Darden Planning to Sell Red Lobster

      For those of you who don't know, Darden is a pretty big deal in the restaurant industry. They own restaurants such as Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Yard House, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's, Longhorn, Capital Grill, and Seasons 52. However, due to recent profit losses they are trying to sell or spin off Red Lobster. As this may come to a surprise to the regular customer, people in the industry have seen it coming. Restaurants are not as busy as they once were. People are trying to cut corners to save money and going out to eat seems to be one of the most popular ways. 

      Working at Olive Garden myself for the past two years, I have definitely seen the difference first hand. Compared to last year, our wait times on a Friday or Saturday night is not as long as they used to be, and the type of people that choose to come to the restaurant are not the same either. I could only assume that Red Lobster is having the same problem, only 10x worse.

      Red Lobster seems to not be able to attract the high-income customers that places like Yard House and Capital Grill do, which causes them to not make as much money. The CEO of Darden Clarence Otis feels this will be good for the company because they will be able to focus more on its core audience. Jean Bertotti, who is a waiter in a Plantation Red Lobster, thinks it is a good idea, and agrees with the CEO that it will help them rebuild their market and cliental. 

      "I think it is great that Red Lobster is branching out into its own company because it gives us more freedom to focus on our brand. They are down 32% I believe over the last quarter and this will help the company reach its ultimate goal. The only drawback is the uncertainty everyone is facing, especially with those who have full careers. I know many people that are strongly considering leaving because of this."

      After talking to other employees it seems to be that most are excited about the separation and think it can only help make their restaurant better.

      There is also another plan in the works that may put Olive Garden in danger as well. I first heard about this from my boss, but then after looking more into it I found everything he said to be true. Barington Capital LP, an investor that owns more then two percent of Darden stock, came up with the idea to separate Darden into two companies. One would be just for Red Lobster and Olive Garden, while the other would be home to all of the rest. As an Oliver Garden employee, I would not mind getting separated and being able to work on our image again. I would love to see my restaurant as nice, well known, and busy as it used to be. 

     As of now there seems to be many ideas and plans on the table. In order for Red Lobster to become officially separated all they need is approval from the Darden Board. They are thinking this plan will close in the early part of 2015. 

Huffington Post Business Article

RIP Automatic Gratuity-New Law Affects Built-In Tips For Larger Groups

     With the new year in full swing, many restaurant servers are starting to get used to the fact that they are no longer able to include gratuity on parties of six or more. Affective as of January 1, 2014 the IRS has started treating these tips as a service charge and they are to be treated as regular, taxable income. Because of this new policy, many restaurant owners have chosen to do away with automatic gratuity and hoping that their staff will not see a difference it income at the end of the week. 

      

      As a waitress myself, and having many friends in the same field, this news did not go over very well. Automatic gratuity is there to make sure that when there are a lot of people and their bill is high, the waiter is taken care of and get the tip they deserve. On the bottom of many checks they now offer suggested gratuity ranging from 15-20 percent depending on the restaurant. In some cases it helps, and in other cases people just ignore it and tip whatever they "think" is right. In many other countries tipping is not a necessity nor do the servers work based mostly off of how much money in tips they make every day. Many foreigners are unaware of the tipping polices in America, and because of that, feel as though 5 or 7 percent is great. It becomes unfair to the waiter if they only receive 5 percent on a $300 check. 

      This policy has been in effect at my restaurant for a month now, and to be honest I feel as though I probably make about the same amount as I did when we were able to include some form of gratuity. Most guests seem to follow the suggested gratuity and leave somewhere between 17 and 20 percent. Of course, there are always those people who choose to leave a lot more, and those who choose to leave a lot less. For example, over the past weekend I received a $40 tip on a $50 check. On that same day I also received a $5 on a $50 check, and co-worker received $9 on $100 check. 

      Every restaurant server feels different about this situation. While some think it is a good solution, Leanne Massingham, a server at Fridays, feels as though this new law was definitely not made with the worker in mind. "Depending on the party and if they are bad tippers, it really effects me. You do your best to meat the guests satisfactions no matter who they are and when they don't even tip you 18 precent it not only reflects on the person mentally by thinking they did a bad job but also the money part. Dealing with big parties takes a lot of time and effort and if you don't get a good tip it's a waste of your time."

      As a server, you are always going to get people that tip great and people that tip poor, but for the most part as long as you are a excellent server you should not have any problems making all the of money you need.

Sonic Finally Open in Lauderhill

      Broward county residents finally get a taste of one of the most popular fast food restaurants, Sonic! Located on Commercial Boulevard just West of University Drive in Lauderhill, Sonic Beach has finally opened. The buzz started back in November 2013 when construction began and the "coming soon" sign was posted. Ever since it has opened the drive though line has been around the corner, the drive-in spots are always full, and the inside and outside seating areas are jam-packed.

      What makes this Sonic different from most is that it is a Sonic Beach meaning it does not only serve their would famous food, but alcoholic drinks as well. Although they do no offer a full bar, they have 28 different flavors of beer ranging fro Bud Light, Blue Moon, Stella Artois Lager and many more, as well as a wide variety of both red and white wines. This is only available for people to choose to eat there and sit either inside or in the outside patio area. They offer a happy hour from 5-7 p.m. every night with half off selected beer and wine as well as their regularly priced food menu where you can get SonicBerger for only $4.  

      I have only been to Sonic once before this location opened and I loved it. My parents knew I was dying to try it, since for some reason they always showed commercials even though there were no locations near me at all. Anyway, we were driving up to New York one year and they made sure to make a pit stop at the first Sonic they saw. So, once I heard there would be one opening right around the corner from my house, I was very excited. As soon as I found out it officially opened my boyfriend (who has never had Sonic), and I rushed over there as soon as possible. The lines were long, but the food was great!

      Now to the service: Like I said before the lines were very long, so when you decide to go make sure you have time to wait. That would have to be the only complaint because the food was great, and the service was even better. I have been there twice already, the first time dining in with my boyfriend, and the second using the drive-in car spots to get a quick bit to eat before work. Upon entering the restaurant we was greeting with friendly staff, and many customers enjoying the food, drinks, and having a great time. The staff was new, but they were very knowledgeable. The second time, the food was served to me in my car by a server on roller skates doing all types of tricks. It was very entertaining and the food was nothing short of amazing. For anybody living in the area this is a great place to take the family, with good food and a great atmosphere. 

      For more information I have attached a link to their menu, some reviews, as well as their full address to make it easy to find. 

Menu
Google Reviews

Sonic Drive-In

8050 West Commercial Blvd

Lauderhill, FL 33351

100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should NEVER Do

      Have you ever gone out to dinner and received bad service? I'm sure there has been at least one time that comes to mind when asked that question. Being in the restaurant service industry, I find myself to be very picky when it comes to the way I am treated when I go out to eat. I look for the small things, things that I know I always do for my tables. Customer service is important to me, which is why I feel that bad service should not be tolerated. You are going out to enjoy yourself and nothing can ruin it more then bad waiter. 

      The New York Times has come up with a list of "100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do.” Their list is very accurate filled with things I don't think should be done by restaurant servers, things I have heard people complain about in the past, and things people should be aware of. If you work in a restaurant, whether you are a waiter, host, busser, or even a manager, you can never have enough information on what not to do and what people do not like. Feel free to read over these articles and see if you find yourself doing any of these things. I know I do. But it is my job, as well as yours, to fix your mistakes, learn from them, move on, and make sure they never happen again. 

100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do Part 1

100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do Part 2

      I also found a video of some bad service that I thought was pretty funny and worth sharing.