IHOP

Reviews 4

AM

Amy U.

It was around 1:30am when I went to this IHOP with my boyfriend. Two other people arrived just ahead of us and the four of us waited to be seated. We waited around 5 minutes and I started looking around for staff. I looked for the "Please Wait To Be Seated" sign. It was there in plain sight. I noticed the staff, they were seemingly ignoring us. I walked out of line to use the restroom leaving my boyfriend in line. On my way to the restroom, I noticed more staff and that less than 1/3 of the restaurant was occupied. Most of the empty tables were completely filthy. I came out of the restroom and was surprised to see my boyfriend still waiting in line. I went back to the waiting area and more people had shown up. They were waiting in line behind my boyfriend. The people who arrived the same time as we did were placing their order at the front desk. Which I thought was kind of odd at first, then I figured it must be a to go order. As they were placing their order I was expecting a server to come around and seat us, that didnt happen. While still waiting; my boyfriend had time to go use the restroom. Upon his arrival back in line (right before we were about to leave) we were finally approached by a staff member. She asked us if we were placing a pick up order. We said no, wed like a table. She then presented us with a waiting list with three other names on it asking us if we signed in or made some sort of half assed reservation to get a table?!?! (Like, who does that? Especially when place isnt even busy.) At that point we said no, and just walked out. We went to the Waffle House on Hillsborough. The whole experience was just odd. It wasnt just the mess or lack of attention by the staff or the long wait time. It was the confusing log in sheet when theres a sign that says "Please Wait to be Seated by Staff". And the server making excuses like they were busy when they clearly were not. It was something out of the twilight zone, the whole thing was just weird.

A

A Private User

I went tonight and ate, it wasnt crowded and as we sat and waited for our food we saw both plates sat on the countertop from the kitchen for the waitress to grab. Then, the waitress brought our food to the table and we began to eat. The food was good and service was good but...as we were eating one of the other waiters cut his hand bad enough for blood to be steaming down his hand, he walked straight to the countertop our food had been placed on and washed his hand and used the paper towel dispenser. He had to wash his hand to remove the blood several times, I repeat, in the food prep/delivery area. Some of the other staff advised him to put a bandaid on the cut since it kept bleeding and he stated he was fine. Then he placed the used paper towel on top of the counter with obvious blood stain on it. Another staff member then grabs it and throws it away and NO ONE cleaned the sink,counter or anything. He then began washing blood off in sink area again and then immediately began topping off syrup containers. After filling about 4 containers, he had to wash blood off hand again. We stopped eating and told our server what happened and she stated she would go wash the sink and ask him to put a bandage on his bleeding cut. Even after that they handed us the bill, we paid in full and left a $4 tip on our $17 bill b/c the waitress was fine and hated to punish her for the other staff members obvious ignorance of the publics safety. I cant get it out of my mind that blood was in food prep area, on sink, papertowel dispenser and on the syrup containers he filled. It was so nasty and just makes you think if we saw that what goes on in back we do not see. Im sure there are good, hygenic staff members there but that bad apple has destroyed their reputation. I will NEVER eat there again!

A

A Private User

My guest and I arrived about 9:30 and there was no one present at the front to seat or greet us. Finally someone showed up and sat us at a nearby table. It took about 10 minutes for our waitress (not sure of her name-we possibly sat at table 52?) to acknowledge us and get our drink orders. Another few minutes later we got our drinks but she served my guest diet instead of regular and my drink had stuff floating in it. We placed our orders at that time. About 10:00 pm we noticed the table next to us who arrived AFTER we did get their food. We were hoping ours would be out right after but it never came. We waited another 20 minutes and finally decided to let someone know. We told the greeter there to check on our food. We saw her go to the back and talk to the staff in the kithen. Well no one was coming to let us know anything (it seemed like they were trying to fix their mistake quickly before informing us of it) so my guest went up to her and asked if she found out anything yet and she said the cook had already cooked it. But where was it was the question? Next to her we saw our waitress checking the computer and confirming our order. So that means that either another party received our meal or the waitress never turned the ticket in. The whole time we were waiting our waitress never checked on us nor noticed that the table she was also waiting on DIRECTLY across from us got their food before us. Well when we found out that they had somehow "lost" our food, we said "forget it, were leaving" and the only response we got was "oh, youre leaving?" No apology, no attempt to make us stay at all. I was VERY dissapointed as I eat at this Ihop frequently and could not believe the lack of customer service and appreciation. That location needs some serious work!!!

A

A Private User

My 10yo son adores IHOP. He and I visited this morning. He made a special request during a busy time. Unfortunately, this was prepared incorrectly. We waited nearly half an hour for the corrected item. While we were waiting, my meal grew cold, until finally we succumbed to hunger and shared it. The waiter came by and said, "since his food never came, we wont charge you for it." He then brought the check as if we would be leaving. I informed him that my son was still hungry and I did not intend to leave before I had fed him. He offered us a free pancake, which I accepted. In the process of trying to get them to bring my son a meal, we had to repeat at least five separate times to four individuals these words, "We want a funny face pancake exactly the way it is on the menu." This seemed mysteriously impossible for the staff to comprehend, although they all appeared to be native English speakers. Twice, a plain pancake was brought to us. (At this point the family at the next table made this unsolicited comment, laughing: "Were not having any trouble understanding you.") A staff member approached us and asked me to speak with the general manager about our experience. I approached the manager on my way out and told him that I felt they had seated customers they could not serve. He said, "Im sorry," in a manner that seemed entirely dismissive and patronizing, and it was very clear that he was not interested in hearing me, so I left. We always get good service at the Burlington NC IHOP.