Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Overstaffed with SOS

Went to the new OG in town for lunch today. OG for Olive Garden. Walked in at about 12:15 and was in line behind a party of 4. There were 2 of us. 2 more groups of 2 walked in behind us. There were 2 hostesses at the counter and 2 other girls who were seating and handing out menus. The older lady who was in charge of the list somehow looked right at the two of us and promptly forgot us standing right in the middle of the front area. Seated everyone but us. Fortunately the smart cute girl behind the counter suggested that there was a table open in the bar area that we could grab right away. So we sat down, but unfortunately it was in the stuck on stupid bartender area. There were 6 tables and 12 spots at the bar and the two bartenders who were working the bar only had to handle the bartops and 3 out of 6 tables. I was wondering why they had two bartenders at lunch in this little old town but after witnesing the talent I was left wondering why they didnt have 3-4 bartenders. They could not decide who would wait on our table, they couldnt keep up with the people they had, and their waiting skills left us waiting more oftern than not. I had the stuffed chicken marsala and while it was good, it wasnt $14.99 worth of good. The sad thing is that chicken marsala by itself is a very simple recipe, that is quick and tasty and easy to prepare, but it was overcooked and had a lot of stuffing and sauce trying to cover that up. Luckily I know how to cook better marsala and way better spaghetti and meatballs than the Og so I am not stuck with them as an only source or Italian food. Meanwhile I would suggest that the manager host some service classes for the bartenders and then they could reduce their staff number by having better skilled wait staff.

1 comment:

Betsy said...

Maybe it's a full moon 'cause it's SOS Week here in Michigan, too. Today I encountered someone who parked their ugly ass Dodge Nitro in front of the entrance to Target -- not pulled off to the side but in the middle of the lane. Then at Subway the guy in front of me was too busy talking on his cell phone to order and he got cheesed when the girl behind the counter took my order before him. Perhaps the OG down there is staffed by transplanted Michiganders?