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Waffle House Informative - Something disturbing an employee told me
My boyfriend and I were eating at Waffle House one time and we were talking with the waiter. The management is awful. The dishes are supposed to be washed in hot water but to save money, they instruct their employees to wash everything in cold water. Cold water mixed with sanitizer is only supposed to be used at the end after the soaking, scrubbing, and rinsing is complete. Another disgusting thing they do is this: if you do not use your coffee cream packets, mayo packets, jelly packets, etc., they will rinse them off and serve them to another customer. This may not seem that disgusting to you, but you have to think about what kind of bacteria can get in those packets, especially the jelly and cream ones that are easier to open. I worked at a restaurant before and we were never instructed to do this! In fact, we probably would have been fired if we were seen doing that, that is disgusting! I realize now that you get what you pay for. I would rather pay more for better quality food, properly sanitized dishes and utensils, and unused condiment packets.
I wrote this as an informative bit because I never personally saw the employees do this. I don't have trouble believing it though based on horror stories from friends. Apparently, the health board has been called about this, but Waffle House continues to do it except for the days that health inspectors come in. Very nice.
Since Waffle House cares so little about the health of their patrons, I decided to avoid this restaurant at all costs. The food is too greasy anyway and the dishes served can easily be made at home. Omelettes, hamburgers, and cereal with milk are not complicated to make. This would be an ideal spot to eat when traveling because the food is predictable, but not if you run the risk of contracting diseases.
I wrote this as an informative bit because I never personally saw the employees do this. I don't have trouble believing it though based on horror stories from friends. Apparently, the health board has been called about this, but Waffle House continues to do it except for the days that health inspectors come in. Very nice.
Since Waffle House cares so little about the health of their patrons, I decided to avoid this restaurant at all costs. The food is too greasy anyway and the dishes served can easily be made at home. Omelettes, hamburgers, and cereal with milk are not complicated to make. This would be an ideal spot to eat when traveling because the food is predictable, but not if you run the risk of contracting diseases.
Comments:
Posted by The_Judge on 2009-07-15:
The hot/cold water thing is disturbing and may warrant a call to the Health department but as far as the packets go....are you saying they are given individually or are they already on the table? I worked at a restaurant where they sat on the table to be used at the customer's discretion. I don't see a problem.
Posted by C2O on 2009-07-15:
They don't call them Awful Houses for nothing. They are greasy, that's for sure.
Posted by sherdy on 2009-07-15:
Nasty. Just nasty.
Posted by ejack053824 on 2009-07-15:
Good post! (Thumbs up)
Posted by Wally86 on 2009-07-15:
I saw something on the news on how Dirty Waffle house kitchens were.
Posted by moneybags on 2009-07-15:
Definitely NOT the Waffle Houses in Lower Alabama. My daughter worked there, made decent money, great tips, and commented frequently about the cleanliness and rules regarding food and sanitation. And where would we go to eat after a Mardi Gras Ball!?!
Posted by moneybags on 2009-07-15:
And you, yourself, admitted that you never witnessed this. Was this a disgruntled employee making waves?
Posted by MissMarple on 2009-07-15:
Why would the waiter offer up all of this information to you?
Was this before or after you ordered?
Was this before or after you ordered?
Posted by BokiBean on 2009-07-15:
Second hand info. About as reliable.
Posted by zzrokk on 2009-07-15:
Liz, you eat there and now want to rant about how nasty the place is?
If this disgruntled waiter knows all of this then he should be strung up with the management for not reporting it.
If this disgruntled waiter knows all of this then he should be strung up with the management for not reporting it.
Posted by BokiBean on 2009-07-15:
zz makes a good point. Why is this waiter telling customers and not the health department..
Posted by KenPopcorn on 2009-07-15:
I'm skeptical. The first thing the BOH does when they inspect is measure the temperature in the dishwasher. Considering the amount of grease they generate, nothing would ever get clean in cold water. I'm thinking disgruntled ex-employee here.
Posted by MissMarple on 2009-07-15:
KenPopcorn +100.
Posted by littleyaya on 2009-07-15:
Whenever I'm at Waffle House, I'm too drunk to notice the cleanliness of the place. I just want my eggs and sausage (shut up C2O)
Posted by KingJames on 2009-07-15:
hmmmmmm, so we have a member of the waffle house waitstaff casually telling customers he doesn't know from adam, all the gorey details of how poorly this place is ran, eh? and you made the decision *not* to tell the manager why? (nh)
Posted by Ponie on 2009-07-15:
littleyaya, LOL! Sometimes you get more food that way, right? Like the leftover stuff from dishes being washed in cold water. :)
Posted by littleyaya on 2009-07-15:
Ew Ponie! I hope not!
Posted by Eloise on 2009-07-15:
As for the packets your shouldn't throw them away. They've NEVER been opened. Hello, lets just add to the landfill!
Posted by madconsumer on 2009-07-15:
as long as the packets are still sealed, how can any germs get in?
Posted by lizcolby10 on 2009-07-16:
The jelly and coffee cream packets have weak adhesive can get small openings that you may not be able to see. Also the paper used to close these packets are relatively thin. That's why they are not supposed to sit in ice, but rather in a dry tray with another tray containing ice. I am talking about packets that they give you individually, not the ones that are left on the table for the patron's discretion. I wouldn't use those either, you don't know what unwashed hands have touched those.
Posted by Whistle blower 1262 on 2009-12-11:
I , unfortunately, am a cook at waffle house and let me tell you it's all true...they even have a sign in the backroom that says "stop throwing money away" referring to the condiments. Every day I find packets with mold and mildew growing in them because not only does the condiment get covered with bacteria from being around all that food and dirty dish sink, but if they aren't being thrown away then they are sitting there until they expire. It is however against the fl health code laws, so, on days that health inspectors come the nasty rack of condiments is simply hidden until the inspector leaves. Management is aware of the illegalities of their actions...it even says so on our health inspection reports which they have to sign. They also keep the backdoor (and only fire exit) sealed with a numbered door tag to ensure that employees don't steal.... this is a violation of fire safety codes. Major violation in fact because its putting customers and employees at risk in the event of a fire. This they also hide when a health inspector comes, however they have been cought and fined for it twice at my store...yet it still keeps happening. Wafflehouse is THE MOST PARANOID company I've ever personally seen or heard of and i find it despicable. The list of things they do goes on and on and on and on. Lately my manager has told me that the price of tomatoes has gone up which means... you guessed it... old tomatoes with rotten bad spots are now being served to make up the price difference. as far as the cold water yes that's true too... my manager even had the sink replaced recently so that we cant use the hot water from it....outrageous! Wafflehouse is a dirty crooked place and i intend to do something about it. I have pictures documentation and everything else needed to take this public and i intend to do so. anyone interested in helping with more information is welcome to write me back.
Posted by Whistle blower 1262 on 2009-12-11:
and yes these packets should be thrown away... they are covered with bits of food and bacteria...some of the packets in there HAVE been opened...and some of the condiments are supposed to be refrigerated. These condiments are all sprayed together and if there's even a tiny tear in any of them all that bacteria is then inside. These packets fill up a rack and are just hosed off at the end of a shift...those girls are ready to go home and don't clean them that well and they don't look to see if any have come opened. besides all of this IT'S AGAINST THE LAW.
Posted by Ray-Ray on 2013-02-19:
Whistle blower E-mail me rmillerjr78@yahoo.com
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