In the wake of discrimination allegations at the International House of Pancakes, a store manager has been put on leave and employees will be re-trained on corporate policy. Since three-year-old William doesn’t have any arms, he uses his feet to feed himself, a technique he was taught in therapy. No restaurant had ever had a problem with this different approach to eating, so when the Arkansas toddler voiced a desire for pancakes on Saturday, his mother, Alexis Bancroft, took him to their local IHOP. Unfortunately, William didn’t get his pancakes.
His mom said the general manager told her he could not sit on the table and touch the syrup containers because it was a health department issue.
"When we got there, I carried him in, took him to the bathroom and washed his feet so he could eat," Bancroft said. "I asked her, 'Do you ask all of your customers if they washed their hands before they touch them [syrup containers]?'"
Bancroft said the manager later apologized, but the damage was already done.
"She was the one who discriminated against my son for having a physical disability," she said.
The family got up and left without paying for their drinks.
In a viral Facebook post that is either deleted or privatized, Bancroft told her story, thanking the bystanders who took a stance in support of William’s different abilities.
There were "lots of words passed back and forth," Bancroft wrote on Facebook, and some employees began to talk about her son.
In her interview with KARK, Bancroft said that the manager eventually apologized — but her family still left the IHOP and refused to pay for their drinks.
Some other customers who saw what happened stood up for her son, Bancroft wrote on Facebook, including a veteran and two women who left with the family as a show of support.
Bancroft wrote on Facebook that those customers left their food on the table. She also thanked "the family with the baseball players who when asked if the kids washed there (sic) hands and they replied no the dad passed the syrup around for every kid to touch the syrup!"
The ubiquitous hotcake chain responded swiftly, announcing that the manager had been placed on leave, and that the franchisee was working both to smooth things over with Bancroft and to better educate its employees at that location.
Sources told KARK that the manager is on leave.
IHOP also issued a statement, apologizing and saying it would retrain its team.
"IHOP and our franchisees do not tolerate actions that are or allude to discrimination of any type. The franchisee at this location has been in touch with the guest to express his sincerest apologies and will continue to be in communication with her to resolve the issue. Additionally, the franchise will also retrain his team members to ensure IHOP's level of service, particularly regarding guests with disabilities, is provided to all. For 60 years, IHOP and our franchisees have strived to create a warm and hospitable dining experience for all guests, and this incident is not reflective of that ongoing commitment."
After being embarrassed at the restaurant, Bancroft reports that William temporarily refused to eat in the only manner he knew.
Even if an apology was given, Bancroft said the encounter left William feeling self-conscious about the way he's eaten for his entire life.
"Apologizing, saying it wasn't intentional, but my son can't get that back," Bancroft told KARK. "The very next day, he didn't want to sit on the table to eat. He wanted to sit in a chair, which he can't really do."
Thankfully, William is now back in his groove, embracing the abilities he has.