Family kicked out of Applebee's due to unruly kids

[LiLIrishChick63]

i agree OP. restaurants don't generally kick people out for kids who are just "acting like kids" they had to have been acting pretty bad.

it's interesting, i was at an Applebee's with my mother in the beginning of the year and there was a group of people with small children in the corner and the kids were running around the entire restaurant and the waitress thought giving them some balloons would calm the kids down...nope...made it even worse they took the balloons and started hitting other customers with them!

DM and i did our best to just ignore the situation, and the waitress did apologize to us for the inconvenience.

 

[dennis99ss]

01:15:03 Okay, okay, maybe don't interrupt me.


01:15:05 -I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. -Yeah, well, I think you did mean to...


01:15:08 ...and I also think that you meant to put the damn onions on my steak.


01:15:12 -Okay, Reese. -Grandfather...


01:15:14 ...can't we resolve this conflict without anger?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


00:03:17 So in the wrong!


00:03:18 This is egregious, do you hear me? Egregious!


00:03:25 We were cellmates together, Andy. You got payback coming!


00:03:31 Dad!


00:03:32 Don't listen to these people, Ricky. You're a winner.

 

[dennis99ss]

“This child was not wandering around,” Randall Smith, who claims he was at the restaurant, wrote on the KHOU11 Facebook wall. “He was running around the restaurant screaming at guests as they tried to enjoy their meals.”

 

[Sugardimples]

And Applebee's APOLOGIZED to the family?????? And offered them a free dinner????? I guess I won't be going to Applebee's any more.

 

[HM]

And Applebee's APOLOGIZED to the family?????? And offered them a free dinner????? I guess I won't be going to Applebee's any more.

Ridiculous move Applebees. They back peddled too quickly. you know they had every reason to ask those folks to leave.

 

[Wendy31]

Any time someone says anything like "they are just active" or "they're just being children" in reference to their kids, it means the kids are not behaving appropriately for the situation.

Even "active" children can (& should) be taught to sit correctly & politely in a restaurant.

I wish Applebees hadn't apologized.

 

[Imzadi]

In the picture the 3 year old is pulling away from his mother. If she can't get him to stand still for 30 seconds, what are the odds he wandered away only once?

Children wandering in restaurants is a pet peeve of mine. My DDs were never allowed to get up unless it was to go to the bathroom. DH and I entertained them with "I spy" games and coloring.

I have a nephew who is almost 8. When he was younger, my sister would let him get up in restaurants. I was notified the few times I went with them and would try to get him to sit near me and color.

I don't think the restaurant should have apologized. Other diners were probably thrilled they got the boot.

And Applebee's APOLOGIZED to the family?????? And offered them a free dinner????? I guess I won't be going to Applebee's any more.

Ridiculous move Applebees. They back peddled too quickly. you know they had every reason to ask those folks to leave.

Yes, Applebees Corporate should have backed the manager. They put one family above the 30 or so other people in the restaurant at the time.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I'm guessing you are right. I can't imagine the family being evicted because the kid wandered away from the table one time.

That being said, I've also never understood how a kid is allowed to wander away even a SINGLE time. My kids certainly never did. They were made to stay at the table. They were made to behave. If they didn't, no manager would have to ask us to leave. We would pick them up immediately and leave on our own accord. One of us would stay behind to get the food packed up/bill paid. But, kids wandering around the restaurant? Never happened to us.

Ditto.

And they were so embarrassed by what the restaurant did that they had to alert the national media...

I'd be crawling into a hole if I were them, and praying my neighbors never found out my kids were acting like total brats out in public.

ETA: I love how it looks like that kid is acting out during the picture in the News report and mom is gripping him for dear life.

Seriously! First thing I noticed.

Any time someone says anything like "they are just active" or "they're just being children" in reference to their kids, it means the kids are not behaving appropriately for the situation.

Even "active" children can (& should) be taught to sit correctly & politely in a restaurant.

I wish Applebees hadn't apologized.

Exactly, to the bolded. As far as the apology, I agree...I wish they hadn't, but I'm not surprised they did.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

There had to have been several exchanges between the parents and the manager before the police were called. Polite requests to keep the kids quiet probably turned into more firm requests, followed by no action on the part of the parents. A request for the family to leave was ignored, hence the call to the police. The only innocent victims here are the other customers who went out to enjoy a pleasant meal.

I can recall several times when DH and I finished our meals separately while we took turns taking kids outside. Our oldest son was usually fine until he was finished eating. Then one of us would take him outside while the other finished. Then we would switch and the last one at the table would pay the bill. We only went out if we were traveling or had some other reason we couldn't eat at home. Otherwise, we got take-out or we got a sitter.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Any time someone says anything like "they are just active" or "they're just being children" in reference to their kids, it means the kids are not behaving appropriately for the situation.

Even "active" children can (& should) be taught to sit correctly & politely in a restaurant.

I wish Applebees hadn't apologized.

Let's not forget "Boys will be boys". My neighbor throws that one out all the time. Her kids are rotten. We live in a small private community. Her boys break the toddler swings at the playground(They're 15), climb the water tower and spraypaint vulgar words on it, bend the hoops at the bb court, tear down the volleyball net etc. Every time the cops are called she gets mad and says they're just behaving like boys do. Yup they're behaving like horrible, undiciplined boys do. Not like boys who have parents who give a crap.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

These people would probably be the first to sue if a server tripped over their kid and the kid got hurt by broken glass or burned by hot food.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Let's not forget "Boys will be boys". My neighbor throws that one out all the time. Her kids are rotten. We live in a small private community. Her boys break the toddler swings at the playground(They're 15), climb the water tower and spraypaint vulgar words on it, bend the hoops at the bb court, tear down the volleyball net etc. Every time the cops are called she gets mad and says they're just behaving like boys do. Yup they're behaving like horrible, undiciplined boys do. Not like boys who have parents who give a crap.

 

[PigletsPal2]

The one time I can remember my DDs misbehaving in a restaurant, they were under the influence of their devil-spawn cousin. The behavior didn't last long; I leaned across the table and said to DH, in a voice loud enough to be heard by the nearest tables, "I don't think I can marry you after all - your children are terrors!"

He straightened the kids out quickly, but we then had to deal with my aunt, who was laughing so hard she was choking!

I agree with all of you; I think the parents downplayed the kids' behavior. Good for Applebee's for ejecting them, but boo for Applebee's apology.

Queen Colleen

 

[powellrj]

I was at the BMV last weekend with DH and a man came in with 6 little kids, the oldest may have been 7. I saw them walking through the parking lot, 5 little boys and a little girl. I was hoping to be done before they came in. They came in and didn't utter a peep the whole time they were in there. You would never have known there were little kids in the building they were so good. Don't give me the whole boys will be boys excuse.

I wish Applebees hadn't given them free meals. It just rewarded their bad behavior.

 

[EMAW_KSU]

And they were so embarrassed by what the restaurant did that they had to alert the national media...

Looking for a payday.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'd like to see the word "disrespected" banned from the English language.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Yep--I fully agree with everyone here.

There is almost certainly a LOT of bad behaviour that was happening to have gotten to the point of police being in the parking lot when the family exited. And both their words and the boy's posture in the photo make it pretty obvious these kids are allowed to run around and bother others while their parents excuse it as "kids being kids"

I feel very sorry for the manager that Applebees is not backing--and am annoyed with Applebees. I would be applauding them if they had stood behind that manager.

 

[mumto3girls]

My kids were always told to stay in their seats, not bother the people behind us and to use voices that only we can hear because the people around us aren't really interested in how their day was. Anyone who couldn't follow the rules would have to go sit in the car with a very annoyed mother. I have 3 girls and both of the oldest two had to be removed once around the age of 2, maybe 3 and then no more problems. My youngest, who is actually usually a bit more challenging because she doesn't embarrass as easily as the other two, has yet to have to be removed. Her time may still come though even though she is 7 as she does instigate with her sisters occasionally.

 

[mamacatnv]

The Dad said it was 9 to 9:15 at night. That has got to be late to be feeding toddlers - now I realize they might be on a different schedule but chances are, the parents came in with two hungry cranky kids.

The fact that the Dad had to go grab the kid tells me the parents didn't have control of them at the table.

I agree with Hadley and many others here, too bad Applebee's management is not backing their manager, that is really sad.
One of the last bad dining experiences I had with kids gone wild was in an Applebee's. We complained and were told that there was nothing management could do. I have never been back to an Applebee's.

 

[EMom]

I just called Applebee's corporate office (1-888-59APPLE) and told them they should have backed up that manager for doing what a lot of other managers should do when kids are acting like hellions and their parents won't control them. I told them to check out social media and they would see people are almost 100% behind the manager. I gave them an earful and told them it was wrong to make the manager apologize, that I had better not hear he'd been fired, yada, yada, yada. They swore he would not be fired.

I got the feeling they'd had other calls like mine. But heck, they could use a few more.