“If all Outbacks are run this poorly, I’d hesitate to ever “dine” there.”
It used to be said that it takes ten years to get good at any job. How long do people in this field stay in a job? And what kind of people do they hire?
Since moving here in 2012, I have been to the Outback three times. Each time was a frustrating mess. Bad food, horrible service. Never again.
But what do I expect? They pay their line cooks $10. It’s a wonder anyone survives eating there.
As has been said, ad nauseum, such service industries are “entry level”. Only a few will spend years serving and few will remain a line cook. The best will graduate to being chefs and some very few open their own business. As is evidenced here, servers are in many cases looked down upon and treated poorly. Not all, but enough.
The last time I got to peek into a corporate handbook they expected an employee turnover rate of 150% per year, and a management turnover of 50%.
That is a restaurant with 50 employees will go through 75 hires and/or currently employed staff; as well as half of their management per year.
The theory behind this is that wages will never rise because of attrition.(there will always be a couple of “lifers”, but not enough to make an impact.)
A side effect of this is a revolving door policy of lesser skilled, cheaper labor.