Many people in southern states go to Waffle House frequently. It is one of the few places that is open 24 hours EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE YEAR. Waffle house is very convenient and has fast service for its customers. The waffles are delicious and everyone loves the "All Star Meal" but have you ever thought about what it is like to work at waffle house? I'll give you the inside scoop on what it is like to be an employee at the growing restaurant chain.
All employees at Waffle House work shift work. This means that there are certain times in which all employees come in. We have first shift which starts at 7 am. Second shift starts at 2 pm. Third shift starts at 9 pm. When you pull up and see workers outside please do not assume that we are being lazy. We have no delegated breaks. If you need to sit down you can but most times there is so much to do. This means that if it gets super busy we do not get a break, especially on first shift. If we have customers in our section we do not get to sit down until they are served. Even when the store is empty sitting down might be difficult because you have side work that needs to be done before the next shift comes in.
Even though for Waffle House customers, the waffles are the best thing on the menu, for the employees they are not! After awhile the food at Waffle House gets tiring for the employees. We see it multiple times a week. To make things interesting many employees make their own food out of what the store already has. I can not speak for every Waffle House though. Sometimes we make tacos out of the hamburger meat and soft shells that the restaurant carries. I know some workers who bring in ingredients to have french toast.
We have a calling system for our orders. Which means that every order is verbally called in instead of the cook looking for the tickets. The sayings like "covered, smothered, and hold the heat tell the cook how to prepare your order. The cook has to remember what the waitress says and mark the plates.
Sometimes things can get competitive between the waitresses. Especially on first shift. servers wages are 2.13 an hour, most of the money that we make is based on our tips (please tip). Even if you do not want to be competitive you find yourself watching your tables because another waitress may try to snatch your customer by "asking if they would like to move seats." This is totally wrong but they do it anyways. I am not sure about waffle house fights but sometimes things do get a little heated in the kitchen.
Overall, working at Waffle House is just like any other restaurant. Being behind the counter and being a customer is two totally different things though. The servers and the cooks work incredibly hard to make sure the customers are satisfied. I hope the next time you visit Waffle House you will see it from another prospective.
