The Devil is in the Details, Applebee's

A new Applebee's just opened in Port Chester, NY. My parents and
sister and I figured we'd give it a try for a quick, casual lunch.

OK, first of all, let me state that I am all for diversity in the
workplace and in the USA. But the love of God, if you are going to
work in the service industry in the United States, PLEASE learn to
speak English. OR here's a message to Managers - please make sure the
waitstaff you hire speaks English. Our waiter could not understand
anything we said. We literally had to point to the photos on the menu
in order for him to understand what we each wanted to order.

Once we got past the language barrier and placed our orders, about 45
minutes went by and we still did not have our food. We asked the
waiter about the status of the food and he had to get the Manager to
speak to us because he had no idea what we were saying. The Manager
said "I'm so sorry! i'll look into right away." He was very nice and
seemed concerned, however he disappeared and seemed to have forgotton
about our question.

Long story short - we finally got our food. My sister, who ordered an
item from the Weight Watcher's section of the menu did not get her
food. They said they'd look into where it is. We were finally told
that since the establishment was new, the kitchen did know how to make
the Weight Watchers entrees yet. That is crazy! All we could do was
laugh. The Manager suggested she order something else, which she did,
and she was not charged for her lunch, which was nice on Applebee's
part.

But come on! You should know how to make ALL the offerings on a menu
BEFORE you open the restaurant!

I will not go back there any time soon, that's for sure.

Don:
You said you have a good rapport with all the servers. There is
absolutely no way I believe that. There is no reason for you to keep
going to Applebees if you are having this many "problems." When you
walk in, the whole staff probably scrambles. I'm not intending to be
harsh, but servers, bartenders, and managers cannot stand customers
who always have something to complain about. They probably just humor
you until you leave. I imagine the servers fight over who has to take
your table. Why don't you just stop going if it's so bad? I know I
am very hesitant to send something back to the kitchen. I definately
would not do so if I was a regular. Have you ever seen Waiting?

If the devil is in the details, where the hell is God? In the walk-in
cooler?

All these complaints over several times....

Why do you still go?

One of the big news shows, I think maybe 20/20, did a bit over the
summer about how much bacteria is on a the lemon wedge that comes with
iced tea, water, etc. This is due to lemons being cut on cutting
boards used to cut raw poultry, not being washed before being cut,
etc.

Because of this, many people have started to request that they not
have a lemon wedge with their drink. Many places I have been have the
server ASK if you would like a lemon wedge when you order, but maybe
in this store they've had so many people refuse the lemon wedge that
they just leave them off now, or only provide them at the customer's
request.

Just some 'food for thought' - LOL.

applebees is so gross!!! they microwave all their foodits like eating
a very expensive tv dinner.

Sounds like this place just aims for mediocrity and they are happy
with that. It doesn't seem like you can expect much. Just curious why
anyone would continue eating there when they can be pretty sure what
to expect. If things aren't getting better they probably won't.

Don,

I don't know how fast Applebee's responds to letters from this site.
Earlier this morning I shared an observation with their corporate
office via their site about an experience Friday night (11/14). Within
2 hours the store General Manager used all three of my contact methods
to track me down and speak with me.

I am pleased that he took the time to follow-up.

If you have not heard back yet you might copy paste your letter into
their site.

BillR.

I realize this is a "regular" but isn't this just a rehash of previous
complaints you've made to Applebees? I distinctly remember you
writing about the quality of the focaccia bread before.

Perhaps its time for you to find a new place to eat.

Good letter. But you know... mediocre food seems to be the norm at
Applebee's. Don't even bother with a Long Island iced tea--bland, and
corporate policy limits it to two ounces of liquor (when it should be
at four to five full shots of booze)--they don't mention in the
description that they're so weak, you could safely drive home after
three of them.

I was going to get burgers from Applebee's carside service tonight on
my way home. But now I think I'll get Papa Murphy's pizza instead.

Thanks for changing my mind. ;)

Although I agree with most of your letter, as an ex-Crapplebee's
bartender, I do take exception to the part about the bartender and the
lemon. It is the SERVER'S job to put the lemon on the drink. The
bartender makes the drink, the server uses prepared garnishes to
enhance/deocorate the drink.

As a side note, you sound like every server's nightmare. A picky
person, bent on complaining about everything. When waitstaff sees
people known as habitual whiners come through the door, a mad scramble
is made NOT to have to wait on that table. Just food for thought.

Good letter and I hope they actually respond.

I doubt the quality (not to mention the totally dismal menu) of
Crapplebee's is really ever going to improve that much but hoping it
does.