Applebee's reviews and complaints 1
View all 581 complaintsApplebee's - dehumanization of staff
I have worked for applebees in Merritt Island. Our store was one of the highest grossing stores in central florida. Recently, Creative Restaurant Concepts bought out our franchise. Before they did, we had a productive, happy staff, and got along well with management. Most of our customers are local and we stay busy even on a strip with lots of competition. Then came the dehumanization... and lies... and inconsistency... and firings... and threats... and employee walkouts. Even our customers notice the huge drop in morale. The other restaurant employees in the area who work at places like TGIFridays, Chilis, Carrabbas, Outback, Olive Garden and Red Lobster...all corporate restaurants... have blackballed our restaurant as a place to seek employment because of what their friends who work at our Applebees have told them about the new Gestapo... er owners. Our managers have gotten beaten up mentally and verbally by new ownership daily. We all lost any accrued vacation pay, all took a paycut... in my case about $1500 a year, managers 5-10K, bartenders about $2500 a year and are treated like children and robots by management... who is being treated the same by their new bosses... trickle down effect. We took a schedule from the first week with the new company, and crossed off names of coworkers as they were fired, quit, or just gave up and walked out. The list is roughly half of what it was just 2 months ago. Out of almost 70 people, we have lost over 30. The big bosses have come into our store and verbally assaulted many of my coworkers and managers and seemed to think thats how you run a business. I have never worked with such a small minded and micromanaged (that is another 10 paragraphs that I wont type about) company in my life. As the business dies, and training costs rise, I am sure the new owners will just yell at someone and point fingers about how horrible the management at our store is doing their jobs, instead of looking at themselves as the problem.
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I totally agree. I have opened Applebees and worked for the company for 4 1/2 years in the tampa bay, FL area. In that time, we have 7 original employees and none of them are managers. Every week employees come and go. It is sad that this company treats their "prized" employees like crap!
Your store is not alone. Worked for a corporate applebees store in Michigan for many, many years. Was a great place to eat and work. In 2007 I Hop hostilly took over the company. It became unbearable at times after spring of 2009. Secrecy, intimidation, threats, all new management, negative changes in the restaurants atmosphere, reduction in hours, position consolidation and elimination, massive pay cuts, reduction in food quality, unrealistic expectations on employee performance" 15$ minimum per guest check average expectance", loss of benefits including substandard health insurance, employee incentive programs, and employee tenure. They assign risk management teams to eliminate everyone who show any opposition or concern to any of the changes. They want the servers to wear tight clothing and revealing clothing, personally feel they are demographically racist, whites in white populous, blacks in black populous. If they think they are moving forward in a positive manner they are fooling themselves. They are up to their eyeballs in debt and have moved from a personal guest oriented business to a hick bar with cheap food with young incapable employees who only cares about generating cash flow. They are a joke now. What a waste of a good concept...
FAMILY RESTAURANT? THAT IS NOT THE CASE IN MERRITT ISLAND FLORIDA ! I VISITED THE STORE YESTERDAY AND FOUND THE " NEW " UNIFORMS TO BE VERY OFFENSIVE, AND CERTAINLY NOT DRAWING THE KIND OF CLIENTEL THAT I WOULD EXPOSE MY FAMILY TO...APPLEBEES YOU DROPPED THE BALL " BIG TIME " ...WITH THE ECONOMY IN THE STATE IT IS IN, CUSTOMERS LIKE MYSELF WILL CERTAINLY NOT RETURN, TO EXPOSE OUR FAMILIES TO THE TRASHY, FILTHY TALKING CLIENTEL THAT YOUR MERRITT ISLAND APPLEBEES IS TRYING TO ATTRACT, BY HAVING YOUR STAFF DRESS IN THAT MATTER...ARE THEY TRYING TO TRANSITION INTO A STIPP BAR? WHEN I CHOSE TO GO OUT AND SPEND MY HARD EARNED MONEY, I EXPECT TO ENJOY MY TIME WITH MY FAMILY AND I SURELY WILL NOT EXPOSE THEM TO THE FILTH AT APPLEBEES AGAIN ..THERE ARE TOO MANY " CLEAN " RESTAURANTS IN MERRITT ISLAND TO WASTE MY MONEY AT YOUR MERRITT ISLAND STORE...I AM SURE I AM NOT THE ONLY CUSTOMER THAT FEELS THAT WAY...
I think that you should start a class action lawsuit. Former and present employees should be included. I think that that is the only way that you are going to get a good amount of justice out of this.
What they are doing is unfavored in the eyes of the court and even some of the things are illegal. Take a tape recorder to work and encourage others to do so too. If you have friends or know any customers who eat out at the restaurant, encourage them to report anything that they see as unjust to the higher ups. If it gets to the point of a threatening, or physically abusive situation, call the cops and get a police report. You have to crack down on them so you have a good backing for a court case along with as many witnesses as possible. Good luck to you and I hope you get em!