Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Campers*

Scenario: You are meeting with some friends from out of town and haven’t seen them in months. You all decide to meet at Olive Garden to eat, have a few drinks, and catch up. Everything goes smoothly with your server; you pay for your meal and decide to play catch up with your friends for awhile.


Server’s reaction to this scenario: ANGRY. People don’t realize at most restaurants servers are only allowed a certain number of tables. At Olive Garden we get three. This means the more time you waste talking with your friends, the longer our table is being taken. When you sit and talk after you are finished eating, we then go from having a three table section to a two table section, which can dramatically decrease our tips for the night. We call people like this “campers,” because they camp out at their table until they are good and ready.


A server’s intention is not to rush customers. We do everything we can to make the customer’s time as pleasant as possible, but once s/he is finished eating and has paid, it is time to go. It’s not fair to the people standing in the lobby that have been waiting 45 minutes for a customer to sip on his/her last few drinks of wine, or water for that matter.


What to do as a server? I like to make it a point that I want my tables to leave when this happens but without being rude. I clear away any extra plates, even if they are small appetizer plates. I clear away glasses, napkins, silverware, and even coasters. My point is to get everything cleared off but what is left for them to eat or drink, and if they haven’t touched that in awhile, I ask if I can clear that away, as well. Usually customers take the hint they need to leave and get up. However, some are not so quick.


I sometimes have tables ask, “Do you need us to leave, miss? Do you need this table?” It is policy for us not to tell them they should leave. Instead I reword it to, “Oh, we just have a lot of people in the lobby waiting to be seated,” or, “just make sure you got me covered (with a big smile or a wink).” If they have already paid, I use the first line.


I find myself frustrated by this situation even when I am not a server but rather when I’m a customer at a restaurant. I sit in the lobby forever and watch a table sit and drink coffee for forty-five minutes. It is not fair to anyone else. There should be a time limit to sit once people have paid.


If you haven’t paid for your meal and continue chatting and lingering around, that’s a different story. It is discourteous to the server, especially at the end of the night. Most servers cannot go home until they have closed out all of their checks, so while you are chatting and mingling, they have to wait for your conversation to be done. While it is, of course, part of the job, it is disrespectful.


How long should you wait after eating to leave or pay the bill? Others wonder the same thing. Check out the responses.

Dine and Dash*

I remember in high school my friends used to joke about doing a “dine and dash.” It was always a huge dare, but nobody ever wanted to do it in fear of getting caught. While the fear is there for some, it is still done by others.

Dining and dashing (also referred to as “defrauding an innkeeper”) is when someone leaves a restaurant without paying for their meal. While it doesn’t happen often, it’s still a problem. Some restaurants have cameras and can usually track down the culprit, while others are out of luck if this happens, and so is the server as far as a tip is concerned.





Searching for stories about situations when this happened, I actually found a website giving ideas on how to get away with it. I couldn’t believe it! Believe it or not, people do get caught. This is stealing. Here are some cases of people getting caught. Check them out.


Getting caught at Dennys

Miss Teen Louisiana stripped of her crown


According to Section 915,

Defrauding Innkeeper and Others Prohibited. Any person who will obtain, food, lodging or other accommodations at any hotel, motel, lodging house, inn, boarding house or restaurant, without paying, with intent to defraud the owner or manager, or who obtains credit at any hotel, lodging house, inn, boarding house or restaurant by or through any false pretense, or by or through the aid, assistance or influence of any baggage or effects in his possession and control, but not actually belonging to such person, will be guilty of a penal offense. Proof that food, lodging or other accommodations was obtained by false pretense or by false or fictitious show or pretense of baggage or other property or proof that the person refused or neglected to pay for such food, lodging or other accommodations on demand, or that he gave in payment of such food, lodging or other accommodations negotiable paper on which payment was refused, or that he absconded without offering to pay for such food, lodging or other accommodations, or that he surreptitiously removed or attempted to remove his baggage, will be prima facie proof of the fraudulent intent mentioned in this section.


Plain and simple, it is theft, it is illegal, and it is wrong. What more do people need to know?

Switching roles*

I went out to eat tonight at the Olive Garden about 45 minutes away from where I live. I don’t particularly like eating at the one I work except when I’m working, because it’s a little uncomfortable and usually either the server or I expect too much.


I politely listened to the server as she explained the wine she was offering and said, “No, thank you.” After we ordered, I found myself watching her and thinking to myself what she should be doing. I noticed her other table across from us all needed refills, and I caught her across the room throwing towels around with another employee. Of course, I can’t say I have never had fun on the job, so I can’t be too critical.


When we were almost done eating, she still had not come back to ask how everything tasted or to ask if we wanted more bread. What if one of our meals had tasted horrible? We would have had to sit there for twenty minutes with nothing to eat. Again, I saw her in the side station texting on her phone and laughing with the same employee. I tried, again, to think of it as me, and what I have done, so I wouldn’t get annoyed.


The party I was with was getting impatient for their bills and some to-go boxes. When she finally came back, she gave us boxes, dropped the bills, left our dirty plates on the table, and said she would come back. After deciding on who was paying for the bill, my party complained about leaving a tip. Our total came to about $56, and they wanted to leave $4, and I was annoyed.


Although our service wasn’t great, I would never want to leave a small tip like that. My sister agreed (she is a server, as well) and said, “No matter how bad the service, we have to tip more than that… just not as big as we usually would.” I smiled, and my sister and I left her extra, as the rest of the party would not agree.


I have had many great servers, however, when I have been on the customer side. Sometimes, when I can tell a server is annoyed to be sat a bunch of young adults, I smile and remind them that I am a server, so they know we will not stiff them. This always helps, because we end up getting excellent service. I don’t get annoyed when my food is cooked wrong or when I notice a server is busy with other tables; usually I tip more when this happens, because I know it will make the servers night when they don’t expect a nice tip and get it anyway.


I do get very frustrated and a little annoyed when a server treats me poorly because I am a young adult. A lot of people my age come in and are loud, needy, and never tip. However, a lot of people my age are servers and know what it means to tip. I try to remember this as a server; I don’t treat younger adults any different than any other table.


What does it take to be a “good server?” Check it out.

Your too fat*


In 2004, CBS News featured a story on a waitress that was fired for being “too fat.” Misty Watts, a mother of three, a part-time college student, and a widow, worked for Ruby Tuesday for quite some time. She was named Employee of the Month days before being fired.


Her boss responded to why she was being fired with, “You don’t fit into your shirt, and you never will.”


Although this was five years ago, discrimination like this happens all of the time. Our generation has put such an emphasis on body weight, size, and the way you look it is ridiculous. You see this in Disney movies, when all of the lead “princesses” are slender. Young girls think in order to have true beauty you need to look like them, because they always get their perfect ending.

Have you seen many Barbie's that don’t have this same look? Or store mannequins? We need to have more of a focus on reality. The average size for an American woman is 5'4" and 163 pounds, but we aren’t putting this out there. Check this out for arguments about Barbie being too skinny.


Girls in middle school and high school resort to throwing up, not eating, or eating celery for dinner just so they can try to fit this image, and it is not healthy. There are people of all shapes, sizes, and colors. We need to recognize it and quit pretending it doesn’t exist.

Toasted Almond Challenge*

Yesterday I worked ten hours straight with no break. At Olive Garden we call this a BD (Business Decline). There are LBDs (Lunch Business Decline) and DBDs (Dinner Business Decline). When I work just a BD, I work straight through both, so when the lunch people go home, someone is there.

I haven’t worked a lunch shift in a long time, because I usually have class all week and work the weekend nights. When I came in yesterday, I was excited to make some good money, it was the weekend and that meant that all entrees would be dinner instead of lunch, unless a customer requested lunch. Apparently, this isn’t very evident to the customers because I had countless tables very upset when they were charged for dinner portions.


I had a 7 top come in (7 people), and I was excited because their bills were pretty high with appetizers, entrees, and dessert. However, when they got their bills, they complained about the prices. I apologized and said that dinner menus are given to them on the weekends. “Well, miss, how are we supposed to know these are dinner menus?”


I apologized repeatedly and told them I could have my manager come out if they wanted. They said that wouldn’t be necessary. As they paid, I brought change back, wished them a good day, and they left. When I went to the table after, I found two dollars for me on a napkin. Let me also point out their bill totaled about $170. Great start to the day!


As the day went on, I realized why I never worked lunch shifts. All everyone got was soup, salad, and breadsticks, and the two dollar tips never stop. I needed something to motivate me at this point.


My manager made two new drinks at the bar, and we got a chance to sample them. One drink was called a Toasted Almond, and I absolutely loved it. It has amaretto, ice cream, and Kahlua in it. My manager noticed how much I liked it and told me, “If you can sell three of these tonight, I’ll buy you a free dinner next time you work.” The challenge definitely motivated me, and I was on a mission.


A table of six ladies came in and looked like they were ready for a good time. Four of the ladies were debating on what drinks to get, and I knew this was my chance.


“Well, ladies, if you are looking for something sweet to drink, you have to try our new Toasted Almond,” I said and explained the drink. “You will absolutely love it, I promise you.”


The first three drinks were margaritas, and I thought my chance was gone, but then the fourth lady smiled at me and said, “I will try the one you suggested.”


YES! One down, two to go. Of course, she told me she loved it and had it down halfway through her meal.


The next one I sold was to a table of four. Two guys were celebrating their birthdays with their parents. They all got alcoholic drinks, so I did the same suggestion, and the mom ordered one. Again, she loved it.


It was getting toward the end of my shift, and my next few attempts were failures. They sat my last table and told me I was cut. This was my last shot. It was a couple already drinking wine.


“You two are going to have another drink soon, right?” I said and smiled. They nodded yes, and I suggested my drink. They looked a little unsure, so I decided to drop it for a few minutes. I took their order and got them started. When the guy had finished his wine, I said, “So are you ready to try that drink, sir?” He laughed a little and said he’d take another glass of wine. I looked at the woman’s glass and said, “Well, this means you have to. I’ve been bragging about this drink all night, and I need to prove to someone how great it is, and you two are my last table of the night… no pressure,” I said, slightly laughing.


They finished their meals, and I was boxing up their food, feeling a little down because they hadn’t mentioned another drink. I asked if they were saving room for any dessert or if they just wanted the check.


“Actually, we are going to try your drink,” she said.


YES. Three drinks sold meant a free meal. Unfortunately, she wasn’t too fond of the drink, but they were very nice about it and left a generous tip.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Sorry guys! I have more blogs coming...:) They should be up by tomorrow night!! Please keep reading and let anyone else know the URL. :)

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Where should we eat?*

People shouldn’t come to a nice restaurant if…
  1. They have a family with two adults and over four younger children. Unless they know how to behave, which most of the time they don’t. Actually, no children should come if they are going to misbehave. It distracts other customers and makes them mad.
  2. They, as a couple, are fighting--servers feel awkward.
  3. They are catching up with friends and plan on staying for hours—servers only get a certain number of tables so when people sit there for hours, we are losing an opportunity for more tips from people who could eat at the table later.
  4. They are a table of 10 or more high school students—usually they are way too demanding and pay with change.
  5. They plan on paying with change—If customers want to get rid of it, why do they think we want it to carry around?
  6. They aren’t going to eat. Rather, they are going to talk with friends—order food to go.
  7. They don’t want to wait to be seated—we can’t help it if there’s a wait, and when they sit down we can’t get their food any faster because they have been waiting. Other people have been waiting, too.
  8. They just want to drink, chat, and maybe have an appetizer—sit at the bar. These customers are taking up our tables that will actually eat and tip.
  9. They are very picky about how their food is done and always send it back—it’s not our fault if the cooks mess up a nearly impossible order.

10. They are in a bad mood—they pass it on to us, and we don’t want to be serving them any more than they want us to be.

Let me show you how it's done*

Tonight I got to do a role playing exercise with our new employees. It’s always my favorite part about hiring new people. I remember when I was new I wanted to quit after about two weeks because I was so intimidated by employees that had been there for so long. Most of the employees when I first started did not treat others with the respect they deserved, and it definitely got to me at times. I tried to remember my experience as I became the experienced one, and new people looked to me for guidance. I didn’t want them to feel the same way I did.

At the end of the shift for the trainees, they are usually quizzed on what they have learned or sat down for some review to refresh their minds. Training can be pretty intense at Olive Garden, you have to remember menu items, how to describe them, how they taste (employees get a chance to taste them of course), the different wines, what wines go with what meal, and what to suggest for an appetizer; it can add up to a lot to remember.

I got the chance to sit down with the trainer and three new employees and pretend that I was out to eat while they took my order. I always try to be realistic and use what I have encountered before, which is not always that pleasing.

In the first scenario, the trainer and I were on our lunch break and were in a hurry to get back. The server greeted us, and I interrupted her, which happens often, as she asked if we’d like a sample of wine. “No wine samples, ma’am, we can’t drink on our lunch break.” She stepped back and took a deep breath, and I could tell she was nervous. She then asked what other drinks we’d like and started naming what the restaurant had. I interrupted her again, “Actually ma’am we are in a huge hurry and know everything we want, can we order now?”

NOTE- No matter how much of a hurry a customer is in, servers are still going to get the drinks before anything else, so it doesn’t actually speed things up to order all-at-once.

She smiled and politely listened as we gave our orders. I tried not to be too picky yet. When she came to check on us, I interrupted and said we were fine. When she was talking to another employee for a minute, I waved my hand at her to come over to our table. “Ma’am we need to get going, can we get boxes and our check?”

As she was handing me the “check” I handed my card to her right away. “You can just take it now, we need to get going.”

NOTE- Usually when servers drop a customer’s check they don’t have time to get change right away. They have other tables to check on and it only puts them more behind schedule when customers think they are the only table being taken care of.

For the next scenario, we were out to eat for a friend’s 21st birthday. We were loud, obnoxious, cheap, picky… as disruptive as we could be. I ordered a bottle of wine for the whole table, and our server asked for everyone’s I.D.s except mine (Red flag! Ask everyone for his/her I.D.).

The final scenario was perfectly pleasant. I didn’t want the new hires to think everyone was terrible all the time. Most of the time, tables are pleasant. However, they needed to know what it was like to encounter ones that weren’t. Maybe next time I’m training I will do a “dine and dash.”

"Hey guys!"*

A topic came up last year in my Intro to Journalism class about calling a group of men and women “guys.” I was interested because someone gave an example about eating in a restaurant.


My professor said, “If a server says ‘How are you guys doing?’ then I correct her immediately and am very offended.”

I was flabbergasted, because I realized it was exactly how I talked to my tables. I always greet tables with, “Hey guys, how we doing tonight?” and nobody has ever corrected me or seemed upset. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how different generations have become and how disrespectful it may sound to the older generation.


Check out this website with all the comments about this topic.


Ever since this topic came up, I have become more conscientious about how I talk to my guests, and I change the way I greet my tables depending on their age. If I have a table of teenagers to people in their 20s, I greet with “guys”. If I have a table of all women, I say, “Hello ladies,” and if I have guests in their upper 30s and above, I try to greet with, “Hello folks,” and that seems pretty neutral to me.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Soup, salad, and breadsticks*

Everyone loves coming to Olive Garden for its unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks meal, but they don’t often realize how much work it is for a server.


Me: “Are we ready to order folks?”


Guests: “Yes, we are going to make this real easy on you. We will have the unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks, please.”


When someone orders this unlimited deal, which is under ten dollars, it not only makes it physically more work for us but also annoys us more than any other entrée. This order makes more trips for us and less time for our other tables with higher bills. Check out this video. Although the language is a bit vulgar, and I would choose otherwise, it gets the point across.


Now check out this video. He has a great point. It is so conflicting to have such high-priced meals and then one low-priced meal at a restaurant that is supposed to be known as classy and prestigious. People come and order the unlimited deal when they want to be cheap and save money, but if you are really looking to save money, Olive Garden is not the place to go.


Sometimes people order an entrée that comes with unlimited soup OR salad. When this happens, it is safe to assume a guest will eat one bowl of soup or salad because they have an entrée coming out after. However, a lot of times guests will fill up on four or five bowls of soup and then just get the entrée boxed up so they have a meal for later. Legally this is okay, they have the right to eat as much as they want, but actually it is a lot of work for your server and most of the time, a tip is left that doesn’t match the work.


So while the bill is a lot lower when ordering soup and salad, it is more work for us than regular entrées; tip accordingly.

To-go boxes*

I have no problem with boxing up food. I love it when other servers do it for me. I always remind people it is their lunch tomorrow, so they don’t regret having so much left over. However, there are frustrations with boxing food.


One of the most annoying things a server will encounter is when their guests leave the boxes of food the server has personally boxed up. I always box the food up for my guests myself. It takes time away from other tables, but guests usually really appreciate it. It can really be frustrating when guests who request the boxes leave them for us to clean up anyway. This not only took time, but it takes up a lot more space in the trash can for to-go boxes rather than just dumping the food in it. It is understandable that people would mistakenly forget to grab the food, but it is still frustrating.


We usually keep the boxes on a shelf for about 15 minutes in case the guests come back for their boxes. When guests come back 30 minutes later asking for their boxes, it can be a bit annoying. We can’t hold everyone’s food for the night in case they remember having left their box on the table.

Another annoying thing with to-go boxes is the issue of soup and salad. When a customer orders the unlimited soup and salad, this does not mean s/he can take a bunch of it home. The customer gets unlimited amounts of whatever s/he can eat while dining in the restaurant. When guests ask me to give them refills and then boxes of salad, to-go bowls of soup and bags of bread, I have to tell them no. If everyone did this, we would not profit from the deal. Occasionally, I let guests have a bowl of soup to go if they haven’t eaten much, if they want it for what is left in their current bowl, or if they have some breadsticks left on the table, but usually my answer is, “I’m sorry we can’t do that.” A lot of guests have a major problem with this.


Many guests don’t seem like they need a box. If someone has three bites left of his or her meal, I personally don’t think s/he needs a box. I’d rather guests finish their meal with only that much left. I once had a lady ask me for a box for three pieces of calamari. I thought she was joking, but she wasn’t. Boxes are for larger portions of food you cannot finish, they are to take home, and they are not for unlimited soups and salads.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Being a server is easy...NOT*

I have been told many times, “It can’t be that hard to be a server.” People seem to have the assumption that all servers do is carry food out when it is ready and then just stand around waiting for our guests to be done to take their plates back to dish. It is assumed we never clean our tables because that’s what bussers are for. These assumptions are wrong. A lot goes into being a server; it’s much more than just waiting around for people to be done eating.

Each section at the restaurant has six tables and each server has three tables (two servers to a section). There are usually two to three bussers and two hosts on each side of the restaurant. There is one manager who walks the floor (the whole restaurant) to make sure the guests are taken care of, and the servers have help if they need it.

When I get to work, and once I have been sat, I grab some coasters and a wine bottle, greet the table, and ask what they’d like to drink and if they have any appetizers in mind, and if yes, I put the order in immediately and bring the drinks out. Meanwhile, I have probably been sat another table, so I greet them quickly. Usually after greeting my second table, my first table is ready to order.

Whenever someone is ready to order, I have to make sure and ask each one if they want soup or salad with the meal. Each customer gets unlimited soup or salad with his/her meal, unless s/he gets the “Unlimited Soup, Salad, and Breadsticks” as a meal. After taking my first table’s order, I grab the drinks for my second table and bring them out and again ask for appetizers. I then go to the kitchen, grab the soups, salads, and bread. After dropping these off, I greet my third table, write down their drink orders, then go to my second table and take their food orders.

After taking the second table’s dinner order, I go to the computer and enter the meals of my first table. I always enter the meals in after taking out the soup, salad and bread because this gives them time to eat those things first. After entering in their food, I pour the drinks of my third table, leave the tray of drinks, and go get the soup, salad, and bread for my second table. Sometimes I will take the drinks out to the third table first and tell them it will be a minute to get their order, as well. Once I drop the tray of salads and stuff to my second table, I ask my first table if everything is okay, then either go back and grab the tray of drinks for my third table, or if I have already done that, I take their order. I then go to the computer to enter in my second table’s food and proceed to get the salad, soup, and bread for my third table. As I drop this off, I check on my second table and see if everything is okay.

On my way back, I enter in the third table’s order, and once that is finished, it is probably close to the time my first table’s food is ready. If not, I go out and clear any empty plates. Once the first table’s food is up, I drop it for them, pick up the empty soup and salad plates, ask if they need more bread, refill their drinks, etc. On my way back to refill them, I check on my third table. I try to grab whatever every table needs in one trip. After refilling my first table, I clear plates from my second table because their food will be coming up soon.

After dropping off my second table’s food, I ask them for more refills on anything and before going back I check on my first table to see if everything tastes okay and then stop at my third table to clear any empty dishes. Once I bring the refills out to table two, my third table’s food is ready. I bring their food out, check for refills, and then clear any empty plates from my first table. Usually at this point people may be ready for boxes or dessert.

After checking on all my tables to see if everything is okay, table one is probably ready for their bill, assuming I have boxed up their food and asked for dessert, and they said no. I drop the bill off, along with our famous Andes mints, and tell them I will be back to get them change whenever they are ready. Again, I check to see if my other tables need refills. If I have a few minutes in between my tables eating, I fill ice, lemonades, teas, glasses, or help other servers carry food to their tables.

I then go to my table, grab their bill if it is ready, and tell them I will be right back with their change. I always make sure to tell them I will be back with their change. When a server asks if customers need change back, s/he is more likely to get a smaller tip. It shows the server isn’t greedy or expecting too much to tell the customer s/he will be back with change. Usually my second or third tables need a refill of some sort while I’m getting change to my first table. I get their refills and bring the change out. After dropping the change, my second table is ready for boxes or dessert. I repeat the process with only two tables, and at this time, the busser is cleaning the rest of my table off. My third table is probably then ready for boxes, my first table has been sat again, and my second table needs change. At almost no point during the night am I “sitting around.”

By the end of the night, I’m exhausted. After my last table has left, I can’t leave without doing my sidework, which consists of rolling enough silverware for my section, picking up around my area, setting my tables up, and other assigned sidework. Every server has different sidework, depending on the section. Sidework includes emptying the ice, clearing the side station, emptying trash, filling mints and sugars, spraying the walls, etc.

There isn’t much downtime being a server. If it is a slow night, then of course there isn’t as much running around, but there’s always sidework a manager has ready and always help to give to other servers with too much to do. Next time you think you have bad service because something took a few extra minutes, remember your server has other tables to take care of, as well, before you reduce the tip.

Birthdays*

Birthdays change as people get older. When they are in middle school or younger, birthdays are great; kids order pizza with their friends, go bowling or skating, have slumber parties, play games, etc. When they get into high school, they want to have dances, go to movies, dress up, and still have slumber parties. When people get to college, most want to dress up, go out, drink, take tons of pictures. Once the 21st birthday is over, it is all “downhill.

I always find it funny when younger kids or students come into Olive Garden and make sure to ask for the birthday song. They usually don’t get the cake because they don’t want to spend more money, but they always want the birthday song. I love singing it and am known by many of my co-workers to get pretty into it.

When adults come in to eat, someone besides the one with the birthday leaves the table or waits for the birthday man/woman to leave the table and then tells the server they would like the song. When it is time to come and sing the song, the one who it’s being sung to usually turns bright red and gets mad or embarrassed.

We have a “Buena Festa” cake that is $6.95 and feeds about four to six people. We usually decorate the cake and put a candle in the middle and gather as many servers as we can to sing. Once we reach the table we say,

“Attention Olive Garden, we have a very special birthday today. It is ______’s birthday and we are going to show them how we celebrate Olive Garden style! Ready? Buena festa! What a joyous day (hey!). Life's good; fortune is sure to come your way. Come on, sit back, and just relax! We'll fill your plate the Italian way (Wooo!). We're so glad you came to celebrate with us today (Hey)! Happy Birthday!

Darden Dimes*

There are many organizations that seek to raise money for what they believe to be important causes across America. For example, Raising Cane, a restaurant in Las Vegas, helped raise money for a family on Extreme Home Makeover by donating a certain percentage of each sale of chicken wings and special sauce. Also, in Massachusetts last year, Teamsters Local 25 raised nearly $200,000 for autism and has become a leading fundraiser for Autism Speaks, a national advocacy organization dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, and treatment of autism. Darden, which includes Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Bahama Breeze, and Smokey Bones, hopes to impact the lives of those in need, specifically Darden employees.

Darden Dimes is a project launched in 1999 for the purpose of being an employee-funded source of support for Darden employees facing financial crises. Participating employees donate a minimum of ten cents from each paycheck to the fund. Though this amount seems small, it adds up since hundreds of employees participate.

In 2004, Darden was a huge contributor to the Hurricane Charley Relief Fund. Hurricanes Charley and Frances left many employees in Florida with no transportation or housing. Darden was writing checks in amounts of up to $100,000 for employees after the natural disasters. At that time, 30,000 supporters were donating to the fund, and five years later it has grown even larger. For more information on this, click here.

In 2008, Olive Garden helped in Montgomery, Alabama, when a devastating tornado destroyed the homes of many. They gave soup, salad, and breadsticks to those helping with the recovery effort and helped employees’ family members through Darden Dimes.

There was a story posted at the Cedar Rapids Olive Garden about one of our own employees experiencing the help of Darden Dimes. She had struggled with breast cancer, and thanks to Darden Dimes, she received help with a lot of her medical expenses. She wrote a story about how it affected her and her family and how grateful she was for the help, and it was pinned on our bulletin board for everyone to read. After that, there was an increase in employees participating in Darden Dimes. Ten cents taken out of your paycheck each week is not very difficult; it is an average of forty cents a month or about $4.80 a year, which is easily affordable. Contributing more than ten cents is even more helpful.

Olive Garden not only helps its employees with Darden Dimes, but it is also unanimously known for helping in times of trouble for non-Darden employees. Pennies for Pasta is a national fundraising program that partners with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and many elementary, middle, and high school students that supports the fight against blood-related cancers. This program was launched in 1994 and has raised more than $42 million since then. Once a year, school districts have three weeks for students to fill jars with spare change, and the class that collects the most gets a pasta party delivered by Olive Garden.

Aside from Pennies for Pasta, Olive Garden has helped with Extreme Home Makeover and other disaster relief around the United States. Not only does Olive Garden care about its employees and their families, but anyone who’s in need of some kind of help. Check out this video.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

New Items*

It’s that time again, time for new entrees at Olive Garden! The same entrees might get old if that were all there was ever put on the menu. Every few months, we have new specials which stay on the menu for a limited time, and now is the time to try the newest ones. For a complete menu or more descriptions on menu items, click here.


Right now our newest dinner entrees are the Tuscan Garlic Chicken and Tuscan Garlic Shrimp. However, the chicken wasn’t always new. It was actually a regular dinner menu item about six months ago but was taken off the menu. It was pretty popular when it was on the menu and is now back for a limited time.








We also have a new appetizer and desserts available. The nice thing about these items is they are not here a limited time, they are permanent! If you like lasagna or manicotti, you will love the new appetizer, as it is a mixture of both. It’s small enough to keep you hungry for your meal, whereas most appetizers fill you up too early!





As far as the desserts go, they are delicious! The Zeppoli has been commented on as tasting like doughnuts and are popular with kids. The Chocolate Ciottoli Cake is similar to our Black Tie Mousse Cake, but it has extra flavor with the chunks of cake added along with other small additions.

If you eat at Olive Garden enough to know the menu items, try something new with one of these items. If you rarely eat there, go to try them.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

When and what to tip*

Although tipping is not legally required when paying for a bill, it is considered impolite or a violation of etiquette when someone doesn't. In our generation, the awareness of tipping is more evident than before, which makes a huge difference depending on where you work. The average tip should be about 10-15% of the total bill, unless there is a party of six or more, when it should generally be between 15-25%.

Usually when there is a party of six or more, most restaurants state that there will be a certain percentage added to the bill for the tip, the gratuity. Generally, the gratuity should be paid regardless because of the work a larger party requires, but if there is an objection to the tip, it can be taken off.

If something went wrong with a meal, (i.e. it took too long, was cooked wrong, etc.), try to remember that it was probably not the server's fault, rather it was likely, the cooks. The server is depending on the tip for his or her hourly wage, and if something went wrong with the way the meal was cooked, try to be patient, and request a new plate. If the service was terrible, that’s a different story, and then maybe certain percentages aren’t necessary, but try to put other things into account. Some things you might want to consider would be: how many other tables the server has, how difficult orders are, how many trips it takes, etc.

According to the Connecticut Department of Labor, there are certain circumstances under which tipping is allowed and not allowed. The following are lists of duties a person must perform when deciding if they receive a tip or not.

Receive a tip (Service Duties)

  1. Taking food and beverage orders from patrons.
  2. Bringing the orders to the table or booth.
  3. Cleaning up the immediate area of service.
  4. Filling the condiment containers at the tables or booths.
  5. Vacuuming their own immediate service area.
  6. Replacing the table setting at their own service area.

Not receive a tip (Non-service Duties)

  1. Cleaning the restrooms.
  2. Preparing food.
  3. Washing dishes.
  4. Host or Hostess work. (Note: each waiter or waitress may show patrons to their seats within their own service area without losing their "service" classification, but if a waiter or waitress shows all patrons to their seats, there can be no tip credit taken on that employee and the full minimum wage must be paid)
  5. General set-up work before the restaurant opens.
  6. Kitchen clean-up.
  7. General cleaning work.
  8. Waiting on take-out customers.
Here's more about the website.

A
lthough tipping is not legally required when paying for a bill, it is considered impolite not to tip, so try to remember all that goes into serving before denying a tip.

Check out this website on more about tipping

Angels*

I have always believed God puts people on earth as His angels to test us. When I see someone on the corner asking for money for food, I cannot keep driving until I find a place to buy them a meal. I believe God puts people in the world to see how we will treat them and if we will try to help them, while they also make us realize how lucky we are to have the things we have.

In my hometown, there was a man that walked around in 90 degree weather with a winter stocking cap and a sweatshirt on looking for cans. We called him “Ernest the Can Man,” and I saved all of my cans for him. When he got to my house, he acted like he hit the jackpot. Our family gave him dinner on numerous occasions and enjoyed every minute with him. He was hard to understand and was scared to be touched or looked in the eye.

At Olive Garden, there is someone similar to Ernest. She rolls silverware for the restaurant. For the sake of anonymity, I'll call her Maggie . I think Maggie may be an angel. Before my shift started tonight, I was back in the checkout station talking with Maggie. She informed me that she had to go to the doctor next week because they thought she might have a hole in her heart, and she may need to undergo major heart surgery. This not only made me sad, but it made me want to do something.

Maggie has some intellectual disabilities and is hard not to love. It is hard to understand her sometimes and almost everybody that works with me treats her like filth. When I first started at Olive Garden, I was completely shocked when I heard a guy talk to her the way he did.
“MOVE Maggie! Go roll your damn silverware,” he screamed and shoved her. Maggie stumbled a little but caught her balance and went back to her station. Comments like these happen often. Maggie can be a troublemaker at times and loves attention from people, but I don’t think she realizes how cruel they are being to her. The attention they give her is negative and mean, but she takes it as someone talking to her and having fun.

It hurts my heart when I see her trying to push past people to put the bin of silverware she has rolled out on the floor, or when she has been told to roll a certain amount before she leaves and when she is not looking, people come and steal her silverware, so they don’t have to roll their own at the end of the night.

Living on the opposite side of town, Maggie rides the bus as close as she can get to Olive Garden and then walks the rest of the way unless she gets a ride from someone at work. One of my friends, Tim, gives her rides in the winter. This winter, Tim was going to leave the state for a month on a missionary trip, and he asked me if I would pick Maggie up on the nights I worked. I agreed, but he didn’t end up leaving. Sometimes when Tim isn’t working, I catch Maggie sitting at a table at the end of the night looking out the window, waiting for her ride home.

Maggie is not only known as the infamous “silverware roller,” but she also is known for the bracelets she makes for everyone that works at Olive Garden. We call them “Maggie bracelets,” and everyone owns at least ten of them, I’m sure. She makes the bracelets out of beads she buys. If you come to work not wearing one, you can count on her telling you to take a new one. Many tables ask about the bracelets we wear.

The reason I wrote this entry on Maggie was because of the way she talked to me at work when she told me about her heart surgery. She talked to me like I was one of her friends, and I sat wondering who would come visit her in the hospital. She asked me if I would, and I will. I just hope other people do, too. People need to know that it is not okay to treat someone poorly because they are different.

Let's go here, I have a coupon!*

If you didn’t read my last post or did not check out the first YouTube video, watch it.

Since I have already touched base on the issue about African-Americans and tipping, my next issue from this video is coupons. I know every server can agree with me that it seems like most people coming in with coupons are cheap.

The reasoning behind coupons is wanting more people to come, and this gives them an incentive to. Discounts are always great (cheaper bills), but it should not take away from a tip. You should tip the percentage of the bill BEFORE the coupon is entered in.

I worked (last night), and out of nine coupons I checked out, seven of them left a 10% (tip) or less. When a customer has a coupon, it’s four dollars cheaper for the meal, but then s/he should leave the same tip that s/he would have without the coupon.

I had one woman come in with her son, (last night) and I gave them great service. When I picked up her bill, I found a coupon for $2 off her meal and a coupon for one free kid’s meal, which made her bill go from $18 to $10. I thought, “Wow, she’s getting a really good deal here, which leaves her more money to tip,” but that didn’t happen. She left me 47 cents. Her bill would have been $20, which to me means to leave at LEAST $2 for a tip. This happens regularly, even with higher bills; people are confusing the coupon for money taken from the tip instead of the meal.

Since we have all-you-can-eat soup and salad at Olive Garden for about $10, coupons can make it cheaper, but that doesn’t take away from the work we do. But the soup and salad work is another issue for another day.

Always remember the Golden Rule*

I was searching around today for something to inspire my writing and came across this YouTube video, check it out. After reading responses from the YouTube post, I found one that depicts it completely, “the whole POINT of skits like this is to mock the stereotype itself, not the people the stereotype represents.” Even still, it is a perfect opportunity for the topic.

My initial reaction to this video was, “Oh, great, they are going to poke fun of Olive Garden.” Overall, I think that was their intention: a comical video. However, within the first 40 seconds, all I could think about the rest of the time was what it was saying about black people.

First of all, this was an issue I wanted to touch on when I first thought of blogging, but this video gave me a way to start. When he introduces his cousin's “black girlfriend” and is then labeled as a thief, there is an underlying message of racism in our society. I’ve heard other servers complain when they get a table with African-American families many times. I've heard people say, “Oh no, they don’t tip,” or, “They work me so hard!”
Personally, I have found some of my best tips have come from tables that people label like this. This video portrays the stereotypes we have. This intrigued me to research what people actually think and say about different families and tipping.

Here’s some sites negatively talking about black Americans and tipping.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik3VQE8TS38&feature=related

http://www.topix.com/forum/afam/TA31F8467MFFGLJH4

I think that because of one or two lousy tips, there should be no need to label everyone else. There are also plenty of bad tippers who are white.
However, this being said, I found an interesting article explaining that black Americans generally tip less than white Americans.

“Jerry Fernandez, president of the Multicultural Food Alliance, which represents food servers and restaurateurs, says the expectations of a lower tip from blacks can often lead to poor service.”
“If a [waiter] says, 'I don't want to wait on that table because they're black or they're Hispanic, then they tend to give less service and it's a self-fulfilling prophecy," Fernandez explains.

If you listen to this segment, you hear them say that we know from national statistics that black families are less likely to eat at a sit down restaurant than white people are. Why is this? Because when they come to a sit down restaurant, they are treated poorly because they are given a bad label. If a person eats at a restaurant and is treated very poorly, s/he would generally tip less, and we should remember that as servers.

Every server needs to work on treating everyone (they server) in a restaurant equally. Of course some will be lousy tippers, but there are those people from all races. Remember the Golden Rule: treat others as you want to be treated. There is no reason to be bitter about a bad tip; it’s part of being a server. It’s going to be frustrating at the time, but it’s the people who tip bigger who make your night, and then everything else is forgotten.