I'm staying across the street at the Days Inn for a couple weeks and since IHOP is so close, I've been here three times already. I've come here for the last time. At least this location. The first time I ordered the bacon cheeseburger to go and took it back to my room. The fry portion was small and the food tasted like it had been sitting for a while. The girl at the front didn't seem very enthusiastic about helping me and took her time getting the side of mustard that I asked for. I also witnessed the manager stop on her way out to grab a broom and dustpan to clean up some trash outside. Why are employees standing around while the manager cleans up the store in her street clothes? That seemed odd to me.
My second visit here was much better. I ordered the Philly Cheesesteak and it was great. It came with a much larger portion of fries and everything tasted mush fresher than my last visit. The service was good, although there were only a handful of guests inside at the time and almost any restaurant, no matter how bad, can get it right when you receive their undivided attention. It gave me just enough courage to return again.
My third visit was yesterday afternoon and I wasn't happy at all. Upon walking through the front doors I was immediately struck by the odor of what seemed to be vomit. I really can't think of anything else it could have been. The floor by the entrance and front desk area was damp and the wet floor signs were up, indicating they had recently mopped. I'm guessing someone had just lost their "house of pancakes" and we arrived right after the spill was cleaned up. The odor of something foul was still in the air. Very gross. The staff is friendly enough and we were seated immediately, however all around us there were more dirty tables than I could count. They weren't that busy at all. I saw no urgency among the staff. The floors looked like they hadn't been swept all day. This might sound cruel, but all of my observations are honest. I have worked in the restaurant industry for over ten years and know a poorly run operation when I see it. As for the meal itself (I ordered the steak omelet) it was also a big disappointment. There was a part of my omelet that was difficult to chew. I had to spit it out. It's known across the restaurant industry that Sunday afternoons are a time when you'll come across the most poorly staffed restaurants. You get the rookies, the worst employees, the least experienced. No one ever wants to work a Sunday shift, myself included! But there is no excuse for such a poorly run operation, no matter what the root cause might be. There's really nothing further to say other than I have no desire to return. The staff seems to mean well, but there seems to be no direction here. No leadership. No training. No sense of urgency at all.
Some of those very same dirty tables I walked past when we were seated were still dirty when we left almost an hour later. Who is running this place? Why are these employees still working here? Many questions and not any answers. Good luck IHOP... read more
