Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in Commerce Charter Township

Horrible experience! Came in from out of town. We arrived at the restaurant at 7pm. I went in to what was an empty restaurant. I asked the host was she able to seat a party of 10, she left to go to the back saying she was going to ask if that was possible. Which I’m not sure why it was as the restaurant was empty. She comes back out only to stand at the back with two other young ladies conversing and never came back to approach me, becoming frustrated for waiting and watching them talk for 5 mins I go out to get my party anyways. When I come back in she finally comes up to me and says we can sit you but you have to wait 15 mins for us to clean a table. As there was so many empty tables we are still confused but we wait. We watch them take their time for about 20 mins cleaning more than one table and still we are yet to be seated. We finally ask them what is taking them so long to seat us. The first excuse was they were short servers (understandable) the second excuse we had to find you tables the third excuse was I didn’t want to seat you next to another party that’s too many people there needs to be space and I would be over worked. So I asked what would you do with a packed restaurant their response was we wouldn’t have seated you. One then responds with we are hiring though if you want to apply. Short staff or not you all had no sense of urgency and seemed to try to drag out the time you were there so you didn’t have to wait on anyone. You even sent a man to the bar after he waited to be seated which it didn’t seem as though you wanted to serve him either. At that point with your smart comments we didn’t even trust you with our food we left. First bad review I ever had to write for anyone. Your establishment...

I come here pretty frequently with my kids but the last two experiences have been pretty bad and I'm not sure I'll ever come back. A few weeks ago we came on a Friday night and it was pretty busy which I understand. I'm even ok with the 30 minute wait for our food. What I'm not ok with was the fact that two tables sat down after us and ordered after us, yet they were halfway done with their meals by the time we got our food. Even our server was running around saying that the kitchen was messing up all of her tables orders. No manager going around apologizing or anything. Fast forward to tonight. We were seated and then not greeted for almost 10 minutes. Yes they were somewhat busy but nowhere even close to being on a wait. Server was average at best. Both of my kids ordered chicken fingers, which they've had several times in the past. Both said they tasted disgusting. Ok now it's time to pay. So I get my bill and there's a .99 Motts charge. I ask the server what it was and she said oh it's for the applesauce. I then said, "I'm pretty sure it comes with the kids meal." She said, " I don't think so but I'll check." So she left with my cash and came back with change. She obviously didn't ask about the applesauce because I still got charged for it. I don't even care about the $1. It's the fact that I was charged for something I shouldn't have been charged for and your employees don't even know that. Oh and just so you know, I am one of the last people in the world who will complain about anything. I am very understanding having worked for 4 years for Applebees in the past but this is ridiculous. Also it's interesting that the "owner" only responds to positive reviews. I...

ORIGINAL POST...

Today I decided to try the Applebee's in Commerce Township for lunch.

Unfortunately, after wasting nearly half of my lunch hour, I had to walk out since a server never came to greet me or take my order. It seemed as if they were all spending considerable time out of sight back in the kitchen.

Perhaps the staff was having a meeting or addressing an issue in the kitchen, but without a quick notification to those of us awaiting service, several of us departed very disappointed.

Doubt I'll ever be back after that troubling experience.

POST SERVICE FAILURE UPDATE...

Since I strongly believe the recovery is typically more important than the original failure, I decided to try the Applebee's in Commerce Township once again.

Much to my delight, the food and service were both excellent as well as the delivery that was so fast that I had 15 minutes left in my lunch hour! I left Applebee's with a big smile, and a promise to return.

Several weeks later I returned to the same Applebee's in Commerce for a late lunch. As I entered the restaurant, I initially became a bit concerned as it was fairly crowded. But the host had me seated within two minutes complete with an assortment of menus. Before I could study the many attractive menu options, a super friendly waitress arrived and guided me toward a steak special that I thoroughly enjoyed. She also made a point of checking-in on me to ensure my dining experience exceeded my expectations. Once again, I left with even a bigger smile on my face.

Their fantastic recovery clearly left me very impressed and resulted in another loyal Applebee's customer. Well done Schostak team! I can't wait to...