The Dilbert Blog

If you haven't found it yet, check out The Dilbert Blog. It's great, and has so many funny insights (like the cartoon).

Related Tags: Dilbert, Dilbert Blog, Scott Adams, Humor, Satire, Work Humor, Cartoon

Closing shifts and being punished for being good

There was a time at Red Lobster where to be a closer you had to be a very strong, competent server. This was because after all the other staff were cut and home in bed (or more likely two sheets to the wind down the street at the bar) you might get slammed. In fact, you even hoped you would get busy, as the only redeeming quality of closing was getting some extra tables and making some extra coin. Closing means extra work, and taking care of whatever wasn't previously done by your fellow servers. We have a system where we also have a side work checker, who is specifically responsible for checking out servers on their side work (think of a glorified baby sitter for servers who are too irresponsible to actually do their work without someone looking over thier shoulders), so on most nights the additional work takes 15-20 minutes at the end of the evening. Now, with the new 3 table limits, there is no benefit to being a closer. It is more work, for the same pay. To make things worse is the quality of table that comes in this time of night.

Every night, at about 9:00 PM, for some unknown reason the level of quality of our average customer goes from a "C" to a "D-/F" in a matter of minutes. It's like an alarm bell sounds in the ghetto and trailer parks reminding the very worst customers that it's time to make their way to Red Lobster. 7 nights a week we have these dirt bags roll in, and I mean roll in. The stench of the cheapest, most rotton weed rolls off of them like some poor imitation of a Cheech and Chong movie. 7 nights a week, we get 2-5 of these tables. They are stoned to the point they can barely read the menu. The are stoned to the point that you wonder how they managed to find the restuarant without getting into an accident. Had these people just rolled around in a pile of dog crap, they could not smell worse. We're talking contact high by taking thier order level of stoned. And what's worse, about half of these tables have children in tow, generally kids under the age of 10, and often times under the age of 5. These are the tables you know upon approaching that they are going to be high maintenence pains in the asses, who will not tip.

My version of this table Friday night came in at 9:45 PM, and thankfully did not bring any children. The woman orders a Shrimp Cocktail dinner, but it takes her 4 minutes to figure out her sides. Excuse me miss, I just repeated to you the sides 4 times. There's not that many options. You are not the only table in the restuarant. Then following the 4 minute process of choosing a baked potato, they are insolent because you haven't brought them their Hennesey yet. I'm sorry, but I've been standing here the whole time, when was it you thought I would order your drink and get to the bar to bring it back? So I bring out the Shrimp Cocktail meal, and the Ultimate feast her man orders. I slide the shrimp in front of her and she give me a dumb look. It's that look you dread as a waiter - the "my brain was shut off year ago" look, further worsed by the smog of ditch weed. She looks at me and says "what's this?" It's your meal I calmly reply while trying to hold my breath. "I didn't want this." Which part is not what you want? "I wanted fried shrimp with batter!" You ordered the Shrimp Cocktail, that means cold shrimp served without having been fried. "I know I ordered Shrimp Cocktail, I want them fried." I'm sorry, cocktail shrimp are not fried, but I'd be happy to order you our fried shrimp meal, would you like that? "Is it fried?" Yes, that is why it's called the fried shrimp meal. "Bring me that. Why didn't you bring me that the first time?" The meal you ordered is a cold, non-fried shrimp platter, I ordered what you asked for. "Ok, well I don't want this (which I think by this point we've established already)." That's fine mam, I'll order you the fried shrimp.

I swear I'm not making this up. So I walk to the other side of our dining room where the computer is and order the new meal. I have literally been away from the table now for 10 seconds, and I hear "Escuse Me! Yo! Hey, EScuse MEEE! HEY YOU!" in an increasingly loud male voice. I look up, it's my table, the table I just was at. I give the nod that I've heard him. "EXCUSE ME! HEY!!" Now the guy is loud enough the rest of the restaurant can hear him. So I look directly at him, and in a clear, and fairly loud voice, I say "Sir, I will be right with you." He looks somewhat shocked I would speak in such an assertive voice to him, but he shuts up, and I catch out of the corner of my eye a table thinking about applauding me for shutting him up. I finish entering her order (takes about 6 seconds to do this when a guest isn't yelling across the restaurant at you) and make my way back to the table.

What can I do for you sir? "She wants a drink." What would you like I say to her? "I want that (and she point's to a margarita picture). What flavor is it?" It's a margarita mam, it's sour with a the taste of tequilla. "That sounds good."

I walk away at this point, and order the drink. By the time I make it back to the kitchen my shrimp are ready (fried shrimp are done in a blink). I contemplate on whether I should bring them, or wait a minute for my drink to finish so I only have to go to the table once. In the mean time, my other two tables are probably wondering where I've went, as they were both in another section of the restaurant out of sight from this table.

Later that evening, as I'm saying goodbye to a table from another waiter's section, the man from this table leans into me and says "That guy was an ass. You handled yourself well. I would've dropped a tray of food on his head." I look at him, and I suspect he could read in my eyes that the thought had occured to me. I thank him for coming in and he leaves shaking his head. I still have to cash the table out. The final result was a check of $59.72. The man gives me $60, thanks me for the great service. "You're a good waiter" he says, while I contemplate how much damage I could do with a crab cracker before I'm peeled off of him. I take their money and calmly walk away.

I wish I could say this is a rare table, but it's not, it's a nightly occurance in our store, multiple times, to every server. These tables only come out after 9:00 PM it seems. I've been trying to convince our managers we need to lock the doors at 8:55 PM. They are beginning to agree with me, though we all know that will never happen.

Related Tags: Red Lobster, Waiter, Server, Waitress, Restaurant, Employee relations, Bad Leadership, Crappy Job, Customer Service, Idiot customers, Stoners, Stoned, Pot, Marijuana, Weed, Chronic, Ghetto, Trailer Trash, Shrimp, Seafood, Rude Customer, Drugs, Bad Parents

The sound of one hand clapping

It's been dead in our restaurant far too frequently lately. Tonight there was a period where we had 5 wait staff and only 4 tables in the restaurant. More and more we are having nobody come in after about 8:30 PM. We waste our time doing menial cleaning tasks for minimum wage. In our store, this will only likely get worse following out next promotion. We have Lobsterfest coming up, which is always our best promotion of the year. But that means following that will be some crappy under priced promotion to ring in the Summer. With Summer comes slower business in our store, and that is complicated with lower priced promotions bringing in nothing but the bottom of the barrel as far as customers.

Had a new trainee tonight. Always interesting how they react to being on the floor with customers while learning the job. Some are like deer in head lights, others catch on pretty quickly. The one tonight was somewhere in the middle. She's good with guests as far as personality goes, but her technique is such that unless she learns to walk away from tables, she'll never get everything done. I suspect she was that girl in high school who always had a group of other girls around her, and the only voice you could hear was her's. She's really plesant, so I'm not talking about that other girl, the one who bossed all the girls around her around and was mean to everyone behind their backs.

I haven't counted, but I would guess I'm at something like 100+ servers trained at Red Lobster(s), and I've trained more people in other jobs than I care to recount. The common thing is that within an hour I can tell you (for the most part) if the person has what it takes or not to be good at what we are doing. Many other trainers also have this ability. I always find it interesting at how different approaches to the same task can get similar results.

And just so you know, that monkey pictured above is stalking you. Just thought I should warn you.


Related Tags: Monkey, Clapping Monkey, Training staff, Red Lobster, Seafood, Restaurant, Server, Waiter, Waitress, Lobsterfest, bad customers

THAI CHICKEN AND COCONUT SOUP

The Best Recipe: Soups & Stews, Cook's Illustrated Magazine

Serves 8 As A First Course

This multidimensional soup with tantalizing flavors and aromas is created with a blend of aromatics. Lemon grass imparts a rich, ethereal, lemony essence. If you can't find lemon grass, try 2 pieces of water-packed lemon grass or 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest. Fiery Thai chiles typically provide a hot and spicy component, but they are often hard to find, and Mexican hot peppers seem out of place. We found the best substitute to be a Thai red curry paste that includes Thai chiles and other aromatic ingredients favored in this soup. Avoid Indian-style curry pastes that include cumin and other spices, leftovers can be refrigerated for two days, but the coconut milk will separate. Reheat slowly, not boiling the liquid, to prevent the milk from curdling.

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 to 2 stalks lemon grass, outer sheath removed, bottom 3 inches trimmed and minced (3 tablespoons)
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 2 to 3 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
• 6 cups homemade chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 (14-ounce) cans unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 12 ounces), cut into 1 by 1/4-inch strips
• 1 (15-ounce) can straw mushrooms, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• Salt
• 1/2 cup loosely packed whole fresh cilantro leaves
• 3 scallions, greens only, sliced thin on an angle (optional)


1. Heat the oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the lemon grass, ginger, and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until aromatic, 30 to 60 seconds. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds.

2. Add 1/2 cup chicken stock to the pot and stir to dissolve the curry paste. Add the remaining stock, fish sauce, and sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover, and simmer to blend flavors, about 20 minutes.

3. Stir in the coconut milk, chicken, mushrooms, and lime juice. Bring back to a simmer and cook until the stock is hot and the chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt if desired. Serve immediately, garnishing each bowl with cilantro and scallions.

VARIATION
THAI SHRIMP AND COCONUT SOUP
Substitute 1/4 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp for the chicken in step 3.

Related Tags: Chicken, Chicken soup, Thai soup, best recipe, Lemon grass, coconut milk, Shrip soup, Recipe, Cooking, Food

Monsters Inc, or Waiting tables in the psycho ward

I think there is an area of our town breeding monsters. They are not big monsters, yet, but they seemed to be every where in my section last night. These little monsters were assigned to unsuspecting couples, who mistakenly thought that ordering something off of the children's menu was a good peace offering. How mistaken they were, as this only served to give the monster more things (and in the case of Mac and Cheese sticky things) to throw all over. Welcome to Red Lobster, we'll be racing monsters through section 3 in a few minutes, until then allow us to entertain you with this loud shrill screaming, it's sure to enhance your appetite, and certainly makes my work environment more pleasurable.


Do you ever feel like you are waiting on people quite possibly are ALL freaking nuts? That was me last night. Every table (except for two) throughout the night were gigantic pain in the but nut jobs. I had a lady order our chicken fingers, and then complain they are spicy. Um...excuse me...but you perhaps are the first person in the history of Red Lobster to think our chicken fingers are spicy. Our wings? Sure, they are a bit spicy, but the chicken fingers...the one's we use on children's meals...SPICY? Err...no, no they are not. That particular table was a nuscience the whole time they were in the store, from the wait 20 minutes for the 4th guest to arrive during rush, to the "we have a coupon" (it expired a week and a half ago mam) and we're leaving you a crap tip even after you accepted our coupon.

What is it with the temperature going below zero and all the idiots coming out of the woodwork for fish guts and lobster nuts?

Related Tags: monster, children, restaurant, Red Lobster, Bad customers, Bad Leadership, Bad Place Work, Fish, Lobster, Seafood, Sea food, Coupon, Cheap, Waiter, Server

Waiting on the trans-gendered

My last table of the night tonight was a very nice woman, who I have no doubt that a few years ago was a man. Sorry lady, you adam's apple is sticking out more than your breasts. She was plesant, but at about 6'3" and 275lbs, with hands the size of a grizzly paw it was pretty obvious. The hormone induced voice change was the topper. It is clear she's on hormones, her voice is changing, and there is now virtually no facial hair. It's a bit distracting. But very nice as I stated, a great person to have as a last table. I always wonder what drove them to that level of a need to change physically to become who the believe they should be. But I guess I don't really understand any forms of body modification for the most part. Sure, I understand burn victims, and physical deformity issues, but much beyond that I don't relate all that well. Sure I'd love to not be fat, but I don't know if surgery is the solution to that problem. We do certainly get an interesting mix of people.

I started my night off hot. Lots of drinks, lots of big ticket meals. I don't even know what my sales were (bad) but at least I had a few good tables early to carry me through the night. It was so dead that after 9:00 PM we had four guests in our restaurant. Guess how many waiters it takes to wait on four guests. Answer: 3. Us two closers both had 1 tops, and the other person had a two top. My last table was $30, the other two were less than that. And you want me to believe this new system is working, right Red Lobster? And you want me to drink that Kool-Aid over there with all the others...

Related Tags: Red Lobster, Bad Job, Poor Leadership, GMRI, Darden, Transgender, Trans gender, Jim Jones

Too cheap to take your date out for Valentines?

Oh the joys of working the day before Valentines Day. This is the day when all the cheap people go out because they don't want to pay the money and wait in line on the actual day. I understand some people (waiters) have to work on Valentines, but my expereince is that waiters are always the best tippers on average, and last night, according to my tips, I was not waiting on many waiters. You can tell right away when you have one of these tables (the ones on the cheap). They arrive dressed up in what one can only guess must be their best sweater (classy!). They order the Ultimate Feast, and make a big show of ordering it, like they are the first people in the restaurant that day to order this expensive meal. They labor over the drink menu, frequently settling on some abusurd alcohol drink that my experience tells me they've probably never tried before, and the look on their faces when they first try it confirms. The demand extra bread they don't eat, more dressing they never use, extra drawn butter that gets cold and congeals without being touched. Then, in a moment of nobility, they pay you, leaving at best 8% for being such pains in the ass all evening. Thank you very much I say, while thinking enjoy your bus ride home. All too frequently these types of tables come in (not just on holidays, but more frequently around holidays) to our restaurant. They'll spend $22 each on a meal, $7 more on a fish bowl sized bar drink, an appetizer or two, and then leave their waiter a garbage tip. These generally are the most demanding of tables. They arrive with some magical blinders that keeps them from seeing they are NOT the only table in the section/resturant.

It's even better when they do this, and then spend the whole meal on their cell phones. Very romantic. Your adept text messaging is really getting her in the mood tonight sir. Are you sure you should be texting your other girlfriend at this moment?

Related Tags: Red Lobster, Bad Job, Bad Leadership, Darden, Olive Garden, seafood, restaurant, valentines, tipping, cell phones, etiquette

Red Lobster In Hot Water Over Link to Illegalities

The Humane Society of the United States Asks Darden to Discontinue Ties to So-Called Sustainable Use Group

WASHINGTON – The Humane Society of the United States sent a letter today to the CEO and Director of Darden Restaurants, whose subsidiaries include Red Lobster, asking that the company discontinue their association with the International Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources (IFCNR). A recently released report co-authored by the Center for Public Integrity (CFPI) and NPR's Marketplace implicates the IFCNR in apparent illegal expenditures and advocating for the dismantling of the Endangered Species Act. Darden is listed as the principal contributor to the group, providing more than one-third of the support between 2000 and 2004. Other contributors include the National Trappers Association, The International Fur Trade Association, and the Japan Whaling Association.

In addition, according to a newspaper article, a person listed in the CFPI report as responsible for the IFCNR's financial affairs is a felon who pled guilty to embezzlement and has identified himself publicly through his organization, Strategic Resources International, as a consultant to Darden.

"The Humane Society of the United States has attempted for months to negotiate with you in good faith to have Red Lobster join in opposing Canada's brutal commercial seal hunt and join the boycott of Canadian seafood until the slaughter of baby seals is ended for good," wrote Dr. John W. Grandy, senior vice president for The HSUS. "Based on this report, we now are left to wonder if there was ever good faith on the part of Darden and Red Lobster."

The HSUS Protect Seals campaign has been advocating for a boycott of Canadian seafood to pressure the Canadian government into canceling its yearly commercial slaughter of hundreds of thousands of seals. As the largest seafood restaurant chain in the United States, Red Lobster has been repeatedly asked to join the boycott. A demonstration was held outside the company's stockholder meeting in Florida this September. Other restaurants across the country such as Tavern on the Green, and companies like Legal Sea Foods, Down East Seafood, Whole Foods Markets, Wild Oats Markets, Original Fish, and Spectrum Organics have all taken steps to reduce or end their Canadian seafood sales.

"The Humane Society of the United States is urging Darden to abandon any association with this anti-environmental group and their consultant, and join immediately and fully in the boycott of Canadian seafood to end the commercial seal slaughter," Grandy concluded.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization representing more than 9 million members and constituents. The non-profit organization is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals and equine protection, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy, and field work. The group is based in Washington and has numerous field representatives across the country. On the web at www.hsus.org.

Related Tags: Red Lobster, Humane Society, Bad Job, Bad Leadership, Endangered Species, National Trapper Association, Fur Trade Association, Whaling, Seals, Darden, Olive Garden, Canada, boycott, seafood, restaurant, animal protection

Darden January Sales

Darden Restaurants Reports January Same-Restaurant Sales Results

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb 02, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) today reported U.S. same-restaurant sales results for the four- week January fiscal month ended January 29, 2006. This period is the second month of Darden's fiscal 2006 third quarter.

Same-restaurant sales at Red Lobster increased 11% to 12% for fiscal January, which reflected an 8% to 9% increase in guest counts and a 2% to 3% increase in check average. The check average increase was a result of an approximate 2% increase in pricing and a 0% to 1% increase from menu mix changes. Last year, Red Lobster had an 8% to 9% decrease in same-restaurant sales.

Same-restaurant sales at Olive Garden increased approximately 8% for fiscal January, which reflected a 6% to 7% increase in guest counts and a 1% to 2% increase in check average. The check average increase was primarily due to pricing. Last year, Olive Garden had a 4% to 5% increase in same- restaurant sales.

Fiscal January's sales results at both Olive Garden and Red Lobster were positively affected by approximately 4 percentage points due to favorable weather this fiscal January compared to last year.

Darden Restaurants, Inc., headquartered in Orlando, FL, owns and operates over 1,390 Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Smokey Bones, and Seasons 52 restaurants with annual sales of approximately $5.3 billion.

Forward-looking statements in this news release are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Certain important factors could cause results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements including the impact of intense competition, changing economic or business conditions, the price and availability of food, ingredients and utilities, labor and insurance costs, increased advertising and marketing costs, higher-than-anticipated costs to open or close restaurants, litigation, unfavorable publicity, a lack of suitable locations, government regulations, a failure to achieve growth objectives, weather and other factors discussed from time to time in reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Darden Restaurants, Inc.

Analysts, Matthew Stroud, +1-407-245-6458, or Media, Jim DeSimone, +1-407-245-4567,
both of Darden Restaurants, Inc.

http://www.prnewswire.com


Related Tags: Red Lobster sales, Darden stock, Restaurant, Bad Job, Poor Leadership, Stockholders, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Smokey Bones, Seasons 52, Securities and Exchange

Something about that tee shirt

One of my first tables of the night was a man in his mid to late 30's, sitting at a table by himself, wiht 3 other menus (1 adult and 2 children's) sitting at the table with him. In one glance I knew this wasn't going to be a very good table. The guy is like 37 years old, and is wearing a Korn shirt. Now I don't have anything against Korn, they've had a couple of songs I thought were really pretty good, but there reaches an age and stage in one's life where you should move beyond wearing these kinds of tee shirts. Clearly this guy missed that memo. I approached and tried to be pleasant and run through my required list of crap to say. His responses were basic grunts and monosyllabic words. I knew this wasn't going to be a good table. In some cases, we are surprised, having misjudged a guest, this was not one of those cases. At least his children were well behaved. It's got to be embarassing as a child to be teaching manners to your father.

I did have an opportunity to wait on a local college star (Star of a Big-10 basketball team) and his girlfriend. He's undoubtedly got the potential to go pro, and I suspect he'll be drafted. He was quite nice, and surprisingly not as big as I would have thought. Granted, I am a pretty big guy myself, but I guess he looks bigger on TV. He left a nice tip. The strange thing was that neither he nor his girlfriend put their phones down for more than 5 minutes throughout the whole meal. I understand if you are a business man, but this was 9:00 PM and he's a college basketball player, he can't even have a job (Division I prohibits it).

Related Tags: bad tippers, Big 10, Basketball, College, Waiter, Red Lobster, Korn, Restaurant, Manners, Cell Phone, Food

The Dead Zone

Our restaurant was like a morgue last night. I don't know what the final guest count was, but it was absurdly low. I suppose it was the after effect of Superbowl parties and leftovers. Nobody made any money, the most I heard someone walking with was $55, and that's because that server had a large table leave him $30 in one tip. Tough to pay the bills when few tables come in and they can't cut anyone. The old system would let us cut down to our strongest servers, and let them run 4-5 tables if anyone did come in. Rather than doing that, now we all limp along with one or two tables, because they can't risk cutting anyone. 3 tables walk in the door now and it's a logistical problem. I used to be able to say bring 2 of them to me, I can handle it. Not anymore, according to Red Lobster I became incompetent (along with all the other experienced staff) over night in early December and we can only handle 3 tables at a time. It's a gigantic, sickening joke. I'm surprised corporate leaders aren't all dead from asphixiation from where their heads have been.

One week to Valentine's day. One of the worst days to work, and one of the best days to work all rolled into one. It means good money, but it also means long waits for the guests. That means our bartenders will make out well, as guests will have a drink or two before they get to the table, but it means that much less in sales for us as wait staff unfortunately. It also means a backed up kitchen mid-evening. It never fails that there is a run on something, and the line gets backed up waiting for something, or something else goes wrong to slow things down. This means not only can we not give the best service possible, but that we can't turn our tables as quickly as we would like. This isn't generally all that noticable by the guests, as our kitchen staff is outstanding, but we as wait staff know what's going on. It also means long days for everyone. Everyone on at 4:00 PM and nobody off before close most likely. I've never understood how someone can think Red Lobster is a romantic dinner. Maybe if you live in the ghetto or a trailer park, but otherwise it's far from romantic. We don't even try to fake it by putting candles on the table.


Related Tags: Red Lobster, Crappy Job, Unhappy Employee, Bad Management, Poor Leadership, waiter, server, restaurant, food service

Friday night things went well...

Last night was the first second time under this new wasteful system that I actually had a night on par with what I used to make 3 months ago before this mess started. The unfortunate reality is that you have to get the exact right tables all night long now to make respectable money. I worked nearly 8 hours though to make what I used to make in 5-6 hours. The thing that bailed me out was a $20 tip on my first check. It was a 2 top, and their total bill was only $56, so when I was handed the money by my guest, I thanked him for being so generous. He just graciously said "you're welcome" and walked out the door. Without that single larger than average tip, my night would have been only slightly above our new "average". Unfortunately our new average is CRAP.

I did have very good guests all night long. Few were grumpy because of the long wait. We had a wait in our lobby for nearly 4 hours. 2-3 years ago this was common, but more and more our time with people waiting is not more than 2 hours. This isn't because we're moving people in and out faster (well perhaps that contributes a small amount), it's because fewer are coming in. Our guest counts are down, and Red Lobster's corporate leadership's response was to increase menu costs and increase our labor costs. I was reading the other day how Red Lobster's sales increased this last year, but I noticed how the fact that the menu increased in some markets twice last year was left off that report. Interestingly, Darden stock continues on a strong upward climb. So those at the top (corporate leadership, area and regional management, general managers) are all making some serious gains in their portfolios. So I suppose at least a select (rich) few people are happy with this system. I hope their decisions come back to bite them in the ass the same way it has bitten us in our wallets.

And the struggle continues...

Some times it's difficult to get excited to go to work anymore. When the company you have worked so hard for, for so long turns it's back on you, it's hard to enjoy what you do. Our store has been focusing on what is referred to as T vs. A - the difference between what we really have (food resources) versus what we should have in theory if nothing was wasted/stolen/ruined. It would be interesting to know if after Red Lobster started screwing with their servers if their T vs. A got worse. I would suspect it did. People are now trying to save $ where before they were making a lot more and didn't mind paying for their salad or cup of soup. Red Lobster, in their infinately lacking wisdom, feel that constantly harping at their staff is the key to everything. It's hard to get people to change their ways when they don't care much for the company they work for. It's amazing the level of frustration that is expressed among our staff because of these new asinine policies. Daily we have exasperated staff. The new system penalizes the good servers for the bad ones. There is no longer a reward for being a good, strong server. It used to be if you could handle it, you could take some more tables, make some extra money. Now we are handicapped. I gave equally good service prior to the change over, my customer satisfaction surveys can attest to that. So now rather than going into work, making enough money to pay my bills, and then going home, I have to go into work, listen to the other experienced staff complain incessantly about this terrible system, struggle to make enough money to make ends meet, and go home frustrated. The inefficeincy of this current system is mind blowing. We can only pre-bus and walk so much food, and then there is nothing left. We now have bussers, making our pre-bussing task easier (as well as cleaning the tables), and we now have fewer tables each, making our work easier, and we now have more people to split the side work among, making our work easier. In theory, having less work to do sounds really great, but in reality the pay off is making 40% less on a nightly basis than we were previously. I don't know about you, but I don't have enough hours in my week to work 40% more to continue making the same amount of money. If I thought it would work, I would see if we could unionize, because at least then we would have some power. Right now the system is "here comes a gigantic turd, you must swollow it" and our only choice is to open up and say yum or to walk out the door. Red Lobster is destroying a whole generation of their quality servers.

I started this blog as an outlet for my frustration. I sure wish somebody at the corporate level of Darden/GMRI/Red Lobster would pull their heads out of (insert spot here) long enough to read this and understand what a gigantic screw job they have done to their service staff employees. I generally don't vent much to my fellow co-workers, as it only serves to incite the natives. They are frustrated enough without my adding into the frey.

Red Lobster has over 670 restaurants in North America and more than 63,000 employees. The company served more than 141 million guests in fiscal 2005 (ending May 29, 2005) and enjoyed total sales of $2.4 billion. The company is a subsidiary of Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) . Darden also owns and operates Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Smokey Bones Barbeque and Grill and Seasons 52 restaurants.

Related Tags: Red Lobster, work enviroment, customer service, unhappy employees, bad leadership, bad management, Darden, GMRI, General Mills Resturant, Job frustration