April A-Z Topic: Knuckleheads
Only a couple of months after the online shitstorm that was Applebee's social network scandal, they're once again left looking like the douche bags of the hospitality industry. Seriously guys, didn't you learn anything from last time?
Apparently not, given that they thought the appropriate response to finding out that one of their employee's was gay bashed in their parking lot was to fire him because of the "bad publicity". A waiter was gay bashed by the husband of one of his workmates in front of the restaurant he worked in and they told him to get the hell out of Dodge.
Classy, Applebee's.
Apparently not, given that they thought the appropriate response to finding out that one of their employee's was gay bashed in their parking lot was to fire him because of the "bad publicity". A waiter was gay bashed by the husband of one of his workmates in front of the restaurant he worked in and they told him to get the hell out of Dodge.
Classy, Applebee's.
The employee was later given his job back when the CEO interceded on his behalf, but it seriously never should have gotten to that point! What kind of a person fires someone who's just been the victim of a hate crime because it will make their restaurant look bad?
Management, apparently.
Now I don't work in the hospitality industry, so may be I shouldn't judge, but I'm going to to out on a limb and say that Applebee's might want to take a squiz at their current policies and stop letting their management team make them look like stupid, closed minded bigots!
Hey, it's just a thought.
You'd think that companies would have worked it out by now, no amount of damage control is going to help once Facebook has gotten wind of it. If you do something stupid, it's going end up all over the social networking sites. Seriously, stuff like this spreads faster than the clap
And before you ask, yes, I did get all my STD information from old episodes of MASH ... don't judge me!
Applebees better clean up its act or I'll stop going there on all you can eat rib night. That'll show them.
ReplyDeleteHopefully they'll hear your threat and pull their socks up!
DeleteAfter reading this story, not only am I disgusted by the initial action from Applebee's, but I'm also enraged by the crap this guy has had to go through. It's 2013 and this is how people behave? It's ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteIt' is ridiculous, we should be beyond this by now.
DeleteGood thing that 99.99999999% of their food is completely inedible otherwise this would be a difficult decision not to eat there. But, much like previous restauranteurs who display and financially support bigoted policies, I get the privilege of not polluting myself with their nastiness despite convenience. Hooray not eating gross! Boo them being mentally gross.
ReplyDeleteSo it's a win all round! Well, except for Applebee's, but that's the point I suppose.
DeleteI cant even figure out what to write about this one. Thanks for bringing it to peoples attention.
ReplyDeleteIt is mindblowing, isn't it. You'd think stuff like this wouldn't happen anymore.
DeleteI'm never going there again!!
ReplyDeleteIt makes you think twice, doesn't it.
DeleteI don't live in the US, so no Applebees, but OMG, what were they thinking. You summed it up well.
ReplyDeleteRhonda @Laugh-Quotes.com
Visiting from AtoZ #41
It is scary, isn't it.
DeleteGood thing I don't eat at Applebee's then, isn't it. Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a good thing! Mind you, everyone seems to be saying their food isn't that good, so maybe it's all for the best.
DeleteClever title! Sometimes it gets difficult matching up stories with particular letters but you're doing a great job. I hadn't heard this story. I must have been too busy writing and not spending as much time on Facebook as normal.
ReplyDeleteTO be honest, I'm making the letters fit my entries rather than the other way around :)
DeleteWell, that's clever too. Are you writing your posts ahead of time, or day by day?
DeleteI wrote most of them before the month had started, at least roughly. Now I'm just going through and polishing them before they post.
DeleteI boycotted Applebee's years ago. I never liked anything I had there but always went along with friends. Then one day I got a moth in my salad. A whole moth. So that was the end of it for me.
ReplyDeleteReally, how on earth did they miss a whole moth in there!
DeleteI though the chains had a better handle on management training than this. That's just so ridiculously stupid to fire a victim because he might bring bad publicity.
ReplyDeleteI have to assume it was an idiot manager, but still it's not a good thing for Applebee's.
DeleteWell, it can take a lifetime to build up a reputation but it takes a nano second to ruin it all! ...someone wise said that once right?
ReplyDeleteOf course someone wise said it ... you just did :D
DeleteMany crime victims are ashamed and it's because we're judged.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's the frustrating thing, isn't it. Why on earth should a victim be made to feel as it it's their fault!
DeleteNever been a huge fan of Applebee's. But they're still around. Maybe not for much longer.
ReplyDeleteStopping by from A-Z. Good to meet you!
Well if they keep committing cyber suicide like that, perhaps not.
DeleteYeah, I lost respect for Applebees a while back. Don't think I'll be getting any back any time soon.
ReplyDeleteHappy A to Z blogging.
pensuasion.blogspot.com
They definitely seem to be burning bridges.
DeleteAs if their horrendous food isn't reason enough to hate Applebee's.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people are saying that. We don't have them here so I don't know what their food is like, but if it's bad and they keep this crap up, it's only a matter of time before they destroy themselves.
DeleteMASH was never wrong. I must be living under a rock since I hadn't heard the Applebee "knucklehead" move. Now I don't want to go there ever again.
ReplyDeleteIt's scary, isn't it.
DeleteApplebees does seem to get their name in the news alot these days and most of the time not in a good way. Perhaps they better tighten up the requirements on what type of person they hire. They must have idiots manning their restaurants.
ReplyDeleteSome better training probably wouldn't go amiss.
DeleteThis is sickening. That poor employee though - who would want to go BACK to a work environment that would make such a decision in the first place, or co-workers who are okay with their husband's violence!? How did SHE keep her job? I just can't.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised he wanted to go back too, especially if that manager was still there, but maybe he needed the job.
DeleteThis infuriates me. I don't even...what? how? Holy crap. This is a whole new level of stupid.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! Loved the MASH reference.
It's ridiculous, isn't it. Victim blaming at its worst.
DeleteAlthough we don't have Applebee's over here, I have read from other bloggers, so many negative things about them. So I can't even begin to fathom why they are still going.
ReplyDeleteIf they keep committing cyber suicide like this, who knows how much longer they'll have.
DeleteThat's terrible about Applebee's - although your post was very funny! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. Yes, they discovered a hole in Tut's skull and for a while thought it might be murder. But it was later proven that it was because of the embalming and mummifying process and happened after he was dead.
Ah, that explains it! I think I read that quite some time ago, and I'm sure the book I read it in was even older.
DeleteEPIC FAIL Applebees!
ReplyDeleteIndeed! They'll put themselves out of business if they're not careful.
DeleteApplebee's is yucky - by coincidence I mentioned it in today's post.
ReplyDeleteSnap ;D
DeleteThere is only a couple of things I liked on their menu, but the last time I went there I don't remember it being all that good. I do remember it was always noisy though, between other patrons, servers, the tv over the bar- just noisy.
ReplyDeleteFiring someone for being the victim? How about firing the employee whose husband did the deed? I can just see it noe. "Thanks honey. Your little stunt in the parking lot just cost me my job. You're such an asshole!"
I'm not sure what they should have done about the other employee. I guess if she wasn't the one who attacked then she didn't actually do anything wrong. Best scenario would be the idiot who attacked getting arrested and charged.
DeleteGuilty by association perhaps? It is a reflection of her character and the kind of people she not just chooses to hang out with, but marry.
DeleteNo she didn't actually do anything wrong, but she does live with the guy and is an accomplice in a way. Unless she stepped in and told her husband to "Shut it!" she did nothing to stop it either.
"knuckleheaded stupidity" - great phrase and perfect for the circumstances. It's unbelievable enough in this day and age that gay bashing even still happens, but management's response was beyond absurd. And it took the CEO to intercede?
ReplyDeleteThey need better management training, I think.
DeleteI had forgotten about the whole no-tipping story...which was nice because it made my brain hurt.
ReplyDeleteHey, doesn't the BEST medical info always come from M*A*S*H?? ;)
ReplyDeleteOmg! That's terrible! They're lucky he didn't call a couple of news vans on the spot!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, and boo hiss Applebees. It continues to amaze me, that in this day and age...(well,don't get me started! ;-p)
ReplyDeleteWow, that's just incredible. I can't fathom it! They seriously need to train all their management. After they fire them all and hire new people with some sense!
ReplyDeleteFastidious answers in return of this query with real arguments and
ReplyDeleteexplaining all on the topic of that.
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