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Olive Garden Ripoff Unlawful Labor Practices Stoughton Massachusetts
The Olive Garden, sure people in the area have been waiting 2 years for one to open. But did they know they would have to wait 2 hours for a table every weekend until eternity.
The Olive Garden, when you are here you're family, yes certainly a highly dysfunctional family that stabs you in back and front (with dirty knives below) at every blink of the eye. Ahh memories!
The Olive Garden, a garden of lies.......
1. We are committed to open, honest communication, mutual respect and strong teamwork.
Wrong! the open door policy is behind a closed door and retaliation is sure and swift, there is no respect, how can you respect someone that you (management) have been trained to treat like a slave in the cotton fields.
2. We are clear on each individual's role, accountabilities and key performance measures.
Wrong! Clear as mud. Noboby has any idea who does what. The right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. Drinking coffee, smoking a cigarette, on the cell phone, no hands on the wheel, who's driving?
3. We do not compromise standards in selection, training and job performance. Wrong! Unless no prior experience, being under the age of 25 and having no frontal lobe are the standards. If these are the key ingredients damm that's manager material.
4. In the process of making a change, we seek the opinion of those closest to the action, listen and value their ideas. Wrong!Listening and understanding actually require the sensory perception to first, close your mouth and open your ears, use what little brain god gave you and then take action, but then again, take action at the Olive Garden means time for a write-up. Which to those laypeople outside the Olive Garden world, means see principal one regarding the closed door.
5. Everyone should expect regular on-going training opportunities to sharpen and advance their skills.
Wrong! This only applies to management and management track employees, because lobotomies are expensive and they only service the small percentage of management types at a group rate.
6. When accountabilities are not being met, we act quickly! Correct! But then again see principle 2 on how accountabilities are described. If someone does something against Olive Garden's everchanging landscape of policies, they are written up, which is basically a written warning not to do that again, whatever the perceived wrong may be. These are the rules today, not tomorrow and subject to change constantly.
7. We will achieve the results and share our successes.
Correct! Let's all get together for Alley Ralley and talk about our numbers and what we are doing wrong and how we can improve those numbers. Its funny but how come we dont actually get any recognition for our success, but the management team does have one thing to say "Sell More Alcohol"! Hmmmm... The Olive Garden or Bucket of Drunks, take your pick.
Enough about Olive Garden's policies, let's talk the real meat of the issues.
-Schedules - It is our understanding that when an employer requests your availability that you are being given a choice, Not so at the Olive Garden. You can say you cannot work on a particular day or days but then your manager will cross that out and say you must have anytime availability and that you should be flexible and that changes to your availability can be made over time, lets say after 90 days. Ok, we'll go with that. One problem after 90 days have elasped you change your availability and your prevailing schedule is accomodated until.......A new person is making the schedule and chooses to ignore any and all requests. This includes any religious holidays that you request specifically and with proper notice. We have been told after the fact, that you can make requests for time off, but they don't have to honor them. HMMMM, alright who died and made you God (management)?
Your schedule is changed on a daily basis, but it up to you (the employee) to check your schedule every day and be on time, even if your schedule is changed 5 minutes before you get there.
Dinner business decline, what is this s**t? In every other restaurant in the United States, you know not only what time you are expected in, but you have a reasonable idea of when you might be going home. Therefore DBD means roach motel, you can get in but you can't get out or have a life or make any plans, or breathe, not paying you to breathe or go to the bathroom, that is considered a break.
If your are ill, please come in and check your schedule and attempt to find a replacement, if a replacement is not available, you must work your shift and spread your germs (aka hospitaliano)to your guests. This includes the bed ridden, hospitalized, comatose and dearly departed. You can still be written up if you or any member of your family are deceased. Death days are not payable by the company. Birth is also not an excuse for being tardy or absent from your shift. In labor? dont worry we can hokie the mess up. (see more on hokie below). Who knows you may be the winner of the New Menu item contest, Placenta soup anyone? Wait a minute, I ordered minestrone.
-Breaks What are these breaks you speak of?
On a six hour shift, (by the by most shifts run 8 hours or more), you are asked by management will you be taking a break?It is unlawful to ask that of an employee. You are also allowed by law to leave the premises for said break, but the Olive Garden has found a clever way to prevent this, they won't cash you out in a timely fashion, therefore you have used 25 minutes of your 30 minute break, trying to get cashed out, because if you leave the premises with store money, it is considered stealing and you will be terminated or god forbid written up.
-Break facilities- Yeh right.These so called breaks are to be taken in the linen/closet/bread storage area next to the Unisex bathroom (which by the way is bigger than the break area) and if you extremely lucky, you might get a chair that day.
-Uniforms - Hmmm, sure but we purchase them, but upon leaving the job and moving on, we were asked to return our uniforms, hmm, we purchased our uniforms from Walmart not Darden and paid for said uniforms with our own money. Uniforms are not issued by the company.
-More on uniforms - Aren't black socks bad for your feet? My phys ed teacher told me only white socks are permitted for sweating feet, otherwise the dyes will seep into your skin and poison your blood. Gees hope everybody has their health insurance premiums paid up.
-Setting the pace - Sounds delightful doesnt it? In neverland, perhaps. How is it possible to set the pace of the meal for each individual party when the host staff is directed to triple seat each and every server at the same time. This applies to servers who are not even on the clock or near the restaurant.
-Running food - Sure everyone can run food, providing you are an octupus, We are beginning to wonder if we should be serving the calamari or should it be serving our guests?
More thoughts on food....Shoot the messenger - The server is responsbile for any and all food coming out of the kitchen, funny but we are not cooking the food, just taking the orders and trying to run it to the table. If something is wrong, no matter how minute or phony a guest complaint may be, the server is punished, regardless, the food might be cold, undercooked, overcooked, have a foreign object in it, just plain wrong or our favorite, not what the guest wanted (not ordered, because we are all psychic and that's why we get paid the big bucks $2.63 an hour, WOW!)
Hardened Noodles - that's ok, just slop on some more sauce,stir it around and call it brand new.
NCO - Neat, Clean and Orderly. Sounds Swell!
Lets start with the dishes, the dishwasher is not just a machine, but 3 people and a machine. Unfortunately, the dish machine does not work correctly and we have dirty, spotty dishes, silverware and plates, Yumm, I'll have a bowl of that! No extra charge for the crusted on food always on the plates, funny I didn't see that on the garnish list.
Let's not forget the floors, that lovely shade of rust brown, makes me think of long walks in the woods, with bugs and critters under the leaves, please note the floors are not vacumned, but and I can't say this without a tear in my eye, but, Hokied. Broken glass, vomit you name it, we hokie it.
Gum - used gum, Does your chewing gum lose its flavor under the table overnight? We can honestly say no, tastes great, less filling. For we are those that scrape the discarded gum off the bottom of the table with the knife that we will proudly serve to you the next day (dont forget dishmachine is subpar, yummy!).
Endless Soup, Salad and Breadsticks: It has recently been brought to our attention that this is a lie. Unless the Webster's definition of endless has been changed to the number three.After that we have to charge. Could that have been brought to our attention, perhaps during training or even been put in the small print on the menu and on the commercials (which by the way are endless and insulting to the average american intelligience)?
Smoke breaks - This is when the back door is opened and half the employees leave the floor and desert their stations, because it won't be opened again for at least four hours or more. This is also called a "trash run". Remember the people that handle your food are handling trash. Nothing against smokers, but where we come from, asking permission to smoke outside when your station is in great shape is very very sad. Wouldn't it make more sense to leave the floor when you can, not when management thinks they might throw you a bone.
Hospitaliano! translated into Olive Garden speak can mean many things.
1. noun "to hospitalize" to hospital i go, to the bathroom i go, i go a lot.
2. verb - Going out of your way to get written up.
3. adjective - drunkeness, to achieve a state of stupidity.
4. a great meal complemented by a great glass of wine, hmmm, does this mean all Italians are drunks, if this is the case, many members of the Italian community are going to be very upset and we are not above letting them in on this little secret. Does anyone know any teamsters?
5. Sell more alcohol, please suggest a different wine.for every course of the meal, despite guest's objections that "they dont drink". And when they say, "I dont drink" offer them a cocktail instead of the wine, cocktails dont have alcohol, do they?
In summary, we would like to say, please dont work here, unless you want to give up your soul to a faceless entity that is ruled by the dark minions of the underworld garnished with steam, why is steam so important? it signifies hell......... Please dont eat here, unless you have no regard for your internal organs, your fellow man or your own self respect.
Our names are not signed, we wish to remain anonymous, because if our friends ever found out we worked there, we would be more than embarassed, we would be banished from the real italian communities around the world forever.
Trying to Get Back Our Dignity
Anonymous, Massachusetts
U.S.A.
10 Updates & Rebuttals
Tallulah-phoebe
Beverly Hills,California,
U.S.A.
Unfair labor practices?
#11Consumer Comment
Tue, October 09, 2007
Since when is being expected to adequately perform your job duties, follow company policies, be scheduled according to the needs of the company, etc. considered "unfair labor practices"?
It sounds like you think a job should allow you to do whatever you want, whenever you want. You are sadly mistaken. May I suggest a major attitudinal adjustment before seeking your next employment opportunity.
Tallulah-phoebe
Beverly Hills,California,
U.S.A.
Unfair labor practices?
#11Consumer Comment
Tue, October 09, 2007
Since when is being expected to adequately perform your job duties, follow company policies, be scheduled according to the needs of the company, etc. considered "unfair labor practices"?
It sounds like you think a job should allow you to do whatever you want, whenever you want. You are sadly mistaken. May I suggest a major attitudinal adjustment before seeking your next employment opportunity.
Tallulah-phoebe
Beverly Hills,California,
U.S.A.
Unfair labor practices?
#11Consumer Comment
Tue, October 09, 2007
Since when is being expected to adequately perform your job duties, follow company policies, be scheduled according to the needs of the company, etc. considered "unfair labor practices"?
It sounds like you think a job should allow you to do whatever you want, whenever you want. You are sadly mistaken. May I suggest a major attitudinal adjustment before seeking your next employment opportunity.
Tallulah-phoebe
Beverly Hills,California,
U.S.A.
Unfair labor practices?
#11Consumer Comment
Tue, October 09, 2007
Since when is being expected to adequately perform your job duties, follow company policies, be scheduled according to the needs of the company, etc. considered "unfair labor practices"?
It sounds like you think a job should allow you to do whatever you want, whenever you want. You are sadly mistaken. May I suggest a major attitudinal adjustment before seeking your next employment opportunity.
Jmm9405
Marshall,Missouri,
U.S.A.
puh lease!
#11Consumer Suggestion
Tue, October 09, 2007
This is the worst complaint I have yet to read. your going to complain about the socks you have to wear? At most places you are required to purchase and return the uniform after leaving, this is for different reason, one is PR. No restuarant wants some idiot who no longer works for their resturant to be caught on video or seen out in public making a d**n fool of themselves, wearing their companies uniform. I worked for hooters for just about 3 years , and i returned almost 100 uniforms from over the years, because the company doesn't need some girl showing up on girls gone wild wearing a hooters shirt, its the same thing for oive garden. Next, restarants don't follow the same break rules as standard jobs, usually this is in the hand book you get when you are hired, if you don't like it don't work at restaurants. As an employee you are required to know you menu, you are supposed to suggestively sale, this incluldes alcohol. I work at applebees currently and have worked there for about two year, we are supposed to upsell alcohol also, we are also supposed to raise our check averages through suggestively selling, this makes the company more profit, and raises you check average, so if you are a half way decent server this also means more money for you. At restuarants such as hooters or Joes crab shack, you are also asked to push merchandise, why. BECAUSE ITS YOU JOB! Get over it! Another way to make sure you get better tips and make sure you guests are happy is to make sure they get what they ordered, and it looks presentable. If you are the last person to touch the plate before it goes to the table, then you should make sure everything is right before you take it out. People decide if they are going to like things even before they eat it, if it looks like crap and i have just paid 15 dollars for a meal, heck yea im sending it back, and its the servers fault not the kitchens! If for any reason you can't come in, including sickness, it is your scheduled shift and you are in charge of finding someone to work for you, this doesn't mean try and call people at 330 when you are scheduled at 400, if you are sick enough to not got to work at 300 you were probably sick at 1000 am. you should have thought about it. If you are sick, many companies also require doctors note, why> because alot of employees abuse abuse this situation and call in sick because they are a little tired or drank to much last night. Im sure if you are truly sick and restuarant will send you home. Next, schedule REQUESTS! This should simple, when hired you give your availabitly, and the store decides if you availabitiy fits there needs. If it does they may hire you, also based on other criteria. Just because it is christmas and you don't want to work doesn't mean you automatically get the day off. Many places use seniority to decide who get there request off days, if there are shortages or conflicts, my guess you didn't work there very long. As with any job if you can no longer fit there job requirement including scheduling, then you are useless. Every restaurant i have worked at has bent over backwards to make my schedule as pleasant as possible. I know olive garden is no different, my roomate works two nights a week, different nights a week depending on sorority events, these are significant events, but yet they still work around them. And while we are talking about schedules, most restuarants use the same methods as olive garden on keeping staff. You come in at you scheduled time, then after the rush dies down they cut down the number of workers, they may cut a second time before having only the closing servers and cooks left. This isn't any set time, just when the business dies out, in a college town working at applebees you can never guess when that will be. So no not every restaurant to you know when you come in and when you will leave. This is how restuarants adjust there labor to the amount of business. And then while you are there and you are taking these break, give me a break. what do you want a 5 star hotel to go back to, no this is a break not a vacation. munch on something, regain you sanity and get back out there. personally im a server, and i hate taking breaks, a server doesn't get minumum wage in missouri, we get 3 dollars an hour, so while im at work im taking tables and making money! Then you complaing about running food, well the food isn't going to run itself, many costumers tip their server on how wel they did, when a server brings the food out and makes sure that every thing is perfect before walking away it is just one more way at raising you tip average, and thats what pays the bills. Unless you complaint is about maybe helpin some one esle out, which by the sound of your complaint this is very possible! God forbid you run food to someone elses tables. grrrr!! And last but not least, my biggest pet peeves smoke breaks. you get a 15 minute break, if yo wanna smoke do it then, if you managers give you a smoke break, then that should be your break. Honestly if you can't make if through your shift with out smoking you have a problem, and its not your work place. I guess smokers feel that they have some unwritten privilege to take extra breaks because they are smokers, oh my god im going to die if i don't get a cigarette this hour, what? No wonder you didn't put your names. i would be embarressed to if i wrote somethings so stupid! And honestly i bet you did eat the gum from under the table, because youre acting like a 5 year old!
Constance
Virginia Beach,Virginia,
U.S.A.
I have been a restaurant manager, in Massachusetts
#11Consumer Suggestion
Mon, April 17, 2006
I would like to make the following comment or suggestion to the original poster.
I have been a lowly waitress all the way up to the general manager of some well known chain restaurants. Some of what you are complaining about is just how the business "works". Olive Garden (while I have had no affiliation with this company), is a restaurant chain which happens to hold a liquor license. It would also be wise to say with that knowledge, probably a third of their reciepts at the end of the day come from liquor sales. I am also not one to sterotype, but I will say this, I am not Italian, but have an Italian brother in law, and when we eat at their home for a big dinner, yes, sometimes they will open three different bottles of wine at one meal, one to be served with appetizers, one with the main course and another with dessert.
That is not to say that all Italians are drunks and drinkers. What Olive Garden is trying to provide the patron is the authentic Italian meal, as it would be served in Italy, as well as the atmosphere.
On the other hand, as far as kitchen conditions, let me say this... If you have ever worked in the inside of a restaurant kitchen, you might come to learn several things. One of them is this. Most restaurants do not pay well. Many of those who do work in restaurants are college students, and many of those in the area attend the local culinary schools, Johnson and Wales in Rhode Island being one of them. Now, that being said, staffing is sometimes hard if not impossible, and there are and is times when a manager has to have one person both prep and wash dishes, or cook and wait tables. It is inevitable. You mention holidays and asking for the day off. How long have you been waitressing? I am asking for a reason. The reason being a "seasoned" waitress will kill to work a holiday like Easter, Mother's Day, etc. Do you know why? HIGH VOLUME OF CUSTOMERS. You are going to go home with a fortune in tips. I have worked for the New England then Breakfast 24/7 Restaurant, Bickford's, and I know there were many Saturday night late night shifts that I worked (overnight bar crowd), and stayed to work the Sunday morning church crowd. Yes I worked about 12 hours, but I went home with heavy pockets.
If the presentation of food is questionable, and say a customer complains about the way something is cooked, You, the waitress are responsible for that. The reason I am saying this is because apparently you were not taught the rule, if you yourself would not eat what is presented on a plate, DO NOT SERVE IT TO A CUSTOMER. The problem with the hard macaroni, could very well be that an order was put up by the chef, and because it was not promptly picked up, stood underheat lamps too long trying to keep it warm. In that case, the server is directly responsible for the mishap.
And I would certainly agree with a manager's call on the "unlimited" soup salad and breadsticks. If a customer is on serving #5, well he or she has eaten more than what would be expected of two people. Sometimes limits do have to be set. No company, especially a large one like this is going to operate at a loss.
All kitchens and restaurants in Massachusetts, along with Rhode Island and Connecticut are inspected several times a year by the Health inspector. All managers have to take certification in food handling and safety, and yes, kitchen staff are responsible for trash removal. That would be like saying that a surgeon who operates on a patient in a hospital would not clean up the operating room when he or she is finished. All that is required is some soap and water. Yes sometimes dishes come out of the dishwasher not looking so hot, especially when there is a high turn around and you are lacking plates and need them done quickly, but rest assured, the dishwashers, if you were to stick your hand through an entire cycle, would take your skin off the bones, the water is scaling hot and sanitizers are used each and every time.
Many facilities I have worked in required waitresses to mop dining room floors during off hours. It is the same thing as taking out the trash. There you are a server of food, who has to stick their hands in a dirty mop bucket to wring the mop. It has to be done. When you finish you are required to properly WASH YOUR HANDS.
Setting a schedule for servers is sometimes a very complicated one. Especially when I worked in one other New England based chain, Friendly's, and we had nearly our entire staff bail on us on Prom Night, since the majority of our employees were high school students. Myself, and two other employees over 25 years of age, waited all the tables, did all the cooking and clean up, and to make matters worse, at 10 pm that night, we were "slammed", every table in the place full and customers waiting for tables. We still do not know how we made it through that night ten years ago.
Waitressing is another one of those jobs where it is not mandatory for you to have to take a break. The law on it is you get one 15 minute break (and it does not have to be scheduled)for each six hour period you work. If you work more than 8 hours you are entitled to a 30 minute lunch break, and it is usually when you are told you are allowed to have such a break, heck it could be the last 30 minutes of your shift. Many places require you to clock in and out for your breaks. Buying uniforms is a given for most establishements. Dunkin Donuts, Friendly's, etc. all require you to purchase your uniforms, and many places deduct this from your pay. Some but not all, will refund your uniform purchase money when you leave a job and have turned the uniform back in, and you collect your final paycheck. Uniforms keep consistency with all staff members.
Try working in a private club where you have to change your uniforms out two or three times a day, and have one for general daytime, one for general nightime, and a full formal uniform.
OH, and the black socks deal...well I don't know about black socks in general, but the going thing that I do know of is COTTON socks. Believe it or not, our soldiers and sailors are required to wear BLACK socks with their uniforms, and even in their combat boots. They do make socks which are black on top and white on the soles on the feet.
To close my comment, let me just say luckily, you have never worked at Hooter's, where you have to fit into the one size fits everyone uniform, which you have to buy, and then after working there for a week, complain about "sexual harassment".
Lisa
randolph,Massachusetts,
U.S.A.
Unfair Labor Practices
#11Author of original report
Mon, April 17, 2006
This report is not to be used as thread for personal attacks. It is for consumer reporting only. Thank you.
Pete
Valley View,Michigan,
U.S.A.
Lisa
#11Consumer Comment
Sun, April 16, 2006
If you're so brilliant and have such intelligent 'incite' into operations of a large corporation, why is it you're not a CEO but an unemployed waitress instead?
Couldn't cut it, could you?
Lisa
Randolph,Massachusetts,
U.S.A.
To John in Georgia
#11Author of original report
Sat, April 15, 2006
If you read the entire report, you will see that we have quit and reported them to the proper authorities, unfortunately that isn't always enough and we wanted to make sure that those we left behind (there are not many people left working at this particular OG)and those new potential employees are not falling into same trap. Thank you for your comments.
John
White,Georgia,
U.S.A.
If they are so bad Quit
#11Consumer Comment
Fri, April 14, 2006
The great thing about living in this country is that you have the freedom to work wherever you want. Have you reported them to the state? There seems to be some health code violation in your post?
If you haven't got the nerve to report them then quit your griping because you have options. Either you are afraid or this report is bogus and for some reason you want to get back at them.