11 Things Waffle House Employees Wish You Would Stop Doing

Waffle House is a 24-hour American institution of greasy but comforting breakfast food, particularly in the Southeastern region of the country. Since the first store opened in Georgia in 1955, customers have followed the iconic, golden Waffle Houses signs to locations on busy streets, highway exits, and other locales.

The humble Waffle House is a gathering place for friends and families, as well as wayward drifters and all manner of disheveled folk settling in for late-night comfort food after a wild night. Any fan will tell you that the best cure for munchies or a hangover is an All-Star Special, a sample platter of sorts featuring two eggs any style, signature crispy hashbrowns (ideally scattered, covered, and smothered), your choice of meat, toast, and (of course) a waffle. 

The brave Waffle House crew works 365 days a year, through nearly any weather. Waffle House employees also pride themselves on their willpower to put up with anything customers can throw at them — sometimes literally. We have found 11 things that Waffle House employees wish customers would stop doing, so please keep them in mind the next time you visit a location.

Waffle House customers should avoid ordering TikTok-inspired recipes, such as the bacon cheeseburger-like dish served on a bun made from two standard waffles. Don't be like the customers who saw the viral video for this dish, then rushed cooks with requests for it with little thought to the price or burden on the crew. 

While some Waffle House employees agreed to make this TikTok order at first, the trend became annoying fast, and many began to refuse. An employee on Reddit explained why this particular order was annoying, writing: "I did it for a time, but people would always complain about the pricing being too expensive, or it not being as good as they expected, or it being too much food, or any number of complaints from these kids."

A TikTok user even filmed a visit to a Waffle House that had put up a sign on the register, showing the crew's frustration with having to follow TikTok trends. In the video, the sign on the register reads: "Order from the menu, we are not making anything you saw on TikTok!" 

Additionally, employees could get in trouble with management for making off-menu items like these. Instead, try ordering one of the hacks recommended through Waffle House's own TikTok account, which includes instructions for customers to make their own concoctions, by ordering regular menu items and rearranging them themselves. One such hack involves making a taco from a waffle, scrambled eggs, and bacon. 

You should never go to any restaurant expecting to fight, even if the internet makes Waffle House look like the perfect arena. One video (via YouTube) from early 2023 told the story of such a brawl at a Waffle House, climaxing at the point when an outraged customer threw a chair at the crew. Waffle House line cook Halie Booth, who was working that night and fought with the customers, became famous for effortlessly batting the chair out of the air with her arm before challenging the customer to throw another. 

After the fight went viral, Booth posted a YouTube video explaining her side of the story. To begin with, it was a very busy shift, Booth said. Then, the customers from the altercation arrived very drunk, sat in a closed section, and began to ask that their food and drinks be served before other customers. This was all frustrating enough, and then this group of customers began to berate her. Soon enough, a physical fight broke out between Booth and the customers. 

Booth later quit her job working for the Waffle House, and even claims to have been blacklisted by the company from working at any other store. No matter how intoxicated or hungry you are, know that attacking employees is not the best way to get their attention. It may result in a fight that disrupts the nights, and the careers, of Waffle House staff in a truly unpleasant way.

If you go into a Waffle House at night, the employees appreciate when you keep your order simple. The night shift at Waffle House can vary from location to location. It may also change depending on the day of the week. A weekday will likely be slower, but weekends at Waffle House can get quite busy, especially if the store is near places with late-night patrons, like a college, bar, or music venue. This is an issue because, according to Waffle House employees, the company tends to trim down staff at night, anticipating fewer customers. This usually means two servers and only one cook, so an unexpectedly large order can sometimes overload the crew. 

On Reddit, Waffle House employees discussed overwhelming instances of over-ordering. "6 Double Bacon Triple Quarter Cheeseburgers all with triple hashbrowns scattered all the way ... That is 12 slices of Bacon 18 quarter patties...12 slices of cheese.... 18 hashbrowns," one Reddit user wrote. These types of orders can be stressful to Waffle House staff.

Waffle House workers will be happy to serve you at any time of day or night, but it's more considerate to avoid over-ordering. Employees will appreciate you even more if you avoid ordering a huge amount of food on a busy night when not many people are working.

If you go into Waffle House during the day, don't be the rooted customer who hogs the table too long. Waffle House employees hate it when customers just chill in the restaurant after they finish their meal.

But the most annoying type of table hog tries to hang out all day ordering nothing but coffee. A Waffle House employee on Reddit explained this frustrating type of under-ordering, writing: "Second shift(2pm-9pm) was the worst, mostly 'coffee drinkers' that come in and just chat with each other while they suck down coffee. Sometimes they eat but not often."

Customers who don't order are a problem for the staff because, at a place serving relatively cheap food, service staff make their tip money from turning over tables as quickly as they can. Especially at regular meal times during the day, don't be that customer who idly watches the daylight tick by, taking up a space where a customer looking to order a normal meal could sit.

Waffle House employees are asked every day to make food that they don't serve on the menu. But just because these workers have a grill and ingredients available doesn't mean they are allowed to cook anything and everything for you.

Grill cooks at Waffle House said they often receive requests from customers to make things like pancakes, French toast, and even mashed potatoes made from the chain's famous hashbrowns. A Waffle House employee on Reddit explained why trying to order an off-menu item, such as pancakes, is especially annoying to staff: "It's frowned upon by upper management. Grill space is an issue as well. Our grills are also operating at degrees over 400+ so it will be cooked well outside and underdone on the inside. We're just not designed for them."

On the other hand, some cooks have said that they are willing to put in the extra effort to make pancakes when customers request it. Some even say they employ a technique where they add water to the waffle batter to make a thinner pancake batter. However, given the extra work this requires — and the fact that not all employees are eager to do it — don't ask Waffle House employees for off-menu items like pancakes during a busy time. If you do, always remember to give a good tip to a crew that cooks something special for you. 

Waffle House is known for staying open during extreme weather or at least quickly reopening after. After a hurricane, for example, Waffle House may indeed be the only business open. The Federal Emergency Management Agency even sometimes uses a "Waffle House Index" to gauge the severity of weather in a region using the status of local Waffle House stores. If Waffle House can serve its full menu, then the restaurant likely has power. If it is running a limited menu, it likely only has running water or electricity. A closed Waffle House is bad news. But customers who are looking to be conscientious of Waffle House employees should know that if the Waffle House is closed for any reason, you should probably not be anywhere near the store.

Employees have said they think it's a little much to be required to show up to work during instances of crazy weather. One Waffle House employee on Reddit explained their frustration with this requirement, writing: "Severe, dangerous weather? If the store is still standing you better show up, even if it is dangerous to drive there. You will be written up or fired." 

Waffle House employees like these wish the restaurants would close during dangerous weather. And flocking to a location to get waffles during a storm only encourages them to stay open. So maybe don't make Waffle House food your priority when weather disasters strike. 

Not tipping your server is a faux pas in any dining establishment, and it's the same at Waffle House. Cooks are paid a decent hourly rate, but it's your duty as a good customer to tip your server. 

Servers at Waffle House make tipped employee wages, which vary from state to state. In Georgia, the site of the original Waffle House and the state with the most Waffle House locations by far, the minimum tipped employee wage is $2.13 (at the time of writing). Neighboring states Alabama and South Carolina are the same.

Waffle House employees have said that they sometimes don't receive tips from grumpy or frustrated customers or even customers who simply did not bring enough cash to cover more than their bill. One Waffle House employee on Reddit explained why servers expect and need those tips from customers: "Servers not only serve, take and call in the orders, they clean the bathrooms, sweep and mop ... bus all their own tables and help fellow servers if they get behind. Yet we show up every shift with fingers crossed, stressed out until the end of the shift when we'll know if we made enough in tips for the electric bill." Your Waffle House server is doing a lot more than taking your order, so they especially appreciate tips.

Waffle House can sometimes be made to seem like the Wild West, with violence and crime around every corner, but employees say that viral videos and news stories are the real reason why people think so many crimes are committed at Waffle House. However, while some Waffle House employees have certainly witnessed crimes taking place at their work, most say it's a rarity and that you should not be worried about it the next time you head to a location of the restaurant chain.

One employee on Reddit reassured prospective customers about Waffle House's safety, writing: "Our restaurants received rough reputations when they became franchise. They were ran by penny pinching, sometimes negligent proprietors for 20 years. Earning us the reputation we have today. Corporate is stopping that ... We're clean, things work properly, we have support from upper management. So no, I'd say Waffle House isn't violent or dangerous."

Since Waffle House is open all night, it may be a little more wild than other fast food restaurants or diners. But, for the most part, Waffle House employees don't think you should worry about witnessing a crime the next time you're considering going to a Waffle House.

Most Waffle House locations are equipped with a jukebox that even comes with original music about Waffle House. The jukebox is supposed to provide a quaint and homey environment for customers to enjoy their food, but sometimes mischievous customers will weaponize the jukebox, much to the dismay of diners and Waffle House employees.

Common pranks include playing annoying songs on purpose or repeating the same song multiple times in a row. Waffle House employees have said that while these stunts may be amusing to the prankster, they are so annoying that some employees have resorted to unplugging the jukebox to stop particularly bad songs or strings of songs. 

Some employees enjoy the Waffle House original music available on these jukeboxes, but most workers seem to tire of the music after working there for a while. One of the worst offenders of this kind is the Jonas Brothers' song "Waffle House," which is partially about dining at the restaurant. When the song was released, Waffle House partnered with the Jonas Brothers and played the single every hour on the hour for a full week, driving many employees to hate the song. So when it's your turn to select a song on the jukebox, skip the Jonas Brothers' song — as well as other annoying jukebox pranks — so you don't annoy the cook. 

Most Waffle House locations are open 24 hours a day and tend to be located near bars and clubs, meaning that drunk customers often stumble in late at night. Unfortunately, some of these late-night Waffle House patrons can be annoying or rude when under the influence of alcohol. For example, one Waffle House employee on Reddit described the disruptive behaviors of some of their drunk customers, writing: "I have a small scar on my right hand from some drunk woman who threw her silverware at me because I didn't hear the cheese for her eggs."

Generally, employees know what to expect from a business open all night. Some staff even say that drunk people are fun to serve and occasionally tip well. But if you plan on going to Waffle House while inebriated, don't take it out on the employees. It's the customers who act sloppy and make a mess, or get rude and violent that ruin the experience for everyone, especially Waffle House staff.

Like most jobs in the service industry, Waffle House employees receive irritating complaints from difficult customers. Real issues are addressed, but oftentimes, complaints tend to come from unreasonable customers with strange expectations of food quality or service. Maybe the food wasn't cooked precisely the way they wanted, or their booth wasn't as pristine as they would have hoped. Unhappy customers can sometimes become belligerent or rude, making comments or even yelling at the servers and cooks. 

A Waffle House employee on Reddit shared a description of one particularly rude customer, writing: "He would [order] very specific things in exactly the way we are supposed to call them to the cook. If you didn't call it right, he would scold you." As this story shows, Waffle House employees put up with a lot. Next time you go to Waffle House, no matter what time of day, just remember to treat the employees with respect and they'll be happy to cook you something delicious.