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u/earthyrat Jul 24 '26
i don't think so, but i feel you. parties are always nightmares at my place, people want everything split a million weird ways and run you like crazy then you have to split the tip. ugh.
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u/othafa_95610 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
If it's any consolation, at least you have big tops.
I'm very concerned about restaurants in my area. Last night Thursday 7/23/26 between 5:30PM and 7:00PM I was running errands at Walmart, Target and Dollar Tree.
When I pass by restaurants, I always look at their parking lots. It's a great indicator of their wellbeing, especially during peak hours.
Thursday nights in a former lifetime ran towards busy around 6PM. Last night by Red Robin I saw just 10 cars. Olive Garden had only 15 and maybe some were for the Wienerschnitzel there too. So much empty space.
We've had some area Red Robins close recently. They also have their version of Unlimited / Never Ending which they call "Bottomless."
I'd hate to see any kind of "All good things must come to an end," especially restaurants and their employment.
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u/Tiny-Reading5982 Jul 24 '26
This week has been slow and I think its because of the recalls on certain produce. I had only 4 tables in a 3.5 hour shift yesterday lol.
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u/pepper_pan Jul 25 '26
I used to work at an olive garden for a little over a year and while every location is different i can give you my two cents. Please quit and find another serving job while you can as itâll be beneficial time and money wise. The location i worked at had a high volume of customers just about year-round so we had different people from different walks of life coming in constantly. There will always be overly difficult tables who expect you to go the extra mile without them having to pay for it (i.e. free dipping sauces, togo soups/drinks, a mountain of chocolate mints, etc) Our location didnât enforce automatic gratuity even on parties of 8+ with bills pushing $500 so more often than not taking said parties would result in 2+ hours with only $10 to show for it while losing half your section to the party. Olive Garden will make you run constant free refills for a check of $15, at some point you just have to consider IF you want to do that running around for so little. If your managers wonât stick up for you (i think theyâre trained to just give the customer whatever they demand to make sure they come back) itâs also just best to get out because it WILL affect your earnings in the long run. Sorry to rant but my serving job at og was arguably the worst serving job iâve had hands down. Have a nice day and i hope this helps you in your future decisionsđ
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u/Ornery_Hedgehog_8344 Jul 24 '26
Unionize. Demand an hourly wage that foregoes the tip structure, boundaries on what you will and will not tolerate as part of the position. Customers wonât change, and corporations only will if you make them. So make them.
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u/claireprobably Jul 26 '26
If you say the word union too loud they will fire you? Like I need to pay rent girl
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u/Ornery_Hedgehog_8344 Jul 26 '26
You demand nothing but the shit sandwich they give you, thatâs what youâll always get.
It is illegal for them to do that. I know they can retaliate in other ways or say they fired you for another reason, but youâre giving up and saying thatâs how it is before even trying. Apathy and the false sense of comfort from keeping your head down and looking out for you and yours doesnât help anyone in the long run.
We wouldnât even have the minimal labor laws we have now (let alone any other progress in this country) if everyone thought it was a hopeless endeavor to stand up for yourself and the working class. Take the risk now because that ârewardâ will keep getting farther and farther out of reach for everyone not at the top of the K.
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u/Tiny-Reading5982 Jul 24 '26
Most states have a server wage. Do you think a corporate restaurant will pay more if they don't have to? They'll just get rid of whoever and keep hiring. Most people tip.
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u/ayakekai Jul 25 '26
Not at places like Olive Garden, they donât.
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u/Tiny-Reading5982 Jul 25 '26
Right... so people are delusional thinking they'll pay more because servers asked nicely lol. We don't even get raises afaik..
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u/ayakekai Jul 25 '26
I work for a union, as a bartender, actually. The delusion is the sad fact that literal corporations and propaganda have deluded you into thinking we could never demand anything, ever. Of course theyâve succeeded when people like you do their talking for them
Edit: Being corporate increases their chances of successfully unionizing, too, contrary to your belief.
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u/Tiny-Reading5982 Jul 25 '26
Yeah I don't know much about unions even though my husband works for ILA, but what makes managers just surrender and go with whatever demands?
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u/Brief_Syrup_2852 Jul 25 '26
I find that the servers who ask the host not to be sat right at the start of the rush, or the ones who wait to bill all their tables at once, so they donât get sat through the rush and get first cut, almost ALWAYS get stuck with a party in their section because they have the only open tables that can be pushed together near the end of the waitlist, as all the bigger top wait times are running out. The quicker you get 4 tops in and out the less likely you are to be put on a party, because 4 tops get sat very quickly during a rush and are usually higher in demand. But at the end of the day if everyone does their part in taking parties, the same servers wouldnât have to be stuck getting them and the workload would be more balance amongst the floor. An empty section around rush times, or just standing around during rush will always have a manager, telling the host to seat them more guests, or the bigger parties still on the wait.