After Pepsi’s protest ad featuring Kendall Jenner caused so much controversy, Applebee’s restaurants across the country, which currently serve Pepsi products, are feeling a revenue hit as patrons are reportedly leaving the restaurant after learning that the restaurant serves Pepsi products during server introductions.
Josh Norman, a server at a Washington, D.C. based Applebee’s says a customer almost fought him over the matter. “The gentleman asked for Coke, and when I responded is Pepsi ok?, that’s when he snapped and got in my face” says Norman. “I wasn’t worried about his aggression to be honest with you, because where I’m from we unload the clip so it was what it was” Norman continued.
At a Miami based Applebee’s, manager Zach Thomas said the same thing has been happening to his employees. “I have had to break up at least 9-10 altercations yesterday alone where patrons are getting in the faces of servers and that was just during the lunch shift. When I talk to my servers, they are all telling me that all they did was ask if Pepsi was ok… In one case, a patron asked for Coke and the server brought out Pepsi without asking. The patron took one sip, threw the Pepsi on the server, broke the glass, and left.” When asked about whether the police was called in any of these situations, Thomas stated “We try to call in altercations, but we’ve found that the 911 operators stand in union with the patrons.”
A letter from Applebee’s Brand President, John Cywinski introduced a new strategy. “In an effort to curtail altercations at restaurants across the country that involve soft-drink controversies, we will be making a switch from serving Pepsi products to Coca-Cola products starting in the next quarter.”