It's a Thursday late morning and I'm shocked as I get shown to my seat just how busy IHOP actually is. I realize that it just opened on Saturday and my friends I'm living with were overly stoked about the grand opening and often drove by to check the status of the switch from village inn to IHOP, but still it's IHOP. I had a relatively sleepless night the night before and at 4:00 am was craving hash browns and bacon. I almost got out of bed and went to IHOP then, but I told myself to turn over and try one last time to sleep and if 4:30 came that I would then go to IHOP and miraculously sleep came.
Hours later I was now at IHOP still craving hash browns and bacon being seated at a table of four. It seemed a little hectic so I chose the inside seat to avoid people brushing past and started my observations as I sat looking at the menu. Conveniently, I was seated by the kitchen and was at a prime location for watching the inner workings day 6 of IHOP being open.
The lady nearby is who I only can assume is the manager or the owner of the new IHOP. She stood there overlooking what was going on and appeared to be doing nothing at all. After several minutes of watching workers go in and out and trying to remember what table matched which number, she noticed that I was sitting there unattended and asked me if someone had come over yet at all. I replied no and told her I was in no rush. She got me a drink--apple juice of course for me--and apologized and said someone would be right over.
My waitress came by and looked slightly frazzled but managed to get the order taken down and I resumed my people watching. After a min I noticed that those in black shirts were from some other IHOP and were training those in the normal IHOP attire. Same with those in red but I'm not sure what distinguished the reds from the blacks, except that the trainers in red stood and watched and the trainers in black walked around and fixed things.
The manager asked who had just given her money and one server pointed to another girl who came over and said that she had given her the money and it was from table....uh....that one over there with the two ladies...table 48. To which the other server said "no that's table...40, 41, 42, 43." It took them a good minute and half to resolve whose money that was and what bill it came with.
Moments later a male server walked up to the manager and asked if she had change for $100--which she did not. He walked around in the small area trying to locate the "cash register" man and came back moments later and asked one of the trainers in a red shirt who was just standing if she had change for a $100--which she did not. He mumbled under his breathe that he couldn't find so and so and didn't know what to do. He disappeared momentarily and came back asking yet another person if they had change for $100. The result was the same and once again he expressed his frustration to no one in particular that so and so who is supposed to have the money wasn't where he was supposed to be and what was he supposed to do.
At this time I see my plate of food walk right past me and the deliverer trying to locate where in the world is this plate of food is supposed to go. He turns around and rushes back towards the kitchen and I am about to say something, but he starts talking to the manager and in angst says he doesn't know where this food goes. The manager tells him to find out who put the order in and then they can find out where it went. He disappears with my food and I see my waitress half walk out of the kitchen and then back in and saying to the man holding my food...the one right there and half pointing in my direction. He comes out and seems slightly embarrassed that I witnessed the entire event of him not knowing where the food went when it was right in front of him and stammers a small apology of "sorry ma'am" and presents my food to me.
The bacon looks amazing and I dive in for my bacon and devour it in a matter of probably a minute...which should astound no one as I have a habit of eating rapidly that according to my brother-in-law could prevent second dates for me. My waitress comes walking by and stops on her way to her next spot to see how my food is. I tell her it's great and she just stares at my food trying to figure out if that is what I got. After a moment of her staring and tallying what's on my plate I reassure her that the order is correct and she questions if they forgot the bacon. To which I have to reply that I already consumed it all.
I'm eating my hash browns...which taste particularly good today and a man who is a trainer in red--who decided that the best spot for him to stand would be right behind my seat to observe whatever he was supposed to be observing--asks me how my food is. "Good" I respond. "You've probably had about ten people ask you I'm sure you just want to be left alone to enjoy your food," he apologized. Which is true, I had been asked by multiple people if I enjoyed my food or if I needed anything else as there were at least five people who were standing right near my table "over-seeing" what was going on.
Amoung all of this I was not irritated in the least. I could have been. On many days I would have been. They took forever to get my syrup, missed getting my drink rapidly and managed to forget I was there until the manager found me observing the mayhem. I could have been disgusted that they almost lost a customers payment, that they didn't have the slightest idea what table was which number, that no one had change for $100 for the poor server who was trying so desparately to get the change needed, or that it was entirely obvious that no one knew how to use the computer to make payments, including the manager and it would have been easy to decide never to come back to IHOP. I was, however, in absolutely no rush that day and had been in a house sick all by myself for multiple days and was enjoying being around people again and it was a great break from watching people on t.v. So instead of being annoyed and irritated with the circumstances all I found was pure humor and was delighted that I had craved hash browns and bacon at 4:00 that morning and decided that visiting IHOP on the 6th opening day was a good plan.
So thank you IHOP for allowing me to be an outsider with an insiders view on a day when I really needed some good humor.
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