IHOP Frustrates Customers After Social Distancing Confusion Sparks Long Waits for Mother’s Day

IHOP may have painted a picture of what the rush to open following the coronavirus lockdown might look like for many. Mother’s Day brought many to the breakfast-themed restaurant to pick up orders curbside at restaurants around the country.

The restaurant even offered deals to customers to bring them in for a special family meal they could share at home with loved ones. The Pancake Creations Family Feast was advertised on the restaurant’s social media, and included a discount for a first online order at certain restaurants.

Sadly, it seems the result is a rush that IHOP didn’t anticipate and lines of angry customers not practicing social distancing as has been set by state and local governments. Photos and videos flooded Twitter and Instagram, while others opted to throw complaints on the company’s Facebook page after their own negative experience.

“Ordered curbside pick up on Mother’s Day for 10:30 am. There was no designated parking, called and was told they had 50 orders ahead of me, the staff only brought out 2 orders in 30 minutes. I went inside like everyone else who was trying to find out what was going on with their orders. The hostess had no mask or gloves on. There was no social distancing as the waiting area was packed and no one communicated with the customers of why such a blunder!” one Oklahoma-based customer wrote. “I finally got my order 50 minutes late. My food was cold, I got sausage links instead of bacon, no glazed strawberries or [cheesecake] bites for the pancakes and was left with no one who would fix the problem.”

“Awful start to [Mother’s day]. online order curbside pickup. 1 hour 15 minutes later we left. No food and out the money paid. Poor management prep in scheduling,” another added on the page.

The photos shared on social media captured some of the chaos described above, with very few satisfied customers along the way. With some states easing their lockdowns and social distancing guidelines soon, is there a disaster in the making?

For sure, Mother’s Day at IHOP fits that description. Scroll down to see some examples from around the United States.

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Many people complained about having to wait hours for their breakfast orders on Sunday.

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While others took time to either point out the stress on restaurant workers and the resentment many have for being targets when a situation is out of their control.

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And still, not all the issues were IHOP’s fault. While social distancing measures by the restaurant did seem lax, as you’ll see in later posts, customers and delivery people were not following them either.

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Then depending on the restaurant some visited, the staff on-site seemed to have different levels of service and preparedness.

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Some also raised questions about how long it was taking to prepare orders of breakfast food, including pancakes. This caused some comments questioning why anybody would wait so long for a food they could have prepared at home in that time.

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The most severe complaints were aimed at those working at different locations. While long waits are bound to happen under new circumstances, there is little excuse for ignoring any protective orders and guidelines for customers.

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