Olive Garden !!! Suffering From Bad PR After Anti-Obamacare Comments

[babylonsister]

Olive Garden Suffering From Bad PR After Anti-Obamacare Comments

By Annie-Rose Strasser on Dec 5, 2012 at 3:00 pm


Darden Restaurants, Inc. — owner of Red Lobster and Olive Garden — is battling back negative press attention in light of its October announcement that the company will use Obamacare as a reason to shift to part-time employees.

On Tuesday, the company released a statement revising down its prediction of profits, which led to a huge drop in stocks. Darden attributed the change to the negative attention around its stance on Obamacare, and promised to deal with the health care reform law “in ways that work for our employees“:

“In light of these upcoming changes, we are being cautious about our sales and earnings forecast for the full year,” (Darden's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Clarence Otis} continued. “Our outlook for the year also reflects the potential impact, though difficult to measure, of recent negative media coverage that focused on Darden within the full-service segment and how we might accommodate healthcare reform.” [..]

“We are also committed to accommodating healthcare reform in ways that work for our employees and guests. Darden is a strong business which continues to generate solid cash flows that will support appropriate reinvestment in our brands, effective debt management and consistent dividend growth.”

Under the Affordable Care Act, any business with 50 more full-time workers is required to offer a health care option to its employees by 2014. If a company chooses not to, and its workers instead seek subsidized care in the public exchanges, the company must pay a penalty.

Darden is one of several companies threatening to fire employees, switch workers to part time, or freeze hiring because of the health care law. One Applebee’s franchise owner, the CEO of Papa John’s Pizza, and a Denny’s franchise CEO have made similar threats.

more...

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/12/05/1285261/darden-olive-gardeb-obamacare/

[Jackpine Radical]

1. I sent them a right nasty email abut it,

telling them that I would not only boycott them but would spread the word around as far as I could.

[babylonsister]

2. So it's all your fault! Good on ya!

[niyad]

5. they must have gotten mine right after yours, and it was probably nastier.

[Cha]

11. THanks!

[BB_Smoke]

3. Nothing like striking at their bottom line

To send them a message.

[DinahMoeHum]

4. They don't have enough bad PR from their crappy dog food???

Who knew?

[Le Taz Hot]

9. +1

I ate there ONE time (I happened to be with a group who raved about their food). I kept thinking, "What the hell does this have to do with Italian food?" Butter, heavy cream and LOTS of salt on everything does NOT make food taste better. It's merely an attempt to cover up bad food. Yuck!

[Ikonoklast]

6. Darden has been in decline for a few years now. They are in a downward spiral, and can't stop it.

Corporate anagement decided a few years back to cheapen up the quality of their product, and are now suffering the consequences of that bad decision.

The stuff they sell is little different from generic food-service fare sold to insitutions.

Declining same store sales, quarter-to-quarter, year after year, with no end in sight. The bleeding is turning from profuse to catastrophic.

They can't keep help as it is, and will soon find out they can't keep help at all.

Short DRI. Make money on their supidity.

[NashvilleLefty]

7. This will be easy - I alway's hated OG anyway!

I will never visit Olive Garden again, regardless. I have to admit that I like the bisque at Red Lobster and they are one if the few seafood options at most locations I visit, but I will have to rethink my options when I travel for work.

[xfundy]

8. I told them I won't eat food handled by workers with no health insurance.

'Cuz I won't tolerate germs if I'm paying their prices. They wrote me back saying there was "objectionable" language in my email, and asked me to correct it. As if.

I didn't even tell them how I really feel.

[babylonsister]

13. Hahaha! Love this! nt

[sakabatou]

10. Don't forget pitbulls

[lindysalsagal]

12. It's been a good day for us. GOP backpeddling, deMint, Coulter, Michigan protest

Restaurant chains supporting healthcare...
Gotta celebrate the good days!

[babylonsister]

14. AMEN! It's kind of weird.

I'm so not used to good news.

[SomethingFishy]

15. Darden also owns Red Lobster, Yard House and Longhorn Steakhouse..

Which is kind of a bummer as I hate OG, and RL but Yardhouse actually has really good food...

[tabasco]

16. Fuck 'em!

Nasty ass shitholes.

[bullwinkle428]

17. Ezra Klein did a GREAT piece on this, subbing for Rachel tonight!

[upi402]

18. Gonna NEED Obamacare if you eat that food

too much of it will make you need a cardiologist.

[slampoet]

19. Remember the Hepititis outbreaks at Olive Gardens ?

There have been at least 5-6 in several states in the last decade.