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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRevamps for Olive Garden, Red Lobster failing
Darden can't seem to convince more people to sit down for a meal at its Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants.
The company reported a sharply lower quarterly profit on Friday that missed Wall Street expectations, with sales down at its two biggest chains despite ongoing attempts to revamp their menus with lighter, cheaper options. Darden said it would slash costs to prepare for future challenges, in part by reducing its workforce.
It also said that its president and chief operating officer, Drew Madsen, was retiring and would be succeeded by Gene Lee, effective immediately. Lee headed Darden's specialty restaurants such as The Capital Grille and Bahama Breeze, which had fared relatively better than the company's flagship chains.
The shakeup comes as Darden Restaurants Inc. struggles to keep pace with a shifting industry, with more people heading to chains such as Chipotle that offer food perceived to be higher quality at relatively cheaper prices. As traffic has declined at Olive Garden and Red Lobster over the years, Darden has been trying to win back diners with lighter dishes and promotions intended to underscore the affordability of its food.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/darden-restaurants-coo-madsen-retire-20315570
No mention of how shitty they treat their workers over the years in the article for one the reasons they are failing besides their bland food.
Meanwhile over time:
Darden Restaurants violated federal labor laws by underpaying thousands of servers across the country at Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Red Lobster and other eateries, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday on behalf of the workers.
The lawsuit filed in Miami federal court seeks to collectively represent current and past employees who worked for Darden from August 2009 to the present. It seeks potentially tens of millions of dollars in back pay and other compensation, plus interest and attorney fees.
Claims against Darden include:
Servers showed up for shifts as scheduled but were not allowed to clock in until customers began arriving. Some were also forced to clock out and continue working without pay.
Employees who worked beyond 40 hours a week were not paid 1.5 times their regular pay as required.
Tipped employees refilled salt shakers, rolled silverware in napkins and vacuumed for more than 20 percent of their work time. Such side work beyond 20 percent for tipped employees entitles them to at least the minimum wage, which those employees otherwise do not usually get.
http://blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping/33009/olive-garden-parent-company-sued-for-underpaying-workers/
4 of America's Favorite Restaurants That No Longer Deserve Your Business
Darden Restaurants, which owns Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains, began experimenting with cutting workers hours before the Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare) was passed. It was trying to get employees below 30 hours a week so the chains would be exempt from having to provide them health care or pay penalties under the new law. This is from a company that spent over $1.5 million in 2012 in political contributions, according to OpenSecrets, with taxes and health issues being its top two issues. They're trying to wiggle their way out of this law.
http://www.policymic.com/articles/19376/4-of-america-s-favorite-restaurants-that-no-longer-deserve-your-business
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)HappyMe
(20,277 posts)edit to add - Both of those places are usually pretty crowded here.
onehandle
(51,122 posts)global1
(25,270 posts)stopped frequenting it. My philosophy has always been - if you treat your employees good - they will service your customers good.
Darden's disregard for their employees means - either the employees that remain and work for them - take it out on the customers or Darden can only get a poor quality employee and therefore - they give poor service.
Darden needs to wise up and start treating their employees better. If not - they will continue to fail.
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)garlic breadsticks/biscuits enough to pay $12-18 for the entrees. Tastes change, people expect different/better things from restaurants after a couple decades, and gimmicks only work for a while. I could never figure out the appeal of the Australian theme with Outback Steakhouse, for example--their food was mediocre, but somehow they rode the Crocodile Dundee wave for many years. Plus everyone copied the bloomin' onion, it's not special anymore.
Xipe Totec
(43,890 posts)This place serves what Legal Seafoods throws out.
Not a glimmer or a shadow of what this place was like 25 years ago.
Good bye and good riddance.
TheDeputy
(224 posts)Now, not so much.
LuvNewcastle
(16,856 posts)They have all this extra work to do during your shift and when your shift ends because they're getting your labor for about 2 dollars an hour. It's supposed to be law that they have to let you clock out and clock back in for min. wage pay when you don't have anymore tables, but they get pissy if you do that, and they'll cut your schedule if you do. By the time all is said and done, a lot of servers are actually paying the restaurant to work there. Big corporations are some of the worst offenders regarding this practice.