Okay, whatever.
All I know is, the sign in front of the Applebee's near my favourite grocery store was so mind-numbingly awful in its total disregard for The Language that I pulled into a neighbouring parking lot after shopping so that I could pop off these photos IN SUCCESSION.
And put them here. For everyone.
Because I had to do Something.
I'm starting you off small, with a simple, yet always annoying, error
...which they repeated, of course, because why not?
Here, the Sign Programmer is still befuddled by the Use Of Apostrophes. Or, he used them all up in the previous signs, so he could not properly place one in IT'S. He obviously follows the St. Patsy rule of exclamation points (More Is Better). And I guess if you don't understand the nuances of apostrophes, then compound words...well, forget it.
This is my favourite one, I think. I honestly don't mind the little exclamation point after HOT. It's creative and fun. But I think the fine people of Nashville (and I) might have a bit of an issue with the new spelling of the town.
Sigh. That sign is STILL there, in all its horrific wrongness, over a week later. So painful.
rottenapple
I like to think that I would have marched in there with the pictures printed out with red marker corrections on them. Or maybe yellow since the letters are already red. Heaviest sigh ever.
ReplyDeleteOn a positive note - my dad & Sue took us to Applebees before my surgery & it was DELICIOUS. I had the Caprese Mozzarella Chicken. First time in a while that I enjoyed a meal there. I didn't look at the sign.
Bug--I'm working really hard at Achieving/Maintaining My Zen. I did give a bit of thought to merely stopping in and asking about who programs the sign and explaining that it is rife with errors, but then realized that, probably, no one in there would care. If they did, they would have checked the sign long ago.
DeleteCannot recall the last time I ate at the Neighbourhood Applebee's. Stopped at one in Virginia a year ago after a long, hot drive, and it was simply horrid. Even they knew it and comped my order without me saying a word. I didn't look at their sign then, either.
Oh, I'm sad about Applebee's. Restaurants give the job of changing signs to the lowest person on the totem pole, the dishwashers and clean up guys. I'm never surprised when I see stuff like that on their signs.
ReplyDeleteJean R.--I think you are right about signage duties if the sign is one of those manual, letter-by-letter things, but this is typed into the sign using a keyboard. I've seen managers of the local drugstore outside with a bluetooth keyboard punching in the screens, and I've also seen a hostess at a chain restaurant in an empty booth plunking away at it.
DeleteRegardless of who does it, any manager/owner or whoever with a shred of pride in the place should check what is going out to thousands of people as the face of the restaurant. Signage is Publicity; it's the public persona of the establishment. And it basically says, in this case, No One Here Bothers.
How hard is it to PROOFREAD? Or to do a quick search to determine correctness? And, in a lot of cases, the stuff for signage is sent from national headquarters: all they have to do is type in what is sent. THEN CHECK IT FOR CORRECTNESS.
I wonder if those signs are programmed from one central location and all the Applebee's say the same thing at the same time. I don't know why but I think that if the signs were all consistently wrong, then I'd find these messages less stupid. Or maybe not. I don't particularly like Applebee's food so less of them won't bother me at all. But you? What will photograph if this location closes?
ReplyDeleteAlly Bean--I don't think they are centrally programmed because interspersed among these signs were other messages, some about local charity events, the Cleveland Indians, etc. A quick search tells me that they are franchised restaurants, so it is likely that they are independently operated.
DeleteThe Applebee's in this location is, so far, not slated for closure, but as earlier posts in this vein have proven, there is so much blog fodder out there for me that I am not worried in the least.
Oh geeze, but I guess I don't expect anything else from Applebee's...I'm not fond of the restaurant or the food they serve. The one in my area is never crowded...I don't think anyone else likes them either. LOL
ReplyDeleteVera--I don't like to see any local restaurants close. It means a loss of jobs, another vacant building, more economic problems, and the list goes on and on. I'm sure you don't like it, either, in your area, for those reasons.
DeleteBut, like you, I want to eat at restaurants that have good food, good service, and an appealing atmosphere. The Applebee's in our area...meh. Nothing fresh, nothing really tasty, and the menu was uninspired/uninspiring. It was all stuff I could make at home myself (and I could do much better), so why eat there and pay for what tasted bland and microwaved at best?
I know you and your husband (and extended family) really appreciate great fresh food and love to cook and try lots of different ethnic foods, too. Not surprised Applebee's isn't a draw for you.
Okay, I looked at these signs and interpreted them differently than you all did. I assumed that "Monday's $6.95 Burger" was that it WAS Monday and their "special" that day were burgers. It would then be the correct grammar.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe I'm over thinking it...
Jill--Hmmm....Do you mean they just left out the word "Special"? I guess, but given the errors in the rest of their signs, I'm not inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt. Plus, it's awkward without some previous mention of a word like "special" to give it context.
DeleteYou're probably right; I was just trying to give the signs some context...
DeleteThey clearly don't care about spilling!
ReplyDeleteSillyak--Which could be another reason they are closing...!
DeleteWhat a sign mess.
ReplyDeleteMeredith--Indeed.
DeleteApplebee's never really did gain too much of a foothold here. Applebee's, we hardly knew ye!
ReplyDeleteActually I ate at one in New Mexico many years ago, it was so-so. Apparently everyone else thought so, too!
Gina--Sadly, a wide array of chain restaurants opened and closed here in shocking speed over the last 5-10 years: Eat'n Park, Bennigan's, Smokey Bones, Red Robin, Fazzoli's, and TGI Fridays, just to name a few. The only ones who have gained traction and managed to stick around have been Olive Garden, IHoP, and this Applebee's. And a Chipotle. A few are now just empty buildings. It's terrible.
DeleteI think there's a missed opportunity here by the restaurant group who owns Applebee's. They had a chance to take a good, hard look at what was really wrong with their franchises--mediocre to downright lousy food that was mainly microwaved--and make it better with relative ease. Instead, they mouthed a lot of industry platitudes and cut the bottom line.
Only in America. Not a pity.
ReplyDeleteMary G--Is it really Only In America? Are all Canadian signs impeccable? I don't recall reading many signs whilst in Canada, now that I'm thinking of it. OF COURSE, NOW I SHALL.
Delete;-)