‘I would’ve walked out’: Waffle House employee is the only cook prepping orders for 12 customers in viral TikTok, sparking debate
Working in a restaurant kitchen is a famously exhausting, high-pressure job. But even by those standards, this Waffle House employee is working seriously hard, sparking debate thanks to a TikTok from one of her customers.
Posted by TikToker @rlozada25, the video shows a Waffle House cook working alone in the kitchen. "This lady deserves ALL the tips," reads the caption. "She's cooking it all for 12 people by herself."
In the comments, @rlozada25 added, "Bro it was crazy how busy it was and she was the only one." In a later update after this TikTok went viral, he explained that the video was filmed at 3am.
It's received more than 192,000 views since being posted over the weekend.
A lot of commenters expressed sympathy for the Waffle House employee, criticizing the TikToker for ordering food in the first place.
"she should have walked out," reads one comment. "Running yourself into a breakdown from exhaustion is not worth your life. Unionize and protect yourself."
"Damn she by herself and you still decided to order?" asked another. "Idk I would've walked out that door the moment I realized it."
A lot of people said that if they were in the same position as this Waffle House worker, they would simply quit. Others pointed out that she's probably underpaid, illustrating why so many fast food chains are struggling to retain staff right now. In other words, a possible explanation for why no one else was working that night.
@rlozada25 struck back against these criticisms in his update video, saying it was none of their business why this person was choosing to work a late shift alone. He added that he and his friends each tipped 20-50%, including a guy who works in the restaurant industry and understands the pressure she was under.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @rlozada25 for comment.
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