Image for Customer Service Experience at the Waffle House -imagesIt’s probably safe to say that the southern Waffle House franchise doesn’t claim to be fine dining meant for an exclusive clientele of foodies.

But they sure do know how to treat their customers.

On the busy Saturday morning my husband and I walked in for breakfast, every last waitress and cook behind the counter–there must have been eight of them–greeted us with a boisterous welcome.  Being New Englanders, this took us by surprise.  We had just gotten over the shock of it all when a tiny lady, who turned out to be the official hostess, came over, handed us menus and then proceeded to give us a both a big hug.

“We’re so glad you’re here,” she said, as if she was our kindly grandmother.  She ushered us to our table, calling us “da’lin'” and “honey” all along the way.  When she wasn’t too busy, she would stop over at our table and chat with us a little bit–about the weather and if we had made the right choice between grits and hash browns.  At one point, I looked over and she was giving a shoulder massage to another customer.

“Good food fast and friendly,” is the Waffle House motto.  I’m not 100 percent sure about the “good food” part, but it kind of didn’t matter.  We sat down happy to our modest meal, and we remained happy long after hitting the road.  You probably can’t do better than that for a customer service experience in a 5-star restaurant.