IHOP — Restaurant in Wayne Township

This was the first time we came to eat at IHOP in a long time and it was kind of sad. Everything right from the start threw red flags at me. I walked in and lightheartedly joked about one of the waitresses working with pajama pants on. Unusual and unprofessional, but it mostly made me laugh so I don't really care that much. The gal who was seating us said I'm not sure where to place you. I looked around and there were maybe 10 people in the whole restaurant so this was very odd, still, made me laugh and scratch my head. Why ponder the meaning of life when you hear and see something greater like that being stated? Then we sat down and our waitress kept flashing annoyed half baked smiles like she was irritated by my questions and my presence. Whatever, I still don't care about little stuff like that, but this leads to larger issues... We get our drinks and no silverware is to be found at our table. My guest didn't even get a straw or spoon to mix their coffee, but I got a straw for an orange juice? I gave them mine since I didn't need it. Our waitress then gives us our drink and tells us she needs to get someones food first so she leaves without taking our order. I watched her walk into kitchen, but never saw the food come out. In fact I saw her doing something back there a few times, but who knows what that was. Unfortunately, I didn't keep track of how much time we waited, but we never saw her again. I was smart enough to realize what kind of a disaster we had stepped into fairly quickly which leads us to the next event. I happen to overhear another waitress tell 2 customers she can "take your ticket, but it's going to be a 45 minute wait." I got concerned about how that can be with 10 people in the whole restaurant so I go look up the reviews and they did not disappoint. Wait times, quality, etc. I saw one review the company responded to, "Hope Matthews". They did not really read her post, because they posted some throw away thanks, but didn't address the dirty tables. I looked down at my table and realized it was covered in old hard syrup lol. I didn't notice it because of my jacket. Disgusted, I then saw "Kevin Davis's" blueberry pancake (the lack of blueberry sauce) review which really told me how to proceed. I got up and asked the table next to us how long they had been waiting. They said the appetizer they had finished took 22 minutes to receive and they still didn't have their entree. I laughed with them for a minute about our precarious situation and then proceeded to go back to my table to tell them we are going to the Original Pancake House here in town. Even though they cost more, at least I'm not sitting around wondering if I'm in an episode of the Twilight Zone or punk'd. As I was leaving I see a waitress come over to the table I just talked to and ask if they had received their silverware lol. We will not be coming back. This is a failure at every level conceivable. Cooks, staffing, and most importantly, management. If there is a manager here they need to be...

Feb. 2024 update: been over six years, and just checking in to say still have never been back to this or any other IHOP.

First off after we were seated we had to ask for two more sets of utensils since the booth that they just seated four of us at on had two, our waitress made up some lame excuse about how "Corporate" wants only two sets at the smaller booths and four at the larger booths. This means they seated four people at a booth that apparently "Corporate" thinks should only have two. Then the issue of service continues, we get our food and I'm told by the waitress that she'll be right back with my pancakes, I figured it was due to there not being enough room on the tray so no big deal right... wrong, I had to wait well over 15 minutes for the pancakes to show up which meant everyone else was done eating by the time I got the second half of my order. No apology about the time it took to get them either, it was one of the kitchen staff that brought them out and took off as quick as they could. How does it take that long for you to make pancakes, I've worked in kitchens before I know it doesn't take long to make two pancakes.

Speaking of food, how in the world can the INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES fail at making breakfast food???!! The sausage links and bacon were soggy, and when I did finally get my pancakes they weren't cooked all the way, they were still slightly runny in the middle... once again, International House of PANCAKES apparently can't make their namesake correctly.

The only other time we saw our waitress after she brought out the food (minus half of my order) was when she brought out the bill. It was then after the plates were empty (except for what wasn't all that edible) that she asked "how's the food tasting?"... when we did tell here she had some excuse about it being so busy... the place was half empty.

Last time I was here before today's visit was about two years ago, I keep forgetting why I haven't been to this IHOP in a long time, but sure enough they remind me why I try to stay away from a restaurant that specializes in breakfast food, but somehow manages to fail...

Tonight a friend and I decided to stop in at 11 P.M. As soon as we walked in, we got a negative vibe from our hostess. She asked if we wanted a booth or a table, I replied, "A booth please." and she looked at me funny. She then sat us and asked what we'd like to drink, I said coffee with creamer and had to remind her to bring me it after dropping off a coffee mug with no pitcher. Afterwards she apologized about her eyes being so bloodshot from being sick. I've been around enough parties in my life to know that she was insanely high after consistently forgetting things. Also, I do not judge drug users but if you show up to work on something, work like you're sober or don't work at all if it's going to negatively affect the business you work for. It's that simple. Finally after half an hour (The restaurant only had two other small parties in there) We got half our food. We both ordered Breakfast platters but never received pancakes. She never once stopped by again to ask for refills, my coffee was gone long before the food but hey, I'm a pretty patient guy and work in food so I get some nights, you're just behind on things. After 10 minutes of out food being done she asked if we wanted our pancakes to go, I replied, "No ma'am, I'd like them now." She scoffed and walked off. 20 more minutes went by and our pancakes arrived extremely hard and cold. We told her we're not paying for the pancakes but we will pay for what we ate. She replied okay and shrugged her shoulders at the cook and saying something under her breathe. After 20 more minutes of waiting for JUST our tickets so we could pay, we walked out because the woman who was suppose to get our ticket was standing at the computer the entire time gossiping with co-workers. I have never been so disrespected at a restaurant before. I will never return there. I hope if any of you choose to go will tread lightly and expect nothing good to come out of it. I've had bad experiences here before but enjoy the food too much to stop returning. I also hate writing reviews. This needed to be told. This was the worst experience I have ever had at any...