New IHOP on STX, Comments and Reviews

Thanks Rivets, I like this one much better (tu)

Thank you Rivets. I agree, it's good to have an unbiased and non-negative topic heading.

~Jill~

I decided that our office would try out the IHOP for it's weekly meeting yesterday. I send the manager an email via the link she posted on this forum beforehand to give her a heads up that I'd be coming in with a party of 10 just to be sure that they would be able to handle it. She assured me they would so we gave it a try and it turned out to be very good!

We arrived at 9am and our waitress greeted us, introduced ourselves very professionally, gave us menus and took our drink orders. Our drinks came within a few minutes and few minutes after that we placed our orders and started our informal but still important meeting. Within 15 minutes the first 3 people who ordered's food came. About 5 minutes later the next 3 came etc. so the kitchen was probably having a bit of an issue with getting 10 dishes out at the same time. Getting them 3 at a time was preferred though to letting the first ones sit, it worked out very well for us as the orders basically followed those who made their presentations around the table (the 3 who presented first got their food, then the next 3 presented and then they got their food etc.).

I had the NY Cheesecake Pancake platter and it was very good. It came with 1 bacon slice, 1 sausage (you can do 2 of either or 1 of each which is cool), eggs, and 2 very filling pancakes topped with strawberries and cream. It was $8.95. One thing I will warn is that they upcharge $1.50 for having cheese in your eggs. That seems a little steep but I like cheese in my eggs.

Everyone on our staff was very pleased with their food and we were paid up and out of the restaurant by 10:15am (having arrived at 9am). This is excellent considering we were a table of 10, had eaten and discussed everything we needed to for work by that time. Our total bill was $124 and I left a $25 tip so it was $15 per person in the end which was what I'd expect on STX for breakfast. There was one small mistake on the bill (double charged for extra cheese on my egg) that our waitress said was normal but I really don't think it was. That was only 1% of our bill though so not a big deal.

The manager told me that she gave the staff no heads up (she wanted to see how they'd do) so I don't think we got any "special treatment" by contacting her in advance. I sent her an email this morning with similar comments to what I posted here. Looking at the menu, while breakfast is in line with STX prices, the dinner's seem like they are priced very affordably. I saw a chicken dish on there for like $12.99 and other entrees in a simliar price range. I plan to check out dinner there with my family soon and will post a report.

Overall I was very happy with our breakfast and our whole staff really wanted to make the IHOP meeting a standing event that we do every few months.

Sean

Sean,

Thank you for taking the time to express your experience with such detail. Sana Joseph Smith, the owner, and I received your email and appreciate your feedback. She noted in her response to you that the second charge for the cheese as you described was incorrect - please bring in your receipt so we can adjust for you, or we can make an adjustment the next time you come in to dine with us.

We appreciate you trusting us with your meeting and dining experience; it was our pleasure to serve you! We look forward to hosting your team again, and welcome you and your family to eat anytime!

Liz Llanos Popo
Marketing Director
IHOP St. Croix
ihopstx@yahoo.com
340.778.IHOP (4467)

i find it refreshing to notice IHOPs interest in what we as consumers have to say about the quality of food and service at the local IHOP. I wish more owners of local eateries would take the time to look at this site and address complaints and compliments.
I have not yet been to the IHOP, but the people that i have met that have gone there have had nothing but good things to say.

speee1dy, this board is great for moving but it's also great to get the low down on local restaurants, hotels, and bars before you even touch down. When I was a chef on island, I ALWAYS made it a point to read the reviews posted by diners. Any chef, bartender, owner, or manager wants to know they're doing and ESPECIALLY how the competition is doing.

I'm a big fan of VIMovingcenter.com and I do my best to let restaurant folks know that people are talking about them candidly, openly, and honestly on this thread. I like to think that a good amount of them may be reading, but not chiming in.

Glad to see the IHOP management active here, as I use to copy/paste comments (good and bad) and email the owner.

Noah

Rivets, Thanks for starting this new thread!
Sean, thanks for this most informative post.
Liz, as a bachelor with no cooking skills, I will be a regular customer. 🙂

My wife & I went to IHOP for the 1st time and had a wonderful breakfast. I had the breakfast sampler and my wife had the smokey combo. The food was very good, service was excellent, and the attitude of the staff was very upbeat and positive.

Jumbie

My brother and sister and law are visiting and we ended up at IHOP after our St. Patty's day festivities on Saturday night. I was admittedly in a bit of a jubilant state so won't do a comprehensive review, but I'll just say that all of us had a great late night "breakfast." The service was fantastic and my family basically said that it was the nicest IHOP they had ever been in (they are from B'more).

It's fantastic to have a good late night spot to fill up at after a late night out!

Sean

On September 26, 2010, we decided to eat out I hop and I must say that once again I was highly disappointed with the service. After waiting more than ten minutes at our table for the waitress, in which we had to ask another worker to go find her. I placed an order for a hot chocolate and 3 buttermilk pancakes seeing that in the past I’ve have to wait 4ever for my food that was gross, I’ll keep it simple. You know what at first when they open it wasn’t bad, services was pretty good, now it’s gone to the dogs! Well this time they took the cake because I waited about an hour before I could get my hot chocolate and it was too hot so I had to put it to sit for another 10 for it to cool off. Then my 3pancakes took another 40 minutes before I got it and by that time I was pissed, I got my bag n I left. In all the services from the waitress to our food were all horrible and I’m not sorry to say this but I will NEVER GO BACK THERE AGAIN!

We went the other day for lunch, it wasn't crowded at all. We got seated right away. Everyone was super friendly.
The manager was having a meeting and we could over hear what was going on, the meeting was all about good customer service, we also heard the manager on the phone with a customer that had written out a comment card. She also was giving the third degree to another waitress who the comment card was about. I really think they need a separate room to talk to the employees, we could here everything. I think the manager was really trying to get these girls to understand good customer service.
The service was warm and friendly, we really liked our waitress. The food took along time to come out but everything was good.
We will go back, we had no problems.

HJ - you've never posted before today and today you post the same message in three different places. What's up with that?

DOES IT MAKE AH DIFFERENT IF I'VE NEVER POSTED ON DIS SITE B4 OR HOW MANY PLACES I POST MY MESSAGE! I'M SIMPLY VENTING ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, IT WASN'T BASED ON A ONE TIME DINING, IT HAPPENED ON MORE THAT ONE OCCASION. BUTTOM LINE, IT WAS RIDICULOS THAT ANY1 SHOULD HAVE TO WAIT 2HOURS FOR PANCAKES N HOT CHOCOLATE.

Please don't SHOUT.
Please also understand that "venting" by new posters is looked upon poorly by the board community.

You have joined in a long standing discussion about IHOP spread over several threads.
Their inconsistency is disappointing and frustrating... As many have already pointed out over the year. I guess the better question is if/how can they eventually succeed?

1st time posters whom complain are looked upon poorly by the board community....................:S
Guess all you soon to be 1st time posters better make sure you say something wonderful before going on a tirade...............HJ the board police are coming to get you beware............the horror...........the shame.............RUN HJ RUN!

well i could care-lessssss if my review is looked upon poorly the board commuity! wats the point in having comments/ reviews if you cann't express experience.

to hell with the board community n ihop.

POINT MADE!

I think there's many other restaurants on st. croix with better food and better service. instead of getting so amped up over a chain restaurant, just try one of the other ones. it's an island - the staff that you'll get here is limited. It's especially limited for chain restaurants as you're not going to get the Tuttu Bene waitstaff coming into these places looking for work. this ihop discussion has been going on for so long...it's ihop! i mean, i'm not even impressed by them in the states, why would i expect here to be any different? Shenanigans in town has a really inexpensive breakfast, it's a small place but good. Paradise Cafe is the same. Is Tracey's still open? That's close to IHop and i've heard good things about their breakfast.

well i could care-lessssss if my review is looked upon poorly the board commuity! wats the point in having comments/ reviews if you cann't express experience.
to hell with the board community n ihop.
POINT MADE!

If you want most people here to take you and your comments seriously, you need to understand some of the written & unwritten rules of this -and any message board community. The 'rules' are especially applicable to newcomers.

They include:
- Don't create new threads on topics which already have threads.
- Don't type in ALL CAPS.
- Don't post the same message in multiple threads.

Generally speaking, if you follow those rules, you can rant, vent, and otherwise be as sarcastic as you want, and it will be great entertainment. People might even believe you are right and not just "yet another" disgruntled transplant.

Tracy's is closed down

- Don't create new threads on topics which already have threads.

Oh really? That's funny, because last winter I created the original "abominal" iHop thread. And, then a short time later, THIS VERY THREAD was created. How come I don't see you chastising Rivets for creating this thread, then, Neil? Seems a bit hypocritical, don't you think?

Neil, please, quit trying to be the board police. HJ is unhappy with his service, and has every right so say so. Sure, he could have been a touch more elegant with his words, but, in the end, who really cares? Let him have his say. That's what this thread is for.

And another thing: "Please also understand that "venting" by new posters is looked upon poorly by the board community." Says who? It certainly doesn't bother me.

Does this board HAVE any rules or any police?

It bother me that some people come onto this board, obviously don't read the threads, and ask the same dumb questions over and over again. It clogs up the place.

It pisses me off when new posters rant and vent.

And it bothers me to see five IHOP threads. One should be enough, and the moderator should just retitle it "The Ihop Thread". But I haven't seen Islander post here in a long time, certainly not since I've been posting.

Zinging a business over and over again online is not what this place should be about.

Well it is a really poorly operated restaurant. It goes from one extreme to another, that is never a good sign. It does not speak well of the management or the employees. IMO I think IHOP is getting hit so hard because people wanted so badly for it to be good. People were so excited to see it come in and saw it being built for about 6 to 8 months so everyone was talking and thinking about it. But IMO it has really failed. I rarely give up on a place because it's an island and you never know, but I really don't think there's any hope. Every experience I've had there has been barely eatable food and atrocious service. Life is too short for that and as someone else said there really are some nice places here.

But it's another example of someone opening a restaurant with little experience in the business ( and one that runs at least 16 hours a day with a massive menu) and no idea how to train employees and no plan on how to fire the ones it needs to get rid of. This is not the kind of business someone should start with.

But it's another example of someone opening a restaurant with little experience in the business ( and one that runs at least 16 hours a day with a massive menu) and no idea how to train employees and no plan on how to fire the ones it needs to get rid of. This is not the kind of business someone should start with.

The franchise arrangement is supposed to handle much of that. If the franchisor (the one who grants the franchise) selects the franchisee properly, and the franchisee follows the play book, it should run correctly. That's the theory anyway.

I don't know of a single franchised restaurant chain in the VI which is as good as their counterparts in the states. In fact I thought that the MacDonalds in Turkey were better than the ones here, both service and food. We expect and accept poor service and poor quality here.