BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A customer at an Alabama Waffle House had more on his plate than just an order of waffles.
Ethan Crispo was driving home Saturday and had a hankering for waffles. But when he walked into the Waffle House, he noticed something wasn't normal.
There was only one employee working at 11 p.m. on a Saturday when there could be a rush of "hungry, heavily imbibed customers," Crispo wrote in an email to Waffle House, according to Al.com.
Crispo said he was preparing to go home without his plate of waffles, but another customer stood up, asked the server, known as Ben, for an apron and took his post behind the counter.
The man was not an employee on break, but just a customer who realized Ben needed help, so he bused tables and washed dishes.
A few other customers also chipped in to help, including one woman in high heels and a short sparkly dress, AL.com reported.
A Waffle House spokesperson said there was miscommunication over the schedule. When the first half of the shift was done, they left, but no one showed up for the second half of the shift.
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While the company appreciated the help, they said it should have been the employees behind the counter, AL.com reported.
"The key to our concept is, we're there to serve you, not the other way around," Pat Warner, Waffle House's director of public relations and external affairs, told AL.com.