Something horrible happened at Olive Garden last week and it’s surely traumatizing for all involved. According to a post on the Olive Garden Facebook page, a woman in Corpus Christi, Texas found an earring in her Toscana soup. The woman was disgusted by this event, but she was able to generously accept an apology. When the bill came, she was shocked and dismayed to discover that the only thing that had been comped for this tragedy was the soup. The rest of the food remained on the bill and she was expected to pay for it still. Naomi wants to know: “What kind of service is that?”
Well, Naomi, it’s pretty standard service, if you ask me. (And I totally know that you didn’t ask me, but I’m going to give my opinion anyway because if you post something on a public page you have to expect that strangers might pipe in.) Mistakes happen in restaurants just like they do in every other aspect of life. Of course no one wanted to have their earring fall off in to your soup, it was an accident. The cook didn’t put her earrings on that morning before work and specifically chose a pair that would look great floating among spicy sausage, fresh kale and russet potatoes. Somewhere in the course of her day, the earring fell off and it ended up in your bowl of soup. The manager was apologetic and did not expect you to pay for that bowl of soup, but why would you expect anything else to be comped? Did you find a bracelet in your bruschetta, a necklace in your gnocchi or a ring in your rigatoni? No, you didn’t. You worry that your 13-year old daughter could have swallowed that earring and yes that is a valid concern. Here’s the thing though: she didn’t. And neither did you. So you can’t expect things to be compensated based on “what if.”
You also wonder why no one explained why it had happened. My guess is that the manager gave you the benefit of the doubt and assumed that you understood what an accident is. There was no good reason an earring was in your soup just like there was no good reason you were at Olive Garden in the first place. (Unless of course you were celebrating an anniversary or birthday because then of course you would be at Olive Garden because duh.) You want a reason? I will give you one:
Marta the cook was wearing her special earrings that day, the ones she loves so much, because they make her feel good. They brighten her day and when she catches a glimpse of her reflection in a stainless steel reach-in, she is able to momentarily forget that she works at Olive Garden. The earrings were given to her by her sister and she lost one of the backs a few months ago. She still likes to wear them though, so instead of an earring back, she uses a piece of pencil eraser to secure it to her lobe. Well, gravity got the best of her that day and when she was portioning out your precious bowl of fucking Toscana soup, the pencil eraser failed her and the earring slipped into your food. Marta didn’t even realize the earring was gone until much much later and she was heartbroken to realize that one of her favorite earrings was gone. Yes, you got the earring, Naomi, but you should be grateful you didn’t get the pencil eraser.
It seems these days that people who go into restaurants expect so much more than what they deserve. You don’t get a free meal for your whole family because of some silly little mistake. Most people would find the earring and be a little surprised and then be grateful to not have to pay for the soup, even though I’m sure they gave her another earring-free bowl of it. However, today no one is satisfied with a little and they always want more which is why Naomi posted this complaint on the Facebook page to begin with. She wants more. And you know what? Olive Garden will give her more. They will read the complaint and then send her a coupon for a free meal and that will teach Naomi to always be on the lookout for something else she can complain about, because maybe next time the complaint will get her even more. It’s a vicious vicious circle.
I leave you with these questions: What about Marta? Did she get her jewelry back? When does her Go Fund Me campaign begin so we can all pitch in to buy her a new earring back? And what the fuck does “I just felt customers should be aware and cautious of their there” mean?
Tiff
Ok I know I’m like 8 years too late responding to this blog post but I had to chime in with my 37 cents like everyone else lol.
1. Earring in soup… fucking gross.
2. Reaction at said earring… acceptable.
3. Comped meal… appropriate response.
4. Expecting entire meal for all parties to be free… ummm, what?
5. Writing a post on OG FB about it… rather childish and unwarranted, especially when her meal was comped. It was an acceptable remedy while at the restaurant, so why is it not later. SMH.
6. Not getting an explanation why it happened… ummm, what? Last I checked, OG and staff are not psychic or time travelers so how the fuck do they know how it happened and furthermore, why does that even matter? Would knowing how it happened magically make it ok that you got an earring in your soup, Naomi? Lol.
7. RE: some responses placing blame on OG staff… how do you even know the earring belonged to an OG staff member?? Lots of customers also wear earrings. It could have easily come from one of them. How? Well, ppl get up from their tables to use the restroom or to leave the restaurant at completion of their meal all the time. Perhaps one of them with an earring walked by the server with the tray containing said bowl of soup and plop, earring drops into the soup. It could easily happen.
8. To the dude telling others to grow up and get a thesaurus… you’re also slinging shit and being judgmental the same way you are claiming others are. Everyone judges everyone else all the time, it’s expected and unavoidable. Language skills have fuck all to do with that fact. Lol
Just be nice people. It’s not difficult to treat others with the same basic human rights that you yourself have. Why should you receive more decency than any other human simply because you say so? Newsflash: you shouldn’t. We all need to work on being less judgmental and more kind to our fellow humans. This planet has gone to hell and I fear we are headed towards WW3 pretty fucking quick because of our inability to be proactive and respond properly instead of just reacting and attacking in the moment.
Peace 🙂
K.L
What I find to be the most counterintuitive is that people always put down servers for being stupid, uneducated and not having “real jobs”, yet expect perfection from “stupid uneducated servers”!! Pick one! Are we perfect or not!
Texas Susan
I agree that earrings in soup are DISGUSTING. I mean, I would probably have been physically ill if that had appeared in a soup bowl at my own table in a restaurant. On the other hand, I also agree that some people try to take advantage of others. The lady’s meal was comped and the manager apologized. Those are appropriate consequences for this human error. There is no need to minimize what happened or put this woman down for being rightfully revolted by what happened. Maybe this was not about “getting free stuff” for her. Maybe she really did feel that the consequence did not cure the ill. Maybe she WAS a freeloader. Personally, this would have been consequence enough, but I am not going to pass judgment on this woman for feeling that it was inadequate.
Furthermore, for people to hate others and call them names simply because they are Texans, or to hate all Americans and call them entitled is just ridiculous.
I know that haters are going to hate, but why do so many people choose to attack so aggressively and offensively rather than just sticking to the facts? Why do so many people feel that they must be in opposition/attack mode just to make a point? Many of the people reaming this woman for being unforgiving or impatient with human failings are themselves being unforgiving and impatient with this woman (and probably with ME once I post this!)
Instead of clearly stating reasoning for an opinion, those who spew prejudicial hate and use filthy language do not strengthen their positions. Instead, they make themselves appear ignorant, uneducated, and as dirty as say, an earring found in someone’s soup.
Grow up and get a thesaurus.
Beefcake
“Shit…free earring and soup!” I’d keep it as a trophy.
McKinsey Maynard
Who ever said it was a girl who lost the earring? Maybe Jesus, or Dakota, or Andre lost their mother’s diamond stud. I’ll bet, if it was a diamond, this heifer would have pocketed it, then still bitched, got whatever she could get for free, and whistled a Mary Poppins tune on the way to the pawn shop. But, thatsnone of my business. Damn, this tea is good!!
NattyDee
Ummmm. An accident, yes, but…someone at OG
would be cleaning up the puke that accidentally escaped my
mouth if I had eaten any of the earring soup.
Do y’all know how gross & stinky earrings that
are not properly cleaned are? OMG. GAG! This story
makes my stomach churn!
But the entire table’s worth of meal comped?
Eh.
usually on servers side
uh. isn’t it against health code for cooks to wear any jewelry at all? honestly author is down playing just how gross that is and if I were working there I’d want to comp the entire meal. seriously I usually hate customers, but this is not something stupid to be upset about. it’s gross negligence and yes, it is an accident but who knows what else could land into your food at a place with that lax of an attitude? “oh well, the cook’s earring fell out of her head and into your soup, sh*t happens!” so whenever someone finds a hair in their food because the cook also decides not to restrain their hair or wear a hair net, it’ll also just be an accident and not a failure? that’s really gross. this is the only time i’d say the annoying customer is right.
c
I am so tired of everyone complaining. I work at og, and they do everything they can to please an unhappy guest (sometimes to much). So sorry that servers aren’t perfect. I know guests think they are perfect, and come in with there nose all up in the air thinking they are better than we are. It takes a lot to be a server, and we should be more respected, half the time the mistakes that are made is not the servers fault, but yet our tip is affected. Everyone should be a server at least on day in there life, and then they would know what its like!
Brittany
I am not from here, (thanks god because to be honest, stupid is very prevalent around here), but I do currently live in Corpus Christi and I waited tables for 2 years here. I can honestly day that this is so common down here its ridiculous. Every day, yes you read that right, EVERY DAY I waited tables someone asked for something for free. It was always something. Restaurants are not perfect. Waitresses are not perfect. Cooks are not perfect. PEOPLE are not perfect. We are all people. We do our best to make sure everything is pleasant because no one wants to go out to eat for a poor meal but cut us a break guys. Things happen. When you cook at home does everything turn out exactly perfect 100% of the time? I doubt it. Just because it is a business doesn’t mean it is going to be 100% perfect because there is no such thing. You were not asked to pay for your meal which is exactly what should have happened because yes, you found an earring in it. But just stating what if’s does not constitute your entire families meals to be free. Sadly that is a very common expectation around here. If everyone would just carry more compassion and understanding around with them instead of always looking to get things for free or point that finger that someone was intentionally trying to harm them, the world would be a lot better place.
Roy
Haaaaaa I used to work for that idiot they are the most irresponsible people I have ever worked for they don’t care about the guests all they care about is getting your money or your credit card number and selling bullshit wine… I strongly recommend do not ever go there unless you’re going to get drinks that’s it… Sincerely yours”the dick”of that restaurant and proud of it..Mr.Roy Boy Ayala 🙂
Stephanie
I went to a local sushi restaurant with my 9 yr old son one evening. Everything was going wonderfully until my son pulled a sharp piece of plastic out of his mouth that he bit into while eating crab salad. Needless to say, I alerted the server, who brought the manager. Being a server myself, I understood things happen, but at the same time was concerned for the safety of others. I did tell the manager that I would like a new salad made for him, but asked to pay for all of my food. They took off the salad anyways, which was very nice of them and totally unnecessary. Although I was alarmed and thankful my son didn’t swallow the plastic, they made it right. Olive garden made it right, so why shouldn’t she pay for her meal? Fucking freeloaders.
Allie
The soup came with the lady’s meal, and she said that OG ‘comped my plate’. So, she presumably got new soup and ate her entree for free. I worked at OG for years and it was frustrating to see management rush to shut unreasonably whiny customers up with gift cards and comped tickets. Some of these people would outright lie and all of them were rewarded with free food. Given management’s terror of customers complaining to corporate, I’m actually pretty surprised that the whole meal wasn’t comped, so maybe she was one of those people that acts like everything’s fine at the table and then goes home to write a scathing Yelp review.
People who regularly eat at OG have been trained that complaining gets rewarded, so no surprise that a good portion of the customer base is seeking to find fault so that they can complain. At any other restaurant, I wouldn’t expect a family’s entire bill to be comped, unless there was something much more dire going on that warranted a big apology from the restaurant. The dish was messed up.. to me, the earring is somehow less gross than finding hair, so whatevs… and the lady got a fresh soup and ate on the house. Pretty standard.
L
I’m sad that I know this, having worked at OG for a little bit, but it’s actually the servers themselves that ladle out the soups to take to their tables. And yes, it’s as much a pain in the ass as it sounds. Not sure if that changes the story or anyone’s perspective on it–could have still been the earring of the cook who prepared the soup, but servers are probably allowed to wear larger jewelry than the kitchen staff.
Rieley
I think it is so funny how all of these people think that petty woman deserved her tab to be all free. I bet none of you have worked in a resturant. I bet none of you realize that, that VERY mad woman probably made her waitresses life a living hell that night. I bet none of you realize that her 13 year old child most likely made a COMPLETE mess on the floor. This woman is not special nor do I believe she earned her whole bill free. I’ve worked in a resturant for YEARS as a waitress, my guess is they put that goddamn earring in their soup and blamed it on someone who worked there so they could recieve something free since “Olive Garden” is a little pricey. Before you stick up for some bitch you don’t know, try working in a resturant for ONE day and then tell me what’s digusting. That dumbass earring in her food? Or the messes and the way customers speak to you? Think about that.
Geoff Burkman
Food service remains the most efficient breeding ground for misanthropy most everywhere in the world.
And Naomi is a true twatwaffle.
FormerRestaurantManager
Twatwaffle? Has that made it to Urban Dictionary yet? LMAO.
Qui
this lady is fucking stupid. There is no “what if!” It didn’t happen! All that happened was an earring accidentally fell in her soup. It was right of Olive Garden to only charge her for the other stuff and not the soup. Shit Olive Garden has to make money. People like her always looking for an excuse to get free things from a mistake so small. I used to work at Panda Express and cheap nasty people came in and one little thing that happened, they would demand something for free. Fuck them all fucking cheapskates they should just stay home and eat then
boo
Easy…just sell the earring to pay for the meal! I wish someone would sprinkle my meals wth jewelry, I’d feel like a princess!
Tyler
Hey Naomi, you sure it wasn’t your earring! Pay your bilo, or hey better yet, try doing a job in food service you will know the work servers put into their customers! As for Olive Garden they are one of the most trained staff in the U.S.! I love Olive Garden, earring or not
Bebop
It just sucks to be Naomi, so everyone must pay. I’m also gonna go out on a limb here and guess that it will always suck to be Naomi, and that everyone should continue to pay. Everyone except Naomi. That is her reward for being the Suck Queen.
Carol
Comp the check Olive Garden.
Anonymous
Grow a brain Carol.
D Huff
Why should the restaurant comp the meal Carol? Have you worked a day in your life in a restaurant. People go out to eat looking for things to complain about so they can get free food which is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS! If you want free food, go to the homeless shelter & wait in line, & see the reactions you get there!
People are so ignorant, why not you let people come to your work & find all the things wrong then expect EVERYTHING FOR FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get a clue!!
Qui
Yes I totally agree with you. People are so fucking cheap it’s disgusting. Nasty swines
#ONTHEFLY
I volunteer at GLIDE in San Francisco and we have alot of outreach services and feed the homeless. It saddens me how some people that cannot provide food for themselves and their families STILL lack gratitude, they’re demanding, and have entitlement issues!
Amy K
At a local white table cloth dining establishment, the server dropped my plate onto the table, breaking every glass on the table and showering everyone with wine and glass. My entree ended up in my lap. I felt horrible for the server, having been one in college. Much to our surprise, they comped the entire meal AND gave us a free bottle of wine! Heck yes, we went back there again.
Amy
We were out for dinner one night at Ruby Tuesday’s (I know, not O.G.)and both our dinners were, to be nice, not edible. My hub’s pasta was burnt (you could look at it and see everything on it was black) and my chicken was covered in cayenne pepper! The manager came over and of course said they would make new…which they did and we were happy with that. Then she came back when we were almost done with a bag..of two more meals! Why? We didn’t expect it. She also comped our whole check…again, why? We still got our dinners, someone was just having a bad day in the kitchen, it happens. She refused to let us pay for our meals (which we figured would be in the $30 range) so we left the waitress (who, when she brought the dinners out said immediately “They don’t look right and I think I should get the manager BEFORE you try to eat them.”) a $35 tip. We still go there, have had a couple “glitches”, but it is always made right with new. I would love to know where these people go that everything is 100% perfect at all times because in my experience, life happens.
tracy
i find this guests reaction rather ignorant. why in the hell would an establishment comp an entire bill just because of that? good lord people! get over yourselves, please! i am a server, have been for 15 years, and i have noticed lately that people are more and more demanding and less and less forgiving. they seem to have forgotten that servers are in fact human beings also, not robots, only put on this earth to do your bidding. so here’s my advice to all of you irrational, over expectant guests….GET OFF OF YOUR DAMNED HIGH HORSES, LEAVE YOUR EXTREME PICKINESS AT THE DOOR (if you cant, you need to stay home and fix food your damn self!), AND COME BACK DOWN TO JOIN US IN REALITY, A.K.A. THE REAL WORLD!!!! we, i, are NOT perfect!
Vickie
found a machine screw in the pot roast at a Golden Corral once. They did not comp anything. Then yesterday I went to a fast food place for a soft serve ice cream. The machines were down so they could not serve me. But they gave me a milkshake instead and refunded my money for the cone. They have my business forever.
Anonymous
Of course Golden Corral didn’t comp, they’re a buffet….
kim
I worked at the “O.G.” for about five years. One night, I had only brought out enough “to go” containers for one less person than what I needed them for. I said that I had a “brain fart.” That statement was so offensive to the mother, who’s preteen child was too sensitive to be exposed to such language. She reemed my manager, who wrote me up a “final written warning.” It was my first customer complaint in my five years. There had been no prior written warnings before the “final” one. My employment was threatened by a brain fart; My job, my income as a student and single mom living with my own mother with my kids… How’s that for dramatic story telling??! Needless to say, I quit shortly there after and got a job with actual job security and employment protections.
A
This happened to me once and the man was so angry that we comped off his entire $127 bill. And he still didn’t leave me one cent for a tip.
Nicole
i never disagree with you bitchy, but if you find a fkn earring in your food, your meal should be free. obv it was an accident, but it doesnt matter. this is not someone “trying to get something out of nothing”. customers are SOMETIMES right, and it seems like a lot of servers that follow these pages are so unbelievably jaded that they disagree w a customer no matter what. this woman isnt even going batshit over it.
Sam
Yeahhhh she kinda is. If you pay separately for a salad, a soup, and a sandwich that is three meals you are ordering. Her dish was taken care of, suck it up buttercup we are servers not servants.
david
if you would have read this entire post you could see that clearly her meal was free.
Nicole
I did the article. I meant the whole meal. As in the whole table. This is kne of the few instances where I think the whole check should be comped. It’s gross and a choking hazard.
It has nothing to do w considering servers servants either :/
FormerRestaurantManager
Ehm…. How was it a choking hazard for anyone else at the table? Sure, it was not fun to find, but the manager apologized, took the food away, and comped it. A replacement item was also likely offered. Contrary to your belief, it is poor customer service to simply comp the whole table; that is a sign of poor management that would rather buy your loyalty instead of actually caring about you as a guest.
Just because one (likely) honest mistake happened on a $5 soup, does not entitle your entire party to carte blanche freebies from the restaurant. I’m sure that you would carry this entitlement forward and argue that 10,15,18, or 20% of a $0 check is also $0 and crap on your server as well.
kat szulga
My favourite is on those days when everyone in the kitchen has light coloured or no hair and someone with long dark hair finds a long dark hair in their food. We’re an open kitchen, so she’s usually invited to look at her lie.
Rachael
When I was s teenager working at Dairy Queen some snot nosed teen made a big stink about finding a hair in his burger. Got real quiet when he was told that the cook shaves his head. People are jerks and have convinced themselves that doing this is okay when it is , in fact, a form of stealing.
Jacklyn
Something very similar happened at the restaurant where I work. A hair was found on a female guest’s plate. The meal was removed, replaced, and taken off the bill,and she was given a house discount and an at- table apology from the G.M. [ Even tho it actually appeared to be her OWN hair! ] On the credit card slip, beneath her signature, she wrote ” OMG I CANT BELIEVE I HAD TO *** PAY *** FOR HAIRY FOOD!!!!! ” She apparently had expected the entire table to be comped.
Wendy
Sigh ,After 30 years waiting tables ( yes 30.I like it .What can I say) I have seen many many clowns try to get something for nothing, It seems to be rampant. Corporate restaurants are famous for giving in to unreasonable demands ,making it harder to get the public at large to understand that it isnt free, and dont expect it . I do prefer small mom and pop places where they dont feel the need to feed the delusion that you are entitled to more then you are ,
Jam
Ha I worked at a diner once in Texas and a guest found a finger condom in his gravy.
Dianne
Had she not noticed the earring and swallowed it, she would have never known the difference and would not have felt the need to whine about it. I am assuming the earring was small since 1) kitchen staff do not wear large pieces of jewelry and 2) it would have been noticed if it had been of any significant size. Nobody and no restaurant is perfect,mistakes happen. Suck it up. You weren’t expected to finish your soup nor asked to pay for it.
Odds
I hope she didn’t eat the earring, OR other people, Micaela. And no, taking off the soup was sufficient.
Micaela
Wait a minute! She got tan earring un ver fuckin soup. I think the least they could do is forget the tab. I hate bitchy patrons as much as you do but she could have eaten that or other people. They need to acknowledge they did wrong. Don’t charging for the soup isnt enough.
Unknown
Did wrong? You honestly thought they meant to put an earring in? God whiny people these days. Just last week I had a hair on potatoes.Guess what? I picked it off and ate those wonderful potatoes. Life happens. I want to see people and how they eat at home god forbid. They must eat like the president by the way people complain about everything in restaurants.
Nicole
thats disgusting. wtf?
John
No, it’s really not. Hair is everywhere. You probably eat hair all the time without even realizing it. Your body has an amazing immune system that is there to protect you from things like… *shudder*…. hair.
Sam
Oh my god dude what was cooked wrong was free and what was properly cooked was properly charged. Lazy Americans that feel entitled to everything and pay for nothing. You’re the ones who are angry with the server because your meal took too long to cook or came out too quickly or not hot enough or whatever because everything is always someone else’s fault and you expect to be handed everything because you are the consumer. Key word, you are the CONSUMER not the Queen of England for gods sake.
trippingchristy
They just didn’t comp her soup unless that’s all she ordered, which is unlikely. They comped her meal. Soup or salad comes with all entrees at Olive Garden. They just didn’t comp the whole table.
anne marie
bitch is from TX, so she was already born stoopid. bitch deserves nothing more than she already received. bitch needs to STFU and go somewhere else.
Brandy Morado
And where exactly are you from Ms. Classy McClasserson? I think you are just the definition of intelligence for calling a whole state of people “stoopid”, I also love the way you have innovated the English language with the much needed revamping of the spelling of stupid. Also, in case you would like to be enlightened about how “stoopid” Texans are, they have the ONLY self sufficient economy in the USA……but hey, I’m just another stoopid Texan……what do I know?
Joe
lulz…pretty sure the spelling of “stOOpid” was intended. Usually that’s what you put when mocking somebody that is “stupid.” And yeah Texas is stOOpid.
me
It’s stupid. Js.
Bonnie McGovern
Ummmm are you serious? The only thing you said is where she’s from?! I lived in Texas for 14 years and loving it!!!
Stacey
Uhhhhh… I think Bitchy Waiter is from Texas, soooo… This is awkward.
The Bitchy Waiter
Ummm, yeah.
Anonymous
I think you are the one who was born “stoopid”. Texas is the second most populous state in the country. You can’t even fucking spell, and capitalization is a foreign concept to you. But you’re going to call 26 million people stupid? Yeah, fuck you right in the ass with an icicle.
lol no
Being a populous state doesn’t mean it’s not possible for the people born there to be stupid.
Sumer
Wow, she is stupid just because she is from Texas? Haha, you just made yourself look like more of an ass than she did. Grow up.