Dramatic Social Politics and Horrendous Onboarding - Restaurant General Manager Five Guys Employee Review

2.0
31 Mar 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Hours are pretty long and mostly stable, especially if you're in the management team. The quality of food is something one can really be proud of.

Cons

- Completely disorganized on-boarding. - ZERO benefits until certified to be General Manager, which can take weeks; months in my case, due to utter lack of caring from my on boarding manager. - Absolute lack of enforcement of policies. - No upholding of the "company pillars" from anyone at all. - No confidence in management by employees. - Cliche culture My story is not unique, nor special. In fact, it's quite common: I was hired to take over a store and I had to leave after about 6 months. The work culture is completely toxic, and the utter lack of action from upper management is among the worst that I have seen. It took a few weeks for the employees to warm up to me, but I later learned why they were so nasty with me at first. Turns out, management let's them, or even encourages policy violations so that they can circumvent unemployment claims, and easier termination. Except, despite knowing that managers themselves also violate policies, when it comes to enforcement, there is none. Not only does this violate some personal core ethics, I'm sure a business ethics board would want to know more information about the going-on's with this privately held company. When I was on boarded, I was told that I was going to be taking over operations of a new store; they reconsidered that to a sub-par manager. I was told I was going to be fast-tracked to certification; not only were feet dragged, it was purposely being delayed by my on-boarding manager. I was told that I was going to be able to hire my own crew; I was over-ridden a dozen times with sub-par hires that only lasted a weekend. Mr. Murrell, please pay close attention to this: my "training," certification, and departure due to negligence and horrific bullying (not against me; from management to "replaceable" employees) cost your company more money than promoting someone within. There's a lot of talent in this company and it's being mistreated on a daily basis for nepotism, or other favors. Never before have I experienced the level of hypocrisy, jealously, ignorance, and pettiness in any company. I'm glad I was always welcome back to my previous post, but now, if I'm ever made aware that if any of my employees ever interview with this company, I'll be sharing my experiences in full detail with them and ask them to reconsider before they're offered a "higher" position within this company. They're hemorrhaging great managers to "my way" management, great talent to family favors, and complete lack of empathy towards employees and even customers at times. This company has amazing potential from its employees, but it's locked up by social dynamics, upper management politics, and horrific quality control ethics. If you're interviewing with the company, get what they tell you in writing, and be sure to negotiate benefits from the start. I never got any.

Explore other reviews about Five Guys

5.0
5 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great environment. Lots of hamburgers available.

Cons

None that I can think of.

4.0
1 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

They will teach you everything you need to be successful. They have much higher standards than most places, one of the few places I'd have no problem eating at any location. They'll make sure you have everything you need to meet those standards, especially once you get to a management level. They have corporate trainers and the GM at my location was also great. I'm a GM at a different place now and my experience here left me well prepared me for that position.

Cons

Pay. That's the only reason I left, I would have stayed with the company if I could have gotten a raise and I would definitely return if they offered something comparable to what I'm making elsewhere.

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