Waffle House is known around the internet for its no-nonsense attitude. For example, when a Waffle House food hack went viral on TikTok, several locations simply refused to make it, with one employee expressly stating, “Nah, we done with that.”
This attitude extends to the customers as well. Multiple videos showing fights in Waffle House locations have gone viral over the years, leading many to joke that knowing how to fight is a prerequisite for working at Waffle House.
Now, a user’s clip on TikTok has gone viral after sharing her own Waffle House experience.
In a video with over 2.4 million views as of Friday, TikTok user Katie (@katieritchiie) recounted an experience in which her then-boyfriend asked for separate checks after dining at the restaurant.
@katieritchiie Buy yo girls food‼️
♬ original sound – Katie
When the checks arrived, Katie discovered that her portion had already been paid for.
According to Katie, the server informed her that a man in another part of the restaurant who had been making eyes at her asked the server whether Katie’s table was on separate checks. He then paid for her food because he thought she was “cute.”
“When I tell you my boyfriend was so mad, like, at me—and I was just like, ‘That’s what you get for not paying for my food,’” Katie recalls. “But if I’m ever a server and that happens, I’m going to pay for the girl’s food and say that exact thing.”
“Needless to say, any time we sat down to eat after that, my food was paid for,” she concludes.
In the comments section, users sang the praises of both the server and the man who paid for Katie’s food.
“I would pay a waitress to do this,” a user wrote.
“That is king behavior on that man’s part,” another added. “I would’ve shimmied right on over to that man without looking back.”
“I wanna be a waitress now just to do this,” shared a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Katie via email.
Update 1:19pm CT, July 7, 2023: In an email to the Daily Dot, Katie says this experience was new for her.
“I’ve had random men pay for my food or give me free things, but never when I was out to eat with a man, so this specific situation was a first for me,” she said. “My boyfriend at the time was mad at the whole situation.”
As for what she learned, she says the lesson was simple.
In her words, “What I took out of this situation is that if he won’t another man will!!”