How Waffle House could replace your post office

by  

Ben Geier

The southern breakfast favorite is taking part in the Uber of delivery

Waffle House, the breakfast restaurant famous for mediocre food and a fanatical following — seriously, people get married there — is getting into a new business totally unrelated to breakfast: delivering mail.

That’s right — Waffle House wants to compete with FedEx, UPS and the United States Post Office. How will they do so? By imitating Uber and plying drivers with free waffles.

Waffle House is working with a company called Roadie Inc to launch a new delivery service with Waffle House restaurants serving as dropoff points. Basically, customers will use Roadie’s app to find drivers already heading towards their packages’ destination. Those drivers will then deliver the mail to Waffle House locations, where the intended recipient can retrieve it.

For their trouble, drivers get a free waffle when they download the app and a free drink while they’re on the road making a delivery.

“For the last 60 years, Waffle House has been a place for travelers and a preferred meeting place for our customers,” said Walt Ehmer, CEO of Waffle House, in a statement. “Roadie combines the two making it easy for senders and drivers who love waffles to meet at the nearest Waffle House. And who doesn’t love waffles?”

How Waffle House could replace your post office

by  

Ben Geier

Waffle House, the breakfast restaurant famous for mediocre food and a fanatical following — seriously, people get married there — is getting into a new business totally unrelated to breakfast: delivering mail.

That’s right — Waffle House wants to compete with FedEx, UPS and the United States Post Office. How will they do so? By imitating Uber and plying drivers with free waffles.

Waffle House is working with a company called Roadie Inc to launch a new delivery service with Waffle House restaurants serving as dropoff points. Basically, customers will use Roadie’s app to find drivers already heading towards their packages’ destination. Those drivers will then deliver the mail to Waffle House locations, where the intended recipient can retrieve it.

For their trouble, drivers get a free waffle when they download the app and a free drink while they’re on the road making a delivery.

“For the last 60 years, Waffle House has been a place for travelers and a preferred meeting place for our customers,” said Walt Ehmer, CEO of Waffle House, in a statement. “Roadie combines the two making it easy for senders and drivers who love waffles to meet at the nearest Waffle House. And who doesn’t love waffles?”

Waffle House Forces Waitress To Give Back $1,000 Tip

• ASHLEY LUTZ
 

A Waffle House waitress who received a $1,000 tip says she was forced to give the money back to her customer. 

Shaina Brown has worked the late shift at a Waffle House in Raleigh, North Carolina for seven years. 

She told Josh Shaffer at the Raleigh News-Observer that she was working at 3 a.m. on Mother's Day when a customer said "I'm going to bless you tonight." 

The customer added a $1,500 tip to the credit card receipt, instructing Brown to take $1,000 and give $500 to a woman at a nearby table. 

Shaffer confirmed the tip with the customer, a local businessman. 

But Brown, a mother of two, didn't get to keep the tip. 

A Waffle House spokeswoman told the newspaper that it's procedure to refund large tips to customers. 

"Generous tippers are asked to tip again by cash or check," Shaffer writes. "The restaurant handles it that way, she explained, in case the customer decides to dispute the tip later or ask for a refund."

The businessman said he plans to send Brown a check. 

But Shaffer writes that he disagrees with Waffle House's policy. 

"You don’t put up roadblocks to charity. You don’t make it hard for people to be nice, or they’ll give up trying," he writes. "And more than anything, you don’t dump on your own people as a matter of policy."

Since Shaffer reported on the incident, many customers have taken to Waffle House's Facebook page to express their opinions. 

While most customers side with the server, others see the logic behind Waffle House's policy. 

"People who leave thousand dollar tips or otherwise give large amounts of money to strangers are often suffering from a neuropsychiatric condition (manic episode, major depression, dementia) or under the influence of alcohol or other drugs," one customer writes. "Waffle House's policy is very responsible and avoids potential lawsuits from the gift-givers or their families."

SEE ALSO:  16 Crazy Fast Food Menu Items You Can Only Get In Japan

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/waffle-house-waitress-gives-back-tip-2014-6#ixzz34Gv2hsym

Waffle House Employee Gets Arrested For Allegedly Pulling A Stupid April Fool's Prank

A Waffle House employee was arrested for allegedly calling in a false robbery as part of an April Fool's day prank. 

Susan Tinker, of Hampton, Va., is accused of calling 911 and falsely reporting a crime, local station WAVY reported. 

"Once the manager arrived and surveillance footage was reviewed, it was determined the whole thing was a hoax as an April Fools Day joke," according to WAVY. 

Tinker, 20, was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for falsely summoning police. 

Perhaps Tinker can commiserate with another young April Fool's reveler who was arrested. 

Mark Foreman, 21, allegedly sent a text to his girlfriend that a Friendly's restaurant was being robbed, and police were called to investigate. But he was released from prison, and the charges against him "aren't clear," according to NBC Connecticut. 

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/waffle-house-employee-arrested-for-joke-2013-4#ixzz2PLTPhZAr