When a hurricane makes landfall, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency relies on a couple of metrics to assess its destructive power.
First, there is the well-known Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale. Then there is what he calls the "Waffle House Index."
Green means the restaurant is serving a full menu, a signal that damage in an area is limited and the lights are on. Yellow means a limited menu, indicating power from a generator, at best, and low food supplies. Red means the restaurant is closed, a sign of severe damage in the area or unsafe conditions.
"If you get there and the Waffle House is closed?" FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate has said. "That's really bad. That's where you go to work."
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Waffle House, which spends almost nothing on advertising, has built a marketing strategy around the goodwill gained from being open when customers are most desperate.
Cathy2 wrote:HI,
Waffle Houses do not have locks on the door. I didn't notice this myself, it was a manager who pointed it out.
riddlemay wrote:Cathy2 wrote:HI,
Waffle Houses do not have locks on the door. I didn't notice this myself, it was a manager who pointed it out.
I guess they padlock when absolutely necessary? (Like, a nuclear war?) Or maybe they're not even locked that way on the rare occasions they close.
Cathy2 wrote:How to Measure a Storm's Fury One Breakfast at a Time Disaster Pros Look to 'Waffle House Index'; State of the Menu Gives Clue to Damage
This is really an interesting article, well worth spending time reading.
Regards,
Cathy2 wrote:HI,
Waffle Houses do not have locks on the door. I didn't notice this myself, it was a manager who pointed it out.
Regards,
Grizzly wrote:Cathy2 wrote:HI,
Waffle Houses do not have locks on the door. I didn't notice this myself, it was a manager who pointed it out.
Regards,
Who'd want to break in???
toria wrote:What has the index said about the Hurricane Sandy damage?
One of the ways the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) measures hurricane damage is by the Waffle House Index. Waffle House, a popular 24-hour fast food chain in the Southeast, has a unique ability to operate solely on gas if necessary, so a closed Waffle House is often tantamount to disaster.
And while we won’t know yet how Hurricane Harvey will fare on the index, the attitude at Waffle Houses across Texas has been calm. The company’s staff has been preparing for months.
“We have our own special disaster teams and generators waiting to be shipped,” said one Waffle House employee in Galveston, Tex. “We’re open up until the city makes us close, probably later on tonight. As soon as it’s over we’ll be right back open.”
A sign is all that’s left of this Waffle House on the beach in Gulfport, Miss., Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)
A sign is all that’s left of this Waffle House on the beach in Gulfport, Miss., Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)
Waffle House’s resiliency is a great source of satisfaction for people. The Galveston employee told Yahoo Finance proudly, “When nothing else is open I’m going to tell you the Waffle House is open.”
Over the years, FEMA administrator Craig Fugate noticed this phenomenon following hurricane damage and developed the Waffle House Index. “Green” is full menu, “yellow” is partial menu, and “red” means there may be no Waffle House left.