An Applebee’s customer shared all of the food she was able to get as part of the chain’s all-you-can-eat promotion, which recently made its return.
She posted her video of the meal on TikTok, where it accrued over 1.1 million views, and although Jen appeared pleased with her dining experience, there were a number of viewers who were staunchly anti-Applebee’s—especially employees of the chain who weren’t happy with having to work through when the restaurant has promotions going on.
“Applebee’s all you can eat $14.99,” the robotic voice narrator said at the onset of the clip, which started with a slow pan of the casual chain’s dine-in menu. Jen showed off a neon pink-colored Mai Tai cocktail garnished with a maraschino cherry. Next up was a plate of garlic parmesan boneless wings and french fries. Another plate featured in the video has extra hot boneless buffalo wings piled onto it.
Jen went on to rank the offerings, giving the buffalo wings a six out of 10, the garlic parmesan wings an eight out 10. The real winner, according to their rating system, was the water, which Jen slapped a “9000/10” rating on it for being “essential.”
Jen also placed an order for “double crunch” fried shrimp and honey BBQ ribs, which earned 11 out of 10 and 9 out of 10 ratings respectively. At the end of the clip, Jen urged folks to tip their servers and wrote in the caption that the entirety of the bill came out to $40 (Jen was not dining alone).
The special that Jen showed off in her video was part of Applebee’s latest all-you-can-eat promotion that promises customers an endless supply of “Boneless Wings, Riblets & Shrimp for just $14.99 per person. With unlimited fries, for a limited time.”
In her clip, Jen showed off all of the food items that are part of the promotion, but there are additional sauces diners can get their boneless wings tossed in: Honey Pepper, Sweet Asian Chile, Honey BBQ, and Classic Buffalo.
@offthejendawg My bill came back $40 #fyp #applebees #xyzbca #Adios2023 #CapCutHoliday #scrollingontiktoklike #kpop #pizza #restyle ♬ Slimenese x Sweepers – SLIMENESE
While Jen seemed to have positive things to say about her Applebee’s experience, other diners who sounded off in the comments section didn’t offer up such glowing reviews of the chain. “Last time I went to Applebees for them boneless wings I almost threw up,” one wrote.
And there was one customer who said that if the all-you-can-eat promotion sounds too good to be true, it’s because—in their experience—it is. They stated that restaurant staff brings out decreasingly smaller portions of food with each new order placed. “The last time they did this they brought out a normal portion and when i wanted a second one they gave me three wings,” they shared.
There were also some Applebee’s employees, both current and former ones, who shared their disdain for these promotions. “As a server at Applebees, this special can’t end fast enough,” one penned, while another warned, “As a former employee of Applebees for 5 years. I agree don’t eat here.”
Applebee’s workers have long complained about such deals, like the endless wings deal or the $1 margarita deal. “Does Corporate hate us?” one Applebee’s worker questioned on Reddit.
Another redditor claimed deals like this are causing the chain to lose valuable employees. “These promotions back to back completely fry the staff. We loose about 3-4 line cooks for all you can eat and the same for dollaritas in the front of house. It’s all about the money coming in. They don’t care how short staffed or stressed we may be. Since I’ve been in management I have yet to see them care about staff and see the higher ups do something nice in appreciation,” they wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Applebee’s via email and to Jen via TikTok comment for further information.
