I came for a waffle, not front-row seats to Waffle House WWE.
To be completely fair, the food was great. I got a waffle, hash browns, and bacon, and my boyfriend got a hash brown bowl. Everything was good, and neither of us had a single complaint about the food.
The staff, however, was a completely different story.
I understand Waffle House is casual. I understand employees joke around, talk, laugh, and have fun. That's part of the Waffle House experience, and I'm not expecting to walk in and suddenly feel like I'm dining at a five-star restaurant.
But apparently, today I was also purchasing tickets to a live workplace argument.
We sat toward the back of the restaurant, right beside the wall separating the dining area from the kitchen/staff area. We were quietly looking at the menu when one of the employees came out from the back and started yelling at another employee at the absolute top of her lungs literally right beside our table.
And everyone else just laughed.
Again, there were maybe 4-5 customers in the entire restaurant. No music was playing. Nobody was yelling over a packed dining room. The rest of the staff were just talking amongst themselves. So this wasn't a "we're busy and loud because we're a busy restaurant" situation.
Nope. We apparently just got upgraded to the front row.
I'm pregnant and have been dealing with motion sickness, and Waffle House was pretty much the only thing that sounded good to me that day. I had gotten out of the house because I wasn't feeling great and just wanted to sit down, eat something, and have a normal little outing. Instead, I was sitting there trying not to cry and seriously considering leaving.
I fully understand that nobody is responsible for my personal triggers, and I'm not expecting employees to tiptoe around customers. But there is a difference between employees having fun and customers being forced to sit two feet away from someone screaming at a coworker.
It's Waffle House, not a library. I am absolutely not asking for silence. But "laid-back atmosphere" and "customers get complimentary seats to the employee drama" are two very different things.
The food gets 5 stars.
The entertainment was... certainly memorable.
The customer experience could use some work.
I'll happily come back for the waffle. I just hope next time I'm not accidentally seated in the VIP section for Waffle House Fight Night. read more