Dear Olive Garden - Screw you AND screw the horse you rode in on

[SmileyRose]

1. You have crappy food - So does Red Lobster and the rest of your chains.
2. You treat your employees like crap and you don't treat customers much better.

3. Changing your mind about completely screwing your employees in a vendetta against that Black man in the White House doesn't change #1 and #2.

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/olive-garden-owner-hold-off-200230971.html

Olive Garden owner to hold off on worker changes
Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants to hold off on worker changes tied to health care reform

NEW YORK (AP) -- The owner of Olive Garden and Red Lobster says it won't bump any full-time workers down to part-time status, after its tests aimed at limiting health care costs resulted in a publicity backlash that took a bite out of sales.

At the same time, Darden Restaurants Inc. isn't ruling out relying more heavily on part-timers over the long haul.

The company, based in Orlando, Fla., is set to announce Thursday that none of its current full-time employees will have their status changed as a result of the new regulations. The move will come just two days after the company lowered its profit outlook for the year, citing failed promotions and negative publicity from its tests that used more part-time employees. The tests were aimed at keeping down costs tied to new health care regulations, which will require large companies to provide insurance to full-time workers starting in 2014.

[graham4anything]

1. I think a thing to do is

at the Olive Garden
keep asking for more breadsticks and salad and when no one is looking take it home with you

order a meal but don't order appetizer or dessert and don't order drinks

ask for water(tap not bottled)

then tip the server, busperson, and if you can sneak in there, the chef itself the extra money you saved from not ordering drinks and dessert

Don't take it out on the workers by boycotting it.

at the Longhorn, do the same with the bread and don't order dessert.


The desserts and appetizers are what make the owners the biggest money.
But don't screw the workers.

Here in the NY/NJ area we tend to eat at "real" Italian places,unless friends specifically ask to go there but on the road sometimes the olive garden is the best place around and at least you know what you are getting.

[Lochloosa]

3. I always order water with extra lemon...and make my own lemonade.

And i tell the waiter while I'm doing it not to worry...I tip well.

[SoCalDem]

2. Here's the skinny..

MOST food-service workers (excepting management) are ALREADY part-time, and most have to beg for extra shifts or hope for a mad rush, so they can be asked to stay.

This type of job...along with counter help at fast food "stores", sales clerks at mini marts, department stores, big-box stores is usually PART TIME (and often seasonal) work. These jobs were never intended to be family-supporting jobs, and until rather recently, these were jobs that teenagers did.

[Whovian]

4. I could possibly screw Olive

(even though she's a bit thin for my tastes) but I draw the line on having sex with any horse.

[Ter]

5. Red Lobster does not have crappy food

I can go there almost every day.

[Whovian]

6. I feel you need to get out more.

They have lab food and there are so many wonderful seafood restaurants ran by owners along any coastline that blow RL out of the water....

[Art_from_Ark]

8. Some people live hundreds of miles from any coastline

Like my mom, who considers it a very special treat to eat at Red Lobster.

[narnian60]

7. Maybe not crappy but definitely mediocre.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

9. The family was talking

about restaurants recently, and we all agreed we're going to patronize more local non-chain places from now on, except for the beef chalupas at Taco Bell. We've been hitting up a Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood a couple of times each month for their SOUP! We get it to go along with some egg rolls, it stays piping hot in the containers, and of course, we tip the person who packs everything up. Good winter food.