There is an Applebee's in Clermont. Easy to get to.

I'm up north in the far west suburbs of Chicago and finding good plentiful food and great service. Maybe it has to do with the old folks in the "bubble" (why they use that word I'll never figure out as it diminishes the Villages) that are harder to wait on and many times cheaper than working folks. The quality, quantity, service, cannot be compared to the Villages where much is lacking. I am a Fl resident but eat out very little except for a great Chinese restaurant in Southern Trace.

Not true at all. My kids are here for summer break from college. They are working three jobs, because no place will give them more than 20 hours. Unfortunately, diners are just not coming in so management tells them to go home. If the amount of diners picks up, they then don't have the staff to accommodate. If they tell them to stay in anticipation of diners and they don't come, they spent labor dollars for nothing. Its a tough position to be in.

On the flip side, if there is an event at the square and a place knows they will see a lot of guests, they can't schedule for additional hours because of the other part time jobs most employees hold. So, if place A has them from 10-4:00 and place B from 4:30-1030, place A just lost a server so has to serve less people.

Instead of the 60 hours they expect to work a week they are lucky to get 40 between all three restaurants.

If you want to place blame, point it at our economy. No one wants full time help (even with waived benefits), higher inflation which requires multiple part-time jobs, and multiple part-time jobs that restrict flexibility for both the employer and employee.

No doubt about it.
 

The dark years of our government's REACTION to Covid, not Covid itself, changed America's work ethic. Only a few years long, but it has taught people, especially (but not limited to) young people that they don't have to work. Sad.

And yet, “never again”, ?

My observation: there are plenty of restaurants here in the "bubble" and outside fully staffed with good and sometimes great service. Some, not so much. Managing a restaurant staff must be challenging. It's a fluid workforce and keeping staffing levels up must be challenging in any economic climate. I think many in this workforce see it as a temporary gig till a better paying job, or one closer to home, or one with better benefits pops up. All that said, I do find that Applebees to be kind of gloomy inside.

Sorry to hear this, sounds like they were woefully understaffed that night. The scheduled busser might have called in sick. I most likely would have left, 15 minutes is too long to wait for a table at Applebee’s. But honestly I would have sat at the bar and ate, if a bartender was there.

Agree. There are at least three other restaurants in "The Bubble" where I have experienced the same issues.

It is instructive to look at the restaurants that do NOT have this problem. One such is Lopez Legacy. We've eaten there several times now and without exception the food has been great and the service wonderful. The other side of that coin obviously is $$$: Lopez Legacy and (say) Applebee's both serve food but that is virtually the only similarity they have. Lopez Legacy (according to what I've heard) pays their people well, and offers sick leave, vacation pay and health insurance--which of course translates into higher meal prices. Applebees? probably none of the above.

Villagers (some, anyway) are known to be penurious, and paying higher prices across-the-board for better food served by better waitstaff, no matter what the restaurant in question is, would go over like a fart in church with some of them. But maybe that is the price we will have to pay.

Still too much free money out there.

Penurious — good word, don’t see it often. But I would have just said cheap!

Hmmm, Applebees has been one of our ‘go to’ restaurants for several years. Great service, good food, good value.

Our Sunday Bowling Group (12 of us) went to Applebee's Sunday evening - service was excellent. I mean, really good! Our server, Alee, was very pleasant, professional and perfectly attentive. The food was good, served quickly and the bills were all correct. We made it a point to personally thank her for her efforts along with a "nice" tip.

We've had "bad" experiences at other restaurants in TV including Nancy Lopez. We put them in "Time Out" for a while and then try again. Usually, the next time our expectations are exceeded.

Applebee’s
 

Short on staff. I always have good food. Last time I had ribs fell off bones and young gentleman waiting on me was on target as a server. I think it’s touch and go. No real host why waiting to be seated.they have specials each day reasonable priced.

Life is tough. Hope your depression has lifted.

When we moved a friend looked up a restaurant in The Villages and ordered a gift card for a restaurant we didn't have in our hometown. She wrote on the card "new beginnings". I loved the idea! BTW I have been to that Applebee's many times. One of the few open late. It is dark, but food always good and the employees have always been attentive.