What happens at IHOP does NOT stay at IHOP

On a beautiful Saturday morning, my friend and I, being the cool college kids that we are, stepped into an IHOP to carry out one of our favorite weekend rituals, eat pancakes and gossip. After our satisfying and delightful meal, we proudly presented to the waitress our coupons for a free Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘N Fruity, which are the results of our joining the Pancake Revolution by filling out a survey some weeks ago. The waitress took the coupons, but out came the manager. I will not describe his appearance here because I try not to judge a book by its cover. Let’s just say I would not trust him with my kids if I had any. He told us that he could only take one of our coupons because the other one, printed from the exact same email, did not have an image so he could not scan the bar code. All prejudice aside, he was making a reasonable claim. His voice, though, was filled with sentiments that I could not put a finger on but which felt demeaning to me. I told him I could show him that specific email right there with my phone. He refused to see it and said corporate policies forbade him from accepting the coupon and that he was not trying to argue with me. Huh? Weird. The defensive tone he used sounded a lot like arguing. Our very nice waitress later came back, apologized and complained about the manager being a jerk.

So on another beautiful Saturday morning, we venture into the same IHOP, determined to have that free Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘N Fruity and hoping not to run into the same manager again. But fate is funny in the way it works. Of course we get the same manager, who takes my coupon this time but refuses to take another one that my friend brought. His exact words were “my job is too important for me to do this for you guys”, said with contempt. So I get that a manager position at a respectable chain restaurant gives you the right to be snobby because college students are just so inferior that we are not worth your time? I shall not waste more words to describe this guy’s demeanor. I will just say it was distasteful.

I was too cool to let this customer experience ruin two beautiful Saturday mornings, so I told our waitress to tell him that we are going to Denny’s next time and never coming back. I know he’s probably crying in a dark corner right now for losing these fiercely loyal IHOP customers. The truth is this story is not about saving a couple of bucks; it’s not about how broke and cheap we are as college students; it’s not even about the bad karma this certain someone has managed to get himself into. It is very simple really. He should’ve been told this during his management training. No matter how insignificant or unreasonable your customers are, please at least pretend that you care about how they feel. Please be tactful in telling them things that they don’t want to hear. I almost wanted to write to the IHOP corporate headquarters and complain about the inflexibility.

I am a passionate consumer. I feel empowered spending my hard-earned money. All I ask for is to be valued for my loyalty. I dismissed the idea of going to Denny's years ago because they made bad omelets and that was unacceptable for an omelet-lover. But in the future, I dare say I am willing to put up with bad omelets for an enjoyable and peaceful Saturday morning. No, I do not want other customers to stare at me as you reject my coupon and as I try to talk sense into you with whatever I learned from negotiation class which obviously didn’t work.

There is a very old Chinese idiom that teaches business-doers that AMIABILITY BRINGS WEALTH. In reality, it seems like it’s easier said than done. But shouldn’t that be the cardinal rule for whoever wants to make some money? Honestly, I will hand you my wallet if you just make me feel warm and fuzzy all over. That is what consumerism is all about, in the simplest terms ,to make yourself feel good. I do not want to spend my money and end up feeling crummy, with a bad aftertaste.The bottom line is, I need to feel respected. My power as a consumer comes from the ample amount of alternatives that I have. I could very well never return to that restaurant. IHOP is probably filing Chapter 11 due to my absence.