Nightmare Manager Trainee - Unit Manager Trainee Waffle House Employee Review

1.0
9 Apr 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Compensation is in line with other restaurants. I made mid 30K. It's a great place to start if you need some managerial experience but after 3 years you should be looking for better.

Cons

Manager. The title sounds good. I imagined I'd be doing 40% administrative work and 60% assisting my restaurant staff where needed. No way. At Waffle House a STORE MANAGER is nothing but a cook with added administrative duties. As a manager trainee I worked from 6AM - 4PM cooking, washing dishes, sweeping parking lots, scrubbing toilets, taking out garbage. At first I thought it was just rookie hazing but no this is what GENERAL MANAGERS of restaurants at Waffle House do. And not just general managers, multi unit managers too. It's how Waffle House remains debt free and how it allows it to sell itself as a million dollar business. They rake in the profits by giving managers multiple job titles (cook, store cleaner, landscaper) without forking over the cash. It was a nightmare of an experience. I literally went home each day ashamed of the company I worked for, ashamed of my position and frustrated with the unprofessionalism of unit managers. I had no big expectations for the hourly staff. You almost expect the workers to be unprofessional. They're mostly high school age. You won't find many older managers at Waffle House. They target recent graduates. All the managers I knew were mid 20s. Don't let Waffle House sell you the dream you can make high 50s. The manager I trained with was making high 30s and was looking for a new job the entire time. It's not the worst job...if you don't mind getting dirty and you love manual labor you may thrive. I just don't think it's a respectable job for anyone with a Bachelor's degree or higher.

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5.0
11 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good work hard hours very demanding on the body

Cons

Better pay for labor more time offf

5.0
9 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good money opportunity regarding tips - balances out to an above average pay at the end of the year. Easley store has good management. Company wide competitive base pay rate in the serving industry. Effective strategy for order taking, placing, and EOS duties. No seniority bias.

Cons

As any serving job, there are slow no-money-making nights. 1st and 2nd shifts are not guaranteed full time. They offer the opportunity to request low income where they will bridge the gap if you make less than minimum wage but this is almost entirely unused by the servers to the complexity of the reporting process.

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