What One Five Guys Employee Wants Customers To Realize

We all know there are tons of secrets within the fast food restaurant industry, whether it's about Dairy Queen's chicken (and why you should think twice about ordering it), the ice cream machines at McDonald's, or the fact that Pizza Hut's stuffed crust pizza is made by adding string cheese to the crust — at least according to a former employee on Reddit. The list goes on and on, and it seems to get longer now that restaurant workers with phones and TikTok accounts are revealing even more fast food secrets. Sometimes, the higher-ups at the fast food chains would rather keep these things a secret, and the employee gets in trouble. Some TikTokers whose fast food exposés have gone viral might have been fired as a result, including a Chick-fil-A worker who revealed a way to custom-order a seasonal drink that's better than the one on the menu, for the same price (via Insider). 

But sometimes places have secrets that are actually positive. A TikToker might reveal something behind the scenes at a fast food restaurant that makes us want to visit them even more. Five Guys employee Maezion Henix shared a few such tidbits on his TikTok account, where the videos quickly went viral. The videos and some subsequent interviews with Henix available online revealed that a lot of the food at Five Guys is fresher than it is at some other fast food establishments. 

The first TikTok video Five Guys employee Maezion Henix posted from his workplace, showing how whole potatoes are cut and washed on the way to becoming french fries, has been viewed more than 22 million times. In a separate video, Henix described how the fries are precooked for two minutes in one fryer, then moved to another fryer for a second cook. The employee, who works at a Five Guys location in Shreveport, Louisiana, told Insider one thing customers should realize is they don't need to ask for their fries well done. Every order of fries is well done, but if you want them crunchier than usual Henix said you can ask for "extra crispy."

In another TikTok video, Henix explained how he knows when he's added enough seasoning to Five Guys' Cajun fries. "My manager always told me, 'If you ain't sneezin', you ain't pleasin','" he said.

Henix had a lot more to say about what Five Guys customers need to know. He dished in a  separate Insider article about how Five Guys gets its burgers to be so juicy and mouthwatering. The three-step process he outlined ensures every patty is both well done and "leaking," as Henix put it. "So when you bite into it, it will be satisfying," he said. We know some fast food employees have been fired for revealing company secrets on TikTok, but Five Guys might want to consider giving their self-appointed PR guy in Shreveport a raise.

Another piece of advice Five Guys employee Maezion Henix had for customers was to be aware of the chain's prices before walking in the door for the first time. "We have some customers that just come in, look at our prices, and just walk right out," Henix told Insider. Even worse, customers will get angry at him when he's working the register, once they realize Five Guys doesn't have the discounted combo meals you can find at some other fast food chains. Henix's advice? Check the prices online first, so you go in knowing what you're going to pay.

Henix had more words of wisdom for customers in a separate Insider article. Five Guys might be pushing the boundaries of what qualifies as fast food, but Henix said you should get your meal within eight minutes of ordering it. "So we're going to get your food out quick," he said — or at least not too terribly slowly, considering that every burger is cooked to order. Cashiers speed up the process by calling out the number of patties while the customer is ordering them.

Secondly, all the food at Five Guys is fresh. According to the Five Guys website, there are no freezers in any of its restaurants. When you consider the fresh beef patties and the french fries made in-store form whole potatoes, Henix says the higher prices customers sometimes complain about are justified. The TikTok-famous employee said customers should know everything at Five Guys is fresh because maybe then they'd be willing to pay a little more.