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| - I don't like writing this, because Wife and I have been going to this Applebee's (44th Street and Thomas Road in Phoenix, AZ) since it opened. Came to know a number of servers more or less personally over the years; always had decent service, and the food -- while not exactly gourmet quality -- was at least serviceable and tasty.
The most recent manager there that we knew was Neill Courtney. Ran a tight ship: the place was spotless, food was really good (even with the B Team in the kitchen), service was great. Then Neill left last November, got married, and went back to the UK to open his own pub.
A month later, Applebee's had deteriorated. Carpets were messy, men's restroom needed cleaning, food was inferior, service was spotty. Manager was chatty, though, and acknowledged that Things Would Be Done.
We decided this evening (1/18/18) to give it another try. Bad move. First, the server got Wife's order wrong, and brought the higher priced item. When she pointed this out to him, he blamed her; said we'd have to pay full price anyway. Strike One.
We asked to speak to the manager; he never showed. Strike Two. (To be fair, the bill was slightly -- very slightly -- adjusted later.)
I ordered the Steak and Grains, a favorite that's usually served with a little light gravy. What I was served was close to steak soup; all the ingredients swimming about loosely in a gravy pond. Strike Three.
Finally, I ordered coffee. They served the coffee and a knife. A KNIFE?? The server said, "That's your stirrer," and walked off. There's no Strike Four, but there should be.
That's the end of Applebee's at this location, as far as we're concerned. There are a whole bunch of interesting new restaurants recently opened in the area. I'm sure they'll be just as happy to take our dollars.
PS: Marcus, formerly a server and now a bartender, is the one bright spot. He's great, as always.
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