Insulted and Embarrassed by IHOP Employees

I am an IHOP waitress and I think that the manager behaved
inexcusably. Our guests should come first at all times. Who cares
about the restaurant's expense? He ordered food with the expectation
that it would be hot and it was not. It is our responsibility to meet
and exceed his expectation. (For the record, the cost of buttermilk
pancake batter is negligible. You would have "cost" the company more
by using their toilet paper and paper towels.) Also, there is NO such
thing as "goofy" eggs. In my IHOP we have 2 cooks who do nothing but
cook eggs all day. There is nothing a customer wants done to eggs
that we cannot do unless we don't have the ingredients. All in all,
that IHOP manager behaved shamefully and the gentleman posting
deserved better. As a waitress, I am horrified by the dolts they
recruit into management. *sigh*

I'd give IHOP the shaft if I were you....(in any rate, Waffle House is
way better!) :)

its too bad you were treated that way,that was pretty rude of him,and
the mistake should have been corrected without hassle. but in general,
its not nice to be bringing up competitors,no one wants to hear about
what "their competitors can do". its highly irritating,especially if
they have no control over what they themselves aren't able to do.

Wow. You are a jerk, aren't you? Hope you don't work with people.

That was very rude of the manager to try to make you feel ashamed
about not being satisfied with your order. I don't understand why you
didn't just start on the pancakes, but you're paying for it and it's
your call. It wasn't YOUR error, either. The restaurant messed it
up, they should fix it.

I guess I would have gotten up, left the uneaten meal on the table
walked to the cashier told that person (manager or not) that I was not
satisfied with the food or his/her attitude and therefore was not
going to eat their food nor pay for it.
If this manager pulls this "attitude" on the customer he gets some of
them to pay because they do not like a confrontation.
However...I am not one of those people...either give me what I order,
and if you cannot then if I choose I will order something else or
leave. But I would have NEVER paid for something I was not satisfied
with.

Is this letter about boorish and rude behavior of a manager, or about
eggs?

I bet a fresh jelly donut that he ordered them soft boiled.

You know what, I bet when the manager was being nasty about how you
like your eggs the other people were thinking what a jerk about HIM,
nothing about you. There's no need for you to be embarrassed, after
all, you aren't the one working at a restaurant who serves lots of
breakfast and can't cook a simple egg right! :)

IHop has gone down hill, fast.
Stick to Cracker Barrel it's soooo much yummier!!! *Drool*

I do agree the attitude of the manager seems a tad over the top, but I
wonder what made him react to something that's fairly common at any
pancake joint or diner? It's not like you kept returning order after
order and wasting a lot of food. I hope you get a reply, but I
wouldn't wait for a response from an executive.

They do have a contact us option on their website, that may help get a
response as well.

Here's what's worked for me in the past:
I've returned eggs and asked them to put the pancakes under the heat
lamp because, like you, I like my meals served hot and they've never
once declined.

It's not your fault. Eggs and pancakes are pretty much worthless at a
place like IHOP. I bet the profit from your beverage made up for their
loss.

The manager was out of line. They need to do everything they can to
satisfy the customer, not insult you and make comments about errors
made by staff in the back of the house.

as to how the eggs were requested. I know my father often orders his
over-medium, and occasionally either the server will mention that they
may not be exactly over-medium, or my father notes that they don't
have to be perfect.

That being said, I have two distinct opinions on this. The first
being, you did a good job notifying your server that your order was
incorrect, and both you and she did a good job of pushing until you
got the correct order. The second is that, while the manager was out
of line and no doubt could have been more tactful, it does seem like
you were a bit over-sensitive to his remarks.

I do think it's good that you're simply requesting an apology and
follow up with the "bad" manager, however, and not making with the
gimme grab. Overall, I'd say good letter, and toughen up.

Everyone is already wondering how the eggs were supposed to be made,
which was going to be my first question too. I agree, he should not
blame you, and if it were difficult for them to make that way,you
should have received an explanation/warning in advance that they may
not be able to make them to your liking.

I'm curious as to how you ordered your eggs. What is "not easy" about
cooking eggs for a breakfast joint? Poached? (Aren't poached eggs
used in eggs benedict?) So unless you asked for some very goofy eggs,
I think the manager was being a bit of a dink.

But I think you're making a federal case out of this. Why are you
hypersensitive about the manager telling you about the eggs? I
wouldn't be embarrassed in this case; I'd be annoyed.

And I'd have eaten my pancakes while I waited for replacement eggs,
even if it weren't my preference, just because they were there!
Yummmm pancakes!

the manager handled the situation properly to tell you what the error
cost IHOP or to blame the incident on how you ordered your eggs, I
have to say that I think you need to get a thicker skin.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent and this
manager's opinion shouldn't have mattered diddly squat to you. The
order was improper. End of discussion.

While I think your service was far from acceptable, you really need to
not be so hypersensitive if you plan to survive in modern society.

Robert B.,

It would have helped, at least me, to know how you wanted your eggs
cooked such as..OE, OM, OH, scrambled, soft boiled,hard boiled,
basted, shirred etc..

Unless the manager was yelling at you I can't see how other customers
would have gotten involved in this transaction.

However, if you say you were embarased so be it.

Stop back and let us know what you hear back from I.H.O.P..

Bill R.

I'm reserving comment until after I know how it is you order your
eggs.

However, I did make the comment at Subway yesterday, after a man
berated the worker for not heating up his sandwich for EXACTLY 8
seconds, as he had asked, that some people are so fussy about how
their food is prepared that they really should just stay home.

If you get your order right everywhere else, though, it should not
have been an issue with IHOP.