GB said:
I think Applebees is absolute trash.
Now, GB ... if I lived in Massachusetts - I would be touting Ninety-Nine as the best place in the state to eat for "roadhouse fare" - but I don't - and there are no 99's around here - so around here we have Steak and Ale (not near as good, or as cheap, but a little more ambiance). Heck - most folks in TX don't know what a New England roadhouse is!
Franchise (chain) restaurants have one thing in common ... they may not be the best food in town (depending on your taste buds and what you are looking for)
but they want you to able to count on getting the same dish/flavor no matter where you get it - be it Boston, Phoenix, San Francisco or Fargo, North Dakota.
This actually reminds me of a commercial for a TV show I saw the other night ... the kid asks his Mom... "Do we have to have quisine every night? Can't we just have food once in a while?"
Not everybody is looking for quisine every night ... some people are like my Dad - they just want food that will taste the same everytime they order it in a restaurant with the same name no matter where it might be.
I still don't know what the "sin" is from Applebees wanting to up the quality of their food. Based on consumer evaluations - YOU think their food is trash ... so is getting a little help to improve it bad???
Some people think their food is crap - they try to inprove it by getting a celebrity chef to help improve it ... and some people complain about that!
And, just for grins to pick up on something Aurora said: Comments like "I found the food bland" or "the menu was not very imaginative" or "Service is always very slow" or "quality is inconsistant to my taste" are opinions.
Anybody here old enough to remember the original McDonald's menu?