After a year-long battle with labor advocates, Waffle House employees are getting a pay raise!

And while that’s great news for those employed by the fast food chain, it’s bad news for their customers.

In a video message distributed last month, Waffle House CEO Joe Rogers III informed employees their base pay would increase at least $3 per hour in June, and then over the next two years it would eventually rise to $5.25.

Rogers made sure to let staff members know the base pay did not include tips and in some areas the base pay would be higher based on minimum wage laws.

The company will also add tenure bonuses and premiums for working later shifts.

“This is a big deal, a massive additional investment,” the CEO said in the video. “And I don’t see many others in our industry doing things like this.”

As for how Waffle House will afford to pay its employees at its 2,100 locations… it’s leaving that up to the customers.

Diners will be forced to pay a higher price to offset employees’ raises.

“Our menu prices in a rural town are relative to competitors’ menu prices in that rural town,” Rogers said. “So we may not have as much room to increase prices as we have in a large city.”

Rogers also alerted his employees that customers “are going to expect more when they pay more.”

Does this news change your opinion about Waffle House? Let us know in the comments!

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