TikTok Thinks Waffle House Really Has Inconsistent Prices
If you're a frequent traveler, you may have noticed that prices for the same items differ from place to place. According to Riley Walz of Fast Food Index, chicken burritos at Chipotle are just one example, varying in price by nearly $5 depending on where you're ordering from. The index was created by comparing menu prices from numerous cities across America. The findings weren't too surprising, as the most expensive burrito is sold in New York City for $11.10 while the cheapest comes from Iowa for $7.85. To collect his findings, he pretended to order from fast food apps. "It just kept making a request, pretending it was going to make an order at every single store," he said to Business Insider.
The same is true for grocery stores, because according to 11 Alive, different retailers negotiate contracts with different suppliers, causing prices to vary. The variations don't have to be a state-to-state thing, though. Sometimes, a nearby store will discount items to compete with another area store to boost sales. When it comes to Waffle House, TikTok users believe the brand's prices fluctuate a little too much, and they are taking to the platform to speak out about it.
Handwritten receipts might be to blame
In a short, minimally descriptive TikTok video, one user claims they are charged differently every time they visit Waffle House, despite ordering the same meal. The video simply shows a cashier ringing up their order as the original poster hands over their card. Though the video doesn't give much context, TikTok commenters agreed with the sentiment, writing messages such as, "I swear!! They be charging what they want to charge. They need to get with times," and "It [doesn't] matter if you went yesterday and the same server attends you it's still gonna be different." Understandably, some users bashed Waffle House's method of using handwritten receipts rather than computers. "Every time it's different. Why don't they use computers?" wrote one user. Another commented, "They can't give you an itemized receipt because it's all handwritten. Blame the company, not the workers."
One Reddit user also believes their local Waffle House is ripping them off. " ... I've noticed that even though my order stays the same I get charged completely different prices almost every single time I go," they wrote. One former Waffle House worker confirmed TikTok's concerns, also blaming the handwritten receipts. "I can say it's absolutely [redacted] that we had to add the prices off the top of our head, including adding tax and the to-go fee, this usually led to some people making a mistake." Because of this, it might not hurt to hang on to your receipt each time for comparison.