Utterly un-shocked that this place has such a bad yelp review.
Simply put...customer service matters.
No one goes to Applebees because they want outstanding food. They go because its upscale fast food, they can sit and have a beer, and there are TVs. Appetizers are good anywhere you go, and grabbing a quick burger and fries is all any Applebees is ever really good for.
Walked into the smallest waiting area I've ever seen in a sit-down establishment. 4 couples ahead of me and my wife...wait time is 10-15 minutes. Not bad right?
10 minutes go by and none of the couples before us have been seated. 3 couples have come in behind us in the meantime, and guess what their wait time is? 10-15 minutes according to the seasoned champion they had working as a Hostess. I start looking around and see an ample amount of tables empty...I start wondering, why the hell am I still waiting to be seated?
The second hand strikes 12 as we entered minute 15, and a gaggle (real word...look it up) of employees decide to stop their entire evening to go do a birthday song...at Applebees. With a lobby full of customers waiting to be seated...
It's 2016, isn't it common knowledge by now that no one has a birthday at Applebees? They just tell their waitress that as a joke to publicly embarrass the people they are with.
Needless to say, we walked out.
What a joke! This place has permanently lost my patronage.