I've had two really bad experiences at two separate IHOP restaurants. They actually happened several months ago, but I was thinking about them and decided to share...

The first happened at the IHOP on I-240 and... Santa Fe, I think? My girlfriend had gone there to eat for lunch one day. We sat down and the waitress came and got our drink orders, and we ordered an appetizer: the mozzarella sticks.

We waited a little while and we got our mozzarella sticks, and gave our food orders, but we didn't get out drinks. We also didn't get marinara sauce with the cheese sticks. When we finally got our food, which took a while, we told our waitress we needed our drinks and marinara sauce. We waited a while longer, got our drinks (which I believe were wrong), but no marinara sauce. We asked for the manager and told him about it. He gave us half off and apologized.

That one wasn't so bad, because the waitress was just obviously very inexperienced. It shouldn't have happened, but I don't think it would happen again, hopefully.

The next experience was pretty bad, though. This one was the IHOP near the Wal*Mart in Moore. It was pretty late and I had just come from Wal*Mart after buying my Wii. My girlfriend was with me this time, too.

We walked in and were sat down, unfortunately near a group of high schoolers taking up several tables. We looked at our menus and decided what we wanted and waited for someone to take our drinks orders.

And waited.

And waited. And decided what we wanted to eat, but still waited.

We noticed another couple got sat down at a table across from us. Someone came to take their drinks orders, but still we waited. We decided that if the other people got their drinks we could just leave. Those people got their drinks, so we left. I suppose they assumed we were part of the group of high schoolers and had already been helped, but that doesn't excuse them ignoring us.

I wish that I had told someone that I was leaving and why, just to let them know they lost a couple of paying customers that night...

Anyway, suffice to say we try to avoid IHOP when we can.

I agree that you should have flagged down a waitress, manager, someone, to let them know you were not receiving great service. Unfortunately, you left upset and they have no idea why. I always try to let the waitress, manager, whomever, know about concerns I might have IN THE MOST POLITE WAY (you never know what might be going on with them...maybe they are just having a really bad day) It usually ends up great in the end...if you were to voice your concerns and still no satisfaction, I would then probably decide not to return. IMO....you might try again. IHOP has such great pancakes, and they're cheap

There are several things to take into account here.

But first of all I completely sympathize with your experience. I must say I have never been to either of the IHOP locations you're talking about but I've frequented 3 others in the metro; each with their own experiences.

One thing to remember when going to IHOP: NEVER expect to skip in and out of there. It almost ALWAYS takes a long time.

...That's why when I go, I get coffee (plenty of time to enjoy refils), and if I can, I take a laptop so I can screw around on the internet while I'm waiting. It's also a place to go if you've got a group of friends bored and hungry.

HOWEVER, this brings us to the next point. You should NEVER be ignored after entering a restaurant. I don't care how inexperienced the waiter/waitress is!

Drinks should be hot, fresh, and FAST!

But I've experienced neglected service before as well. Particularly, the IHOP on Meridian (off I-40) has HORRIBLE service and the manager isn't afraid to scream the f-word or the G-D variety of profanity at ANY GIVEN TIME!!!

I was very offended and angered on SEVERAL occasions at the Meridian IHOP!

However, I've had good experiences (and quick service) at the Bricktown IHOP. The help was fun, fast, and it was LATE! (1 or 2 in the morning)

Finally, I've eaten at the IHOP across the street from UCO in Edmond several times. Each time was different. I've had sloppy service, good service, quick food, cold food, but ALWAYS busy atmosphere! It's usually full of college students, but hey, that's better than High School students by a long shot!

So there you have it. My IHOPping from around the Metro. Incidentally, a LOT of restaurants on the south side carry the stigma of bad service! I don't know if it's a reflection of the populace or what, but it's something I continue to hear time and time again.