Terrible Food At Olive Garden

I once ordered a pizza at the olive garden it was horrible so I sent
it back, the next one came out with the bottom black and tastless so I
sent it back. The manager came told me I would not be charged for my
meal and offered me something else for free on the spot. I enjoyed a
pasta dish. It was great, but to my surprise the manager delivered my
check and said not only was my meal free but he took half off the rest
of our meals. It was my best experiance with poor food, but it goes
to show you as I've seen many times on pfb complain while you are
there, give them a chance to make it right if that doesn't work then
try contacting others.

This is the type of letter that gives the legitimate complaints a bad
rap.

"The waiter should have looked at the food before he served it." In
most cases, you can't tell from just looking at a dish that it wasn't
properly prepared. If it wasn't obviously burnt, I don't blame the
waiter for not returning it.

The kicker is stating the amount you spent, then following that up
with "I am not looking for any money". Yes you are, just not in the
traditional sence.

You should have asked the waiter to take back the food, if they
refused, only then does a manager need to be involved. Most
restaurants are more than happy to fix the situation including handing
out free food/gift certificates as the situation warrents.

I am not looking for any money but I do feel we should received four
certificates for four free entrees if you want us to return.

If I can quote Yogi Berra...they give you certificates which is just
as good as money.....AFLAC.

If you are not looking for any compensation then dont ask for it. You
are nothing more than a mooch. If the food was so inedible, then the
best time to say something is when the food is brought out.

If you never said anything about it, what makes you think that Olive
Garden will do anything about it? If thought your food was poor
quality, you should have said something. Also, you're just being
paranoid about stuff happening to your food. You need to quit watching
so many "caught on tape" shows.

your point about not being better the a graffiti artist could be
argued. Graffiti artist usualy mark things like the outside of
buildings or the side of bridges to mark their territory (note I said
USUALLY) not to correct something and it is quiet often
rude/offensive. I agree though that it is wrong to mark the signs in
stores and you can be fined for doing it. I also think it's annoying
to see a sign where someone has marked out something they think is
wrong with the sign. It's rude to the store because it makes the store
look bad. It would be better just to point out to someone working
there that there was a mistake on the sign in my opinion.

What happened when you brought this to the managers attention? You
did inform the manager of this??

"I am not looking for any money but I do feel we should received four
certificates for four free entrees if you want us to return. I send
you a lot of business and feel that is the least you should do."

(1) Asking for "four free entrees" IS asking for money. Your
complaint was about two entrees, so really, you need only two entrees
to be "replaced" by a free meal.

(2) I'm tired of this "I send you a lot of business" or "I will tell
everyone I know to not eat at your restaurant" business. WHATEVER.
You know, I have found that I really don't discuss my meals out much.
My bf and I eat out 2-3 times a week, and because I'm not a negative
nelly, I rarely have a negative dining experience and when I do, I
don't complain about it.

(3) Did you not speak to a manager? That was the only appropriate
recourse. Let me repeat: THE ONLY APPROPRIATE RECOURSE. Emailing
the headquarters of the company won't get you anywhere.

I invite everyone who reads this comment to check my blog (later, I
haven't updated it yet) for the link to an EXCELLENT article in my
local paper re: tipping/service/management of restaurants. In it,
managers of several fine dining restaurants nearly BEG diners/the
public to let management know immediately if there is a problem, when
they can fix it. It's a great read, and very
interesting/informative/helpful.

Aren't you afraid they'll do "awful things" to your food when you
attempt to use your free food certificates? Or maybe you can hide them
until it's time to pay the bill, and hope they don't throw things at
you in angry retribution as you leave. Better take mace, just to be
safe.

OP doesn't mention appetizers, desserts, or exactly which drinks were
ordered. Soft drinks are cheap, but if they ordered wine or beer, the
price could go up quickly.

OP--Do you know what Fettuccini Alfredo is? Parmesan-cream sauce on
wide, flat noodles. Very often OG will grate some Parmesan(or a
domestic Parmesan-type cheese, since the really good stuff from
actually FROM Italy is incredibly expensive) over the dish. Other,
local Italian places may do the same thing because OG does.

Oh--and have YOU
(OP) ever grilled a chicken breast? It's pretty easy to go from
"perfect" to "can't cut, need to 'break' " in less than a minute per
side. Even frying it in a pan. Not hard to go from "great" to
"burned".

OP--what leads you to believe that the ziti had been sitting on the
counter and reheated? If the texture and the taste were OK, then the
dish was OK.

Basically, you ate it. Or you took it home. Either way, you missed
your chance to mention your dissatisfaction to the manager. Doesn't
matter if it was busy, or pathetically not busy. You should have
talked to the manager so that you would get things made right.

$80.00 ???? That would be about $50 in drinks. Maybe that's the reason
it didn't look or taste good.

Oh for the love of.....

I have to agree with the other posters on here. If you don't like the
food you've received, by all means, send it back. Nothing bad will
come to your food, trust me.

I also have to question why you feel you're entitled to FOUR free
entrees when you complained about only two of them, and then you and
your party proceeded to eat them all anyway.

I also take exception to your statement "I send you a lot of business
and feel that is the least you should do." Ok, let's get one thing
straight here. You are giving them business because you obviously
like their food, thus you keep coming back. They, in turn, are
providing you with a meal each time. You came to eat, and they are
open to serve you food and make money. Both parties are satisfied.
It's called business as usual.

With that in mind, why do you feel that they owe you something more
than you've already paid for, and received, in the past?

I must agree with Tickytack and call bull-hooey.

This seems to me to be an obvious ploy to get free meal tickets. Even
if you were too paranoid to send your food back, lest someone 'do'
something to it, why in the world wouldn't you ask to speak to the
manager, and give them the chance to fix it right then and there?

If this story is true, shame on you for not giving the manager a
chance to do his or her job. What do you suppose he's there for, if
not to observe and maintain a level of quality in keeping with
customers' expectations?

Why didn't you say anything at the time?! I love the fact that you're
not looking for any money yet you want a freebie.
You send them alot of business and you feel that's the least they can
do? When you send them business do you let The Olive Garden know it
was you that sent business their way? Come on.

Check out the diner scene in the movie Road Trip.

I don't want any money, but I want 4 free entrees - what's the
difference? And why 4 entrees when apparently only one was bad.

Besides...from what I hear, the food at Olive Garden is really bad
anyway .. . even if it's free.

"I am not looking for any money but I do feel we should received four
certificates for four free entrees if you want us to return."

There's no difference between asking for money and asking for free
gift certificates!

The myth about waiters spitting in your food when it's returned is
just that....a myth.

Next time you have a problem with your meals, talk to a manager. Many
times, the manager him/herself will take care of replacing the meals
and supervise the staff when it's time to bring it out. The likelihood
of anything happening to your food is nil.

The reason it was terrible is because you went to the Olive Garden.
I'm not defending the crappy food you got as you expected better. But
you live in Albany and Albany is in New York if I'm not mistaken.
Also, if I'm not mistaken, NY has a good sized Italian American
population. I'm pretty sure there has to be a few good Italian joints
in the greater Albany area. No corporate restaurant can ever compare
with a good mom and pop bistro. Try seeking them out next time. The
food and ambiance will be your reward.

stop lying to your waiter. When they ask how it is, this is your
chance. Tell the truth, they'll make it right. No one's doing
horrible things to your food. It's not a big deal to fix it. i was a
waitress for over 20 years and worked with a lot of cooks. We care if
you like your food, most cooks are extremely proud of their abilities
and will make it right if it isn't. Urban legends are not good and
that's what you are basing that on. It's hard to tell if the food is
going to taste good unless we, the waitresses actually taste it, and
you sure as heck don't want us doing that and a visual inspection is
the best we can do. It drove me crazy that when i did my checkbacks
after serving the food that a customer would look me dead in the eye
and lie when i asked if everything was okay and then when the cashier
asked the same question as they were paying the customer started
complaining. Since you forfeited your chance when the waitress still
had the ability to have the cook redo your food Olive Garden doesn't
owe you a thing. Waitresses don't have a crystal ball they can use to
read your mind. Speak up while it's not too late.

This is ridiculous. If I thought for one second that food I sent back
at a restaurant would come back with "awful things," done to it, I
would never eat at that restaurant in the first place. If you are
nice and polite about the problem, a good restaurant will be nice and
polite about fixing it.

Also, you chose to pay the bill, so in my mind you aren't entitled to
a thing. Sure, waiters should look at the food before they serve it,
but you should look at the bill before you pay it, and if you have any
problems, that is the time to speak up.

When are people going to grow spines already and learn to take care of
things in person?

Sounds like somebody has been watching too many episodes of that
"Hell's Kitchen" show.

Your reasoning for not sending the food back is absolutely
ridiculous.

Further, it is NOT the waiter's job to check your food to ensure its
edibility. I can't believe you suggested otherwise. His job is to
serve you; it is the kitchen staff's responsibility to ensure your
food is of a good quality. As for the cheese "just being dropped on
top" - it's a sauce - are you incapable of mixing it in yourself?

If you didn't send the food back or talk to a manager, you certainly
are not entitled to freebies. And what is with the "I send you a lot
of business" line? Pray tell how this is the case? I'm sure Olive
Garden would survive without your occasional meal out. Additionally
you were only complaining about two of the four meals, so why you
think you should get four freebies is a mystery. Greed, perhaps?

I call shenanigans.

For the 1,000,000,000,000th time on this site - - - what did the
manager say when you brought this situation to his or her attention?
The time to negotiate compensation (a free meal is the same as money)
is before you pay your bill and before you leave the restaurant. I'm
assuming you and your guests ate the food even though the pasta
portion was small, the cheese wasn't mixed in, the chicken was thin
and hard and the ziti appeared to have been re-heated. Consumption of
food equals acceptance. The waiter (or server as well call them these
days) isn't responsible for the food itself - - they only serve what
you ordered. These types of letters really make my teeth itch.

Awful things happen when you return food? Sorry hun, not at a place
like the olove Garden. I work at Ruby tuesday, which i consider a
downgrade from olive garden, and we'd NEVER dream of doing anything to
anyones food. Turn off the movie "waiting", and stop being so paranoid
:)