Olive Garden is known for its all-you-can-eat soup, salad, and breadsticks deal, but according to a former manager, taking time off should be extremely limited.
UCG I Getty Images
“From now on, if you cancel, you might as well look for another job,” the manager wrote in a memo. obtained by local news outlet KCTV.
The now former manager worked at an Olive Garden location in Overland Park, which is close to Kansas City.
“We will NO longer tolerate ANY excuse to cancel. If you are sick, you must come and prove it to us. If your dog has died, you must bring it in and prove it to us. If it is a family emergency.” ‘ and you can’t say, too bad. Go work elsewhere,” the manager wrote.
The memo went on to say that the manager also didn’t want to be in the restaurant late at night on Friday or Saturday, but “is committed to being here. Just like you. No more excuses or complaints.”
The manager was fired, the outlet added.
“We strive to provide our team members with a caring and respectful work environment. This message is inconsistent with our company’s values. We can confirm that we have parted ways with this manager,” said an Olive Garden spokesperson. businesskinda.com via email.
The debacle in the Kansas area comes as workers face an uncertain job market. While many companies are gearing up for a recession and have introduced a hiring freeze, so is the economy 260,000 jobs added in October, which beat expectations and defied some economic fears.
At the same time, there were layoffs at major companies, from Twitter to Morgan Stanley to Amazon and as NBC pointed out, mostly in the white collar sector. Restaurants, on the other hand, faced a massive labor shortage during the pandemic Reportedly still ongoing.
There were more than 10 million reported open job openings in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The now-sacked manager also shared an anecdote in which she claimed she had been in a car accident and still showed up to work.
“In my 11.5 years with Darden, do you know how many days I called off? Zero. I got sick. I literally wrecked one time on my way to work, airbags went off and my car was a total loss, but you know what, I got to work on time!”
(Darden is the parent company of Olive Garden, as are others, including LongHorn Steakhouse.)
When called, someone on the phone at the Overland Park store declined to comment.
Read the entire memo obtained KCTV.
Our unsubscribes are happening at a dizzying rate. From now on, if you cancel, you might as well look for another job. We will NO LONGER tolerate ANY excuse to cancel. If you are ill, you must come and prove it to us. If your dog has died, you must bring it in and prove it to us. If it’s a “family emergency” and you can’t say it, too bad. Go work somewhere else. Unfortunately, if you only want morning shifts, go work at a bank. If someone calls from here more than ONCE in the next 30 days, you don’t have a job. Do you know how many days I’ve canceled in my 11.5 years with Darden? Zero. I came in sick. I literally got wrecked on my way to work once, airbags went off and my car was a total loss, but you know what, I made it to work on time! There are no more excuses. We, collectively as a management team, have had enough. If you don’t want to work here, don’t. It’s that simple. If you’re here and want to work, work. No more complaining [sic] about not getting a haircut or not being able to leave earlier. You are in the hospitality industry. Do you think I want to be here Friday and Saturday until midnight? No. I would much rather be home with my husband and dog, go to the movies or see family. But I don’t, I’m committed to being here. Just like you. No more excuses or complaints.
I hope you choose to continue working here and I think we (management) make it as easy as possible for you. Thank you for your time and thank you to those who show up on time and work hard every day. I wish there were more like you.
Janice has been with businesskinda for 5 years, writing copy for client websites, blog posts, EDMs and other mediums to engage readers and encourage action. By collaborating with clients, our SEO manager and the wider businesskinda team, Janice seeks to understand an audience before creating memorable, persuasive copy.
