Waffle House Reviews

Former Employee – worked at Waffle House part-time for more than a year

Pros – Great dental insurance available, especially great when you need a tooth fixed!

Cons – No panic button for attempted robberies.

Advice to Senior Management – Install panic buttons.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Waffle House full-time for less than a year

Pros – Steady job - it's difficult to be 'fired' as a Unit Manager unless you are a complete and utter failure at everything;

Company History - Not a secret that WH has been around since 1955, and has seen many fast food/customer service/dine-in establishments like them come and go. It has survived the test of time.

Industry-Commensurate Health Plan.

Cons – The operating of a 24 Hour establishment with only one manager - It is my personal belief that this shoe-string-type operating model directly contributes to UM dissatisfaction, burnout and turnover. Perhaps it was viable in the 50s when there weren't many WHs and the modernization that the industry and, indeed, the world has seen had not come about, but it is clearly not sustainable now. This situation, in turn, contributes to upper level management exhaustion as they tend to have to do more clean-up and oversight, across the board, than is genuinely feasible to maintain standards of operation across the entire restaurant/customer service spectrum.

Wages for associates are stagnant and don't seem to have changed much since the company's inception in 1955 - it's very difficult to get quality work out of good folks without giving them commensurate industrial pay or, at the very least, a liveable wage. Raises, even when clearly being pursued and quite deservedly earned by associates, are VERY hard to come by and are few and far between. Also, when associates AND Manager Trainees are not payed properly for time worked, backpay and proper rectification of the financial oversight is an arduous, painstaking and sometimes entirely losing proposition.

Standards for UMs and associates, in general, seem low as compared to thriving, viable, also-family-oriented establishments like Chick-fil-A.

UM advancement to upper management is - more often than not - hasty, ill-advised, misguided, undeserved and not ultimately financially viable for the Region/Area. I suppose if you are a UM looking to move up quickly, even if that pace is premature and reveals how truly unprepared you are for the new job role into which you have been thrust, then this is not a Con.

The proper and economically sustainable protocols and procedures espoused by the Corporate Office for the effective management, maintenance and growth potential of units and WH employees do not seem to be universally implemented, only partially, grudgingly followed.

Advice to Senior Management – Work on your support system - I was told, during the interview process - about the 'family' aspect of the WH management team, that everyone works together in a positive, supportive way to achieve shared goals. Some Upper Management was very helpful, willing and able to be true team players. Most were not, however.

Be more honest about your pay structure up-front - the kind of money I was lead to believe that I could earn even doing the bare minimum as a manager, if I so chose, was inflated. When it is not uncommon to find your UMs ditching their jobs and responsibilities, opting to be Grill Operators Full-Time instead because the pay is better for the hours work and stress faced, there is a problem with the UM pay structure.

Communication. This is 2013, but one looking from the outside-in certainly wouldn't notice it given the poor quality, incongruousness and general laxity of communication across the board. All the way from associates, along each step of the up-line to the very highest ranks, and back down again. Technology is not evil. It is very difficult to sustain and, indeed, thrive in this industry as a whole when tin-can methods of communication [or, more often than not, MIScommunication] are employed.

Honesty, Openness and Integrity. Please give these three personality aspects more of a spotlight during the hiring process, both of associates and UMs. These are the people that will be running the company when you've retired in 15, 20, or more years. What does it say to me when I see people I wouldn't trust with looking at a banana and calling it what it is being promoted and, more often than not, failing to assume their responsibilities and carry-out the tasks and duties of their positions because of a gross paucity or perhaps even complete absence of the aforementioned qualities?

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Waffle House full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Joe Rogers (CEO) really does have a good heart. Once heard him tell the Mayor of Atlanta that the reason he refused to close was because his employees couldn't afford to miss work.... and that the Mayor should get the busses running after a storm.

There are some awesome people that work for this company- he is one of them. Those that know him would agree. There are also those on the other side of the coin...

Cons – The lifestyle of a Unit Manager is not sustainable on a long term basis... 24/7/365. You are promised opportunities to advance, exceed written and oral goal, and then someone else is given the role. Promotions are political, no ifs, ands or buts. Amazingly, I was offered three seperate promotions after I gave my notice, including one on my last day. Waffle House is your life if you expect to succeed here. If you are ok with that, then you can make it. But just know going in that most folks don't think the juice is worth the squeeze.

Advice to Senior Management – You guys run a profitable company. I can't tell you to change operations as it is what it is. Thank you for what you taught me, but I am thankful to be out.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Waffle House part-time for less than a year

Pros – Friendly people, Free food and good experience.

Cons – The pay sucks and they work you like a dog and you barely get hours.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Waffle House part-time for less than a year

Pros – The shifts are flexible. Get to meet new people (the good and the bad). And you get free food for the most part.

Cons – The job was horrible. The managers were absent all the time. My coworkers were only out for themselves. And I was constantly getting groped by customers. Pay stinks. They don't give you enough hours.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Waffle House part-time for less than a year

Pros – It was a pay check

Cons – No room for advancement, no raises for waitresses

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Waffle House full-time for less than a year

Pros – People are nice. There are good opportunities for advancement.

Cons – Too much work. no balance between personal life and work.

Advice to Senior Management – Take care of your employees

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Waffle House full-time for less than a year

Pros – Compensation is in line with other restaurants. I made mid 30K. It's a great place to start if you need some managerial experience but after 3 years you should be looking for better.

Cons – Manager. The title sounds good. I imagined I'd be doing 40% administrative work and 60% assisting my restaurant staff where needed. No way. At Waffle House a STORE MANAGER is nothing but a cook with added administrative duties. As a manager trainee I worked from 6AM - 4PM cooking, washing dishes, sweeping parking lots, scrubbing toilets, taking out garbage. At first I thought it was just rookie hazing but no this is what GENERAL MANAGERS of restaurants at Waffle House do. And not just general managers, multi unit managers too. It's how Waffle House remains debt free and how it allows it to sell itself as a million dollar business. They rake in the profits by giving managers multiple job titles (cook, store cleaner, landscaper) without forking over the cash. It was a nightmare of an experience. I literally went home each day ashamed of the company I worked for, ashamed of my position and frustrated with the unprofessionalism of unit managers. I had no big expectations for the hourly staff. You almost expect the workers to be unprofessional. They're mostly high school age. You won't find many older managers at Waffle House. They target recent graduates. All the managers I knew were mid 20s. Don't let Waffle House sell you the dream you can make high 50s. The manager I trained with was making high 30s and was looking for a new job the entire time. It's not the worst job...if you don't mind getting dirty and you love manual labor you may thrive. I just don't think it's a respectable job for anyone with a Bachelor's degree or higher.

Advice to Senior Management – Stop being cheap and hire morning shift cooks. Have some dignity in your brand and try to build a better name for yourself. When I think of Waffle House I think of nothing positive. Employees are serving food on dirty plates, gossiping on the restaurant floor, managers are engaging in gossip with them, talking about upper management to employees. Completely unprofessional.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Waffle House full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Anyone can apply and get a job with this company. Great compensation for a minimum wage job. Good first job.

Cons – Limited advancement options. Hire from outside of the stores quite frequently. Do not award good effort.

Advice to Senior Management – Advance within your ranks stop bringing in others for managing positions.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Waffle House full-time for less than a year

Pros – Get to meet several interesting people
Good work experience in restaurants
Pay is great if you can push through the hours

Cons – Long hours
Come back to change drawers multiple times per week
Open 24 hours generates stress

Advice to Senior Management – More support for management team

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company