My mom and stepdad are out of town on vacation right now. They asked if I would go over to their place a few times to check on things and water their trees.
So yesterday was the first day I was to go to their place. I got off work at 3, but I hadn't eaten lunch because I wasn't really hungry. I very rarely go out to eat, (of my own volition at least.) I really had a hankering for IHOP - Garden Stuffed Crepes.
Well, there was an IHOP on the way to my mom's. So, a little after 3 I stopped there and placed my order. The crepes comes with sauce on it, and I prefer to put it on myself. So, I asked for it on the side.
Therein ensued hilarity.
The cook on duty was a trainee. (And from overheard conversations, I don't think he spoke much English.) He didn't understand the abbreviation SOS (sauce on side.)
The first attempt, he made it correctly, except he used Nacho Cheese sauce and slathered it on. The second attempt, he made the crepes, but put the eggs on the side.
Finally, nearly 40 minutes after I placed my order, and with having one of the other employees standing guard over the cook, I received my meal.
My waitress was very apologetic. I let her know I wasn't annoyed and not in a big hurry, although was getting pretty hungry.
After I finished, she gave me my check. I was kind of expecting to be given a discount of some kind for my trouble. But there was none. It wasn't the waitresses fault, so I paid and left my normal tip, and left.
I suppose I could have kicked up a fuss and demanded a discount of some kind. But, I was just happy to have food in my stomach and be able to be on my way.
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One of the places my mom and stepdad stayed at so far during their vacation is a cabin outside of Gatlinburg, TN. The second day they were there, some people came and changed out their tv. The first tv was not working.
The night of the third day they went out to eat and to do some shopping. When they came back, they found out that their cabin had been robbed! There was no sign of forced entry, so they think it might have been the people who put the new tv in, or acquaintances.
The police told them that usually the theives just take the tv and leave the inhabitants belongings alone. But, I guess my mom's 6 year old *just* functioning laptop, along with a beautiful leather bag from a high-end store (Cachet) filled with various clothes, a number of pieces of her really good jewelery, and of course all their medications ... was just too good to pass up.
Luckily no one was hurt, and my mom and stepdad had all their identification and credit cards, etc. with them. My mom says that she should be able to come up with receipts for everything - which is good, because from my prior experience in dealing with theft loss, if you don't have a receipt, they don't believe you actually owned the item.
The one good thing of all this is that my mom has been wanting to upgrade her computer for a long time. So, even though she has lost 6 years worth of documents and other information that was stored on her laptop, she'll be able to start over with a new one.
What a thing to happen while on vacation. Ugh.
The Trainee Cook & An Inside Job?
August 12th, 2009 at 07:59 pm
August 12th, 2009 at 08:16 pm 1250108208
August 12th, 2009 at 08:19 pm 1250108376
August 12th, 2009 at 08:53 pm 1250110415
August 12th, 2009 at 09:08 pm 1250111289
I didn't send the food back, both times the guy who takes the food out to the customers caught that it was made wrong.
August 13th, 2009 at 02:25 am 1250130301
At the very least, IHOP should have given you a gift certificate for a free meal to entice you to give them another try. What a missed opportunity for them!
August 13th, 2009 at 03:24 am 1250133846
They actually did get a free night's stay, so that was something at least.
A gift certificate for a free meal! That would've been a smart idea!
August 13th, 2009 at 03:52 am 1250135522
I'm surprised you didn't get your meal on the house, just for your patience. I don't imagine the cook will last long. Paying for one person to cook and two to watch is not a money-making deal for the restaurant!