Olive Garden caught my attention by its seemingly health conscious brand name.  The combination of “Olive” – one of the world’s healthiest foods, and “Garden” – a plethora of fresh greens, led me to believe that Olive Garden is a healthy family diner OR a classy high-end restaurant.  However, Olive Garden is the antithesis of my hypothesis but rather an Italian restaurant chain infamous for its unlimited servings of carbohydrates.

“Fettucine Alfredo.”  Darden Concepts, Inc., 2014.  Web.  17 Sept. 2014.  <http://www.olivegarden.com/menu/fettuccine-alfredo/prod80168>.

Olive Garden employs the “everything refillable” concept, but this is a questionable business strategy.  Apart from drinks, soups, salads, Olive Garden offers unlimited bread and PASTA on specific weeks.  How does this benefit the company?  This offer restricts the number of customers per day if everyone spends more time at meals to maximize their benefit of the offer.  Customers who were initially attracted by the offer are driven away if table turnover is impossible.  Also, customers are rapidly consuming the business’ inventory which pressures the company’s costs.

Olive Garden is putting stress on its revenue, quality control, and the well-being of their staff.  As experienced by Holmes, an Olive Garden server is physically, emotionally, and mentally excruciating.  In conclusion, seldom do restaurants promote “everything’s refillable” except for the buffet industry.

References:

Holmes, David.  “Olive Garden Servers Have One of the Toughest Jobs in the Industry.  Trust Me – I Used to Be One.”  PandoDaily.  PandoDaily, 16 Sept. 2014.  Web.  17 Sept. 2014.  <http://pando.com/2014/09/16/olive-garden-servers-have-one-of-the-toughest-jobs-in-the-industry-trust-me-i-used-to-be-one/>.