Secrets Applebee’s Doesn’t Want You To Know

Secrets Applebee’s Doesn’t Want You To Know

Secrets Applebee’s Doesn’t Want You To Know :Who doesn’t love going to Applebee’s with friends and coworkers for drinks and small plates?

It’s a great place to hang out and relax in a casual way, and they’ve built a huge business on how nice and approachable they are.

But, like most American organizations, they probably don’t want you to know some things. Let’s dive deep into some Applebee’s secrets that every fan should probably know.

Next time you’re looking for a tasty and wallet-friendly meal, remember Applebee’s menu prices for a satisfying choice.

Their sides might contain plastic

In 2012, author Tracie McMillan talked to The Fiscal Times. She talked about her new book, The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee’s, Farm Fields, and the Dinner Table.

She did some secret study, as the title suggests, and found out some interesting things, like what she will and won’t eat at Applebee’s.

She says she’ll just stick to things that come right off the grill because the way they make sides isn’t very efficient or consistent.

She uses broccoli as an example, saying that the florets are already cut and shouldn’t be taken out of the bag until right before the plate is served because they will start to stick together.

She says that since they are heated in the bag, the plastic tends to flake off. “So you’re sending out sides that have little flakes of plastic stuck to them,” she said. I would think it was salt if I were a diner.”

They’ve given up on trying to attract millennials

You might think that a business would try to stay current by attracting new customers, but not Applebee’s. Not really.

The Chicago Tribune wrote in 2017 about a strange turnabout in which Applebee’s president said he was giving up on the idea of changing the restaurant’s image to make it more modern and appealing to millennials.

John Cywinski said, “In hindsight, I think we may have tried too hard to bring in new guests.” Some of our friends just shook their heads and asked, “What happened to Applebee’s?”

That means they got rid of the new furniture and many of the new food items and brought back the old ones.

They also changed their minds about all-you-can-eat offers and two-for-twenty deals, bringing them back after getting rid of them.

In other words, they’re giving up on trying to impress millennials and going back to what Raymond James analyst Brian Vaccaro called “the roots of their business.”

Club Applebee’s is an (unofficial) thing, and it’s not family-friendly

Applebee’s is about as Middle American and family-friendly as a food chain can get, but at some Applebee’s, something completely different is going on.

The Houston Press says that the formal idea is harmless enough.

Club Bee’s Late Night was an idea where some restaurants would stay open a few hours later, give half-price starters, and be a safe and responsible location to have fun.

They let franchisees decide what to do with the idea. Some went the karaoke route, while others went the “girls covered in whip cream dancing on the bar” way.

Business Insider says that the Applebee’s in Florida are the craziest. They have blacklight parties and tell their customers to let loose, making it more like a bar than a place for families.

They were sued by a transgender hostess

A 2017 complaint alleges that one Applebee’s did not make its employees feel safe.

Danielle, a transgender waitress, was allegedly harassed at work, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit.

Danielle notified her general manager at least three times about the harassment, according to Lohud, and other concerned coworkers moved higher up the chain of command to have something done.

Danielle was dismissed on the same day the chain’s area director met with the store’s general manager “because she participated in a protected activity, namely speaking out against sex harassment,” according to the lawsuit.

Applebee’s abuse policy has caused problems before.

BizJournals covered Applebee’s 2014 EEOC case. The EEOC claimed in the case that a job-signing agreement was improper.

To work at Applebee’s, you had to agree not to sue for discrimination. That’s shady.

They fired a waitress amid a social media meltdown

Applebee’s was involved in a strange social media breakdown in 2013. RL Stollar, a writer and kid advocate, wrote about the whole fight on his blog.

It started when Pastor Alois Bell left a receipt with no tip and a note that said, “I give God 10%, so why do you get 18?”

Chelsea Welch, who works with the server who got the nasty note, put the receipt with the server’s signature on Reddit.

Welch was fired right away for breaking a customer’s privacy.

This led to thousands of comments, and some people pointed out that Applebee’s had technically done the same thing just days before when they posted a note from one of their customers, complete with their signature.

At roughly 3 a.m. the next morning, Applebee’s social media team commented on their status update, blocked people, erased unfavorable comments, and again replied with the same copy-and-pasted response.

Then, for some reason, the social media person started arguing with other protesters, and the internet watched with equal parts joy and horror as Applebee’s did what Stollar called “the exact definition of social media suicide.”

One Applebee’s franchisee hates Obamacare and threatened hiring freezes

In 2012, it was hard for Applebee’s to fix the damage done by an owner who went on a rant about Obamacare. ABC News says that Zane Tankel was the CEO of Apple-Metro, which ran 40 Applebee’s.

Tankel stated they wouldn’t build any more Applebee’s and wouldn’t recruit anyone who would cost them money after learning more about Obamacare.

Think Progress picked up his interview with Fox Business News. In response to rising costs, Tankel even threatened to start laying off workers.

By the time Applebee’s president Mike Archer made his comment public, people were already pushing for a boycott.

Tankel added “our franchisees remain committed to growing our business and providing opportunities for employees in the future.”

FAQs