Waffle House — Restaurant in Woodstock

Was looking forward to a leisurely morning and breakfast at WH. Was greeted by Topanga (green-dyed hair and Make America Gay Again accessories…for identifying purposes alone of course). She was pleasant enough; however, we noticed that other patrons who had come in after us were being seated before us. Topanga justified this to herself (overheard by us) by stating that their party was larger…which is obviously a ridiculous rationalization. Also important to note, there were two other parties there before us who were also skipped. So, I respectfully inquired to Topanga if seating larger parties (parties of three) took precedence over a smaller party…she informed us that that was in fact the policy at Waffle House. Then my fellow party member stated, “Really? That’s your policy? So no matter what, if larger parties continue to come in they’ll continue to be seated before us?” Topanga stated “YES”, then changed her story to, “well, I’m new here”, a staunch deviation from this being WF’s policy. At that time, a father and his daughter (who were there before us as well) overheard my inquiry and became rather irate and stared, “Is that why all these people have been seated before us?!”. So, instead of rectifying the situation or saying, “I’m so sorry, I made a mistake, I’m new and still learning”, which we would have had all the grace and patience in the world for that sort of response, instead Topanga stated, “I’m going on a break and walked off”. Topanga is either another product of the softest most coddled generation in history (and no, I’m not a boomer, just a hungry young man lol), or just extremely poorly trained, either way our experience was enough to motivate me to write this small novel. If ya stay quiet regarding poor behavior and coddling fragility of character, nothing gets fixed, right? So, obviously we thanked them and went to the WF down the road and had a lovely experience (Hailey at WF on 92 was great). Waffle House, if this in fact your policy, then it should be reviewed/amended...

:Shelby the Great and Tim T Deserve Every Bit of Praise

Let me start with this. I’ve had good service before. I’ve even had great service. But what Shelby and Tim pulled off tonight deserves to be recognized.

Shelby, and yes, her name tag really does say “Shelby the Great” , handled the entire front of the restaurant by herself. That means taking orders, running food, refilling drinks, clearing tables, checking on customers, and keeping everything moving without showing even a hint of stress. She was calm, kind, and focused from start to finish.

Meanwhile, Tim T was holding down the kitchen all on his own. Every plate came out hot and correct. When one small thing came up with a steak, Tim didn’t hesitate. He calmly explained that another staff member had prepped it earlier, and offered to make it right. No blame, no excuses. Just a solid pro doing his job with pride.

Between the two of them, they were the only ones working the whole restaurant tonight. I don’t say that lightly. No support, no visible backup, just them. And they delivered.

Even if you didn’t see it with your own eyes, you could feel it. The way they treated people, the pace they kept up, the pride they clearly have in doing the job right. It’s rare.

If I’m being honest, if they hadn’t been there, I probably would’ve walked out disappointed. But because of them, I left impressed. Grateful, even.

I didn’t catch the names of anyone else who may have helped prep before the shift or supported behind the scenes, but I respect what the whole team must go through to keep a place running. And on this particular night, Shelby and Tim carried the weight.

If anyone at Waffle House wants to follow up, I’d be happy to confirm this was a real experience. They earned it! And I'll follow up on this review in a...

This particular Waffle House has roaches. The roaches are bold because they are crawling in plain view with the bright lights on. These are german roaches, the smaller ones. If one of these gets in your pocket or purse and travels home with you, then your home may quickly become roach infested. The owner really needs to address this roach infestation. There is no need for a restaurant to have roaches, especially in these modern times. Additionally, the floor behind the counter where the employees work and the waffle section are FILTHY. I saw all types of food on the kitchen area's floor and an excessive amount of waffle batter drippings on all of the waffle irons. Also, lots of tables were not cleaned when we walked in, and no one attempted to clean these tables while we were there. Honestly, cleaning is not a priority at this Waffle House. More so, I saw a roach at this location when visiting prior to this bad experience. I reported seeing the roach during that visit, and the employee told me she would report the issue so the place could be sprayed. So, as you see, this is the second time I've had to experience seeing a roach at this Waffle House. I came back because I trusted that they would get a pesticide company to take care of the roach infestation. To return and face the same negative experience of roaches and to top it off with utter FILTH, I have to conclude that this Waffle House has lost its way when it comes to health and excellent service. Unfortunately, I will not be returning to eat at this Waffle House anytime in the near future. Though this Waffle House is a convenient meeting spot for my friends and I, we simply can not risk our health and potentially have a roach transported to our home...