Waffle House customers jump behind counter to help lone, late-night employee

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A recent late-night experience at a Waffle House location in Birmingham, Alabama left one customer truly humbled after he saw how fellow customers pitched in to support the lone employee on duty when he became overwhelmed.

Ethan Crispo arrived at the Waffle House early Sunday morning. He told AL.com that he came in just after midnight to find a single man tending to "the incoming crowd of hungry, heavily imbibed customers."

That's when Crispo said a customer stood up, asked the employee for an apron and got to work.

“It was a transition so smooth I initially assumed it was a staff member returning to their shift,” Crispotold AL.com. “It wasn’t. It was a kind stranger. A man who answered the call. Bused tables, did dishes, stacked plates.”

A kind customer stood up and asked for an apron to help out a lone Waffle House employee during a late-night shift at a Birmingham, Alabama location. (Courtesy of Ethan Crispo)

Soon, other customers also jumped in to wash dishes and bus tables. Crispo even snapped a photo of one young woman who jumped in to help, even despite the fact that she was still dressed from a night out in a mini dress and heels.

An anonymous customer in a dress and heels jumped behind the counter to help a lone Waffle House employee.

Waffle House spokesman Pat Warner said a scheduling miscommunication left the lone worker to take care of the restaurant by himself. Warner said Waffle House appreciates the customers who stepped up but prefers their associates behind the counter.

Warner told AL.com that he felt the mystery man who asked for an apron did a particularly great job, adding, “If he’s looking for a side hustle, I hope he comes in and fills out an application.”

This story was reported from Los Angeles. The Associated Press contributed.