Attention everyone who works at Applebee’s or any other restaurant in the world where it is your job to encourage your customers to buy more food because a restaurant is a business that relies on making a profit: Bill wants you to change your policy and stop trying to sell food!!
At a recent trip to Applebee’s, Bill experienced the dreaded “upsell.” After enjoying his salad and water, his server performed the customary action of trying to convince him to buy dessert. Bill did not like that, claiming that since he just had salad and water, it should be obvious he does not want dessert. Never mind that maybe he ate salad and drank water with the sole intention of blowing his Weight Watchers points on a piece of cheesecake…
Bill, it’s our job to try to get you to buy stuff. Maybe you thought the only reason a restaurant ever opens is to give you the opportunity to come fill your gut with prepackaged food that you don’t have to microwave yourself. Nope. A restaurant opens for the owners of it to make money. And servers want you to buy as much as possible because the more you buy, the more we make in tips (theoretically.) That’s why when you ask for a vodka cranberry your server will usually say something like, “Oh would you prefer Kettle One or Grey Goose?” We don’t want you to settle on McCormick bottom shelf vodka. We want to add a dollar or two to your check. That’s called doing business.
Have you ever been to Best Buy and bought an electronic? Did they try to convince you to buy the extended warranty or tell you that a certain cord is better than the cord you currently have? Upsell!
Have you ever bought a new car and had the salesperson tell you how much nicer the car would be with leather seats instead of vinyl? Upsell!
Have you ever bought a gym membership (probably not…) and it was only $1.99 a month but if you wanted to come in at a time other than midnight to 3:00 AM it would bump up the cost to $25 a month? Or maybe if you want to use towels or the steam room, you pay an additional fee? Upsell!
It’s the way of the world, Bill. In the future, if your server is doing their job and offers you cheesecake when you don’t want it, I have a suggestion for you:
CMN
This was MY customer! Honestly, he wasn’t a jerk about it… he was pretty hilarious and was a halfway decent tipper. But I didn’t think he was going to actually do a survey/leave a comment/whatever. This is too funny. But yeah, when you look at the bigger picture, he could have very easily said no and been out and on his way. I think he embarrassed his lady companion a little too ?
JP
If you actually read the original FB post, I think he is actually giving them a compliment on the cheesecake. On it’s face it does not come off like that, but the rest of his responses lend itself to that interpretation. I don’t think he was seriously questioning the policy. Just my 2 cents.
freewhitebaby
I think Bill needs to learn to put a “lol” in his posts when he’s making a joke.
Therese Meyer
Aoplebee’s salad is not diet food!!! Stay home and eat your salad!!!
Wade
Bob is an asshole. Don’t be like Bob!
Dani
Dang, Bob is a fucking asshole. He cares about no one but himself and that salad that will sit in his gut for days and rot because they just don’t digest very well. Customers like u make me sick Bob and when u come in our restaurant we hate to have u.
Joanna
It’s called not wanting to fail a secret shop. I could care less if you want dessert or not. In fact I prefer you didn’t so I can get you out faster and rotate my table faster. BUT some places require us to ask the dreaded dessert or coffee question. But hey! All you have to do is say “no thanks” and boom problem over and done.
Bob
I’ll just say no alright…I just won’t go to that restaurant at all. Even thrift stores and grocery stores are in the act now, asking if you would like to give your change to the latest and greatest charity project. Totally sucks. And if you pester me enough to buy it, I guess that makes my visit less enjoyable and likely to tip less doesn’t it. On second thought, bring that piece of pie…the tip will just cover it!
Laynee
First off.. Ew ^^^
When a grocery store or thrift store asks you if you would like to give your change to “the latest and greatest charity project” (charity is a good thing Bob) it’s called a donation. That store takes that money, and instead of putting into their store, they give it all to that charity. If you really wanted to be stingey about it, ask for a receipt. Donations are tax deductable. At least here in Canada.
Second, from what I’ve learned being a server, customers don’t usually know what they want. They wander into the restaurant, and ask for the best table. So you give them the one in your section, because they didn’t know what they wanted. They ask what drinks we have, instead of reading the menu, ask what’s “good”, so you tell them the $43 ribsteak. And then later, because maybe even YOU didn’t know you wanted that $5 piece of cheesecake, and when your server tells you how delish it is, you would like extra whipped cream and cherries with that.
After all that help you got, with a smile and encouragement, (not to mention your server tips out AND makes much less than minimum wage, which you probably already know since you’re on this page) you should leave a nice 20%. That just makes you a decent person Bob.
Plus…sometimes your server wants you to buy that cheesecake because they have a little contest going on in the back, and she/he wants that $10 tim hortons gift card.
Just Canada? Cool.
Scott
Buh Bye. You refuse to return because a server did their job? REALLY? Wow. Stay the F… home. Your go out in public card is revoked.