IHOP — Restaurant in Maryland

I cannot in good conscious recommend this particular IHOP. I arrived on a late afternoon Tuesday and it was not very busy at all, and I had to wait a little bit to get noticed and seated (should've been my first clue). Once seated, I noticed that the table had not been properly set with silverware. The waitress asked if I wanted something to drink to start (as she should) and I ordered coffee as usual. She did bring my coffee, but still no silverware to stir the cream and sugar. I politely asked for a spoon and she acknowledged the request. I waited several minutes and observed her walking by several times to wait on other customers. Eventually I had to stop her and request silverware again, and by the time I got it the coffee was no longer hot (it likely wasn't to begin with). I always order the same dish when I eat at any IHOP, which is the Chicken Fajita Omelet and blueberry pancakes. While I waited, which seemed to be an unnecessarily long time, I observed members of the wait and kitchen staff laughing and joking around. No one seemed to be taking their job seriously or had any sense of urgency. When the food finally arrived I noticed that the omelet looked a bit "off" considering it didn't have the signature salsa and sour cream on top. I waited a few more minutes for someone to come by so I could inform them that my meal was incomplete. I stopped a gentlemen who appeared to be a bit senior to the other wait staff (perhaps the manager?) and let him know that my omelet was missing something. He looked at me kind of sideways as if I were a nusance and told me to give my waitress a minute and she would take care of me. I then noticed he approached her and whispered something in her ear. Only after that did she bring me a side of salsa and sour cream. My food was lukewarm and did not taste right, so I just didn't finish it. "Well, at least I'll have some good blueberry pancakes out of this deal" I thought to myself. The pancakes finally arrived, and when I got about a quarter of the way into it I noticed that the batter wasn't fully cooked and was quite raw near the center. At this point I lost my appetite completely and just wanted to leave. I informed my waitress that it was a disappointing meal, explained why, and asked for the bill so I can get the hell out of there. They ended up giving me a couple bucks off my ticket (wow), which probably should've been reduced significantly more considering the piss poor service and food. It was clear that the young waitress wasn't properly trained and this reflects very poor management of the facility and staff overall. I don't blame the staff, as they're mostly young kids, probably just trying to pay their way through school. But the leadership of that facility was clearly absent and did not give proper guidance to the staff to provide quality food and service. It is incumbent upon those who manage the facility to ensure their employees understand the importance of delivering quality service and extend the proper amount of respect and courtesy to their paying customers. Sadly, the practice of poor customer service isn't exclusive to this restaurant in this particular area. It's a decline in society overall, it's just much worse in the capital region. I'm glad I no longer live...

I wish I could give this no stars. Two weeks ago I gave this IHOP another try because of their management and slow service I stopped going. But I ordered two weeks ago cream cheese crepes and they messed up my order and gave me another type of crepe when I told the manager and complained she said that they will take my name and put it in a book for free meal the next time I come. Today I redeem that free meal and then she doesn't know what I'm talking about a book, the manager that I talked to two weeks ago didn't give me her name and definitely didn't put my name in a book. I went in at 9:10 a.m. it took me until 9:30 just to place my order because they were so understaffed and disorganized. When I finally got my order in it took until 9:56 to get my food and my food was cold at that. I will never be eating here or at another IHOP again. I was not the only one waiting that long after they told us it'll be about 10-15 minutes for our orders to come out. This one lady was waiting on her order that was a total of $50. It was for her job, and was paid for on the company's card. She told the cashier to put 25 on one card and then put the rest on another card, the cashier then proceeded to put $50 all on the corporate card. When the woman asked if she could void the entire transaction even know it already processed, the managers came back and said it would be a hold on the corporate card 5 to 7 days. Their service is the worst they are not empathetic at all day always have attitudes. I never got a sorry for the wait nobody in that waiting room ever got a sorry for the wait. Especially that one woman who had that issue with the corporate card. Please do not waste...

Today, July 14, 3024, will most definitely be my last attempt to eat here. IHOP had never been my vibe, but today I was being treated to breakfast. Bob Evans has always been my favorite. My party of three was seated very quickly and I waitress arrived shortly after. When she returned with our drink orders, We had to send them back because there was something inside of the cup besides the drink. When she returned with the second round of drinks, once again there was something in the drink! Twice now we have had to return the drink orders. At this point I asked to speak with the manager of the establishmentand. While waiting, the waitress came by twice and said that the manager was coming. After waiting 10 minutes we decided moreover I decided we were all leaving. If the manager could not come within ten minutes to see about customers, then they did not deserve our business. While leaving, very loudly, I told the entire restaurant customers "You all need to check your drinks and your food because there may be something in it and that this ihop has a dirty kitchen and the wait staff is not very responsible for the maintaining the cleanliness and sanitation." It used to be in the years long gone that employees of food establishments had to wear hair nets. It would be more prudent if them to be careful not to have plastic, hair, and other miscellaneous items appear in customers food and drinks. Corporate will know of Incident even though each one is independently owned and operated it will still be on the books once they receive my letter. The one star is too much for the...