Pros
I enjoy solo server shifts whenever available and encourage a heavy work load to stay busy. Working on the floor with others, encouraging team work and amping up the overall moral of the workplace- while effectively completing all customer responsibilities and discrepancies in a professional manner. As a over night (third shift) lead server dealing with an ever changing customer basis as well as our regular Waffle House extended family customers, almost always keeps one on their toes and ready for the next interaction or sometimes altercation that may happen during the midnight hours through the first breakfast rush of the day. Tips are great during the spring and summer months and being a master grill opp pays well for the overnight shifts as well. I love cooking as a break from peopling when hours are available and have made pay advancements due to overall work performance faster than the average. I enjoy the "dinner and a show aspect" that the "Waffle House Way" has instilled well in all store units worked thus far.
Cons
This year's off season has been more of a challenge than most and customer quantity as well as tip quality has been quite scarce. In the past, overtime was always accepted because the company is frequently short staffed at many local locations. However, the ownership of the company - being passed through inheritance to grandchildren - has almost completely omitted these opportunities during the off season. This makes it very hard to make ends meet for all servers during these times, resulting in crew resignations as well as the search for another source of income. Waffle House after midnight can often create controversy amongst the vast array of customer characters that come in from bars, boats, and every single US coast line. Sometimes the anxiety involved can be overwhelming. However, my only real "Waffle Woe" (as I call them) is not making a livable wage when gifted tips or customer volume is not high enough. Doing without household necessities or even being able to keep up with basic rent while working a 40 hour weekend and being off but available the rest of the week makes for a depressing mindset during what is most often a mentally difficult time year.