Wanting to ensure the longevity of his new project, he was "absolutely determined that he was not going to make the same mistakes this time around [...] It's his song about waiting for the right people and the right moment.
[9] Stylistically, Andy Kellman of AllMusic noted the song's "relentless ska/reggae-inflicted drive", calling its sudden "drop into silence that occurs at the 22-second mark" attention-grabbing.
[10][11] Merely a backing vocalist at this point in the band, Guy Picciotto's contributions to the song have earned comparisons to that of Flavor Flav of Public Enemy, in that he acts as a "foil" to MacKaye.
According to Blake Butler: "Ask the common punk rock listening kid, who may not know too much about music, what they know of Fugazi and they will probably mention fairly soon the impact that hearing "Waiting Room" had on them.
"[7] According to Quicksand lead singer Walter Schreifels, "everything that's great about Fugazi is spelled out within the first verse and chorus of ‘Waiting Room.’ Within the first 15 seconds of the song, you knew you didn't need to compare it to Minor Threat anymore.
[16] "Waiting Room" has been covered—both live and otherwise—by Red Hot Chili Peppers,[17] Rancid,[18] Arcade Fire,[19] Mustard Plug,[11] The Wildhearts,[20] Ryan Adams,[21] Atom and His Package,[11] Minus The Bear,[22] Billy Talent,[11] Anti-Flag,[23] Dead Milkmen,[24] The Ex,[25] Jimmie's Chicken Shack,[11] The Cryptkeeper Five,[26] Osaka Popstar,[27] Rubblebucket,[28] Awolnation,[29] TV on the Radio,[11] and many others.
Mike Doughty of Soul Coughing references the song's bridge on the track "Casiotone Nation" off of their 1994 debut Ruby Vroom.