Free Pancakes? Really Free?

I will be the first to admit when I see the word FREE I’m usually taken back and will make the statement that nothing is free and ultimately someone had to pay! Yesterday, we stormed IHOP for free pancakes with 40 starved individuals.  I knew that it would be crowded and that having a group of too many would take a lot of time to be seated. As usual I was impressed with how well this overrun IHOP did considering the restaurant was packed to capacity.

One of our teens asked why we did this? I responded with my life is an adventure statement and said after the fact that wasn’t it fun being packed in the IHOP while it was raining in Phoenix. (Especially since it never rains.) It was so much fun watching a few of our little guys and gals actually eat all of their pancakes. This wasn’t a highly spiritual or enlightening experience but just the pure joy of eating something hot where butter actually melts on top and one of the kids figured out they would bring free whip cream. So, after the first little cup another 20 come out.

I was appreciative of the fact that a few of my college interns took the initiative to do a little damage control after we were leaving. There were humungous piles of trash scattered over the 7 tables we occupied during our 30 minutes of gorging. I was shocked to get a bill that had 40 orders rung up but with 0000 next to each one. I had already been informed or put on alert by my wife that I had better leave an incredible tip. So, I hope that our $50 tip showed how thankful we were for the great service and willingness of IHOP to allow our group to enjoy some pancakes on them.

I know that IHOP dished out a lot of pancakes yesterday but ultimately promoted a spirit of kindness and generosity that did make an impact on our group.

THANK IHOP!!