For over 40 years, Waffle House has offered the unbeatable combination of good food and outstanding service. Waffle House is a beloved icon of the South, with more than 1,200 restaurants in 20 states. More than half of these restaurants are franchise operations. The Company’s loyal customers have made it a proven winner in the restaurant industry. As a kid, I was lucky to work for one of Waffle House’s toughest generals. David Burkett was one of, if not THE, best district manager, in the chain’s storied history. Mr. Burkett was a take-no-prisoners guy. A tireless, blue-collar worker, he was also a relentless perfectionist.
For a certain period of time, I hated this man. I was not stupid. I did not like being talked to as if I was. He could be mean. There were days when I wanted to bean him with a frying pan. There is nothing worse than having a quiet, third-shift night dramatically interrupted at midnight. Mr. Burkett would burst in, unannounced. He’d spot-check for cleanliness, spot-check for petty theft, and spot-check my damn uniform for compliance. “Your undershirt needs to be white, not gray,” he said with disgust. He was tall, balding, and imposing. My work was never far away from his bespectacled scrutiny. “You are in charge,” he yelled. “You don’t lead by telling people how to do something.
“You lead by doing what others aren’t willing to do.”
More than once he jumped behind the counter and literally grabbed my egg pan from my hand. Wielding it like a Samurai sword, Burkett would castigate the flaws in my cooking technique. “Can you not understand,” he growled, “that omelettes are supposed to be light and fluffy, not greasy and flat?” The reason his district always out-performed others, he said, “is because I refuse to accept anything less.”
It was David Burkett whose advice laid the groundwork for my career. When I told him my dream of becoming a famous sportswriter, he didn’t laugh, as many of my high school classmates and others had. What he said would stay with me forever.
“How do you intend to get there from here?”
Simple, and obvious, yes. It triggered a plan that would land me first at the local newspaper, and later, with SPORT magazine, the nation’s largest monthly sports publication.
There have been many mornings, while flipping fluffy omelettes for my wife and kids, that I have reflected on what “might have been” had Mr. Burkett not fired that question and challenged me to get started. Each day, when my alarm clock interrupts my sleep at 5 a.m., I still think of Mr. Burkett’s tenacious discipline.
Am I willing to do what others aren’t willing to do? How do I get there from here?
Flat omelettes, be damned.
