Review: Applebees, Glasgow, Kentucky

Living rurally has its pros and cons, and I’m convinced that the pros certainly outweigh the cons. However, one of the cons is not having dine-in restaurant chains closer to where we live other than a handful of fast food. Since yesterday was a no-school day for my son, I decided to take him and my mom to Applebees, which was 84 miles round trip. We are a fan of Applebees and were happy to make the journey.

We arrived at Applebees in the middle of lunchtime, at 12:15 p.m. and a scan of the tables represented approximately 70% full. We were greeted by a nice young man who welcomed us, then taken over by an older woman who had the attitude that she could careless if we were there or not. We asked for a booth, which by her huffing while looking at what was available, it was clear that our request annoyed her in some way.

The nice young man seated us and said that our server would be with us shortly. After approximately 10 minutes and two trips to the bathroom (the car ride was long for mom), we still did not see sight of a server. In observing the tables immediately around us, the three (3) booths to our left were empty, and the two tables in front of us had finished their meals and were chatting.

After another 5 minutes, the older woman came over to our table and asked for our drink order. By this time, mom was asking for a drink every 2 minutes (she has Alzheimer’s and forgot that she just asked). It took another 7 minutes for us to get our drink order, which represents a 22 minute wait just to get our initial drinks.

Because we had so much time to wait prior to getting our drinks, we were ready to order our food. The server arrived at our table shortly after receiving the drinks and if she told us her name, I didn’t capture it and she wasn’t wearing a name tag. Mom and Spencer (my son) decided to order off the 2 for $20 menu. Spencer ordered the chicken tenders platter, mom wanted the Chicken Fettuccine Carbonara, and the boneless chicken wings as an appetizer. I decided on the Cowboy Burger, and order the Appetizer Sampler for the three of us to share. Hey, I have growing teenage son…he loves food!

The appetizers came out within a reasonable time and the server saw that my son’s drink needed to be refilled. The boneless chicken was scrumptious. The mozzarella sticks were crispy and the cheese was perfectly stringy. The Spinach & Artichoke Dip was hot and tasty. However, the Cheese Quesadillas were cold to the point that the cheese was not melted. I sat them aside and was not going to mention it since the rest of the appetizers were delicious. I had to remind the server to refill my son’s drink and by that time both mine and my mom’s drink needed refilling. Unfortunately our server never showed up with refills.

Again, the restaurant was not packed, and even if it was…having to wait and ask multiple times for refills is poor service.

The entrees also came out within a reasonable time. I asked the server who delivered the entrees for drink refills. Again, we waited approximately 5 minutes and no refills. At this time, the manager (Dustin) was walking by and I called out to him and asked if he was the manager. He acknowledged that he was and I shared with him my substandard service. Even though I was not going to originally mention the Cheese Quesadillas, I did when speaking with him.

The manager was gracious and took our drink order for refills. Our server then came to the table and asked me “is he getting your drinks or do I have to?” I was stunned and didn’t know what to say. I simply said to her “I’m not sure, perhaps you should go check.” A few minutes later, our server brought the drinks and made the excuse that they were busy. Dustin, the manager came over and gave me the same excuse, but then took it one step further and blamed that it was an election day. More about my thoughts on the excuses in a moment.

Dustin offered to bring out another order to Quesadillas, for which I was grateful, but not necessary as we were ready to leave. Mom was getting anxious. He did, however, remove the Appetizer Sampler from my bill. Again, I’m grateful and appreciated the jester.

Here’s my two cents on the slow service and the excuses made by both the server and the manager.

Stop insulting our intelligence and stop…please stop making excuses. Dustin, as the manager, you must set an example for your employees to follow. They see you making worthless excuses, they are going to do the same. It was obvious that half way through out meal, there were less patrons than when we first arrived, and still not full to capacity. Do not make excuses that you were “busy” as that tells me that the other patrons had priority over us. That’s simply poor business procedures by excuse making. An then to tell me that it was also an “election day”…sheesh, what does that have to do with anything.

The fact is, if you are too busy to handle your customers then perhaps revisiting your operating procedures is in order. There is absolutely no reason for a customer to have to wait for a refill, and then to make excuses of being too busy just adds salt to the wounds.

As mentioned in the beginning, we traveled 84 miles, round trip, to visit this Applebees, and it was disappointing in the level of service received.

Location:
Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar
100 Max Wagner Drive
Glasgow, KY 42141
Phone: (270) 678-3325
Manager: Dustin
Server: Not sure, but the name on the receipt is Carolyn H.

I invite you to share your idea of good and bad service. Please comment below.