Applebee's COMPLAINT!!

I have posted this on my twitter and my facebook and I will let all the boards here know.  If it just stops a few people at a time from giving their money away to this sorry excuse for a restaurant I will be happy.

My husband and I went in a few weeks ago then I wrote them to complain and NEVER heard a single thing back from them (outside of the we got your email notice)  First of all, the hostess and another employee was making FUN of a woman ahead of us.  She was a large woman and had trouble walking so they decided this deserved ridicule.  Then, as I looked over the menu I decided there was almost nothing I could eat so I wondered what the children's menu looked like.  When asked to see one I was refused!!  She told me they were wrapped in crayons and made just for the kids.  She said, what - do you have a small appetitie today??  We were tired, had been at the college for a long time talking to an advisor, it was late and we still had more to do as well as pick our daughter up yet.  I was not in the mood to argue.  AND I did have my card, but as far as I am concerned I do not need to expose my personal journey with the waitress..she should just do what I ask...everything that I ask!!  I decided to order a chicken with pasta dish and take the rest home.  I asked for her not to bring the bread with it.  Guess what came out.  She was annoyed I asked for a fork that was not dirty.  Let me be clear--it was a Wednesday at 6:30pm and she had maybe 2 tables...it was dead in there.  

When I came home I wrote to the company.  I asked that the employees be informed to not deny people a children's menu as there may be MANY reasons why someone asks for one and I should not have to explain it to anyone.  I also decided to tell them they may want to add a no suagr added dessert to the menu for the diabetic and bariatric patrons.  I cannot beleive I never heard back from anyone!!  I am going to write them another email and complain about that- but I don't expect to get anywhere and I Will never set foot in their restaurant again! 

Hi Sandra - sorry to hear you had such a lousy experience at an Applebee's - I don't know where Fleetwood is? Where was the Applebee's you visited? Only asking because I know that most (if not all) Applebee's are franchised so writing to an 'Applebee's' website may not produce the results you need or want.

I know there is a company called The Rose Group in Bucks County that owns multiple Applebee's in the Pennsylvania/New Jersey/Delaware area. If you think the restaurant you visited falls into this group you can probably Google The Rose Group and get their mailing address or e-mail or website and post something on there asking if that particular Applebee's is owned by them. And if not do they know who does own them.

I'm not a huge fan of that chain myself because they do have so few WLS friendly items on their menu, but I do believe that with the restaurant business being down in this economy like everything else that they would be bending over backwards to acknowledge your letter and do something about it.

The behavior of the hostess and employee is totally unacceptable and they should both be reprimanded or fired.

And just as an FYI most children's menus are NOT WLS friendly, either - they usually consist of hot dogs, macc & cheese, pizza, fries, etc. If a restaurant has a 55+ menu I always ask to order from that (even tho I'm not 55 yet) because the portions are smaller and I've never had a problem. And if they don't have either just ask for a 'to-go' box up front and put 1/2 of what you get in that to take home.

Good luck - I hope this helps a little.

Not to rock the boat, but most restaurants I go to, including the Applebee's near me, have kids menu's for 12 and under only. And restaurants do not have to accept the "card" some surgeons give patients.

It is our choice to have the surgery. It is our choice to limit the size our stomach's will allow. I do not think it is a restaurants responsibility to change thier rules for WLS patients.

I order a regular meal, and take home wht I cannot eat for future meals.

Now as far as dirty silverware, or being rude about another person's looks is uncalled for. And I will agree with you there.

I am just one of the few who do not believe in the "I'm entitled to order children's menu items", or expect a card to get me special privilages. Just my opinion.

Jo- well put. I couldn't have said that any better!  Why would anyone want to order off the kids menu anyway??? 

Hijack!  Love your new avatar, JoJo!

Sandra,

When I was early out in my WLS journey, I made the mistake of thinking that Applebees might be a WLS-friendly place because they had a Weigh****chers section on the menu.  I tried TWICE... was told it was company policy NOT TO DISCLOSE ingredients (couldn't tell me if a soup contained sugar) OR nutritional information.  When I asked how they handled food allergies, they pointed me to a tiny disclaimer on the menu - I forget exactly what the wording is, but it basically says "if you have food allergies, dine at your own risk."

I checked their corporate website and found the same info when I got home, so I know it wasn't just bull from a lazy employee. 

I wrote Applebees corporate HQ, letting them know about my experience and pointing out that while my family typically had anythwere from 5 - 9 people dining with them on a weekly basis for years, we would no longer be patronizing their establishments due to this policy.  I've never had a reply.  Let's you know how much they care.    If they can't care enough about me as a paying customer to disclose potentially dangerous (to me) ingredients upon request, then I don't care enough about their corporate welfare to continue giving them my money.  Period.

Karen

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-fast-food-chain s-restaurants_c-Y2lkPTIxJmJpZD0zOCZzaWQ9LTE.html

We stopped eating at Applebee's several years ago, for various reasons.  In general, we were usually disappointed with the quality of our food.  But we tried again 2 years ago and got the same lousy results.   My beau complained (not sure if it was via their web site or phone), and we actually got a letter and coupon.  The letter was from the Rose Group that Kathy mentioned.  We didn't realize it was good only at certain restaurants and ended up going to one outside that group.  To our surprise, the restaurant we went to accepted the coupon!  We haven't been back to Applebee's since that time.  We've talked about going---I think there's a new CEO, and we're hoping she improves the chain.  But if they have no WLS-friendly meals, we won't be in a hurry to go there.  Extremely poor business practice if they won't disclose ingredients.

I've looked at kids menus and found them to not be WLS-friendly foods.  I generally order something from the regular menu and bring most of it home.  I've explained my situation to wait staff in several restaurants and have found them to be extremely accomodating and helpful.  I have a restaurant card from my surgeon but have not used it.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience at Applebee's, but I have to say I'm not surprised, given our experiences with them.

Julia

99 Restaurant has some bariatric friendly things on their kids menu- there is a steak and grilled chicken teriyaiki and they have good choices for sides. 

Recently I was out in western PA and went to Eat n Park, they have a section on their menu that is called Smaller Portions- for breakfast, lunch and dinner, several things on their regular menu but just a "smaller" portion (1 piece of fish vs 2 pieces...)

True, some places do have good options.  Texas Roadhouse has steak on their kids menu.  One is sirloin tips, which I've ordered, and they also have a small steak.