We did a deep dive to find out how Olive Garden employees fare. Do the servers, hosts, and chefs also feel like when they're there, they're "family?
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00:00We did a deep dive to find out whether it's worth it to work at Olive Garden.
00:04Do the servers, hosts, and chefs also feel like when they're there,
00:07their family? This is what it's like to work at one of America's most popular Italian chain
00:11restaurants. We're not saying discounted chicken parm is the only reason to apply
00:16for a position at your local Olive Garden, but it certainly doesn't sound like the worst perk
00:20in the world. As it turns out, though, employees of Olive Garden are eligible for more than just
00:24lower prices on food served at their restaurant.
00:27I believe there'll be no charge on this two pour of beer, thank you.
00:31Excuse me?
00:31According to a Redditor claiming to have worked at Olive Garden as a hostess,
00:35the discounts extend to other restaurants owned by Olive Garden's parent company,
00:38Darden Restaurants, like Longhorn Steakhouse and Yardhouse. And a Quora user who said they
00:42worked at Olive Garden revealed that lower prices for employees go beyond Darden-owned
00:46dining establishments, including,
00:48"...a multitude of products from computers, cars, theme parks, hotels, travel, food, and more."
00:54The same user went on to explain that these benefits help incentivize people to apply at
00:58Olive Garden, since the actual monetary compensation and tips aren't exactly life-changing.
01:03While you may personally adore Olive Garden for its long-running offering of endless soup,
01:07salad, and breadsticks, it seems to be a definite sore spot for the
01:10servers at this beloved Italian chain.
01:12I heard the salad's good here as well.
01:15Well, it's free. It's unlimited.
01:16In 2015, an Olive Garden waiter told Cosmopolitan,
01:19"...the hardest part is serving our unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks."
01:23A Quora participant chimed in on a thread about what it was like to work at Olive Garden, writing,
01:27"...the all-you-can-eat aspect of it makes it challenging. If you have six or more people
01:31eating the soup, salad, breadsticks meal, you are going to have to do a lot of juggling to keep up."
01:35In a Reddit thread, a server with 15 years of experience reported on the unexpected ups and
01:40downs of their new job at the pasta chain, writing,
01:42"...the soup, salad, breadstick drink refills are absolutely ridiculous.
01:46I've never experienced anything like this in any restaurant I've ever worked for."
01:50So it seems as though you should definitely tip your waiter well if you want to be a good human
01:54and take advantage of awesome deals like all-you-can-eat appetizers.
01:57"...mmm, breadsticks."
01:58It's probably safe to say that working at any restaurant could make or break your experience
02:02eating there. Maybe you never get sick of spaghetti and meatballs, no matter who's serving it.
02:06Regardless, we do have intel from a TikTok video made by a former Olive Garden worker,
02:10whose experience dining at her place of employment was forever tainted by
02:1410 years of slinging pasta at the chain.
02:16While she didn't delve into too many dirty details in that specific video,
02:19her delivery and the content of the clip resonated enough that it was viewed over
02:232.5 million times. Many comments on the video were from other former employees,
02:27confirming that working at the Italian establishment erased any desire they had
02:31to eat there as a patron. Because it's such a massive chain with over 850 locations across
02:36the country, you'd just assume a lot of the meals you've come to know and love at Olive Garden
02:40would arrive at the restaurant prepackaged and frozen. Surprisingly, though, a lot of
02:44the popular menu items are actually prepared from scratch on-site. Who would know this fact
02:48better than an Olive Garden employee? Furthermore, one Quora user who worked at an Olive Garden as
02:53a server since 2018 wrote,
02:54"'Olive Garden,' for all its faults, makes all of its sauces and pasta in-restaurant in bulk,
02:59and makes a separate batch for lunch and another for dinner. For all the ants are
03:02saying that most of their food is prepackaged, you guys are all dead wrong."
03:05In a different Quora thread, an Olive Garden worker reported,
03:08"'Overall, with the exception of the desserts,
03:10it's freshly cooked food with fairly high-quality ingredients."
03:13There you have it. That Olive Garden grub might be Americanized Italian,
03:16but most of it is apparently whipped up from scratch.
03:19Olive Garden is synonymous with breadsticks. We think we can all agree on that. You should not
03:24take these hot, fluffy loaves for granted, though, since you never know if a server was potentially
03:28harmed in the making or serving of that bread. Seriously, it's all fun and games until the
03:32hot bread starts making its way out of the oven and you've got a boatload of hungry customers
03:36chomping at the bit for endless carbs.
03:38"'Is butter a carb?'
03:41"'Yes.'"
03:42According to a Redditor and former employee who wanted to dish on all of the Olive Garden
03:46breadstick secrets, every Olive Garden employee that I know has a small scar on their hand from
03:50touching the oven, baking tray, or warmer. That sounds painful, but maybe worth it?
03:55All we know is, the next time you're shoveling those unlimited breadsticks down your gullet,
03:58remember that there was possibly a scar formed in the process of delivering you that basket.
04:03Working for the man isn't necessarily the average person's dream job. However,
04:07it definitely can have its assets. These include health and retirement plan benefits,
04:11perks at other companies owned by the same corporation, and knowing you've always got
04:14a steady paycheck if you do your job well. While some might claim that working for a
04:18bigger corporate entity creates a sense of being just another number, others will argue that it
04:22really all depends on the company and its leadership. A Quora user claiming to be a
04:25longtime service industry vet pointed out that while it's not always ideal to be working for
04:29a giant corporation, as opposed to a small, privately-owned establishment, the situation
04:34wasn't too bad at Olive Garden. In fact, the Quora member described Arden, Olive Garden's
04:38parent company, as, quote, one of the best corporate places to work for.
04:41I love working at the Olive Garden because of the people. The people just make me smile every day.
04:46We can't think of anyone who doesn't relish the simple joy of a server grating fresh cheese onto
04:50their salad. Isn't that part of why we even go to a restaurant in the first place? Sure,
04:54we can grate our own Parmesan at home, but it's always a treat when someone else takes the reins.
04:58Would you like some fresh Parmesan cheese on top?
05:00Of course, we all know that Olive Garden servers will grate the cheese until you officially tell
05:04them to stop. A lot of the internet wonders, though, what happens if you never give them
05:08the red light? According to one Quora user who worked for Olive Garden, if the patron doesn't
05:12tell the waiter to stop, you keep grinding away on the cheese grater until the little block is
05:16gone and you say, there you go, smile, and maybe also say, I see you like cheese as much as I do.
05:21And another Quora member replied,
05:23I worked at Olive Garden for about 15 years, and this happened to me twice.
05:26If they don't say stop, you continue grinding until the grater is empty.
05:30But one grater full is the cutoff.
05:33How much cheese have you eaten today?
05:35How much cheese is too much cheese?
05:36Any amount of cheese.
05:38There has been much talk over the years regarding Olive Garden claiming to send
05:41select chefs to a culinary institute in Italy.
05:44You showed me your Italy, now I show you my Italy.
05:50But is it really a thing? According to a Redditor who actually took the trip,
05:54it's legit. Sort of. The person described the experience in a thread dedicated to their time
05:59at Olive Garden's Italian Culinary Institute, explaining,
06:02It was more like a hotel during the off-season, with the restaurant on-site.
06:05They would use the restaurant close to the public, again off-season, as a classroom for
06:09maybe an hour here or there and talk about spices or fresh produce for a minute before
06:13going sightseeing all day. The person went on to say that it was more like a PR stunt
06:17than a training course, writing,
06:18They paid for everything from meals, sightseeing, flight, everything except souvenirs. But in return
06:23they sent pre-written articles to the local newspaper with fake quotes from me in a group
06:27photo. So yes, they technically send workers to Italy, but it's probably not the most rigorous
06:32training program for Italian cooking in existence.
06:35Olive Garden and its parent company, Darden, have faced some legal issues in recent years
06:39in regard to how certain employees view the system of compensation and tipping that's in
06:43place at the company. The frustrations on this issue usually arise when a person lives in one
06:47of the 43 states that allow restaurants to pay below the minimum wage. This rule operates under
06:52the assumption that an employer will ensure the server still ends up receiving that amount in
06:55tips or direct compensation from the restaurant if necessary. According to a lawsuit filed by
07:00activist group One Fair Wage, the aforementioned allowance by the law sets up an inherently
07:04unfair system because the tipping policy at Olive Garden promotes both racial discrimination and
07:09sexual harassment. The complaint, filed in California courts, was based on a survey of
07:13200 Darden employees. It concluded that due to certain managerial behavior and the aforementioned
07:18minimum wage laws, workers of color were averaging 18 percent less money in tips than white workers
07:23due to how sections were assigned. The famous Olive Garden outpost in New York City's Times
07:27Square also encountered a lawsuit against Darden. Workers at this location complained of, quote,
07:31racial and gender-based discrimination, citing a blatantly optimal working experience for white
07:36employees. They were allegedly given better shifts, better sections, and better opportunities
07:40for large tips. Darden maintains that the real issue is the minimum wage laws,
07:44not their restaurant's operational policies.
07:53you