IHOP modernized training across its network of more than 1,700 franchised and company-operated restaurants. Team members gained confidence in suggestive selling, contributing to a 3% increase in attachment sales.
3% increase in attachment sales
98% of team members felt more motivated to upsell
95% liked this way of training
99% are committed to put what they’ve learned into practice
For nearly seven decades, IHOP has been at the center of family breakfasts, birthday traditions, road trip pit stops, and Sunday mornings spent together. Those moments happen all over the country, but guests expect the same IHOP experience every single time.
We spoke to Varun Amesur (VP, Restaurant Excellence), Michele Lange (Director of Learning & Development) and Maria Guerra (General Manager at a franchised IHOP restaurant) about modernizing training for IHOP, a legacy US brand.
For nearly 70 years, IHOP has brought people together over a meal. Across its network of more than 1,700 franchised and company-owned restaurants, one challenge remains constant: delivering a consistent, warm, and welcoming guest experience every day.
For Varun Amesur, the goal is simple. Every guest should leave feeling a genuine connection with the person who served them.
Michele Lange, IHOP’s Director of Learning & Development, sees it the same way.
“IHOP’s mission when it comes to guest experience is: How can we make sure that all of our team members treat our guests as their family and make those memorable connections?”
Creating those moments requires more than great food and service standards. It requires thousands of team members to consistently bring the brand to life in every guest interaction. At IHOP’s scale, training isn’t simply about onboarding. It’s how the company turns its hospitality standards into everyday behaviors.
“We have over 50,000 team members and it’s critically important we train these team members against the systems and standards that we want to deliver every day.” Varun Amesur VP, Restaurant Excellence
When Lange arrived at IHOP, most training was paper-based and supported by on-the-job learning. While it worked, the approach left too much to chance across a massive workforce and did not always match how employees preferred to learn.
At the same time, the menu was evolving, making it increasingly important for staff to understand the full range of offerings and guide guests toward choices that matched their preferences. As Amesur explains, great recommendations help guests get more from their visit while enabling servers to create more meaningful interactions.
Delivering great guest satisfaction requires confidence, product knowledge, and the ability to understand guests’ needs. Rather than learning these skills for the first time during a busy shift, IHOP recognized the opportunity to provide more consistent, modern training that helps team members build confidence and deliver exceptional guest experiences.
To address these challenges, IHOP partnered with Attensi to deliver interactive, game-based training built around learning by doing. Instead of simply reading training materials, team members engage with realistic restaurant scenarios and interact with virtual guest avatars who take them through different customer journeys.
“One of my priorities as the L&D leader was to figure out how we could modernize our training,” Lange explains.
The simulations give employees a safe space to practice and learn before applying those skills in a live restaurant environment. Team members can repeat scenarios, experiment with different approaches, and build confidence through experience.
For Lange, the approach reflects a simple belief: everyone learns differently. Real skill development comes from practice and repetition, not just completing training.
Team members can access the training wherever it fits into their day, whether on their phone, in the back office, or in between shifts.
The learning experience combines quick knowledge checks with interactive conversations featuring virtual avatars. Employees are guided through realistic guest interactions from start to finish, helping them build familiarity with both the menu and the customer experience. Because Lange’s L&D team creates and updates the content internally, the training can evolve alongside menu changes and business priorities.
What surprised Maria, a General Manager at a franchised IHOP restaurant, was how naturally the training sparked engagement. Team members began challenging one another, replaying modules, and competing to improve their scores.
“It helps the servers have better customer service. They get better at upselling, at talking to customers.”
That is where the approach proves its value. Through repetition and practice, new skills become habits, helping team members feel more confident and making guest interactions feel more natural.
“One thing I love about Attensi is that my team can create content quickly, and we have access to a wealth of data that can help build my team’s business case of why training is important.” Michele Lange Director of Learning & Development
Completion rates were never the goal. What mattered was whether training translated into behavior change and better performance in their restaurants.
With Attensi, IHOP has been able to connect learning activity to business outcomes. The company saw a:
Traditional on-the-job training remains a key part of development at IHOP. The difference today is that team members have an opportunity to practice and build confidence before they face those situations with real guests.
As the partnership continues, IHOP is expanding the use of Attensi beyond sales conversations and into soft-skill training.
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