r/mildlyinteresting • u/Oracle_of_Ages • Nov 19 '22
Olive Garden gave me a daily sales report instead of a receipt Quality Post
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u/TheReal_EggBoi Nov 19 '22
Olive Garden’s new slogan: “When you’re here, you’re management”
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Nov 19 '22 edited Nov 19 '22
I really want to see the “Labor Summary” down below now.
*edit: OP delivered!
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u/bristondavidge Nov 19 '22
I award poor man’s award. Should be top comment. Fractions.
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u/steelesurfer Nov 19 '22
Holy shit, with labor at 14% and food cost (probably) near 30% this restaurant has a solid profit margin and room to pay their employees more. An $8.50 AHR is pathetic, and passing on the cost of labor to the consumer through tipping is one of the things I most hate about the US
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u/cindad83 Nov 19 '22 edited Nov 19 '22
Before I saw it was for mainly lunch sales. I think this location is on razor think margins. The operating cost of the building is nuts. I knew a family that owned a small pizzeria, with 6-7 booths. They had 5k a month water bill, this was the early 2000s.
Correction they paid 500/mo in water, they paid $5k a month for utilities, taxes, insurance, maintenance, mortgages, etc.
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u/SuperbReserve Nov 19 '22
Right? That seems so low. I looked up the minimum wage there and it’s been $7.25 since 2008!! I can’t believe that.
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u/steelesurfer Nov 19 '22
Longest period that the minimum wage has not changed since it’s introduction in the early 1900s.
But nobody wants to work anymore right? Who would at a wage like that!
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u/Thatguy468 Nov 19 '22
By the way, those numbers are dogshit for a Friday and we’re gonna need you to get your servers to really push the new mega-carafe of house wine.
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u/Deeliciousness Nov 19 '22
Lunch service made more than dinner? Dinner crew gotta step it up.
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u/crockrocket Nov 19 '22
If that was actually for a full day that's not great for a franchise like that...
Edit: nvm it was through 6pm they're just fine
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u/FallerThrowaway Nov 19 '22
"No seriously, Juan and Chris are both out and we need someone to cover line. Get back there."
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u/Constant_Ride_128 Nov 19 '22
This is exactly mildly interesting
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u/hucklebutter Nov 19 '22
Yeah, I wasn't familiar with the CNT abbreviation, but that's definitely a lot of cunts showing up at the Olive Garden. I don't think it's the good Australian kind, either.
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u/baitking69 Nov 19 '22
I was giggling at so many "CUNTS" at Olive Garden then coworker came and pointed it out that CNT means COUNT
So I stopped laughing and now am confused as why so many Counts go to Olive Garden.
Where did they even get so many Counts?
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u/steelybean Nov 19 '22
ONE breadstick, ah ah ahhh
TWO breadsticks, ah ah ahhh
THREE breadsticks!
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u/redwhiteandyellow Nov 19 '22
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u/shipguy55 Nov 19 '22
That is some good nostalgia right there. I remember watching that video on YouTube well over a decade ago, crazy how fast time goes.
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u/DesertWolverine Nov 19 '22
We are closer to the year 2050 than 1991
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u/Dr_who_fan94 Nov 19 '22
That...that was 14 years ago (at least)?! Yay, I sense another quarter life crisis coming on
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u/2Ben3510 Nov 19 '22
Transylvania perhaps?
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u/Eggsandthings2 Nov 19 '22
How to 500+ guests at Olive Only drink 89 alcoholic beverages?
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u/hotterthanahandjob Nov 19 '22
Utah
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u/SchizoidOctopus Nov 19 '22
How do you stop a Mormon drinking all your beer?
Invite two Mormons.
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u/jeffnnc Nov 19 '22
One of my favorite jokes similar to this.
Jews don't recognize Jesus. Protestants don't recognize the Pope. Baptists don't recognize each other in the liquor store.
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u/throwawayinthe818 Nov 19 '22
Why don’t baptists have sex standing up? Someone might see them and think they’re dancing.
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u/mrkinkyboots Nov 19 '22
I've heard one similar..
What's the difference between Baptists and Catholics? Catholics will say hi to each other at the liquor store.
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u/combustionbustion Nov 19 '22
We had this printed out in the liquor store I ran in Oklahoma lollll.
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Nov 19 '22
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u/GhOsT_wRiTeR_XVI Nov 19 '22
So nobody has the balls to order a Samuel Jackson Malt Liquor at their lunch meeting?
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u/Rockdog4105 Nov 19 '22
What time does dinner there start then? No way they’re doing 5K in sales for dinner unless it starts at 3pm. Especially since there’s hardly any alcohol sales.
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u/boblobong Nov 19 '22
On their website it says they serve lunch from 11-3. Your sales to time food service estimating skills are impressive
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u/somedude456 Nov 19 '22
To me, just doesn't seem like a drinking place. First, write off lunch, as people have to return to work. For dinner... just me, but a burger place is for beers. Mexican food says margaritas. Italian... I can see wine, but less people are wine drinkers. 3 construction guys will go to Hooters and kill some wings and beers, but I don't see them going for a Tour of Italy and knocking back 3 glasses of vino. They would probably just get Cokes and overdo it on garlic bread.
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u/rypher Nov 19 '22
Wait are we not supposed to drink at lunch?
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u/StochasticCatsick Nov 19 '22
Am in the UK and highly tickled by this.
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Nov 19 '22
I'm in the US and didn't get the memo either. The three martini lunch didn't go away, it just comes in a salt rimmed glass as part of a three margarita lunch now – but that's a white collar thing. Construction guys? Drinking on the job, especially if they're painters lol.
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u/ParlorSoldier Nov 19 '22
It’s Business Drunk. It’s like Rich Drunk, either way it’s legal to drive.
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u/jeneric84 Nov 19 '22
And the wine they offer is choicest of bum wines but for 10 dollars a glass.
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u/turquoise_amethyst Nov 19 '22
Dude, this. If they offered those same wines for $3-$5 (which is what some of them are worth, even with a markup) people would purchase them
Instead it’s $10 and barely anyone is buying
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u/JessicaFreakingP Nov 19 '22
There’s a hotel in Chicago that my coworkers from other offices used to stay in when they’d come to town for meetings. The hotel had some of the cheapest minibar prices I’ve ever seen, especially on their bottles of wine. My boss asked them about it and they said they reduced the price and found they started selling such a higher volume that they were bringing in more profits overall.
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u/TrueMadster Nov 19 '22
That’s interesting, because where I’m from wine is as popular as beer for meals. A construction worker here is as likely to go for a glass of wine as for a glass of beer (though it does depend where they’re eating, fast food places won’t have wine for example).
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u/soFATZfilm9000 Nov 19 '22
Honestly, it's probably way more interesting than the receipt would have been.
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u/JaxTaylor2 Nov 19 '22 edited Nov 19 '22
Very interesting; I try not to read too much into each data point or observation, but this one is very interesting.
Two things:
The average revenue per restaurant for an Olive Garden through the 3rd quarter 2022 is $5.1 million. If the daily sales were multiplied by 365, this restaurant would average $5,061,805, just a little below the annual average per restaurant so far.
The revenue per guest of $21.42 is only up $0.42 over the average sales per guest in all of 2021 in all of their restaurants.
Secondly, this is a very counter recessionary indicator. There are lots of warnings about a slowing economy and have been since the spring. This definitely seems to indicate (albeit anecdotally) that whatever economic retrenchment the U.S. is experiencing, it is affecting certain sectors and areas disproportionately.
Granted, this is only one day’s revenue at one restaurant in one chain, but it matches what I’ve observed (and what other publicly traded restaurant chains have asserted as well)—Americans will sacrifice many things before they sacrifice eating out.
It will be interesting to see how this holds up in 6 months after most households have burned through more of their credit and savings; it could be a very sharp and very hard turn things take if prices don’t stabilize in time. What it says today though is that there is no recession—yet. It may be coming, but it’s not on the menu at Olive Garden.
Edit: Grammar
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u/wbruce098 Nov 19 '22
A LOT of people simply don’t cook. In many urban places, historically, it’s normal to eat out for most meals, especially when many urbanites might not have had a kitchen — and refrigeration didn’t exist until recently. But you’re talking about mostly food stalls with simple street food: some skewers of meat and veggies and a bowl of rice or various tamales (sounds real good right now actually). You still see this in many parts of Asia, at least.
The issue now, at least in places like the US, is that costs to eat out have been rising recently, especially on the lower end it seems. 20 years ago, I could buy a super sized double quarter pounder meal for under $5; now a regular sized quarter pounder meal is just under $10 where I live and that’s… actually only a few bucks cheaper than a good burger at my local pub (about $12, though the beer is extra so McD and CFA still win for cheap full meals).
Anyway, my theory is that a recession will see more people eating at cheaper places but not necessarily cooking at home, since most people simply suck at cooking. It’s a shame, and a blow to healthier eating for sure. So the mid-tier restaurants will suffer (the high end ones still get high end clientele) and people just might drink less beers out, which is where the big profit margins are, or order fewer apps or cheaper options.
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u/BowlingTopher Nov 19 '22
Former OG manager here. (7 years slinging pasta) Pretty solid sales numbers on there. The $5.21 add ons number is one we really focused on. Helped the servers make more raising the average check and it was easy sales for the restaurant. Good labor numbers as well, should easily finish with a number around 10 which means they weren’t understaffed and they weren’t over staffed.
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u/isla_avalon Nov 19 '22
What is an example of an add on? Like adding chicken to your pasta or an extra side of spaghetti?
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u/BowlingTopher Nov 19 '22
Yep exactly. We always gave our servers incentives to get a “perfect check” Wine/Non alcoholic specialty drinks, appetizer, add on to pasta like adding chicken, and then a dessert. You can rack up a $40 check at the OG pretty quick.
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Nov 19 '22
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u/zdh989 Nov 19 '22
Motherfucker, I don't go to Olive Garden because I respect myself. I'm going because I don't give a shit anymore. Bring me that chocolate lasagna.
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u/wickedblight Nov 19 '22
Now I'm just sitting here wondering why they don't already have chocolate lasagna.
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u/stockmule Nov 19 '22
You sound like the olive garden manager. You want to sling some pasta?
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u/PrizeStrawberryOil Nov 19 '22
Good labor numbers as well, should easily finish with a number around 10 which means they weren’t understaffed and they weren’t over staffed.
Is that Olive garden "understaffed" or actually understaffed.
In college I had two friends that were waiters there and they hated how overstaffed it was all the time, but their manager like it because it let them turn tables faster.
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u/BowlingTopher Nov 19 '22
It’s not understaffed for that current time of day. It’s about right where you want to be. Overstaffed and the servers make no money, understaffed and the servers and the manage will be running their ass off.
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u/bulboustadpole Nov 19 '22
Never worked at OG but I worked at a single location restaurant and I can confirm nearly $14k sales for a day is really good. Most non-chain places will struggle to do half that daily (talking comparable prices).
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u/TheWillyWonkaofWeed Nov 19 '22
It's 14k at 7. Dinner is still going full force at this time on a Friday night. That was a very good day for OG.
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u/IntoTheMystic1 Nov 19 '22
Kinda surprised they're more busy during lunch. Olive Garden always seemed like a dinner place to me. But maybe they're near some corporate offices.
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u/TyRoSwoe Nov 19 '22
Former OG GM here. 300+ covers (guest count) for lunch is not too bad. They will probably finish with 900ish covers for the day. They have have pretty high addon sales. Anything over $5 is great. I will say that their appetizer sales is pretty high. If someone orders an app for dinner they don’t get guest count. 133 apps is like 1 in 5 guests getting an app. If every Friday was like this, they are probably a 5-6 million in annual sales restaurant. Last OG I was GM at, we were a 6mil a year restaurant and profited 18%. You do the math. OG makes some serious $$$. Multiple by 900 or so restaurant. I’m pretty sure the Time Square OG is about 15mil or more a year in sales. I started at the bottom. They were a great company to work for.
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u/mhink Nov 19 '22
This guy gardens olives.
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u/Total-Khaos Nov 19 '22
And not a single joke about breadsticks. Seriously, impressed.
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Nov 19 '22
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u/WeekndNachos Nov 19 '22
There is definitely an end. It starts with 2 per person, then goes down to 1, then eventually the server just stops bringing them :( yes I love bread and yes I am taking advantage of your “endless” breadsticks
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u/glitterfart1985 Nov 19 '22
Went to olive garden the other day and my husband asked "how many bread sticks do you think we could eat before they think we're weird?"
The answer is 3 baskets. I know this because my ex loved olive garden and was extremely overindulgent. After 3 baskets they start bringing less. By the 5th or 6th basket there's literally only 2 bread sticks in there. That's how they shame you. Never had them stop bringing them tho
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u/blueblack88 Nov 19 '22
They're liable for death at some point. Like overfeeding your cats to death.
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u/Sinful_Whiskers Nov 19 '22 edited Nov 19 '22
I was initially surprised that you had praise for your time with the company, but after thinking about it I think I might see why. I worked at Ruby Tuesdays back in 2006-2007 time frame. I started as a server and then became a bartender and trainer, along with doing every job in the back at some point. During that time, they wanted to break away from the other "burger and fry" chains and to seem more "refined." They remodeled their restaurants and got all the wacky shit off the walls and they started serving ketchup in ramekins to go along with their Triple Prime burgers.
They pressured us to get people out having lunch with a friend to buy a fucking bottle of wine. Same with an obvious pair of business colleagues. Every week it was a new unrealistic push. It was madness.
My point is, Olive Garden seems to have always known what it was. Unless I've missed something major over the past 15 or so years, I feel they've stuck with what they're good at, and nailed it down to a relatively streamlined science.
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Nov 19 '22
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u/Indocede Nov 19 '22
Isn't it wild how suddenly people will feel intensely wronged a the moments they do not receive a minor, random convenience they neither knew about or were expecting five minutes prior?
"The manager didn't come say HI to us! Now we will sulk here for another 15 minutes until we get our COUPON that might save us $3 and we will be very LOUD and DEMANDING about it."
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u/AbsolutelyUnlikely Nov 19 '22
That was honestly the problem. Part of what made restaurants doable for me was that I've always been good at dealing with customers, even problematic ones. But I had zero sympathy for the customers who had nothing to complain about but just wanted to tell me that I owed them a coupon because I didn't come by and say hi when it was because I was incredibly busy in the back.
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u/WantedFun Nov 19 '22
Working in chain restaurants isn’t a bad experience if the rest of the staff is chill. Obviously the pay could be better but that’s not the fault of the managers, or really anyone below the level of CEO.
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u/noungning Nov 19 '22
I'm so mad they closed the Ruby Tuesdays by us because I miss their damn croutons lol.
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u/Otherwise-Tale9671 Nov 19 '22
How is it so fucking hard for another restaurant to copy their croutons? I’m about to open a Ruby Tuesday-modeled crouton-only restaurant. I’ll prolly make some decent coin….
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u/Talking_Head Nov 19 '22
Lots of fat and salt. And natural or artificial glutamates if you can work them in. Those three things (along with some sweetness) are why restaurant food tastes so good.
Home cooks are generally conscious about limiting how much fat and salt they add because they are eating that food all the time. Restaurants don’t give a fuck. And most home cooks don’t add any artificial glutamates even when the dish lacks them. MSG scare and all.
I make a mean vegetarian gravy. At thanksgiving meals it goes 5 times as fast as the meat-based drippings gravy. My secret? Vegetarian bouillon cubes which are basically palm oil and MSG. In fact, I toss one or two of those vegetable bouillon cubes into many things I make.
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u/Defiant_Highway_2603 Nov 19 '22 edited Nov 19 '22
Cube some rye bread and fry them for about 30 seconds until slightly crispy but still soft in the middle. Toss them in a ton of garlic salt and there ya go, Ruby Tuesday croutons.
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Nov 19 '22
As someone who worked at Rubys when they still did the rye croutons this is exactly how they were cooked lol. The croutons came in frozen but they were just rye bread deep fried for like 30 seconds and then blasted with garlic salt.
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u/dinoroo Nov 19 '22 edited Nov 19 '22
I worked at Ruby Tuesday’s the exact time you are talking about. I just remember them having us push their “64 hamburgers” are whatever it was. This was in 2006 and I think in the beginning of their transition. I ate there a year or two later and the menu was definitely pared down and the dishes were fancier. I’m talking about the actual dishes, they were square. I also remember when I was hired, it was for a new restaurant they were opening. So we had a training with all the servers and they emphasized how we were to wear white button up shirts and dark dark dark blue jeans. Like buy Rit dye and dye them if they aren’t dark enough to which I wondered why they just didn’t have us wear black pants. I think they figured that was easier shortly after that because when I went a year later the servers were wearing white shirts and black pants.
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u/JonathanFisk86 Nov 19 '22
Same as Cheesecake Factory tbh, they know exactly what they are and they do it well. You should see how well they do outside the States too.
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u/-Chemist- Nov 19 '22
I think their main goal is to try to figure out how to get as many calories on a single plate as possible. They do a great job of that!
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Nov 19 '22
Every time I’m in the US (I’m from Australia), I have to go to the Chessecake Factory at least once. It’s so good for what it is.
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u/ralphvonwauwau Nov 19 '22
It’s so good for what it is.
Now that is mildly interesting praise.
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u/xmilehighgamingx Nov 19 '22
Sister brand manager here! We run this report or an hourly breakdown constantly. Wouldn’t surprise me if this happened in my restaurant. Pretty sure this was printed early in the dinner shift. There’s next to no chance lunch beats dinner that hard on a non holiday Friday.
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u/5kyl3r Nov 19 '22
I’m pretty sure the Time Square OG is about 15mil or more a year in sales.
i'm just trying to imagine going to Times Square and eating Olive Garden, of all things
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u/BDMayhem Nov 19 '22
There are many, many people who go on vacation and want to get exactly what they expect. They go to Times Square, eat at Olive Garden, and go see The Lion King or Aladdin.
That's not to say that those are not good shows, just that the vast majority of people seeing them know all the words to every song, just as they know what they order every time they eat at Olive Garden.
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u/buffalobandit24 Nov 19 '22
Went to nyc as a family in third grade around 2005 or so. My mom wanted good New York style pizza for dinner when we got there but wouldn’t come up with a place she just kept saying pizza. My parents argued and it was awkward then we ate at sbarros. It’s hilarious looking back we were the only ones in there. Then we obviously saw lion king while we were there
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u/ralphvonwauwau Nov 19 '22
If you are back in Times Square again, there is a dollar slice place right alongside the Port Authority Bus Terminal. I can assure you two slices and a soda, eaten while standing. is a real New Yawk Experience.
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Nov 19 '22
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u/eugeneugene Nov 19 '22
Can confirm - went to olive garden in NYC because I had only ever seen it on TV lol
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u/wonderhorsemercury Nov 19 '22
I've described this market as "the kind of people that go on cruises." not adventurous but they still like theme parks and beaches and might hit up the Ripley's believe it or not after eating at Dick's or margaritaville.
The opposite of this demographic would be the "the kind of people that complain about Mcdonalds." they would go out of their way to find a hole in the wall pho restaurant but would rate their experience more on the number of white people they see eating there (lower = better) than how much they actually enjoyed the food.
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u/ben_vito Nov 19 '22
It can also be both! I love the hole-in-the-wall pho restaurant but also love Olive Garden.
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u/ungoogleable Nov 19 '22
Even if you're not averse to trying new things in general, sometimes a meal is just about getting food in your stomach. You're in Time Square and you're hungry. Olive Garden is right there. You don't have to think. You know it'll be okay and everyone in your group will find something to eat, especially children.
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u/jukkaalms Nov 19 '22
You hit the nail on the head. “You don’t have to think.” If traveling becomes overwhelming for whatever reason, people go for the familiar things. We like being away but no too far from the things we’re used to.
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u/Newone1255 Nov 19 '22
I like getting McDonald’s at least once when I’m in a foreign country because it’s fun to try their version of it and it’s a meal I don’t have to spend time thinking about or eating
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u/Wicked_Googly Nov 19 '22
I remember arriving on a bus in Thailand, and my buddy and I had eaten rice and noodles for about 3 months, in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, and we saw a sign for some triple cheese cheeseburger at a Burger King. We got so excited and some hippie girl told us, "You're in Thailand, you should eat Thai food" and I wanted to assault her.
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u/malvzy Nov 19 '22
I agree. Personally I like to stop at the Times Square Sbarro for an authentic New York slice.
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u/itssohardtobealizard Nov 19 '22
New York, New York. The city so nice they named it twice
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u/-Chlorine-Addict- Nov 19 '22
I know there’s context, but having a really hard time not reading OG as OriginalGangsta
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u/mangotrees777 Nov 19 '22
I'm not in the industry, but the alcohol sales seem low. Is that normal in your experience?
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u/fadetoblack1004 Nov 19 '22
Coulda been at like 6pm or something before dinner really got underway.
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Nov 19 '22 edited Nov 19 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/LaJollaJim Nov 19 '22
Put it in an Imgur link and edit your comment. I would be interested in seeing it. This is very mildly interesting.
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u/E_Snap Nov 19 '22
“For privacy’s sake, lets call her 'Lisa S'...No that's too obvious...uuh. Let's say 'L. Simpson'."
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u/inhumancode Nov 19 '22
Right lol how many people called J*** Goodjoint can there be working at Olive Garden
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u/Martel732 Nov 19 '22
The waiter is one of the probably one people with the name J.... Goodjoint.
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u/glium Nov 19 '22
Please delete all parts of the name on the receipt. The guy could get into trouble
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Nov 19 '22
So they made $13k gross in two thirds of one day, and only paid $1800 for labor? I want to see the cost breakdown on the wholesale prices they’re paying for the food/drinks. And the rent bill.
This sounds like they’re robbing the staff.
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Nov 19 '22
Darden made about 12% profit from sales last year. So about what you’d expect for most businesses.
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u/CowFu Nov 19 '22
Food margins vary wildly, but usually you'll see 30% markup on cost. So before all other costs they made $3,900. -$1800 for labor you have $2,100 for the day. Olive gardens are usually pretty big, rent, utilities, insurance, franchise fees and taxes will take a pretty large chunk of that.
I'm not saying they're paying enough, I'm saying you can't look at gross revenue and pretend you have a good picture of how much money the restaurant made.
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u/Disastrous_Elk_6375 Nov 19 '22
Food margins vary wildly, but usually you'll see 30% markup on cost.
Huh, I was taught that the "golden" ratio in restaurants is 1/3 food cost, 1/3 venue & labor cost and 1/3 corporate, business exp (marketing and what not) and profits. Is that outdated info?
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u/Terrible_Safety_7536 Nov 19 '22
30,30,30 seems to be a benchmark. 10 in profit
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u/dannymurz Nov 19 '22
Soup salad and bread sticks....everyone orders that for lunch.
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u/fahrenheit420-- Nov 19 '22
What!?! Nobody bought any merchandise like a sweet OG hoodie!
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u/Nagohsemaj Nov 19 '22
I'd buy a CD of ambient Italian restaurant background songs
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u/HelloGoodbyeFriend Nov 19 '22
Cracker Barrel has entered the chat
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u/Proxxic Nov 19 '22
Every god damn time I go there it’s like they’re smashing plates in the kitchen. “We’re making food back here, can’t you tell?”
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u/mynameisfifield Nov 19 '22
So I worked at cracker barrel for a few years. The reason it sounds like that is that they keep their bus tubs on rolling carts right next to the vestibule openings, and instead of scraping and stacking plates like every other restaurant ever, they just dump their entire tray-ful of dishes into the bus tubs
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u/LarryFlyntstone Nov 19 '22
I honestly don’t think I‘ve ever been to a Cracker Barrel and not heard something shatter into a million pieces in the back.
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Nov 19 '22
merchandise sales: 00:00
Aww.
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u/MeltBanana Nov 19 '22
I'd wear an Olive Garden hoodie, but I doubt they have a merch table up front.
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u/Monpop1014 Nov 19 '22
You can actually buy the cheese graters
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Nov 19 '22
I would actually like to pay an actual dude who just stays in my extra bedroom and does as he wishes during the day and night but is on call to grate cheese specifically around dinner time
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u/ZZerglingg Nov 19 '22
Dinner guest: "Pass the grated cheese?"
Host: (rings bell) "Cheese boy!"Cheese boy appears and starts grating cheese on guest's plate.
Cheese boy: "Tell me when to stop"Dinner guest: "Woah, you have a cheese boy?"
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u/Syephous Nov 19 '22
They sell bottles of salad dressing, boxes of the mints, any drink syrups/mixes like the pina colada mix, and large trays of desserts- Id imagine these are the “merch”
Source: Former Real OG
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u/AutumnLeaves1939 Nov 19 '22
I really enjoyed reading this what is wrong with me
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u/SocialIntelligence Nov 19 '22
I really enjoyed reading this what is wrong with me
Yeah, I read 80% of the comments here.
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u/teems Nov 19 '22
This gives us a peek behind a curtain that most never experience.
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u/bcgg Nov 19 '22
The alcohol numbers seem shockingly low. Beer and wine combined only outnumber dessert by one order. Never would have guessed.
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u/asuddenpie Nov 19 '22
The report was printed at 6pm, so the night was just getting started.
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u/feardabear Nov 19 '22
Do they not have a happy hour?!
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u/Nagi21 Nov 19 '22
Depends on where it is. Happy hours are illegal in some states.
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u/emusabe Nov 19 '22
Yeah that’s all lunch and carry out (mostly)
$700 in alcohol sales against $4446 in dinner sales (not counting takeout) is about 16%. Still a little low but the night crowd seemingly hasn’t rolled in in full force yet based in the time of this report. I haven’t worked in a corporate restaurant in like 14 years but I remember them wanting us to try and hit 20% or 25% in alcohol sales during dinner hours. Can’t remember which. That was a total “Jennifer Aniston in Office Space” job and I have blocked most of it out
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u/Ahab_Ali Nov 19 '22
Average dinner check: $21.90
I guess what we learn today is that Olive Garden remains an affordable dinner destination.
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Nov 19 '22
I went for lunch with my 6 year old a couple weeks ago and walked out for $27. In California. I was shocked! He got a TON of food with his kids meal and I had unlimited soup salad bread sticks. It was an amazing value.
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u/MeltBanana Nov 19 '22
That's about what you pay for 2 combo meals at fast food places these days. Not a bad deal at all for a sit down dinner(even if they do just microwave the food for you).
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u/tunamelts2 Nov 19 '22
Yeah but it's the best microwaved food of any casual sit down restaurant.
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Nov 19 '22 edited Nov 19 '22
Olive Garden had this thing a couple years ago where they said they were raising prices to be viewed as more "premium."
Like corporate, you dumb fucks, either keep the prices low for us commoners or actually increase the quality of your food to justify the higher prices.
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u/SuperBigMak Nov 19 '22
That’s per guest. I would say $20 per person is average
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u/UncleRicoiscool Nov 19 '22
Went to olive garden for lunch once. I thought I was in a nursing home.
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u/hayhaydavila Nov 19 '22
Former OG server here👋🏼 I can confirm the clientele is 90% elderly during lunchtime and pretty much all they order is soup and salad which means about a $2 dollar tip. Add that to the other 2 tables I’d provide get (not likely sometimes) and assuming the guests would sit for an hour, that’s at most like $6 an hour. Wasn’t like that all the time but where I was, that was the norm
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u/SpaceChief Nov 19 '22
Aloha Point of Sale Sys Admin here. I dont even know how the fuck they managed to print this and hand it to you. DSR and guest check reprint, let alone ORIGINAL print of the guest check, are nowhere near on the same screen.
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u/Oracle_of_Ages Nov 19 '22
They printed it and never took it. My Togo order was almost exactly an hour after this was printed. It was also with some checklist I’ve never seen before with my items. So I think someone just screwed up.
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u/howtodragyourtrainin Nov 19 '22
Would anyone here be interested in the underground fuel tank quantity summary I found from a truck stop in Arizona? Includes not just fuel levels, but water levels in each tank. It blew my mind at the time that a gas station had that many levels to monitor.
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u/AlmostSavvy Nov 19 '22
Bruh! How you gonna cut us off when it gets juicy?! Lemme see dat labor summary...
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u/himsaad714 Nov 19 '22
What ho dunk ass town is this where there is only $700 worth of alcohol served for the evening with $9300 worth of food served?
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u/Oracle_of_Ages Nov 19 '22
This is my favorite comment. I’d pin it if I could there’s literally nothing to do here BUT drink. I think because this was printed at 6:30. Not enough has been served yet. Probably will get higher late into the Friday night. There’s nothing to do in this town BUT drink.
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u/MaximumSubtlety Nov 19 '22
What struck me is that liquor outsold beer and wine combined. In the daytime, no less.
Also, a surprisingly low percentage of takeout orders overall.
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u/8rok3n Nov 19 '22
You're management now, this is your first day, don't fuck up.