Applebee's

Applebee's Restaurants LLC is an American company that's operates and owns restaurant chain Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar. It became an subsidiary to Dine Brands after a $2.1 billion acquisition deal between IHOP on 29 November 2007.

The company provides confusing language or very vague answers towards certain data collection practices. Separated in categories of Personal Information (PI) it describes collection of personal information as Identifiers, inferences drawn from other PI. PI as identifiers and under California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code §1798.80(e)).^[1][2]

For users living in California, they can request deletion, notice, access, and correct personal data via phone number or form, however it may require fees depending the users "excessive or repetitive" requests and additional collection of personal information for identification purposes.

Collects personal data that includes social security number, name, signature, physical characteristics or description, address, phone number, passport number, driver license and/or state identification number, insurance policy number, education, financial information, medical information, and health insurance information. The company shares data between other companies, third party service providers, Dine brands affiliates and franchisees.

The company franchisees locations and serve primarily salads, chicken, burgers, and their signature dish item riblets.

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Applebee's category.

RMH Franchise, a company that operated Applebee's Point of sale systems, announced on 2 March,^[3]167 locations were affected with malware on its point of sale systems that contained customers name, credit or debit card numbers, expiration dates and card verification codes.^[4][3] RMH Franchise first discovered on 13 February and later prompted an investigation that highlights between 6 December through 2 January 2018 malware was prominent in numerous locations,^[5] with earliest instances being from 23 November.^[6][3]

Bartley M. Mullen filed a lawsuit against Applebee's on 22 February over violating title III of the Americans with Disabilities act, alleging 28 Applebee's locations included bar-tops and dining areas that were inaccessible to customers with wheelchairs or scooters.^[7] The case was dismissed with prejudice on 31 October 2019.^[8][9]

On 26 March Christopher Block filed a lawsuit against Applebee's franchisee Wisconsin Hospitality Group for violating title III Americans with Disabilities act. The lawsuit claims the company failed provide equal access to customers with disabilities after a investigation done on plaintiff behalf show the chain having steep slopes in parking lots, curb lamps, entrances, and aisles across 5 locations.^[10] The lawsuit was dismissed by Christopher Block on 16 April 2021 that reached an undisclosed settlement agreement.^[11]

On 3 December, Gaynell Coldburm filed a lawsuit against Applebee's franchisee The Rose Group, LLC, over violating title III of the Americans with Disabilities act.^[12] The lawsuit claims around November 2019, plaintiff Gaynell Coldburm went to a Applebee's restaurant located at 6798 Reisterstown Road, Baltimore, to dine and socialize.^[12] When he requested to be seated and served at the bar counted an female employee replied with,"no, there is nowhere in there that will accommodate you”, after which another employee intervened and attempted to seat plaintiff Gaynell Coldburn onto the bar seat, however they were unsuccessful.^[12] Additionally, it claims 6 other locations bar counters were inaccessible to disabled customers.^[12] The lawsuit reached a settlement agreement and was dismissed with prejudice by the plaintiff.^[13][14]

On 24 August, Applebee's was involved in a lawsuit field by plaintiffs April Powell, Elizabeth Boscoianu, Kevin Harris, and Michelle Gilliam over violating the Biometric Information Privacy Act by unlawfully collecting voiceprints of Illinois consumers.^[15][16] It claims around 2021 Applebee's, along with several other companies, installed AI voice order systems through SYNQ3.^[15] The case was dismissed on 3 October 2022.^[17]

On 1 August, Michelle Clark filed a lawsuit against Applebee's and its parent company Dine Brands over violating the California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act(Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1750), California’s False Advertising Law(Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17500), and California’s Unfair Competition Law(Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200).^[18] Michelle claims Applebee's website and mobile app deceive customers by not listing the hidden 11% service fee when customers browse menu items or at checkout, only being visible at the final page before purchase; however noting that it's lack transparency on the intended purpose of the service fee.^[18] On the purchasing page, it adds the service fee no longer being visible, and instead grouped into a single fee titled "custom fee".^[18] The lawsuit is still in legal proceeding and has yet to be resolved as of April 2026.^[19]

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