Misleading Management, the Wrong Dressing, and an Insulting Experience at Applebee's…read more
Wow have things gone downhill here.
I've been ordering Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad for years. One of the things that makes this salad so good is the balance of flavors: fresh greens, carrots, and purple cabbage drizzled with a sweet, tangy, dark Oriental Vinaigrette and tossed with a sugary white sauce. The vinaigrette is distinctly different from the sweeter white dressing that also accompanies the salad. I've ordered both dressings on the side for years because I particularly enjoy the darker, tangier vinaigrette.
Today, however, I had an extremely frustrating experience with the manager at this location.
When I requested the Oriental Vinaigrette on the side, the manager insisted that the recipe had changed and that they no longer used it on the salad. According to her, now the salad only came with the white sugar sauce.
Instead, she claimed that the sauce I was requesting was the dumpling sauce used with their tacos.
These are two completely different sauces. The Oriental Vinaigrette is a dark, tangy dressing, while the Dumpling Sauce is a distinctly different, lighter brown condiment. Anyone familiar with this salad and its flavor profile should understand the difference.
I initially agreed to pay an additional 50 cents for the extra sauce, thinking that would resolve the issue. Instead, I received the dumpling sauce which was supposedly the same as the Oriental Vinaigrette I had actually requested.
Then I looked at my receipt.
They charged me 99 cents for the dumpling sauce.
Not only did I receive the wrong sauce, but I was charged nearly a dollar for a substitute the manager insisted was the same as the vinaigrette I was requesting. That was a further insult to my intelligence. I know what I've been ordering for years, and I know the difference between these two sauces.
For anyone questioning this distinction, Applebee's official menu lists Oriental Vinaigrette and Dumpling Sauce as separate items. They are not interchangeable. The company's own menu contradicts the impression that these are simply two names for the same sauce.
I don't mind paying for extra dressing. I do mind being given the wrong condiment, being told something that appears to be factually incorrect, and then discovering a charge on my receipt that doesn't match what I understood I had agreed to pay.
Unfortunately, this interaction was made even more uncomfortable by previous encounters in which I felt the manager gave me dirty looks. I cannot definitively speak to her intentions, but the dismissive way I was treated today left me questioning whether I was receiving the same courtesy and respect as other customers.
I am asking Applebee's to clarify its current dressing policy, explain why the wrong sauce was provided, account for the 99-cent charge, and address the way this situation was handled.
A longtime customer should not have to argue with management about the difference between two distinctly different sauces, pay for something they didn't request, and then leave feeling as though their intelligence has been insulted.
Get the dressing right. Get the facts right. Charge customers transparently. And treat people with respect.