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

...which would be an issue because it takes so long before your drink actually makes it to your table...

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

When did IHOP open? It should be getting better by now, but doesn't sound like it from this thread. I have a different opinion about "reporting" to the manager/owner. Where is the manager? When I walk in and take a look around, I can see a half dozen issues. Can't the manager see that? Is it really necessary for them to be told? In my opinion, the manager should see deficiencies that I, as the customer, don't catch. And...come to think of it...we have been to IHOP 3 times. I don't recall seeing a manager (to know that it was the manager). If they really want feedback, they should do table visits, offer a complimentary coffee,( or a coupon good for a cup on the NEXT visit) for taking the time to chat with them and act like they really do care.

Now, another point. I have only worked in 2 restaurants (as an adult). I will say that often (never say always), the managers, and sometimes the owners, do not want your constructive criticism. They will say they do, but they truly don't. Many times the staff will head for the kitchen to share the "joke" , or the reaction will be defensive and argumentative. I have often heard words like "let him go somewhere else then" or "what a jerk (or other derogatory term)". Oh, and a lot of eye-rolling! If the customers could hear the comments in the kitchen, they would not feel welcome again.

Anyhow, we haven't given up on IHOP yet. But, I will say that a couple of times this week we thought of going and changed our minds.

Juanita,when I get there and open,just look for the heavily tattooed guy,who's hair is falling out and turning grey. I promise you won't be laughed at and I won't roll my eyes at you. As funny as it may sound to some of you on this board,I'll need you a lot more than you're going to need me. I tend to live by the rule,Treat others as they treat you. In the long run, you my dear customers will always be right. You want white wine with those scrambled eggs,you got it.

Good2Go, i liked that, that was funny. but i think you got it.

Since IHOP was fresh on my mind, after posting yesterday, we decided to go for lunch today. Arrived sometime shortly after 1:00. No waiting. We were greeted pleasantly and taken to a table. Now this is just an aside, but the hostess walked so slowly that we had to force ourselves not to run into her. Seriously. She gave us menus and said our server would be right there. Wrong! Never did have a server come to the table, so we left. I don't know how long it was. I didn't look at my watch when we were seated, but it was longer than was comfortable.

As we looked around, there was a server with her head down on her arm on the register, another leaning on the wall beside her, 2 or 3 others hanging out, milling around in the kitchen doorway area. There was some interaction with the tables, but not much. Actually, there was only a very few tables occupied.

As we left, I asked the lady who seated us if she was the manager. She just said no. Didn't offer to get the manager, didn't ask if she could help, etc. I told her nobody ever came to the table, and she just said something like..they didn't? She didn't say sorry, I'll get someone right away or anything else that would have encouraged us to stay, so we didn't.

Noah said the owner would be reading this thread. I don't have any idea who she is (I only say she because most of you do.), but if she's reading, she's not listening.

I was so looking forward to having a casual, inexpensive, go to when you don't want to dress up, kind of place, close to our house, but we're about done for a while. I wish them luck and hope they can get it together. We'll try again when the reviews on here improve.

Are you not used to Island customer service Juanita?
Sounds sort of standard to me...
Perhaps STX Ihop has a racial section as well, & you were seated in it?

What is a uncomfortable waiting period?
Is it akin to the usual wait at the post office?

Sounds to me like this Ihop will have the same problem/outcome as the one on STT.

Had breakfast there a few days ago.
It was GREAT.

Good food, good service.

Get there early. When we walked out at 8:15 am, there were 20 people in the waiting area.

I really like IHOP here stateside. I guess I'll have to give St Croixs new one a try. I just have to see all the fuss myself.

Re McDonalds - just for the snark factor, a freind of mine would go into McDonals and order a McFlurry and side of disappointment. Of course the reponse he got was "no Mcflurry". I still laugh just thinking about it.

Re McDonalds - just for the snark factor, a freind of mine would go into McDonals and order a McFlurry and side of disappointment. Of course the reponse he got was "no Mcflurry". I still laugh just thinking about it.

I didn`t know what a Mcflurry was, found out how to make one here: http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/mcflurry/

IHOPs are very good in the states, if the service and food are poor at the IHOP in St. Croix, don't give them your hard earn dollars. Speak with your wallet and feet. Whenever I get poor service at ANY type of establishment I send a certified letter to the CEO of that corporation. Its amazing how fast your complaint is dealt with, try it one time and you'll be hooked.

*-)(tu)

Good idea stcmike. In case someone else would like to write the address is below:

Ms. Julia A. Stewart, CEO
IHOP Restaurants Support Center
450 North Brand Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91203

i have heard two very good reviews from ihop just the other night. It is also a good idea to write companies and let them know when they are doing a good job.

Greetings all,

Your postings were forwarded to the owner and management team of IHOP STX, thus the purpose of this message. We are grateful to guests who continue to take the time to share their experiences with us, and in the same vein, we appreciate the feedback posted here.

Our decision to bring IHOP to our native St. Croix was not made lightly. It has been a three year process, and our focus from the very beginning was the investment in our team, and the level of service we want them to provide for you, our guests. After several weeks of training a staff of 95, we quietly opened our doors in December 2009, anticipating having to work out the kinks that go with opening a casual dining restaurant. For those who are not aware, the Pondersoa buffet-style restaurant was probably the last "casual" dining restaurant on the island - and that closed down well over 15 years ago. For many of the people who applied and were hired to be part of our team, this is a first-time experience. With ongoing training, team and self-assessments and a number of strategies we have employed, our guests have already begun to comment on some of the improvements they have experienced.

We deeply appreciate those of you who continue to dine with us at the IHOP, offer encouragement to our team and provide feedback. I personally invite you to speak with me regarding concerns you may have; your feedback is our most valuable tool in providing you with service beyond your expectation. It is most helpful to have details when providing comments of your experience in order for us to provide corrective action, including the name of the server/host/manager, date, specific issue, and how we may improve our service to you.

We look forward to serving you!

Respectfully,

Liz Llanos Popo
IHOP STX Marketing Director
#53 Sunny Isle Shopping Center
St. Croix, VI 00820
(340) 778-IHOP (4467) (please leave contact information if I am not in the store)
ihopstx@yahoo.com (best method of communication)

Good luck Ihopstx,. hopefully, you can circumvent what happened in STT.

Went to IHOP for dinner last night ... WONDERFUL experience! (tu)

We were in the mood for a quick meal, not fast-food quick, so decided to give IHOP a try. Arrived around 6:30ish.

The service was great, we were seated immediately by Dezzi; she was very friendly and customer service oriented, we were impressed. Our server was Ashley, she did a perfect job also. Took our drink orders within minutes of being seated, and delivered the drinks very quickly. She took our order and brought us our meal very quickly, I was happily stunned! 🙂 I would say we were in and out of there within about 45 minutes .... EXCELLENT!

The food was decent, my husband and I both had sirloin tips, no complaints - tender and tasty. Hubby started with a salad ... it looked really good; I had the chicken noodle soup, which was good, too.

All in all, we were very happy with our first STX IHOP experience. We have tried to eat there a couple of times before, but the line was too long. There was no line when we arrived this time and only a couple of people waiting when we left.

Liz Llanos Popo - Kudos to Dezzi and Ashley for doing a great job, and helping to ensure our dining experience was a pleasant one. I'm looking forward to breakfast there very soon.

~Jill~

Amyone know if the STX IHOP is honoring the all-you-can-eat pancakes for $4.99? I see the deal advertised on TV frequently.

Had breakfast at IHOP on Saturday morning about 8 am.

Great waitress, but the food took an hour to come out of the kitchen. Was good when we got it, though.

Waitress confides to us, "Never come on Saturday or Sunday."

"The staff on Sat morning worked the night before so they're really tired."

You're kidding right? I doubt it.
You don't see a dollar menu at Wendy's or KFC.

With some of the appetites I've seen here that would surely break them.

Amyone know if the STX IHOP is honoring the all-you-can-eat pancakes for $4.99? I see the deal advertised on TV frequently.

The network advertisements are for domestic IHOP locations; we are not allowed to participate. Guests who leave their contact info via our comment cards or email will be some of the first to hear about future local specials.

Jill - thanks for sharing your experience with specific details!

Liz Llanos Popo
IHOP STX Marketing Director
#53 Sunny Isle Shopping Center
St. Croix, VI 00820
(340) 778-IHOP (4467) (please leave contact information if I am not in the store)
ihopstx@yahoo.com (best method of communication)

To IHOPSTX...Liz,
Thanks so much for joining our little community. It means a lot to know that someone at IHOP really cares about our opinions. I hope you are successful, as does most everyone on island, I'm sure. Wishing you all the best, and as I've indicated, we WILL be back.

Good luck to you and the entire team.

Had breakfast at IHOP on Saturday morning about 8 am.

Great waitress, but the food took an hour to come out of the kitchen. Was good when we got it, though.

Waitress confides to us, "Never come on Saturday or Sunday."

"The staff on Sat morning worked the night before so they're really tired."

Neil - we are working to improve our wait times, especially on the weekend when families come out in full force.

You were given incorrect information. None of our team members are scheduled in that manner for any shift. Do you recall the name of your server? That will help ensure our guests receive the highest level of service, which is our goal.

Thanks for letting us serve you!

Liz Llanos Popo
IHOP STX

I have been as harsh a critic of IHOP as anyone on this forum, and I appreciate that Liz has taken an interest. HOWEVER, if you want to name names, please consider doing so in a private message. If you want to praise, bring it on! The young folk working at IHOP have not been trained enough, and they don't have life experience to deal with people. Some of them may have not eaten in sit down restaurants often, but they are working, and they need more support from management, not their faults aired individually (by name) in public. I felt badly after I gave a physical description in an earlier post. Her mother could have been reading that!

Had breakfast at IHOP on Saturday morning about 8 am.

Great waitress, but the food took an hour to come out of the kitchen. Was good when we got it, though.

Waitress confides to us, "Never come on Saturday or Sunday."

"The staff on Sat morning worked the night before so they're really tired."

Neil - we are working to improve our wait times, especially on the weekend when families come out in full force.

You were given incorrect information. None of our team members are scheduled in that manner for any shift. Do you recall the name of your server? That will help ensure our guests receive the highest level of service, which is our goal.

Thanks for letting us serve you!
Liz Llanos Popo
IHOP STX

I've PMed you her name. -- But not to get her in trouble, rather, to praise her. She was very good to us, came back several times, refilled my coffee carafe, and gave us a free fruit bowl to eat while we waited. That morning I noticed a few workers looking tired. Maybe she meant they had other jobs the night before?

An hour to get our food isn't a training issue, it's a kitchen management/organizational issue. I know this because I watch Kitchen Nightmares. 🙂 Last time we went (a weekday morning) it came out fast.

Pulling for you! ...and will be back.