Pros
I've been at Applebee's long enough that I basically feel as if I work with my second family. My managers have always been very flexible with my schedule, which has allowed me to go to school and spend quality time with my family.
Cons
Secret shoppers are the worst. We are encouraged to use a scripted dialogue with our guests to upsell certain items, and although I can see this would be valuable to someone who is uncomfortable talking to strangers, for me it is simply irritating. I don't feel its appropriate to annoy my guest by suggesting a drink, appetizer, and dessert when they know what they want. However because Applebee's participates in the secret shopper program we have no choice but to assume each guest is a secret shopper and be sure to suggest items or we can be punished by being placed in our secondary position or have our hours reduced due to a poor score on a shop. Like I said, I do see the value of the secret shopper program, however if my guest enjoys my service, has a meal delivered in a timely manner which they enjoy, I think there should be an option for them to say, she didn't suggest a darn thing but she wowed me so don't punish this server.