Apologies for a long post. Don't care about karma. Just want to get this out there.
For those of you who aren't American, Waffle House is a Nationwide diner chain here in America, usually located off of American interstates, that is ALWAYS open. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All holidays. No exceptions, except when deadly weather conditions are present. I used to do a lot of driving across the country for my old job, so I'd naturally stop and eat at a lot of different Waffle Houses for late night sustenance. Over the years, I have seen how a lot of these Waffle Houses operate, I've talked with a lot of employees, and I've heard a lot of depressing stories from them. After listening and seeing all this, I can confidently say that Waffle House's business model exploits the most vulnerable people they can find in order to keep their operating costs low and line their pockets with as much excess profits as possible.
Let me explain in greater detail.
Waffle House tends to employ the financially desperate. This includes, but is not limited to:
Single pregnant mothers
Mentally vulnerable people
Ex cons
Drug addicts
The physically disabled, including amputees
I know what some of you may be thinking. It seems great that Waffle House is giving people who usually have trouble finding jobs a shot, right? That would be the case if they weren't abusing these desperate people.
I've been eating at a Waffle House close to my new job about once a week for the last 6 months or so. Since I'm a regular, I usually have candid conversations with the employees, and I've started asking them about how they get paid. First off, the pay, especially for third shift work, is CRIMINALLY low. The cooks start out at $10/hr in my area, which is shit, and waitresses make at least 7.25/hr by law.
Here's the snag about waitresses. If you tip with a debit card at WH, that money doesn't go straight into the waitresses' pocket. WH uses that money to OFFSET THE 7.25/hr that they have to pay their staff. So, if I'm the only person that a waitress sees for an hour, and I tip 7.25 with a debit card, ALL SHE MAKES IS 7.25 INSTEAD OF THE 14.50 THAT SHE SHOULD BE ENTITLED TO.. Waffle House uses customer tips to OFFSET THEIR OWN COSTS instead of TIPS GOING TO THEIR STAFF. Sure they get to keep cash tips, but way fewer people carry cash anymore.
I've started asking the WH employees that I've built a relationship with the same thing. “Why do you put up with this?” The answer is the same every time. They're desperate, and no one else will hire them.
Waffle House knows this, and they exploit their vulnerable employees. They treat them like slaves. If you ever go into a Waffle House, you'll notice multiple cameras in the dining room facing the employees. I've come to realize that Waffle House has people who watch those cameras to make sure that employees do not sit down, eat on the clock, or get more free food than what they're allotted per shift. If they notice anything they don't like, the store manager or regional director gets a call, and the employees in question will get punished.
I have seen pregnant mothers working night shifts when they should be sleeping because a dickhead manager called them in, threatening their job.
I have seen leg amputees afraid to sit down and rest due to fear of the “eye in the sky.”
I have seen mentally handicapped employees working 16 hour shifts because they don't know any better.
My encouragement to you? Help these people.
Don't boycott. It'll only hurt the employees.
Go to Waffle Houses and tip in cash. As much as you can.
Become familiar with programs that are available in your area that can help these people get educations and higher paying jobs so that you can empower them with information.
Show them what their labor is actually worth. Educate them on the anti-work cause.
Steal Waffle House's exploited and vulnerable labor force out from under them.
End rant.