ping: Jeeber, Quik

[cuervo72]

http://hospitaliano.olivegarden.com/clients/olivegarden/050914_newsletter_rework/images/headline.jpg

Just got the e-mail....It's back! w00t!!!

[WSUCougar]

I understand the Jeeber part of the ping, but why Quik?

Not that it's any of my business...

[Raiders Army]

mmmm....neverending pasta bowl

[Radii]

I understand the Jeeber part of the ping, but why Quik?

Not that it's any of my business...


I'm pretty sure this would be similar to pinging Quik to point out some great Billy Joel lyrics.

[QuikSand]

I'm pretty sure this would be similar to pinging Quik to point out some great Billy Joel lyrics.

In the exceedingly unlikely event you find any, I'll treat you and oliegirl at the Olive Garden.

[WSUCougar]

I'll treat you and oliegirl at the Olive Garden.
Why, would you consider her an Uptown Girl?

[Buzzbee]

Yeah, he has thought of her that way For the Longest Time. Whoa!

[QuikSand]

Worst. Idea. Ever.

[HomerJSimpson]

Worst. Idea. Ever.


What's the problem? I mean, we didn't start the fire?

[vex]

:) Just got it about 2 hours ago.

[Buzzbee]

Awww man!! Vexroid killed it. HomerJ had such a good reply and then Vexroid had to go and get back on topic.


Oh well. Only the Good Die Young.

[DaddyTorgo]

hittin the OG tonight as a matter of fact! WOOHOOO OG!! http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Buzzbee]

Hmph. You guys are no fun!

[JeeberD]

:mad:

NEPB never fails to bring out the trashy motherfuckers who stiff you on the tip, like the douche I waited on today who left me no tip despite excellent service...

[duckman]

:mad:

NEPB never fails to bring out the trashy motherfuckers who stiff you on the tip, like the douche I waited on today who left me no tip despite excellent service...
Did you offer him oral sex after dessert? Couldn't have hurt. ;)

[Raiders Army]

Did you offer him oral sex after dessert? Couldn't have hurt. ;)
Uh...if some dude tried to give me oral sex I would not leave him a tip.

A chick on the other hand...

[DaddyTorgo]

:mad:

NEPB never fails to bring out the trashy motherfuckers who stiff you on the tip, like the douche I waited on today who left me no tip despite excellent service...
so what's good on the menu these days and what's to avoid Jeebs?

[WSUCougar]

NEPB never fails to bring out the trashy motherfuckers who stiff you on the tip, like the douche I waited on today who left me no tip despite excellent service...
Vexroid? Was that you?

[JeeberD]

so what's good on the menu these days and what's to avoid Jeebs?

Depends upon what kind of stuff you like. I love the Chicken Marsala, Chicken Castellina, and you can never go wrong with Chicken Parm. Stay away from things like Spaghetti and Meat Sauce, Lasagna, etc. That shit is so damn boring...

[B & B]

Shiners and some Ebell sounds pretty good tonight

[cuervo72]

I'm pretty sure this would be similar to pinging Quik to point out some great Billy Joel lyrics.

I felt I had to tell him about it. Before it gets too late.

[JeeberD]

Shiners and some Ebell sounds pretty good tonight


:confused:

Was this supposed to go in the UTEP-Houston thread?

[vex]

Depends upon what kind of stuff you like. I love the Chicken Marsala, Chicken Castellina, and you can never go wrong with Chicken Parm. Stay away from things like Spaghetti and Meat Sauce, Lasagna, etc. That shit is so damn boring...
Spagetti and Five cheese marinara sucks too.

[vex]

Vexroid? Was that you?
Better know it.

[Lathum]

:mad:

NEPB never fails to bring out the trashy motherfuckers who stiff you on the tip, like the douche I waited on today who left me no tip despite excellent service...
I'm sure he had his reasons

[Vince]

Spagetti and Five cheese marinara sucks too.
Hey, I like the five cheese marinara. Two nights ago I went...

Farfalle with Five Cheese Marinara
Angel Hair with Meat Sauce
Linguine with Marinara Sauce

I almost went Garlic Cream sauce for the final bowl, but I felt it would be too rich for an already quite full stomach.

[AZSpeechCoach]

You may be right...I may be crazy...for liking the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl...but it may just be a lunatic you're looking for.

[kurtism]

The Never-Ending Pasta Bowl needs some kind of tagline...

How about, "Quantity is its own kind of quality. The Never-Ending Pasta Bowl."?

[JeeberD]

I'm sure he had his reasons

Yeah, the fact that he was a cheap ass motherfucker who better not ever come eat in my bar again...

[primelord]

A bottle of red, a bottle of white. It all depends on your appetite. I'll meet you anytime you want. In our Italian Restaurant.

[Passacaglia]

:mad:

NEPB never fails to bring out the trashy motherfuckers who stiff you on the tip..

Speaking of that, lurker and I are probably going to the OG tonight! Although, seems like the one we go to always has trashy motherfuckers, NEPB or not.

[cuervo72]

Just came back, had the mushroom alfredo with the wheat linguini. Pretty good. As was the mozzerella fondue.

[Raiders Army]

Just got back as well, had mushroom alfredo with angel hair. Wife had creamy garlic with spaghetti. Unfortunately, both of us only had one bowl. Are they bigger than they used to?

We also got surprisingly good service. I tipped $7 on a $47 bill...which is a lot considering how much I normally tip.

[Vince]

We also got surprisingly good service. I tipped $7 on a $47 bill...which is a lot considering how much I normally tip.
As a waiter, it's disappointing that a big tip from you is sub-15%.

[Passacaglia]

We also got surprisingly good service. I tipped $7 on a $47 bill...which is a lot considering how much I normally tip.

I can see where the cheap motherfuckers comment comes from.

--lurker, not logged in

(Don't ban me for not being logged in, skydog!)

[kcchief19]

A bottle of red, a bottle of white. It all depends on your appetite. I'll meet you anytime you want. In our Italian Restaurant. It seems such a waste of time, if that's what it's all about

[JeeberD]

As a waiter, it's disappointing that a big tip from you is sub-15%.

He's military. Military folks are notoriously bad tippers (according to the fiancee', who waited on them all the time in Abilene)...

[JeeberD]

Dola-

Just came back, had the mushroom alfredo with the wheat linguini. Pretty good. As was the mozzerella fondue.

I love the Mushroom Alfredo sauce. Best promo sauce we've had in a while. And I agree about the Smoked Mozzerella Fonduta...wonderful stuff.

[cuervo72]

$7 is what, 14.8% of $47? *Barely* under 15%. Also, was the $47 including tax? I was always told that you tip pre tax (though I've noticed that places that calculate percentages as a "convenience" will calculate off of the taxed total).

I tipped $6.50 on a $36.81 bill (including tax), just for reference. I will mention that though both my wife and I got the neverending bowls, we didn't get refills (the bowls *do* seem larger). Come to think of it, we didn't even get/need refills for any of the drinks either.

[Vince]

$7 is what, 14.8% of $47? *Barely* under 15%. Also, was the $47 including tax? I was always told that you tip pre tax (though I've noticed that places that calculate percentages as a "convenience" will calculate off of the taxed total).

I tipped $6.50 on a $36.81 bill (including tax), just for reference. I will mention that though both my wife and I got the neverending bowls, we didn't get refills (the bowls *do* seem larger). Come to think of it, we didn't even get/need refills for any of the drinks either.
I would never complain about a $7 tip on $47. However, when someone says that that is a very generous tip for them, that implies that they normally tip like crap. As someone who waits tables, and has had a 60-hour paycheck worth a whopping $56, the tip is quite important to my income.

I find it pretty absurd to get worked up over a 'bad tip,' but you get a few in a row and it's really hard not to get annoyed.

[cuervo72]

Point taken on the generous part.

I still think that it is insane that a place can pay so little directly to their waiters (you can make what, $7 entry level at McD's?), but I suppose if it in theory keeps the prices lower...

[Vince]

Point taken on the generous part.

I still think that it is insane that a place can pay so little directly to their waiters (you can make what, $7 entry level at McD's?), but I suppose if it in theory keeps the prices lower...
Well, to be fair, I make way more hourly than most waiters in the country. I still make minimum wage hourly -- $6.75. However, I've had many a job making more than that, and the paycheck is the smallest portion of my income at CPK.

The reason my paycheck is so low is because they take the tax from our declared tips out of the paycheck. So while I worked for 60 hours and made $405 in wages, there was $1,405 worth of income that was taxed on that $405 check.

[JeeberD]

Well, to be fair, I make way more hourly than most waiters in the country. I still make minimum wage hourly -- $6.75. However, I've had many a job making more than that, and the paycheck is the smallest portion of my income at CPK.


I only get $2.13/hour... :(

[Vince]

I only get $2.13/hour... :(
Sorry Jeebs. I can't believe that they are allowed to do that, and I don't really know why California is different.

[Raiders Army]

I can see where the cheap motherfuckers comment comes from.

--lurker, not logged in

(Don't ban me for not being logged in, skydog!)
#1: I am a cheap motherfucker.

As a waiter, it's disappointing that a big tip from you is sub-15%.

#2: It was a "big" tip since I received good service. Good service is what I expect. Most often, I receive shitty to horrible service...like at Chili's two weeks ago where my food was cold, the waiter couldn't remember who got whose drink, etc.

Most of the time I give 10% to less than 10% because that's the service I receive. Also, FWIW, It was $44.35 before tax.

[Vince]

#1: I am a cheap motherfucker.



#2: It was a "big" tip since I received good service. Good service is what I expect. Most often, I receive shitty to horrible service...like at Chili's two weeks ago where my food was cold, the waiter couldn't remember who got whose drink, etc.

Most of the time I give 10% to less than 10% because that's the service I receive. Also, FWIW, It was $44.35 before tax.
That is a lot better to hear.

[Raiders Army]

That is a lot better to hear.
sarcasm?

[Vince]

No. If you usually get horrible service, then that defends your usually tipping less than 15%.

[Raiders Army]

No. If you usually get horrible service, then that defends your usually tipping less than 15%.
Okey. The question I have to begin to ask myself, is service bad all over the nation or is it my fault somehow? Do I expect more than I should?

[Vince]

Well, I have seen plenty of bad servers in my lifetime (when I was at Olive Garden earlier this week, we were sitting down for a good 10 minutes before we even saw our server), so I wouldn't doubt if you have just been unlucky enough to run into plenty of them.

[ted_hughes]

As an Olive Garden and never ending pasta bowl fan, I've always been curious about something. And since we have an OG waiter around might as well ask: What's the most bowls you've seen a motherfucker put away during the NEPB?

[JeeberD]

Ummm...four, five? I don't think I've ever seen anyone eat six bowls...

[jackyl]

FYI, JeeberD...

I ate at the Olive Garden by Irving Mall yesterday, and I had absolutely horrific service. Bad enough for me to call over a manager. Greet was approximately ten minutes, took ten minutes to get two iced teas, didn't bring breadsticks and salad until our entrees got there, and the absolute cardinal sin in waiting tables: was in the back screwing off instead of being visible and unintrusive. I got up and went to the soda station myself to refill the teas. And we asked for our check and he left for ten minutes to do that!

Probably the worst service I've gotten this calendar year, with second place being the time we went to the Olive Garden in North Richland Hills where the server didn't input the gf's order in the POS system...twice. I used to run restaurant kitchens for a living, so I'm not just talking out of my ass either.

The food, as usual, was pretty good though. It's my girlfriend's fave restaurant, so that's why we endure that kind of service. Come to think of it, the only time I've ever gotten what I would consider good service was when we sat at the bar in south Arlington.

Now after all that, my question. I used to think Olive Garden was a rookie restaurant job for servers, like Chili's and Friday's. But with all the emphasis placed on quality, ie sending BOH staff and management to Italy, I can hardly believe that service is so poor there. As someone who's worked in the hospitality business, what is the flaw in their system that you don't see at like Carrabba's or Johhny Carino's? Is less emphasis put on training?

[JeeberD]

I hate hearing that sort of stuff. :(

Servers spend a week in training, so it's not like they're thrown straight out onto the floor. It's not THAT difficult of a job...there's really no reason for anyone to receive service like that. Servers at OG are supposed to have a maximum of three tables, so it's difficult to get overwhelmed. Of course, you said that your server was screwing around, not busy. I admit, at times when it's slow it can be difficult. You don't want to be contstantly roaming your section because you feel like you're disturbing your guests. But you also have to be careful that you're not out of sight for too long. Slow times can actually be more difficult than busy times because of that. However, there's no reason at all for it to take ten minutes to get greeted (the OG standard is 30 seconds) and another ten minutes to get your drinks.

As an OG employee for nearly five years (oh dead GOD, has it been that long?!?!?), I give you my most sincere apologies and hope that you give us another shot.

[Airhog]

We ate at olive garden tonight.

I had the creamy garlic alfraedo for my first bowl, and to finish it off I had the 5 cheese marinara, with the wheat linguini. Personally I thought that the roasted garlic they had last year was better than the creamy garlic. That last bowl was fantastic though. I highly recommend it. And for those of you that think I am a poor tipper, we left a 18% tip, but it was also fairly good service, and we were celebrating...