IHOP — Restaurant in Lancaster

My review is strictly based on my experiences while delivering for Door Dash, as I have never had the chance to visit this location as a diner. Also, I apologize for how long this ended up being, but I rarely leave reviews, so when I do it is because I actually have a lot to say.

That being said, I have to be honest here and say that in the past, my visits to this particular IHOP have been not so great. I know about the problems with being short-staffed and I do feel for them on that issue. But, even taking into account their staffing issues, the quality of service (when someone was actually present that is) and wait time was painful. And this is coming from a person who possesses an abnormally high level of patience. So for me to actually lose my patience here says something about their customer service.

As a result, I had been steadily declining all IHOP offers coming through. But yesterday it was slow, and the offer was good, so I went ahead and accepted an IHOP order with low expectations and wondering how long the wait would be this time.

I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in the door and got a warm welcome from the young man and young lady that were working front of the house. I wish I knew their names because they deserve to be known for how great they are. Friendly, smiling, and so quick to get me my order I just couldn't believe it! The woman was so polite and positive, engaging with me in small talk that was actually interesting. The guy brought me my order quickly, it was packaged nicely, and balanced out perfectly. They gave a friendly farewell and even reminded me to stay safe out there which was such a considerate thing to add.

As soon as I was pulling out of my parking space, the customer asks me to please request several extras for their meal. I hate when I see requests like that because that is not something I would personally do for myself for my own meals, so to do it for someone else who isn't even tipping me is so cringe, and I start brainstorming on how to get myself out of this situation.

But my empathy and integrity always win in the end, so I park and walk in the door with my head down. She kind of tilted her head in confusion probably wondering what could have possibly gone wrong in the short time between then and now, so I immediately explained the customer's request and started becoming apologetic for asking. She smiled and said no problem at all, she came back quickly with a small brown paper bag folded at the top and said she smiled saying she added some love to it as well. I was beyond impressed and told her God Bless her for such a kind gesture and thanked her again.

Whomever hired both those kind employees were so on-point, and I hope this establishment realizes how rare it is to have such remarkable employees working in that particular service industry role. I will not hesitate taking the next IHOP order that comes my way, dare I say I actually look forward to it...lol.

Thank you for your time and I hope this inspires others to do something different and give a second...

THE MANAGER AND CUSTOMER SERVICE HERE IS HORRIBLE! THIS PLACE IS HORRIBLE! I just left the ihop in Lancaster Tx. I did an online uber eats order. I was prompted to go pick up my order it is ready for pick up. I went in to get my order in a very crowded small area there was a table where they kept the to go orders. Exposed to everyone entering and exiting the building. On top of that I was told my order was not ready yet. I was confused because my app said my order was ready for pickup. So I came out to my car to wait ten minutes, in the meantime the Ihop is totally full in the front. I made it to the front and asked for my order again. The hostesses in the front did not even check to see if my order was ready to and told me it wasn't ready yet. I asked to speak with a manager, she told me with a major attitude the manager can't talk she is busy. So I politely asked a server to get me the manager. The manager came (with an attitude) and asked what the problem was. I explained to her that I feel that in the times we are in a pandemic, that our food should not be exposed to everyone like that. People breathing all over the bags of food and whatnot. She said everything was covered and should be alright. I explained to her the corona is very small and contagious, and easy to spread. She with an horrible attitude said well what do you want me to do. I told her first of all give me a refund. She then said fine threw my food in the trash and proceeded to refund me. With a attitude of course. I asked her where my food was. She tauntingly said "the trash, because of Corona." I have never experienced such bad customer service in my life. That manager should not be managing anything with that horrible attitude. The to go orders should be kept I'm a separate area where there is little to no traffic, and when you receive a notification to our order it is ready, it...

I've never seen a server genuinely not care about her clients, the establishment, or even her job. From the moment we pulled up, we started second guessing our choice. It was empty, as soon as you walked in it was a pungent smell of pee, the floor was covered in trash, and the cooks were running to their cars. We should have taken the hint immediately, but we wanted to end the night well. Obviously, that didn't happen. Our server appeared bothered by our presence, threw our menus in a booth, and walked away. When one of the cooks came in, he happily tried to accommodate us but we just figured it out. We sat down, ordered drinks, and waited. Our server came by with drinks and literally left them at the end of the table. That was it. From then on there was no eye contact, she mumbled in a whisper the entire time, never asked us a single question, and would just drop off food and leave. At one point we asked for a refill and she just stuck her hand out, got the cup, and turned away. No words, no eye contact, literally nothing. We waited nearly an hour for our food and when we asked for things like ranch etc, I could feel an eye roll every time. Meanwhile, I'm reading the Google reviews and man. That should've been my cue to not stay! As I kept watching people come in, I just wanted to let them know to go across the street to waffle house or chili's. We were the only table for about 10 minutes - and we still got treated like a nuisance! Not to mention our server had her airpods in the whole time. We never knew if she heard us or anything. My family basically begged me to leave a tip and not dine and dash. But I don't think our server would have noticed if we all walked out, let alone care! All in all. Worst iHop ever. Will make sure people know to avoid this one at all costs. I learned my lesson to read the reviews before...