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  • Report: #182561

Complaint Review: IHOP

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  • Submitted: Tuesday, March 21, 2006
  • Last Posting: Wednesday, October 24, 2007
  • Reported By:san antonio Texas
IHOP
San Antonio Texas U.S.A.

IHOP SAN ANTONIO Ripoff IHOP is a terrible franchise to work for and customers should BEWARE San Antonio Texas


2Author 0Consumer 1Employee/Owner

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I have worked for two different San Antonio IHOP locations and would like to share my experiences with customers and employees/potential employees.

From the employment standpoint:
1.) The owner of the franchise ( he owns all SA resturaunts and those in Kerrville, and New Braunfels) is too cheap to provide workmans comp insurance to his employees.
2.) He takes 20 cents per out of your hourly wage to cover "meals" because he is too cheap to give up a 5 dollar meal for free.
3.) It is mandatory to work on Christmas Day ( you will be fired if you do not come in) and the owner is too cheap to pay his employees time and a half.
4.) Female cooks with more senority make less money then male cooks with less senority or experience, simply because they are female.
5.) People are injured all the time and there still are no bandages in the store I work in. The so-called first aid kit leaves much to be desired.

FROM A CUSTOMER STANDPOINT:
1.) There have been VERY POOR handwashing habits at BOTH IHOPS I have worked at.
2.) Silverware is rolled while dirty, drinks are poured in glasses that are not properly cleaned, and cooks serve food on dishes that they wipe off with their dirty aprons.
3.) I have personally witnessed employees cut or injure themselves and bleed, there are no bandages available to cover the wounds, so food is handled while a bleeding wound is covered with a paper towel. When this issue was brought to management's attention, management actually stated, "Oh well." To this date, THERE ARE NO BANDAGES IN THE FIRST AID KIT!
4.) IHOP'S unspoken policy is " the customer is always wrong." For example, if a customer wants to remove the tomatoes from an omlette and substitute mushrooms, there will be a charge. This is despite the fact that in a create your own omlette, tomatoes and mushrooms cost the same amount to add. There is no compromise with IHOP and when I have approached the manager with customer requests, he accuses me of trying to create my own menu.
5.) VERY FEW ITEMS AT IHOP ARE FRESH!!!! If you order omlettes or scambled eggs or egg whites, you will be recieving liguid egg batter, not real eggs. The pancake mix and waffle mix is from a box, the chicken fried steaks are frozen- not hand breaded. In fact, most everything on their lunch/dinner menu is frozen/pre-cooked. The pot roast is pre-cooked. For the ridiculous amount of money they charge for this food, consumers should know that the food they serve is a joke!

DO YOURSELVES AND YOUR FAMLIES A FAVOR- AVOID IHOP LIKE THE PLAUGE! DON'T EAT THERE AND DON'T ALLOW A FAMILY MEMBER TO WORK THERE!!! I am happy to say I will soon be a FORMER employee of this horrible company!

FED UP!!
San Antonio, Texas
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 3/21/2006 11:14:15 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/restaurants/ihop/ihop-san-antonio-ripoff-ihop-2x6f8.htm.

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2Author 0Consumer 1Employee/Owner
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#1 Ex-Employee

...And that is not all, oh yes, there is more!

AUTHOR: Chuushinkouki - San Antonio (U.S.A.)

Having been a member of the management team in several area stores for San Antonio, I am fully aware of some of the questionable business practices in the San Antonio IHOP Franchise.

For starters, when interviewing a prospective new hire, we are required to tell them that they are entitled to a $5.00 employee meal allowance... We are by no means allowed to make them aware that Mr. Hakim takes his generous 'allowance' back at the rate of twenty cents per hour that is worked.

Second, breaks are deducted from every employee who is working a given shift, even if a break was not taken... in the interest of 'managing labor cost'.

Third, any check that is 'walked out on' by a customer is the responsibility of that tables server to pay, or face termination, suspension or write up.

Fourth, the 'first aid' kits are anything but (they are usually empty). Cost of supplying these comes directly out of food cost bubget, which managers get a bonus for if they have 'managed' this cost effectively.

Finally, proper cleanliness practices are only enforced when the Corporate Representantive for the area is in town to do the quartelry inspections, which are prepared for always at the last minute because regular deep cleaning assignments are neglected in the interest of managing labor cost. Anything that involves a cost represents a higher bonus for the managers of the store provided they have 'managed' these costs effectively. The general rule we were expected to follow was "Bonus First" nothing else second, because only Mr Hakim's 'bottom line' is relevant and important. We are only the slaves that line his pockets with our hard work.

The basic unspoken policy to management teams is "If you do not do your job (according to Mr. Hakim's rules as well as his Director of Operations Michael Pullen), I will replace you with someone who will". If you play by these rules, not only are you equally as guilty, but also you can advance within the franchise... if you do not, you are not only 'let go', but also 'blacklisted' throughout San Antonio. They claim this blacklist does not exist, but I myself cannot get a salaried position to save my family, let alone save myself.

In closing, yes it is true... if you fail to work any holiday you are terminated immediately (and no, you do not get holiday pay or a thank you). The notices for this are posted in every break room, in every store, two weeks before every holiday. Employee handbooks describing proper policy are never issued as these also come out of food cost.
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#2 Update By Author

You hit the nail on the head!!

AUTHOR: Jennifer - San Antonio (U.S.A.)

Boy did you ever NAIL IHOP in THAT report! I've been away from that horrible company for over 2 years but the mistreatment I suffered ( and watched others suffer) is still fresh in my mind, as if it only hapened yesterday. Something you failed to mention ( and I did also in my original rebuttal) is that the cooks are ENCOURAGED to mistreat the servers with rude remarks when ther ask them for any little thing or ( GOD FORBID!!! ) mess up an order. IHOP employees are struggling to stay afloat and servers make 2.13... no wait... LESS THAN THAT after the mandatory 20 cents and hour deduction... WHILE RAMSEY HAKIM DRIVES AROUND IN A M-FIN BENTLEY!!!! Talk about SHADY... and Jason Felton was still allowed to work for the company after he was proved to be SEXUALLY HARASSING FEMALE EMPLOYEES.

In short... people TAKE NOTES!! DON'T WOR FOR THIS SHADY COMPANY RUN MY A MIDDLE EASTERNER!
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