Americans love dining out, but there’s a surprising amount of hate out there for a lot of restaurant chains. Or maybe it’s not so surprising if you’ve had bad experiences multiple times at multiple locations with a particular chain. Following are some chains that a lot of people would love to see go away. If you love any of them, don’t worry; this is all just wishful thinking and not likely to happen!
So here it is, paraphrasing the remarks of online commenters:
TGI Friday’s
It used to be really good, but the quality has gone downhill while prices have gone up. At least you can get their frozen appetizers in grocery stores. They make good movie night snacks.
Applebee’s
The menu looks great, but the food is mediocre. Service is hit-or-miss. On the plus side, there are a lot of them, so when you’re traveling and want to eat at a sit-down restaurant, you know what you’re getting instead of having to take chances on unknown diners.
Denny’s
Reasonable prices and generous portions, plus being open 24 hours, make Denny’s appealing. However, once you’ve stopped at 2 A.M. while traveling and had to share the dining room with customers who are drunk or on drugs, you might decide not to go again, at least not outside regular hours.
Waffle House
The food’s not bad and the prices are good. However, being open 24 hours invites the same customer problems that Denny’s has. Plus, there are so many Waffle Houses across the South that you just get tired of seeing them.
Golden Corral
These buffets are dominated by bad fried food that can’t be good for your heart. The other food, like the “steaks,” is overcooked and difficult to cut and chew. On top of all that, there’s often a scene created by tactless customers.
Subway
Subways are convenient and there are a lot of them, but the prices are high for the quality. At a lot of competing chains, you get actual fries instead of chips as a side, and for the same price or only a little more. Maybe the worst, though, is when the employee doesn’t wipe the knife off before slicing your bread.
Burger King
Maybe it’s always being second fiddle to McDonald’s that explains why the food isn’t that good and the employees often seem annoyed that you walked in, if they pay attention to you at all. Burger King used to be better, but after an ownership change, quality really dropped off.
KFC
Here’s another chain that used to be really good but in recent years has gone downhill, and the sides were never that good to begin with. Also, KFC is really pricey. Why?
Five Guys
The problem isn’t the food. Most people agree that Five Guys burgers and fries are great. It’s the pricing. You’ll pay about what you would at a sit-down restaurant with table service. That shouldn’t be.
Sbarro
If you live somewhere without true NY-style pizza, your first taste of Sbarro might be a revelation. However, once you had real NY pizza, you might see Sbarro as an expensive, subpar knockoff of the real deal.
Long John Silver’s
It’s somewhat amazing these are even around. Fried fish is often a menu item, but where’s the constituency for a whole restaurant chain around it? It’s no wonder you see so few of them now.
McDonald’s
Except for the fries and the breakfast menu, McDonald’s has never really been known for the quality. That was fine as long as prices were low. In recent years, though, prices have shot up while quality hasn’t.
Chick-fil-A
The food and service are both good. Chick-fil-A is very family-friendly, which is great if you have kids, but it’s not so great when you step in for lunch and there are kids running all around while parents chat or stare at screens. The drive-thru offers no reprieve. It’s one of the slowest and least efficient in the business, and it’s especially maddening when they deliver your food while you’re still stuck in the line.
Starbucks
Whenever a Starbucks opens, it all but kills off the local coffee shops, replacing them with overpriced, mass-marketed brews. Plus, the food is mediocre, especially the rubbery breakfast sandwiches. It’s just another of so many chains a lot of people would be happy to never see again.
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