Restaurants

Applebee’s responds to criticisms in AllergyEats Blog post… weakly!

by on August 25th, 2010

Eight days ago, the AllergyEats Blog posted an entry entitled “Guest Post – Applebee’s Disappoints!”  (For those who haven’t read it or seen all the comments, I strongly suggest doing so before reading on.)

At the time, I had no idea that this would be by far our most popular and controversial blog post.  Between responses directly on the blog and comments on Facebook, over 30 readers felt the need to share their opinions about Applebee’s as well.  These opinions were overwhelmingly negative (justifying the poor allergy-friendliness rating of 2.3 for Applebee’s on the main AllergyEats site).

Having never seen such an outpouring of negative opinion regarding a restaurant on this blog, I stated I would contact Applebee’s directly, point them to the blog entry, and offer them an opportunity to share their point of view.  While Guest Services never called me back as promised (twice), they surprised me by posting the following in the Comments section of that blog entry late Monday:

Dear AllergyEats Subscribers,

We recognize the importance of making sure our food-allergic guests have safe options they can enjoy at their neighborhood Applebee’s. Food allergies are a serious concern, and we are working to improve how we accommodate the needs of our FA-guests.
Depending on the food allergy, we do offer different menu items that are appropriate options, or that can be prepared without the allergic food. We recommend that you talk with your server or restaurant manager about the allergy, and how your meal is prepared, to help ensure your dining experience is safe. Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention — we value the safety and enjoyment of all our guests.

Sincerely,

Applebee’s

How do I hide my incredible disappointment at this brush off?  How much effort was expended in sending this generic response?  Was any thought involved?  Did anyone truly read and consider the post and comments?

The answer to that last question is obviously “No.”  Had they read the posts, they would have known that talking to servers, managers, and others did NOT prevent these very negative diner experiences.  In fact, most of the problems were actually CAUSED BY such conversations.  Ironically, it seems the biggest issue Applebee’s has in attracting food allergic guests is the LACK of strong personnel training.

Further, given their weak response, I have to strongly doubt the sincerity of the statements “we recognize the importance of making sure our food-allergic guests have safe options,” “food allergies are a serious concern [to us],” and “thank you for bringing this issue to our attention – we value the safety and enjoyment of all our guests.”

So what to do now?  I see two choices.

On the one hand, I can end the conversation here, leaving us all to walk away with our own feelings about the efforts of Applebee’s.  On the other hand, given the size and clout of Applebee’s in the restaurant community, I can pursue the issue further.

I am leaning toward the latter.  One of AllergyEats’ primary goals is to influence restaurants to become more allergy-friendly.  By all appearances, Applebee’s needs more guidance.

In addition, I’d like to know more about their comment that “we are working to improve how we accommodate the needs of our FA-guests.”  What steps are they taking?  What is their goal?  Where do they see themselves in 1-2 years with respect to this movement?

I’d like to give them the opportunity to share their answers to these questions (and others) with the whole food allergy community.  I am prepared to print any comments they have on the subject here.  I am also willing to conduct a one-on-one interview with any member of management about this and/or conduct an “open dialog” whereby AllergyEats Blog viewers and social media fans can ask questions and interact with a rep in real time.  I think this would be a great opportunity for both Applebee’s and our community.

In other words, I’m willing to do what it takes to allow Applebee’s to get their message across AND help them learn from us.  Will they accept?

Before I re-initiate contact, I’d like your feedback and help with two ACTION ITEMS:

1) If you too are interested in seeing this further pursued, please indicate so by adding a Comment or Reply here (or on the Facebook page), simply stating “I am interested in more info from Applebee’s” or something of the sort.  The reason I ask this is to help demonstrate the magnitude of our community’s concern to management.  (Of course, I am interested in any other, longer comments you would like to share as well.)

2) In addition, please help our cause by circulating this post widely.  The wider this post (and the prior one on Applebee’s from last Tuesday) is circulated, the more likely management at Applebee’s will be to respond.  Please pass along to any food allergy websites or bloggers, post on your social network pages, etc.

While it would be easy to simply write-off Applebee’s, I remain committed to trying to make this an opportunity for our community to share its voice and help positively influence this huge restaurant chain (who would in turn benefit from increased profits – click here to see how).  Other chains have led the way with respect to food allergies.  Why wouldn’t Applebee’s want to match their competition?  And if Applebee’s were to increase their commitment, who wouldn’t follow?

Comments

    Author:
    Sherry
    Written:


    This is too sad…. we won’t be eating at Applebees… it’s not that hard to do what Chili’s does… provide an easy “updated” regualarly menu advice sheet that suggests what to order when avoiding certain foods.

    This is why we go to Chili’s INSTEAD of Applebees! They are going down the tubes anyway… in many ways!

    Author:
    Amy T.
    Written:


    I would be interested in having you pursue this matter further. I recently took my children to Applebee’s. Both have peanut allergies. I allerted our server to the peanut allergy and she assured us that the chicken fingers and grilled cheese would be fine. The kids asked if we could have some nachos so I ordered and then realized that I hadn’t asked about the tortilla chips which I have often seen fried in peanut oil. I asked the waitress and it took her a good 10 minutes to come back while the nachos sat on the table getting cold. I was very uncomfortable with her knowledge and sat staring at my kids in case they started a reaction. Fortunately it was fine but until this issue is resolved with them I will no longer be going to Applebee’s.

    Author:
    Tom
    Written:


    I say give them another chance. If a restaurant can get away with brushing us off, they will. Let’s hold them to the task to become a better place to go for FA patrons.

    Author:
    Scotty
    Written:


    Please pursue further! We need all the restaurant choices we can get and NOT pursuing is simply letting an establishment off the hook and they will never learn to accomodate us! I eat at Applebee’s and haven’t had any real bad experiences but you do know there is little or no training for the servers when they give you this blank look when you try mentioning certain needs in the kitchen. Please do what you can to help Applebee’s be all they can be!

    Author:
    Katie
    Written:


    I see no reason to abandon Applebee’s in their time of need. If I abandoned everyone who didn’t make an effort to understand my children’s allergies I would have very few friends /family left! As a corporation they have a public responsibility however, which REQUIRES their attention to public demand and safety. They have sub-par food in my opinion and recently came under fire for partnering with Weight Watchers, but not actually preparing the foods as required. How many mistakes can they make of this magnitude and still remain successful? My guess is, not many. My advice to Allergy Eats is to source other large allergy sites and networks – perhaps FAN would help? Consumer outcry is powerful, but organizations who represent a large amount of consumers have a bigger impact. It’s only a matter of time before they kill someone with their ignorance…wake up Applebee’s your competition is doing a much better job and your consumers have noticed.

    Author:
    Brenda
    Written:


    I would like to hear from Applebees more about these issues and have them clarify what specifically they plan to do to improve their treatment of and accomodations for food allergic patrons. Actually, based on the last time I ate at my local Applebees, I think they need a general overall. Poor service and bad food, period.

    Author:
    Kelly Fruin
    Written:


    I would like you to pursue this matter further. If Applebee’s wants to be the neighborhood restaurant then they need to look at the needs of their neighbors. I have not eaten at an Applebee’s since November when I was diagnosed with severe allergies because of their lack of understanding of food allergies. So if they do not want to keep loosing patrons they need to educate themselves in how other restaurants are able to handle our needs.

    Author:
    Barbara
    Written:


    Before my food allergies, I use to eat regularly at Applebee’s. Now, I AVOID Applebee’s at all costs. Even when they have tried to make sure my food was allergy free, they always ended up messing up. One particular time, the waitress suggested a hamburger without the bun. When she brought the hamburger, it had a slice of cheese on it and i have a Milk allergy. So she took it back to the kitchen, and return a few minutes with a new burger with no cheese. But something told us to flip the burger over and we found remnants of cheese on the other side. It was apparent that they had simply scraped the cheese off, flipped it over and brought it out to us thinking that we would be no more the wiser. Needless to say, we left immediately and I sent a letter to Applebee’s with no response.

    Author:
    AiXeLsyD13
    Written:


    Ri-BLEEPING-diculous. I’d like to not only see you pursue this matter, but I’d like the FA masses to pursue this matter. I’ve been saying for a while… Food Allergy Awareness week is all well & good where we petition state governments to make useless proclamations, but THIS is where our attention needs to go. We need to speak directly to the restaurants… not to them through a gub’ment agency or advisory board. Restaurants respond to one thing; Money. Tell them you’re not going to patronize them until they shape up and pay attention to the concerns of diners with special needs, and neither will your family, your friends, or your weird neighbor.

    Author:
    jdmom
    Written:


    I am interested in more info from Applebee’s!

    Author:
    kathleen
    Written:


    OK, I know I posted on the facebook page about this, and I’m sure I may get some flack for this…BUT–Honestly and Truly, the Applebees near us, owned by the Dorherty’s franchise (store 29 in NJ) have been NOTHING but incredible and phenomenal to us. Look, I KNOW how hard it is–my 6 year old is allergic to Milk, Eggs, Peanuts, Treenuts, and Sesame. Finding ANY restaurant able to accomodate us other than Disney is a darn near impossibility. You have to remember a few things–Applebees are franchised and are not owned corporately. Store policy is generally set by the individual owners. Second, your BEST BET is ALWAYS to speak with the KITCHEN manager, not the restaurant manager. Jennie Desmond, the manager of the Newton, NJ applebees, sat down at our table with us the first time and spent a good 5-10 minutes going over everything. She PERSONALLY prepared my son’s food, and made sure that there was no cross contamination whatsoever. We have never had a reaction, never had a problem and we’ve been frequenting this restaurant for over 4 years now with wild success. As much as it sucks, it’s also our responsibility to educate the restaurants. Jennie then trained ALL Of the kitchen staff on how to handle the FA guests, separate utensils, sizzle plates for cooking (they have tons of them around and are each individually cleaned). I also find that when you acknowledge to Corporate and the franchise owner the great job a staff member is doing to help you, that they go that much further. From what I’ve been told, They have started training other restaurants within their franchise. They know us now and they all light up when they see our son, and my very picky FA kiddo always finishes the insane amount of food they give him AT CHILDRENS menu prices (plain chicken cutlet cooked in olive oil on a sizzle plate, and penne pasta with olive oil with steamed broccoli).

    The reality is that we’re all in the minority, the rest of society feels no obligation to accomodate us. It’s up to us to educate and push for change on our own, we can’t expect that it will happen for us.

    Author:
    Heather
    Written:


    I try not to go to Applebees or Chilis because of my wheat, tomato, and dairy allergies. There’s way too much pasta and sandwiches, even fried chicken on the salads. It’s too much risk to go to some of these places.

    Even with that, it’s ridiculous they have brushed the issue off like they have. They should be listening more, not trying to cover their a**

    Author:
    Anna-Maria I
    Written:


    AARRRGGGG, Please go forth with the quest to educate and improve Applebees…remember those untrained servers…managers etc..very often jump ship and change who they work for and will “cross-contaminate” other restaraunts and servers with their direguard to the seriousness of food allergies.. In the mean time I will not be visiting Applebess.

    Author:
    Annette
    Written:


    When I go out to eat, I want to eat food that has taste and is cooked well. The way chain restaurants handle allergies now is to have the manager cook my food on tin foil with no seasonings or oils because of my allergies (Peppers of the Capsicum family, Soy, Dairy and egg whites). What I get served is the most bland poorly cooked crap I have ever been served in my life. My mother was a horrible cook but my new and improved safe option for eating out is beyond horrible. It is pretty much inedible and I’d rather go hungry and cook at home than be served substandard food that I have to pay full price for and I’m expected to be happy about.

    Thought I’d like to help convert Applebee’s to caring about people with food allergies, unless they come with an option that provides me with food I’d be willing to pay for, I see no reason to go to them or any other food chain ever again. Even Outback has gone to giving me food that tastes like crap now too. It seems to be the prevailing wind that people with allergies don’t deserve a dining out experience.

    Author:
    Tanya
    Written:


    Yes, I think we should give them another chance. They need to be educated and we are the ones who can do that so that when our food allergic children grow up and are out on their own with friends this won’t be an issue. It would be nice if they could put together menus of safe foods for eacher allergen like Chili’s has. Our family loves Chili’s. They look at the peanut free menu and the tree nut free menu and are comfortable with their choices. I would love it if more restaurants could do that.

    Author:
    Melissa
    Written:


    Years ago I emailed several restaurants about ingredient lists regarding food allergies. Applebees is the only one that continued to tell me that due to their constant menu changes they had no way of providing the information. I have been to Applebees twice since that time (it has been four plus years). I never told my friends of the issue I had in the past, I may do so now. However, it is and should be a personal choice for anyone to stop going anywhere for whatever reason.

    Abandoning them in their time of need? There is a difference between family and a restaurant chain. While I understand nearly all venues are having some sort of financial issue due to less and less people coming in. The economy is pretty much affecting everyone. If venues actually showed more concern over their customers this would be less of an issue. I’ve been to Chinese restaurants who have literately helped me figure out something to eat due to my chicken and rice allergy, unfortunately it has closed down, and I have yet to find another restaurant in the Sac valley area to curb my rare Chinese food craving.

    My allergies are unusual or uncommon and often at times more difficult for folks to comprehend, deal with and accept. Teaching the public as well as restaurant venues that ANYTHING could be a potential allergy. Simply being aware and acknowledging a request via a customer. It is better for the wait staff to go back and ask regarding a particular dish, etc.. check the menu for a back up and ask about that at the same time as asking about the first one. If by rare chance there is serious cross contamination and I’ve had one at a family owned Mexican restaurant that managed to get rice on literately everything, (underside of the plate even, simply scrapped off the rice when I had informed them I was allergic too) mind you the dish I had ordered made no mention of rice being included or a part of the dish.

    Does Applebees need to provide a better answer and not a brush off concern, of course they do. There is absolutely no excuse to not being able to offer an ingredient list. Common sense tells us all that there could be cross contamination, after all this is a restaurant not one’s personal kitchen.

    Author:
    Susan
    Written:


    By all means, please pursue this further! Thanks for all of your efforts!

    Author:
    Susan
    Written:


    I would love to see this pushed further. I feel that the only way all restaurants will learn about the issue, is to have it brought up- again and again. It’s funny, reading all of the comments (including my own), it appeared that most people were not looking for major things. The vast majority of the issues could have been solved with very simple staff training. First and foremost- staff training SHOULD include “Listening to customers / customer concerns… “.

    Author:
    Chris NJ Bergen Cty
    Written:


    Applebee’s has been totally off my dining list since I’ve been gluten free (about 5 years). The local Applebee’s (Paramus, NJ) has taken great pains to update their restaurant, but sadly they have not done so with their attention to the new eating habits and restrictions of many of their potential customers in this area. I have heard reports back from people with celiac, vegetarians and those who wish to eat healthier – all negative reviews with vows from most to never go back again. Sad, it’s not just how you look on the outside, Applebee’s, it really matters more how you accomodate and treat your customers.

    Author:
    Patty
    Written:


    Please continue trying to get Applebee’s to respond further. I have a daughter with allergies and we are always trying to find more restaurants that are safe choices that we can dine at ourselves or with friends. I think they should have to have a more knowledgeable staff and allergy info available to patrons and servers alike.

    Author:
    Emily
    Written:


    Please persue this! Applebees needs to give the food allergy community more than a brush off.

    Author:
    W(aL)D
    Written:


    Too many people are passive about this sort of thing, that’s why they can keep getting away with this stuff.

    Author:
    tami
    Written:


    Please persue this! It wont stop with just a safe food on the menu, the staff, chefs, etc all need to be more aware and have training!

    Author:
    J. Wroblewski
    Written:


    Yes, please keep the dialog flowing. Hopefully we can one day join some of our friends for
    a nice allergy free meal at Applebee’s.

    Author:
    AEPaul
    Written:


    What an awesome response (so far) in less than 10 hours!

    Here’s what our Facebook friends have added:

    Jennifer Gutmaker Morgan They will not care unless they are sued in a wrongful death case. That would get their attention.

    Donna Hutchison Cicero I’d like to see more from Applebee’s, because while I like their restaurant, I can’t eat there with my family due to peanut allergies. Their “canned’ response hasn’t changed my stance about avoiding them now.

    Randi Smolin Eccleston I would like to hear more from them. My daughter is anaphylactic to tree nuts and we have never eaten there.

    Angela Derlikiewicz Pavlick I would like to hear more from Applebees. We have a peanut/tree nut allergy and would like food service to take it seriously. Staff training can go a long way.

    Lori Coutts Fraase Yes; let’s hear more. If Red Robin can do a booming business all while providing allergy-safe alternatives, why can’t Applebee’s and ANY restaurant??

    Danica Nuccio Greco I am interested in more info from Applebee’s… yes, Red Robin is awesome with regards to allergies… never had a problem there.

    Kathy Healy Sucich Definitely interested in more. My daughter has a dairy allergy and I was stunned by their lack of regard to allergies in the original article.

    Sara Austin While we personally have not had issues eating at Applebees (I have a peanut allergy and my daughters are gluten free), I definitely think this needs to be pursued further. So many other restaurants are able to offer more than their canned response, which shows that it is a lack of caring on their part more than anything else.

    Julie Moran Strehle I am interested in more info from Applebee’s, thank you.

    Jennifer Yeager Trasatti I am interested in more info from Applebee’s, thank you.

    Melinda Munro I won’t eat there unless they have food allergy training for all employees and can provide a list of allergens for each menu item.

    Karalynn Roll I would love more information from Applebee’s. Their new wheat allergy list is a step in the right direction, but what about gluten? Also, staff should be way better trained about food allergies.

    Linda Brukman Brown I guess this is why they are closing Applebee’s all around my area…..

    Jessica Marsh Johnson I would like more information. I want answers from them…

    Emily Clough-Paabo I think they owe us more than a brush off.

    Katrina Everngam Clippinger Please follow up on this. Restaurants need to learn to help us too!

    That makes 40 in total so far. Let’s keep it going.

    Author:
    AEPaul
    Written:


    Received a proactive call from the Executive Director of Communications at Applebee’s. Unfortunately, we’re now trading voicemails.

    Please continue to demonstrate your support with comments here (and by showing this to others). I’ll share details of my conversation with Applebee’s as soon as it takes place.

    Author:
    Maria
    Written:


    I had a bad experience several years ago with my then dairy allergic son. I’d hoped they would’ve gotten better by now.

    Told waitress the situation and also asked to speak to the manager. He assured me that they could safely prepare a dish of totally plain pasta for my son. It arrived with a piece of buttered garlic bread on top of it. Complete lack of understanding! I said he couldn’t eat it and he’d need a new meal. A minute or two later (it takes about 10 minutes to cook pasta) the waitress returned with what was obviously the same bowl with the bread no longer on top. I could see some of the herbs that had been on the bread on the pasta! We gave up and fed him the food we’d luckily brought along just in case.

    Author:
    Maria
    Written:


    P.S. For clarification, the above happened at an Applebee’s.

    Author:
    W(aL)D
    Written:


    @Maria Re: “I could see some of the herbs that had been on the bread on the pasta!”

    That’s a disgusting lack of respect and understanding. If Applebee’s had better allergy awareness training in place, things like this wouldn’t happen.

    @AEPaul Heh. I hate when emails turn into voicemails. Can you express that this is a written medium, and you’d like written communication? Ha ha ha.

      Author:
      AEPaul
      Written:


      Let’s be fair. They proactively reached out to us. Our goal is mutual understanding, and I like how we’re moving in that direction… understanding, of course, that there is clearly more to do to achieve this goal.

    Author:
    AEPaul
    Written:


    THIS is the reason Applebee’s is smart to engage us… (from Facebook)

    Anna Chambley I’ve got a 2 yr od w/milk, peanut and tree nut allergies. We’ve successfully eaten at several restaurants, but we have yet to try Applebee b/c of this blog. Used to eat at Applebees frequently prior to son’s birth. Maybe Applebees will do some training w/their staff.

    Author:
    Samantha
    Written:


    My parents and I used to eat at Applebee’s a lot (I have severe peanut and tree nut allergies), until my best friend’s mom told us her experience there. Four of her ten kids have allergies, and when they went to Applebee’s and told the staff of their allergies (mostly airborne nut), they were told to leave and not come back, since Applebee’s could not work with their needs. Something I noticed recently is the disclaimer at the bottom of their allergy menus. If you Google Image search “Applebee’s allergy disclaimer” and zoom in on the very first result, the bold print on the bottom says, “Due to the individualized nature of allergies and food sensitivities, Applebee’s cannot make recommendations that are suitable for your dietary needs. Please consult your physician.”

    Also know as, “You’re completely hosed.”

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