Waffle House — Restaurant in Greenwood

Come on Waffle House, you need to better about cleaning off tables in a faster manner. We arrived at about 20 minutes before the hour and there were between two and then three tables that emptied while we were standing there waiting. The one table was empty when we walked in but no one did anything with it for a solid 20 mins. Another table opened but it took roughly 8 mins for that to clear and it was right by the service area. Then while that table was vacant another table was emptied and if it hadn't been for the family stacking all of the plates, silverware and cups I'm sure that would have sat for the requisite 5-6 mins of nobody touching that table. We finally were seated and 14 minutes after the hour when there was no real need as there seemed as though there were plenty of staff on hand for the number of customers. There were 4 people operating the cooking and 4 other people serving and or cashing people out or helping get food ready so it wasn't for a lack of personnel to get the job done. It would seem to me that corporate would be interested in the store getting booths cleaned and set so more customers would be served, high volume of sales, better opportunities for the staff to make more money, than to have the staff be more interested in chit chatting with people, while standing right next to the table that was the one that sat uncleared the longest and never did anything to clear the table. Also it seemed more important for a staff member to select songs on the Jukebox then to make sure we, the customers, got our bill. My waffle, while tasty, was not a full size waffle, it was noticably smaller but since I waited so long for that to show up I didn't want to wait any longer so I didn't say anything about it at the time. And while I'm at it, Corporate, you've shrunk the size of your waffles and made them thinner. So much so that the staff has to cut off the extra batter that oozes out and over the edges, and then those cut off scraps pile up around the waffle irons. Not an appealing look for customers. You guys really need to step up and get out and check out your stores to see how things are going for the general public. We've eaten in your restaurants many times in the past and we're dismayed at the lack of attention to detail of service and cleanliness. As I said to my party, it's a good thing this wasn't my first time eating there because if it was it would have been my last.

I only expect better because it's what I had become used to from my past experiences. The food (aside from my waffle that was noticeably smaller in diameter than the other waffles that were delivered) was still tasty and was delivered as ordered so great...

We decided to go get a late breakfast, so we headed to this Waffle House in the evening. There was a single server, Dan, who we immediately saw was frustrated and loud. After we ordered and got our food, a foursome (two white couples) came in, and several others waited to be seated. One of the men in the foursome then decided to make a public issue of seating, stating that ‘social distancing was now discontinued’ and asserting that as of 5pm anyone could come in and be seated in a restaurant with no restrictions. He held his phone up to Dan, who hardly glanced at it, and then Dan decided that he would take down all social distancing constraints immediately and begin to seat everyone. Dan stated that he disagreed with the social distancing and he wished, also, that masks were not required. We sat in shock as the foursome was crowded into the booth next to us. We then looked up the news article the man had cited, that Dan had not even read. As we did so, one of the other Waffle House employees (we presume a manager or cook) began to yell at Dan across the room, telling him he could not seat people like this. The foursome, and several others, then got up to leave. Dan stated out loud to the whole restaurant that they were leaving because Waffle House refused to seat them. Dan was white. They were white. The WH employee stating no to the seating was not white. It was a mess. Dan then grumbled aloud. He came to our table complaining that he did not want to work at WH. My wife said we only came in to have a nice meal, and we did not come in to get into all this. He continued to complain. I stated that the policy, if changed by the governor, should be interpreted by WH management, and that Dan did not have the authority to make such a change merely because a person flashed a cell phone at him. I hope that management reads this and deals with a clear personnel issue. You need to set guidelines, make them clear, make sure employees understand their roles and authority, and get your ship in order. This was an unnecessary spectacle, and we will not ever go back. The WH at this location has always had loud employees, often complaining about other shifts and employees out loud, but this really...

Food was delicious and the cook &wait staff were great. The mng on duty just seemed to be under to much pressure & making things harder on the staff & herself. At least 8 people that came in after I did left because she told them she was shutting down the grill for for 30 min after they caught up all of the orders already ahead of them so she wasn't taking any orders. I used to be an assistant mng at that exact restaurant years ago & our regional would have fired us on the spot for way less. I felt bad for her & wanted to offer to help but she didn't give the vibe that hearing "I know this place can be stressful but maybe you should listen to your staff they seem to know what they're doing so let each of them do what they do best until you feel less stressed out." would be something she would take very kindly to. The restaurant wasn't crowded either there was only 2 booths ordering food & the usual corner booth coffee crew (they even all left), so I just waited patiently on my to-go order and when I asked for sugar packets for my coffee & the young guy working apologized & said they didn't have any the mng started to get on him about why hadn't anyone told her they were out of those. I did speak up & tell him in front of her (making sure all of the staff could hear) that it was ok to just hand me a spoon (and I poured some sugar in my coffee) that it wasn't something that couldn't be fixed another way especially since it seems like everyone in there is having to do someone else's job today & all of you guys are handling it like champs. So now that I'm the last customer for the next 30 minutes that the mng or whoever orders supplies can check inventory & make her list to order. I paid for my food left a 50% tip & said "Since everyone is cooking, serving & bussing tonight y'all should be splitting tips...