What it's like to work in a Waffle House-type diner

[blamography]

Hey, I'm looking for general information about working in a Waffle House style restaurant - sit down but still fast food.

The story will be set in New Jersey (USA) and is roughly modern day.

I've googled various permutations of "[name of every fast food restaurant]" and "what it's like to work at", "working conditions", "set up", "clean up", etc. and

Comments

[di_lo]

Did you check out www.glassdoor.com? If you look up waffle house and some of the other places like that on there, you may find some info especially in the "reviews" section.

[blamography]

Yeah, I checked for Waffle House, and most of what I saw was just that I ought try avoid having to work there. General overview type stuff, mainly, although I may have missed something - I'll definitely re-read just in case (and try some other places, I hadn't thought to search other restaurants).

[shotglass]

Former waitress at a predominantly breakfast cafe, so I might be able to help a bit

[blamography]

Thanks so much! This is really really helpful.

(Reading all these comments about crappy tips suddenly makes me feel like I'm a better person, ngl.)

[shotglass]

Welcome!

(Oh man, I know right? When I started waiting, I suddenly became THE BEST tipper when service was good.)

[lytrigian]

Anyone who has been in a job reliant on tips ends up a very good tipper when they have the money for it, I think.

[delordra]

I worked at Waffle House as a waitress for maybe 6 months about 12 years ago, so I'm sure some things have changed, but here's my 2 cents

[blamography]

Oh, this is hugely helpful, thank you. I hadn't even thought about how much someone's feet would hurt!

Most of the time I go to Waffle House, it's third shift, and that's what the waitresses we made friends with said - all the weird people crawl out right around then (which included us, I'm certain).

[captaintwinings]

I second all of this. I worked at Waffle House from 2003-2006, and the only thing different is the prices. (My regular coffee drinkers always tipped $1 for their $1 coffees. When I was working 3rd shift, I always got at least one $20 tip a night, and occasionally I would get $50 or even $100, but most of the time I could expect a dollar or two from each person in the group, and there was always someone who would make my night hell and then leave me a quarter. Or a coupon for Pizza Hut

[blamography]

Thanks for this! Mucho helpful.

And I will read for as long as you can type, haha. Quick question - how easily did you co-ordinate with other people? I mean after staring out, were there horrible miscommunications or were you forced to figure things out pretty quickly?

[ficangel]

From my waitressing days

[shotglass]

Could involve rolling silverware if you're worried about the current supply and/or have time. Rolling silverware is one of the least stressful and most inefficient jobs in the restaurant, so the waitstaff tends to fight over it.

Isn't this the truth! The more senior staff always got to do it at the cafe I was at, and it was very frustrating when we were slammed and someone's sitting and rolling silverware!

I almost want to ask if you worked at the same place from how similar this comment is to my own experience, but we didn't have our lemons on ice - just in a little fridge.

[ficangel]

Man, I loved rolling silverware. Not because it was easy during a shift (OMG), but because it 1) tended to happen during a lull if it was mid-shift, and 2) it was among the last things that we did whether I was opening or closing, so it kind of took on the connotation of a cool-down after a long workout. Very soothing.

Hee. I don't think so, unless you also worked in a shady diner in the ass-end of Midwestern America, but it's certainly possible! We were so small that the waitstaff didn't have their own fridge, so we just put all of the cut lemons into Tupperware containers and shoved them down into the ice machine, since that was right in our workspace rather than going to the walk-in cooler at the back of the restaurant. It helped a lot, even though we still had to go back to the walk-in for salad bar supplies, which always confused me.

[blamography]

Thank you thank you thank you, this is massively helpful & I really appreciate it.

[rurouniidoru]

I've never been a waitress, but I did grow up in New Jersey, and I can say with some authority that we don't seem to have Waffle Houses. (I fondly recall a childhood driving trip down to Florida and being just amazed at the sudden preponderance of this waffle restaurant which did not exist near me.) So I'd take care not to actually mention the chain by name, as that can be one of those things that makes locals roll their eyes.

[blamography]

Oh yeah, I don't think Waffle House has crept past the Mason-Dixie line. It was just the closest comparison I could think of for the hypothetical diner they'll be working at. :) But thanks!

[xolo]

I'm in central Ohio, and we have Waffle House.

[benbenberi]

According to the Waffle House site, the closest they get to New Jersey is Allentown PA.

But remember that New Jersey is ground zero for actual diners -- they're mostly independent mom-and-pop restaurants (some owners own several) which tend to be open 24/7 and have menus that go on for miles but generally emphasize breakfast (available all day). Some are tiny, some are quite large.