaten at Val’s multiple times beforehand with no problems but it seems like the sanitation and cleanliness of the place has really gone downhill over the years.

And yes, the guy at the register was really rude to nearly everyone. He honestly looked like he hates his life and if that’s the case, maybe leave Val’s behind and find something else that’s actually fulfilling and stop ruining a genuine mom and pop restaurant that’s survived everything that’s been thrown at it over the years.

At least the prices are still affordable especially compared to all other fast food restaurants. That’s something, I guess. Although, I’d rather spend more money and not have to worry about getting...

There was no question of the high quality of Val’s but I had an issue today. The issue is not specific to Val’s but simply magnified because of what Val’s is. It has to do with online ordering. I just got done waiting/standing in the place for over a half an hour for three regular hamburgers and two orders of fries, no drinks or shakes, nothing special. I must have watched 30 customers come in, show their phone and pick up their order and leave. I have a phone too but because I didn’t use it I go to second rate. My daughter and her friend who had never been to Val’s before were with me and ordered behind me. They received their orders and had eaten them by the time I got my three hamburgers and two fries. Are you kidding me Val’s?

My time must be less valuable than someone who orders via internet. If you order online your dollar must be worth more than my dollar. Online orders should NOT be the priority, the customer standing in front of you is. Val’s certainly isn’t meant to be an online experience but rather an anachronism. You are not capable handling the volume that online is generating and while that’s usually a good thing I really don’t think I’ll be stopping back anytime soon. I was totally ignored and it was not a complicated or large order, not only that, the fries over salted and cold as were the hamburgers. My son wouldn’t even eat it. Now not only is it a waste of time but also money. There is no excuse for what happened. 1 PM is after the lunch rush. I don’t want to order online.(I never did get a text that my order was ready but I was standing right there the whole time anyway). This has nothing to do with the employees. They were doing their job as far as I could tell. This is a policy issue and it needs to be addressed.

I gave you five stars because of the way things used to be and not as they are...

I have been here several times throughout the years. Overall the place is good, but on the other hand Aaron (the manager/owner) has always been rude to me and other customers while I’ve been there. Also, I’d like to add that the new system they’ve recently installed for ordering food is not that great. So in conclusion, I’d say the food is great, but the service is horrible. I will most likely be looking for a better alternative.

Edit: I’ve been sitting here reading through the reviews and there are so many negative reviews of bad customer service. Particularly Aaron being incredibly rude with customers. I’m not saying this is a horrible place, but please take this information into consideration when doing business with Val’s rapid serve.

Edit#2 in reply to owner reply: Yes, that absolutely was me, and no I did not throw my money at you. Stop exaggerating! You are extremely rude to customers, and very unprofessional. I should not have to share my personal information to order a burger. Your snarky response is a very good show of your unprofessionalism and inability to work with customers in a professional manner. I know that I am not the first person to say this about you either because almost every other negative review talks about how rude you are to customers. No wonder you, “Aaron Henning”, couldn’t make it into the house of representatives when you ran for district 14B. If you can’t even handle working in customer service. Why would anybody want to elect you for any position of authority? You don’t even have the ability to remain calm and collected when somebody says something you don’t agree with. Why would anyone trust you with with being a representative of our state when you can’t even properly represent a small...