'I'm So Confused': Waffle House Employee Explains 'Marking System' in Viral Video

A Waffle House employee took to social media to explain the chain's "marking system," and the internet is thoroughly confused.

Posting to TikTok last week, Suwupcanz (@hotsoupandcracker) shared that the restaurant chain uses a unique code to communicate orders. Already, the post has racked up more than 380,000 views and over 22,000 likes.

What makes the code so unique? Well, rather than relying on written communication to complete orders, line cooks are handed plates with various condiments that signify not only different food items—such as eggs, ham, etc.—but also how those food items are prepared.

When writing about the system in 2017, Southern Living described it as an "intricate code of condiments" and a "lexicon of visual cues."

"A jelly packet at the bottom [of the plate] means scrambled [eggs]," explained Suwupcanz in his video as he placed a jelly packet onto an empty plate.

"A mayonnaise pack face-down is going to be scrambled light," he added. "Face up is gonna be scrambled well."

A plate with apple butter tells the line cook that the customer ordered raisin toast, whereas regular butter means the customer ordered a biscuit.

"For the omelets, you turn the [condiment] packet sideways," Suwupcanz said, who added that the condiment's placement on the plate also told the line cook which type of omelet to prepare.

"All the way to the left is a plain omelet, at the bottom is a bacon omelet, to the right is a sausage omelet and up top is a ham omelet," he said.

Commenters were baffled by the seemingly complex code, and some even questioned its legitimacy.

"There's no way this is real," said one commenter.

But the system is real, and it's called the "mark" system.

"Using accouterments such as jelly packets, mayonnaise packets, pickles, cheese and hash brown pieces, grill operators are told what orders go on which plates," wrote ESPN.

"A mustard packet facing up means a pork chop. Face-down means country ham. A pat of butter is a T-bone, and its place on the plate determines how the steak [is] cooked, from well done at the top to rare at the bottom," ESPN continued.

An image of the code obtained by ESPN also showed that a knife placed across the plate signals that a customer doesn't want toast.

Many commenters were confused by the system, and couldn't help but poke fun at it.

"Is this a college-level language course?" asked VK Lately.

"So all the teachers that told me I would end up working at Waffle House had high hopes for me after all," joked Diego Guerrero.

"So you need a Harvard degree to work there," added richhomieramps.

"They gotta decipher the DaVinci code just to get a plate out," commented Jay_Aye_Why.

"I would be fired the first [hour]...I'm so confused," said Chef Shar.

Dee_Lin added: "I'm so confused. I wouldn't make it there."