POP! Great Service with Personality

Take a moment and think about the last five experiences you have had at a 24 hour breakfast-type restaurant such as Denny's and IHOP.  If they are anything like mine, they are less than stellar.  Quick, impersonal and not memorable.  I'm happy to report my experience at IHOP today was quite the opposite and there is much to be learned from it.  It had what I like to call "POP," the Power of Personality.

We visited IHOP on Carrier Parkway and I-20 in Grand Prairie (I seem to write a lot about businesses in this area) and were impressed from the moment we pulled up.  We were greeted by Breecy, a tall server with glasses, with one of the most unique greetings I've heard in sometime: "Welcome to the International House of Pancakes (Yes... he said the actual name, rather than the abbreviation!), where we do indeed have pancakes and they are indeed international!"  All this with a smile and personality! We were instantly set into a great mood and commented how that was probably one of the nicest and most personable greetings we had received at any restaurant.  Great job, Breecy!

Rachael was our server and was very well put together.  She appeared like a server you'd see on a commercial for IHOP.  Professional, well dressed in full uniform, friendly, big smile, attentive and, again, personality! What a novel concept.  She took very good care of us, made suggestions on the menu and upsold us with sides.  Great job, Rachael!

The manager, Adam, was busy too.  We observed him making table visits, working the front desk, seating patrons and cleaning the front glass of the restaurant. He thanked us by name and asked us to come back.  We made sure to tell Adam what a great job he did and that it was by far the best experience we had ever had at IHOP. 

So, what's really happening here?  The pancakes, tables, coffee, environment and menus were all the same as any other experience at IHOP.  As a matter of fact, we visited Denny's on Feb. 28th and ordered an almost identical meal.  People were the big difference here.  Adam, if he was the one who did the hiring, did a fantastic job of choosing his staff.  This team was on it! The basic steps of service were in place and they went the extra mile to make it stand out.  Denny's yesterday also hit the basic steps of service but personalities were absolutely flat.  It was boring at best.  IHOP today was quite the opposite: A cheery, memorable experience that I'm sure to tell someone about.  Actually, I guess I just told all of you about it, and word of mouth is a powerful thing.

Preach the "Power of Personality" or POP to your employees.  That "POP" is an important part of making a memorable experience for your customers.  We will go out of our way to visit that IHOP location again.