Posted on 09/12/2014 8:26:26 AM PDT by C19fan
Olive Garden is hurting itself by piling on too many breadsticks, according to an investor that's disputing how the restaurant chain is run.
In a nearly 300-page critique, the hedge fund Starboard Value says Olive Garden restaurants lack training and discipline and that servers bring too many breadsticks to tables at a time. That leads to waste — and cold breadsticks, Starboard says.
(Excerpt) Read more at bigstory.ap.org ...
Perhaps they should try giving free cholesterol screenings at the door..................
I like olive garden and keep the breadsticks coming. Tour of Italy is great.
Or blood sugar testing when they leave. Boy, wouldn’t that number surprise many!
My kids love Olive Garden. I’m indifferent.
The thing is - the 2 closest to us are ALWAYS packed. Weekday, Weekend - doesn’t matter. I’m sure other stores aren’t as busy, but from my view, If they aren’t - its totally due to management.
Olive Garden has always sucked. Worst food for a “quality” restaurant I have ever eaten.
I enjoy Olive Garden sometimes. I note that the waitress will give us a to go bag for the bread sticks, so they don’t go to waste. We often have the same girl each time, and she just brings out a to go bag for the breadsticks. Hope she isn’t violating some company policies...........
If your blood sugar reading is within normal limits you get a free dessert!.......................with purchase of a large drink , of course...................
olive garden is an insult to Italian food...
It’s never a good sign when the bean counters take control of a business so they can pillage it for dividends. Businesses do not exist to make profits. They exist to provide services and products and if they do those things right then the business can be profitable.
The second a business decides its purpose is to make money for someone is the second that the enterprise starts to decline.
As has been said on this thread, possibly due to management.
The food at ours has always been very good.
That being said, my two favorite Italian restaurants are in San Francisco (God help me). They are authentic and the food is excellent and way above what Olive Garden serves....but also for a much higher price....
I’ve eaten at OG maybe a half dozen times. It’s not high on my list of places to frequent, not because of the food quality, but because of the health impact of pasta oriented fare........................
BACK OFF ON THE BREADSTICKS
+++++
When you leave there, they want you to feel full which gives you a sense of satisfaction.
They sell sauces to dip those breadsticks in now...clever.
There’s no waste.
We always ask for more breadsticks...and, we never leave any.
That’s what to-go boxes are for.
If I were to eat an Olive Garden ‘all you can eat pasta and breadsticks’ deal I’m sure my b/s readings would be ~400. No lie. Dessert on top of that would likely put me in a coma LOL.
I’m Italian with a great background of home made Italian food. Always loved Olive Garden. A few years ago I felt almost all the sauces became glop. I haven’t gone back since their efforts to improve it.
Carrabas can be terrific but my local one may have fallen off lately.
In restaurant business you’re only as good as your last meal.
Do they still have their ‘Endless Salad’ or ‘Endless Soup’ specials?...............they weren’t/aren’t so bad...................
I could do the endless salad. The soup would be iffy, depending on what other stuff was added (cornstarch, flours, etc).
Oh I didn’t mean to say Olive Garden was comparable to homemade, just that I liked it anyway. Carrabas is closer to the real thing.
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