Checked out the new iHOP on STX, service was abominable!

It's been open less than a month.

The one thing that I have noticed that bothers me is that people here tip so much. Why should you tip a lot when the service is bad. I was a waitress for 5 years in the states and worked very hard to get a tip of $2 when workers here give very bad slow service and expect a large tip. Well I tell you what, I am not tipping a lot just because that is what they are used to. I went to college and worked to have a professional job and am told all the time "you could waitress" when I moved here. What kind of mentality is that? Why should any of the youth here try to obtain higher education or try to do better themselves when they can just waitress or bar tend. That really bothers me. It is already expensive enough to go out and eat here and then we have to tip $5 every time at least? That just doesn't make sense to me. Minimum wage here isn't $20/hour so why are the residents tipping so much. Are waiters and bartenders worth more than a cashier for example?

I think that everyone should tip less so that the youth believe that getting a higher education is actually worth while. Quite frankly it is better to just be a waitress here than to go to college. The island is never going to benefit from higher education if everyone continues this. That is my belief. I understand that a large income comes in from the tourists and that is fine. I am just saying that it costs enough to live here. Why are we expected to spend so much to have a drink or go out to eat when we are not even making $200/day or even $100/day. I just don't understand this way of thinking.

No offense, but you just don't get it. Below is an article I read lately that says it all. Also, forr further instruction, see the following link: http://www.collegehumor.com/article:1706553

This is for all of the people who are/ have been servers, or anyone who just knows how to tip their servers.

8. If you or your children make a big mess, leave a bigger tip. Your server has to clean that up. Assuming that the bussers clean it up and the server should not recieve any compensation for it is simply wrong. Most bussers will refuse to clean up a big mess because they are not making much money either, leaving (surprise!) your server to clean it up.

Anita are there any private employment agencies providing pre-qualified temp to hire personnel - or is this forbidden by local law?

I have met some darn hard working Crucians so I know they exist.

i see your question was answered. that's good. i live on stt so the crucian massive had my back!

I guess when a person I hire to do a job,decides they don't want to do it because it somehow became to big ! Well it will be time for that person to look for other employment.

Great friendly service and good consistent food will be offered. Rude CUSTOMERS who seem to think my employees are beneath them as a person,should not come in my place. We will do everything to make and keep you happy but RUDE, NASTY AND MEAN CUSTOMERS need not push my buttons.

Robby, you've fine - I'm the one losing my mind! Totally forgot about the Mcdonalds in the food court!! Sorry.

Ok, I'm officially nuts. I posted the last message under Ric's name. Didn't realize he was logged on instead of me. For anyone who doesn't know, he and I have been living together for a while.

Linda J

I hit up IHOP yesterday afternoon for brunch. I really don't think i'll be back. I'm surprised no one spoke of the hilarious waiting room cards - celebrity names instead of numbers? What? lol Finally, after 10-15 mins, Goldie Hawn Party of 4 was seated. The server was not the best, by any stretch of the imagination. The other servers looked better. We had no silverware until after our food started coming out. And everything we asked for seemed to be a problem. It was busy, but still. Also, if you ask for juice, they bring you out the juice in one glass and a small cup of ice with it. I don't know why...really. The food came out really late, but not hours, like some other posters have complained about. My crepe was alright, nothing special. Everyone else's food was the same. The portions were out of control huge - too big. Turkey bacon was terrible. Our bill was $67 for 4 people which i thought was crazy. I would have much rather spent the $20 on better breakfast and much faster service somewhere else.

Next time you go to IHOP, get your servers name. I've forwarded some of these posts to the boss lady and she'll be checking in to read your reviews. Any feedback is great for a boss to see, even if it is negative

I got her name, just didn't want to post here.

I've been to Mc Donald's when they were out of fries and only had one type of soda available. For a laugh repeat this sentence, "a West Indian sense of urgency". I'm starting a pool to bet on how long IHOP will last... The owner will eventually get tired of throwing her money away. I give it six months...

new name for IHOP ..........WE DON'T HOP!!!!!

I agree with Chefnoah, Feedback is important to the owners of IHOP. I wish the Owners, Manager, Cooks, and servers the best of luck with their new venture!

I think the title of the post is inviting everyone else to chime in on how horrible IHOP is. I prefer the Restaurant Review thread packed full of GOOD dining experiences. There's plenty of stellar restaurants and great stories to share but most would rather spread dirt.

The one thing that I have noticed that bothers me is that people here tip so much. Why should you tip a lot when the service is bad. I was a waitress for 5 years in the states and worked very hard to get a tip of $2 when workers here give very bad slow service and expect a large tip. Well I tell you what, I am not tipping a lot just because that is what they are used to. I went to college and worked to have a professional job and am told all the time "you could waitress" when I moved here. What kind of mentality is that? Why should any of the youth here try to obtain higher education or try to do better themselves when they can just waitress or bar tend. That really bothers me. It is already expensive enough to go out and eat here and then we have to tip $5 every time at least? That just doesn't make sense to me. Minimum wage here isn't $20/hour so why are the residents tipping so much. Are waiters and bartenders worth more than a cashier for example?

I think that everyone should tip less so that the youth believe that getting a higher education is actually worth while. Quite frankly it is better to just be a waitress here than to go to college. The island is never going to benefit from higher education if everyone continues this. That is my belief. I understand that a large income comes in from the tourists and that is fine. I am just saying that it costs enough to live here. Why are we expected to spend so much to have a drink or go out to eat when we are not even making $200/day or even $100/day. I just don't understand this way of thinking.

No offense, but you just don't get it. Below is an article I read lately that says it all. Also, forr further instruction, see the following link: http://www.collegehumor.com/article:1706553

This is for all of the people who are/ have been servers, or anyone who just knows how to tip their servers.

For those of you who don't understand the importance of tipping:

1. Servers in PA make $2.83 an hour, no matter how long they've worked at the restaurant. After taxes, for a 40 hour work week, that's a $20 paycheck, if that.

2. Most servers are servers because they NEED the money. Many servers have kids to support, or are trying to pay their way through college because their mommy's & daddy's are not paying it for them. Many people's livelihood depends on your tips.

3. If your server is not overly happy, that doesn't mean they do not deserve to be tipped. You have bad days too, don't you? After running your ass off to serve miserable, rude people for 8 hours I think they deserve to not have to be Miss Merry Sunshine. If they are still serving you & getting you what you need, then there is no reason for you to not tip them; they are doing their job. I'm not saying that the server can be a jerk & blame it on having a bad day. Part of our job is to be actors & put on a happy face. However, if your server is not 100% perky & happy do not tip them badly. If they are still giving you good service and are pleasant they still deserve a tip for the work they are doing.

4. At most restaurants, servers tip out bartenders & bussers based on their sales, not their tips. If you do not leave a tip, not only are you not giving your server any money, but they actually have to pay out of their pocket for you to have eaten there.

5. If you go to a restaurant 5 minutes before they close, that automatically means that you should not be rude, and you should tip your server well. There is simply no reason why you should go into a restaurant at this time. Your server will be pissed that you came in this late along with the cooks and managers. You should be leaving the restaurant when it is closing, not ordering your meals.

6. If you cannot afford to tip your server, there is a simple answer to this problem...DON'T GO OUT TO EAT!! If you are too poor to tip, then you shouldn't be going out to eat. Go to the grocery store & get off your lazy ass & cook yourself something! It will be much cheaper, most likely better for you, and nobody will have a death wish for you (well, at least nobody new).

7. Being a poor college kid is not an excuse not to tip. There is a cafeteria at your school that you can eat at & you won't have to tip. Also, your server is probably a poor college kid, too.

8. If you or your children make a big mess, leave a bigger tip. Your server has to clean that up. Assuming that the bussers clean it up and the server should not recieve any compensation for it is simply wrong. Most bussers will refuse to clean up a big mess because they are not making much money either, leaving (surprise!) your server to clean it up.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't agree with the above. In my college years I worked in Restaurants and strip clubs (not a stripper, just played the music). I would listen the the people working with me and they would complain constantly about not getting a good tip and it's true some people never tip and some are rude to everyone, but no one is forcing you to work in the service industry and if you choose to work in that field then you have to realize that those type of people come with territory. I was always nice even if someone was rude or did not tip. A brief example of a non tipper: While working at a seafood restaurant we had a guy that was known to be a non tipper that came in every Friday afternoon for the shrimp special. The same female waitress waited on this guy for months (sometimes he would bring his whole family) and never received a dime in tips, but she never said a word to the guy. I informed her that if I were her I would say something to him about it and she informed me that she does not work that way. She went on to tell me that she had been in the food service industry for over 20 years and that arguing with customers or being rude to customers (even when they are rude to you) is not the way servers should act. Me being the a%# that I am told her she was crazy for putting up with people like that and her being the person she was told me that I would never be able to make it as a server...she was right I quit 2 months later.

I would expect staff to be courteous to all customers. If they can not deal with a problem,that is when management steps in. It seems to me that IHOP is lacking in the management area. There will be a large sign stating "Our staff greatly appreciates you tips and advice " .

Actually we went to Ihop the other day and a man who had been waiting a long time got tired and left, leaving us "Justin Timberlake" who was called only about 10 minutes later. Service was a bit slow, but nothing like what is written above. Food was tolerable and the waitress appeared several times to see if we needed anything else. Almost came by too frequently! I guess it's hit or miss.

Hate to keep asking, but is the state side team still there or not??
The STT Ihop had management issues as well.

One of the last times we were there, we were seated, given our menus, ordered coffee & then waited 45 minutes for our coffee!
We couldn`t understand why people who just sat down in the same area were getting their coffee & orders while we were still waiting.
We tried to get our servers attention several times.
Finally, we went to the manager, explained & she informed us the server we have refuses to serve white people!
I asked why were we seated in the no white people allowed section then!
She said they don`t have such a section, it`s only on her shift!
She said it was a mistake, we should have been seated in another section..OK whatever.

Rehashing the "locals don`t NORMALLY tip" issue, I reminded our waitress(if you want to call her that).
A certain segment tips more here, just check who the taxi drivers beg,they are ALL ABOUT cash!

$67 for 4 sounds high, I recon we spent about (been awhile)$8-$10 each, & had very big portions.

I would have told the manager that as long as they employee people with that racist attitude I would not eat there, then I would have left!
That is not right to refuse to wait on anyone no matter what color!:X

Dun. Please find me the first and last name of the server who refused to serve you. I would just like to make sure I never hire the asshole.

Could you imagine a white person saying they refuse to serve black people; what kind of manager allows that to go on and where the hell is this owner--out throwing more of her money away.

Imagine might be the correct word!*-)

I wish i could get her name but, IHop STT has long been closed down.
They had a 20-40 minute wait, just to be seated.
After the stateside team left, it started to get less organized, the food wasn`t consistent, etc.

I hop lasted just over a year here, & although there still was a waiting line to get seated(business was brisk), they closed due to WAPA & SERVICE.

said Petrus, a former V.I. senator and owner of several Subway sandwich shops, in a prepared statement issued Tuesday night. "These recurring expenses, coupled with a declining economy and service issues, have all worked together to create a 'perfect storm' that has brought us to this moment of reckoning."

Me, I still think it was the labor force as they still have their Subway franchises going despite paying WAPA, rent & the same "declining economy"

Your experience sounds similar to ours. We showed up around 4:30 and there was a party arguing up front demanding the manager because they wanted to go after having been there since 1:30 and still didn't have their food on the table. I heard one of the workers say the manager wasn't there...I thought we'd be in for a rough time but we were seated in about 15 minutes. Oddly there were plenty of empty tables at times when the lobby is full - the issue is not enough wait staff actually working. There were about 10 people in blue shirts who looked liked the wait staff but for some reason they always huddled in the kitchen doorways doing nothing (maybe waiting for orders?)
Our food arrived a bit slow by U.S. standards but not bad by local standard (just over 20 minutes.) What was odd was that the portion sizes were small even by local standards and even the extra side of bacon I paid for was two very wilted strips. The bill for 3 came out to around $48 as I recall which is a bit high for what we had. I think I could get much better breakfast for less at Tracy's.

We found the name system odd as well but then realized much of the staff were locals who were young and may not have a lot of experience with names from around the world. I can imagine some people from other regions of the world getting upset or not even recognizing their name being called in local tongue. As a joke I told my family that if we do go back I'm going to duplicate one of the name cards and slip my name into the mix. Should be fun seeing bewildered faces trying to recognize a nobody name as a celebrity 🙂

Actually we went to Ihop the other day and a man who had been waiting a long time got tired and left, leaving us "Justin Timberlake" who was called only about 10 minutes later. Service was a bit slow, but nothing like what is written above. Food was tolerable and the waitress appeared several times to see if we needed anything else. Almost came by too frequently! I guess it's hit or miss.

It does take a long time to get a meal. However, the workers are friendly most of the time. Give the owners an opportunity to be successful. Report rude or unprofessional employees. There is hope to change their attitude through re-training.

nforbes, seperate juice and ice is so your juice will not get watered down from the ice. i wish more placves would do that.