Waffle House reviews

3.4

55% would recommend to a friend

(4,096 total reviews)

Walt Ehmer

76% approve of CEO

57% positive business outlook

Waffle House has an employee rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 4,096 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Waffle House employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Restaurants & Food Service industry (3.4 stars).

Reviews by job title

4K reviews
3.0
Jul 18, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Holidays are 7, 7, 10 after 6 months of employment, stock options sound amazing, can be promoted within a year if you meet sales effectively. Trainees only, are paid weekly by direct deposit

Cons

Extremely hardwork, a store is not guaranteed after training is complete, If you are willing to move whenever and wherever a store is available, then you could have a unit sooner. All trainees are paid different wages (hourly). They guarantee $40,000 at least, including bonuses, but that can only be met if you have a store. Right now I am being paid no more than 11.00/hr. Since they are a debt-free company, most things are done cheaply to maintain that i.e. still have dial-up, employees are paid by cash and management direct deposit

2.0
May 18, 2013

High Expectations, Low ROI

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

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.

1.0
Jun 15, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Other than the free food and regular customers, that is about the only good thing about working at WH. Turnover is extremely high - which explains why there is such a good opportunity for advancement.

Cons

As a MANAGER - THEY OWN YOU! On paper, it looks like good pay for managers, the reality is that you work 6 out of 7 days, are on call 24 hours a day, average about 14-16 physical hours per day, work EVERY holiday, if the cash register or inventory audit comes up short (everyone has access to cash register)-- as a Manager YOU PAY for the shortage!! The have a NO JERK policy for how management and upper management can treat employees (seriously, that is what it's called) -- yet it is never enforced. Finding good employees that actually show up for a shift, aren't potheads, and work is nearly impossible to find or keep.

Viewing 10 - 12 of 4,096 Reviews

Glassdoor has 4,222 Waffle House reviews submitted anonymously by Waffle House employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Waffle House is right for you.