Perkins American Food Co. — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Today is my mother's birthday. I was going to visit another restaurant but she insisted on Perkins. She had great food and service last time. I went along with my brother and 6 month old niece. The lady at the door(short, white, reddish color hair) placed us at a booth. I didn't feel comfortable with people and waiters walking by with my baby niece at the edge of table in stroller so I requested a different table. There was an eye roll and smirk she made with another waitress as I am standing in front of them. I'm not blind nor hard of hearing. I asked was there a problem, she stated no. She had to "find" another waiter. It was not busy and looked as if they had about 5 servers.

Amanda arrived as our server. She was polite and attentive. I asked about the birthday specials and she informed me. My mother do not like attention so we opted out of singing happy birthday. I ordered breakfast and coffee. We were so satisfied with the food and service until... my brother and mother was not done eating and a receipt and container was placed on the table.

Amanda came back to the table and I asked, "Is there a time limit to eat here?" She stated, "No. We usually give the receipt with three food." In all of my years of eating out anywhere, that has never happened. She didn't ask if we wanted anything else. I told her I would like some dessert. I ordered slice of apple pie, warmed with whip. It was delicious! She then brought an updated receipt to add the pie. The check out was good. A guy whom share close birth datewith my mom, was friendly, helpful and wanted to know how our experience was. I told it was okay but didn't want to get into detail.

To Perkins staff: You have a "Now Hiring" sign up. Please hire people that enjoy people and customer service. The cooks were fantastic. Thank you for a satisfying meal and dessert. Amanda the server was great until we felt rushed. To the red head, an attitude adjustment needed. It doesn't seem kid friendly. We had to keep my niece in the stroller. A lot of older people at this time and weekday as well. It's a little diverse as well. I hope you take people experiences to make things better. People CHOOSE to eat here, they...

We walked in and were greeted and seated right away. The waitress was great and helpful. The food was okay, they definitely use fake eggs and the potatoes were not real either. The problem was the "manager". The whole time we were there we could hear her gossiping about one of her waitresses to another employee. Then we watched her go to a white truck and sell fake Uggs to another customer, literally right outside the window. Then when we paid she kept trying to sell us a bunch of fake sportswear that was piled up all over the bakery area. I felt like I was at a flea market. I don't know if the owner knows she side hustles fake merchandise, but it is not only unprofessional but illegal as well. I have never gone to any establishment where the manager talks about an employee the way she was in front of customers, sells fake Uggs from her truck and hustles fake sportswear. The one thing she didn't do was her job. Never checked on us during our meal, when we were paying she talked a lot about buying hoodies and coming to some vendor event ( I guess to buy more fake items) and still never asked how our experience was, and while we were paying she was busy gossiping again and just said "you don't have to sign cause you tapped your card", never goodbye, have a nice day, nothing. I debated writing this for a few days but I did it for the employees. My hope is that the owners do not know about this behavior or the risk it presents. Also, the way she talked about that girl, I am sure she isn't the only one. She is risking all of their jobs so she can make her salary and money on the side for herself and I felt obligated to explain what I heard and saw so it is on record and the only one held responsible if it came down to that. She was maybe 5 feet tall, thick build, was not wearing a uniform (so I assume manager or owner) and just loud, rude and unprofessional. I also found it ironic that I could also hear her screaming from the kitchen at her staff and telling them to make sure they get "emails and "reviews". I intend on sending an email to corporate as well since I don't know who monitors...

I absolutely have to give a shout-out to two more exceptional Perkins employees! A few weeks ago, our server was Kylie. I was with my adult son Jake, grabbing an early dinner with him, and we were immediately approached at our table by a lively, welcoming young woman with a smile that could light up the entire room. She was completely friendly and very humorous, so naturally Jake and I had to respond in kind, and the rest of our stay at Perkin was punctuated by joking and laughter. I should hasten to assure potential customers that despite all the levity, Kylie did not miss a beat in her service and accuracy, and the meal itself was nothing short of PERFECT. We look forward to seeing her again!

In addition, at another early dinner at that same location about a week ago, this time with both Jake and my daughter Rachel, we were fortunate to have been assigned to a delightful young woman server named Nev. She was prompt, friendly, and completely professional -- at least until we started joking with her, at which time she joined into our schtick with plenty of style and several very funny ripostes. She's another charmer and we are eager to see her again as well! Nev really added to the pleasure and fun of our mealtime.

The fact that I've written highly favorable reviews to three different servers at Perkins should demonstrate to readers that this restaurant is very discriminating in its choice of employees and selects waitstaff that can add an extra pleasurable aspect to its customer service. They won't necessarily crack jokes every five minutes, but they are all hospitable and friendly. Try this Perkins on Grant Avenue...