Reader Jose wants to know what happened to all the hot fudge that was supposed to grace this excuse for an Applebees sundae…
Looks like Applebees in Lexington, VA doesn’t believe in truth in advertising. Compare the menu’s Hot Fudge Sundae shooter, which fills the glass and spills over the top, to the Sundae they served me, which barely fills half the cup. I guess I didn’t get my two dollar’s worth.
Beware diners, the inflation-powered Grocery Shrink Ray has escaped from store shelves and is now lurking in restaurant kitchens. It is destined to terrorize the masses until Ben Bernanke angrily rises in opposition after being served an equally disappointing dessert.
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Invisible brownie! All we need now is a lolcat.
Applebee’s doesn’t even have real cooks anymore. Everything is prepackaged and just re-heated in a microwave. You may as well buy frozen dinners at your grocery store and save yourselves tons of money. (Trust me, the frozen dinner will probably be better tasting.)
@Rachacha:
Sending it back “twice.” Did I miss something your story says it was sent back once.
@Rachacha: Exactly. Family-owned restaurant, staff horrified, crazy cook immediately fired and new steak flipped onto the grill. Couldn’t ask for better, right?
I think a conglomerate-owned restaurant would reward the finger-bleeding cook for “thinking outside the box”. Especially a cannibalistic conglomerate-owned one.
Why not just ask for some extra syrup so that you can do it yourself? Chances are, the waitress will just have a new one sent out, instead.
You can resolve these “issues” with tact.
Actually, with the size of digital cameras today its quite easy to slip one in your pocket in the morning….mine is about the same size as my cell phone so they share a pocket. Just as I carry a cell phone just in case I need it, I carry a camera in case I see something I’d like to take a picture of…doesn’t have to be to blog it…could be my dog does something funny, or my friends do something funny…well, you get the idea.
It appears to me that the real problem with the ice cream shooter is that the scoop of ice cream is too big. If the ice cream scoop was an appropriate size, it would have rested further down into the glass, smooshing the hot fudge in the bottom against the sides like in the picture. A smaller scoop would also have fixed the problem with the hot fudge dripping down the side…
Probably should have asked for more fudge. Most chain restaurants have pretty strict rules about how much topping employees are to put on entrees/deserts, so chances are that is as much as he was supposed to get, just not as pretty as he would have liked.
This is unacceptable.
That sucks. I’ve not noticed a whole lot of food in restaurants that looks like the pictures on the menu or in advertisements, but it looks like Applebee’s QC could kick it up a notch.
And honestly, it’s simply dumb luck for many of us that we were born into relatively good conditions. We can do our part through charitable contributions to help ease the suffering of people around the world; but saying that we shouldn’t complain about poor service here because people in Africa are eating dirt is ridiculous.
It’s called survival of the fittest for a reason: who knows, maybe one day Americans will get so fat that a natural rebalancing effect will come about and we will have to accept our fearsome dirt-eating African overlords.
Famous Dave’s & Chilis, all day baby!
@pinkbunnyslippers:
Because sending it back would not generate buzz.
Pic or no pic to compare the end product to, I can say that they screwed up on the pretense of common sense. Send it back on that note.
How do you folks even tell the difference between Applebees, Ruby Tuesday, Chilis, Fridays, Tchotchkes, etc.? I realize there are very limited options in some areas but surely there must be a locally owned family restaurant equivalent in some of these places?
@richcreamerybutter:
It’s the number of pieces of flair.
Does anyone realize exactly what they do to MAKE those pictures of food that look so mind bogglingly tantalizing that you JUST GOTTA have it? I mean bowls of cereal… that’s not milk in there sheppie! Burgers painted up to look like it was fresh off the grill and veggies spritzed with water to look fresh as nothing else.
Now I will admit, the gaping hole in that sundae compared to the pic was kinda o.O, but still could’ve been an honest mistake.
But expecting food to look as close to or identical to the pictures is asking for a lot for some items.
Not that you shouldn’t complain when there is something amiss… but try to keep that point in mind so you don’t come off as an ass when you’re being sincere.
@Sifl: I agree, to an extent, but there are some basic rules I would like to see. For instance:
- In the menu picture, the hot fudge is layered throughout the sundae. In the actual, it’s all plopped on top. The layering of hot fudge directly impacts the taste of the sundae, and if they advertise a layered sundae, I expect to get one.
- The obvious gap at the bottom of the acutal sundae pictured… poor, sloppy workmanship. Take pride in your work and pictures of your sloppy craftsmanship won’t end up on the web.
Just a few examples from this post. I see this all the time. It’s not that I expect the delivered product to look just as gorgeous as the ad; but having the same basic design and content elements would be a start.
@richcreamerybutter: Because Applebee’s is terrible and Ruby Tuesday is delicious (around here anyway)! My boyfriend and I had a great experience at RT a few weeks ago. The service was excellent and every dish we ordered was great.
I’ve eaten at Applebees twice. Quoth the Raven, nevermore.
I’ve also eaten at local restaurants where the service & food were subpar, and again the Raven speaks very well for me.
At one place, I ordered my eggs over-medium. I got one over easy, the other over-hard. The waitress and I both got a laugh out of that one.
I work at a mom-and-pop restaurant, and we treat both polite and rude complaints the same way, with one exception – we snarf about the rude ones. Corruption of the food is thought of and discussed (i.e. Tabasco sauce on something that a rudacious said was cold, horseradish instead of mayo,that kind of thing), but that is only to blow steam, we never actually do it. Sometimes complaints are the only way we find out that something is wrong, like the Sprite is out or someone accidentally put sugar in the salt shaker, things like that.
We do have people asking why our burgers don’t look like the one on the menu board. “Because ours is the real thing, and that one’s plastic.” Nuff said.
@chatterboxwriting: Agreed about Ruby Tuesday. Much better food, fresher salad bar, overall a better buy.
People still go to Applebee’s?
well, i wouldn’t call it a failure of service, but more of a failure in presentation by the cooks. seriously, its applebees, do you honestly expect them to plate things properly?
They stink because the servers make them, not the kitchen staff.
ZOMG!!! I KNOW! Like this one time I ordered a Whopper, and it looked nothing like the picture!!!! What gives???
Constructive criticisms, anyone? Just kidding
How about a survey of best/worst dine-in chains?
@ZukeZuke: I carry my DSLR everywhere I go. If something went wrong in a restaurant, I’d have no problem using it.
The last time we used it in a restaurant, however, was when something went very, very right.
As always, look to the Sopranos for wisdom:
“You [Americans] expect nothing bad ever to happen, when the rest of the world expects only bad to happen. And they’re not disappointed. . . . You have everything and still you complain. . . . You’ve got too much time to think about yourself.”
-Svetlana Kirilenko
The applebees in my town is actually pretty good. I always get the fiesta lime chicken, I’ve had it probably 100 times & I’ve only ever gotten one or two bad meals. Guess it really all depends where you live, we don’t have really any bad places here(Norman, OK).
Regarding the sundae- yeah I’d definitely send that back, it’s obvious it was very sloppily done. I hardly ever send stuff back, my food has to be VERY wrong for me to send it back but if I do I always ask very nicely & make it very clear that I do NOT blame anyone and I am NOT mad, but could they please fix it for me. And then I inspect it VERRRRY closely for spit, semen, and other rejectamenta when they bring it back, haha…
I’ve personally ordered this sundae shooter at a NJ restaurant and I must admit, it DID actually look like in the picture. I’d chalk this up to a rushed or inexperienced person making it. I’ve been to our local Applebees a number of times since it opened and have always found the experience pleasant enough to come back again and again. The staff is really nice, fast, and the food has always been good.
I have worked in resturants before and I know how busy sometimes places get on a Friday or Saturday night and sometimes things happen. If the kitchen is slammed I’m sure things aren’t going to come out perfect. If the server is slammed they may have forgotten about a desert if they are in the middle of taking another tables order.
Me personally I would have still ate the sundae and still paid for it. If you didn’t like the way it looked the first time you got it then don’t get it again espically if your just going to complain about it.
Note to customer: You’re at Applebee’s. Get over it.
I’m gonna send in my picture of a Big Mac tomorrow complaining that it doesn’t look like the picture.
@reallyoldpunk: Yeah, that statement is 100% untrue.
@glass: HHHHAHAHAHAHAH
My Applebee’s experiences have varied wildly. In the Applebee’s @ Colonial Park in Harrisburg, the food and service were always excellent. Where I am living now, the service is good, the food is only average at best. I think it really depends on how experienced the staff and management are at your particular dining location.
The aforementioned Applebee’s in Colonial Park opened wayyyyy back in the early 90′s. The Applebee’s where I live now, only opened about 6 months ago, and you can definitely tell the difference that experience brings to the table.
You know, they should outlaw pictures of food on menus and in advertising. Why? Because the real thing NEVER looks as good as the picture, NEVER. All those pictures are doctored. Pictures should be thought of as an “artist’s rendering.”
Besides, it’s a rule of thumb: “If there are pictures on the menu, then the quality of the meal isn’t going to be all that it could be.”
I would have just told them to bring it back, and to not bother bringing another. While they were doing that, I would’ve left too.
haha its awesome to see everyone getting pissed off watch the movie waiting its pretty bang on.
When I worked at Taco Bell, I had a customer complain the taco they received didn’t match the taco pictured on the menu board. I tried to apologize:
Me: “I’m sorry ma’am. That’s just the way the picture is on the board. We can’t make it like that. Would you like another?”
Customer: “Why are you calling me ma’am?”
Me: “Because it’s polite.”
Of course my customer is a ten year old boy who just looked like a little girl. That was 13 years ago, so I guess by now his balls have dropped down into his sack and he can grow hair on his face. I imagine by now he understands the picture never matches the food you get. And I wasn’t really sorry either. If he doesn’t like it, he can go eat somewhere else. Americans will continue to shop at Applebees and Taco Bell forever. Because it’s cheap and it tastes good and its usually fast. And nobody can reasonably expect to get haute cuisine when the featured entrée is 79 cents. When you want that, check your Zaget survey.
So it’s the customer’s fault for daring to be unhappy with their food because they didn’t eat at a hole in the wall restaurant, right?
IT DOES NOT MATTER THAT THEY DID NOT EAT AT A HOLE IN THE WALL. It matters that they are unhappy.
All you need to be concerned about is the immediate problem at hand. Lay off them for not eating at your favorite microscopic place.
There’s a reason why most of my friends and I refer to it as “CRapplebees”. At least once a year the “anti” crowd gets talked into a visit by the “pro” crowd, and both the food and service are so much worse than last time the “anti” side grows a little.
That said, you should never expect the food to look just like the picture. This is also true for Playboy models and Hotel Room brochures.
Related note: $2 for a sundae in a shotglass?!?!?! Feeling good in the neighborhood… indeed.
By the way all…
Every Sundae Shooter is like that. Its the difference in glasses that they use. The advirtise the nice (wide) shot glass, and then use a regular ol whiskey glass for the Shooters.
So this isnt really an injustice to one, its to anyone who orders a Shooter from Applebees.
Most of Applebees food is not even “cooked” on site, merely “heated”.
They have processing plants down in Texas and other states where they flash-freeze the cooked meals such as the ribs, and then ship them off to the stores where they are heated or sometimes just microwaved before being brought out to the customer.
Yep, you’re paying for someone to serve you a TV dinner.
yeah! and my big mac didnt look as good as the picture!!
@richcreamerybutter: How do you folks even tell the difference between Applebees, Ruby Tuesday, Chilis, Fridays, Tchotchkes, etc.?
Ruby Tuesday gives you e coli.
I don’t eat there anymore
Well, two dollars isnt bad for ice cream at a restaurant!! Even if it doesn’t come with any hot fudge. I usually side with the customer, but i’ve seen like $8 tiny crappy desserts at restaurants lately!
I have to admit that they have some good drinks at Applebee’s. I don’t eat the food though. I will go to the one my friend bartends at, but no others. You’d almost think they were a franchise with how different they are from one location to another. I won’t go to the one by my house ever again, though. Last time I went, the bartender made the wrong drink for me. Then she tried to make me take it anyhow, insisting that it tasted better than what I ordered. I told her I’d tried her drink before and didn’t like it. Then she said she’d give it to me for free (sweet, a free, nasty-tasting drink!). I declined and asked her to make what I’d ordered. She glared at me and actually started talking to another customer about me while I was sitting right there! Saying what she made was better anyhow, what I ordered was gross and no one liked it, some people are too hard to please even when you give them something for free, etc.
Applebees always has really small portions. I ordered a salad there once, thinking it would be a good size like what MiMi’s has. Nope. I was still hungry after eating it. I avoid Applebees.
It might be that I will just eat anything.. but from my experience, the food at my local Applebee’s isn’t so bad. I’ll just go in for happy hour for the half off appetizers. Sometimes the tortilla chips are kinda stale, but they never had a problem replacing them with fresh chips.
How petty! Why not complain about why a Big Mac never looks as good as it does on TV. Better yet, how many menu pictures can you say looks EXACTLY like the food you receive??