A mom went to Olive Garden this week and had a less than wonderful time which ended with her toddler being covered in a strawberry daiquiri. Obviously, the mom and I have differing opinions about what constitutes a good time, because if my night ended up with me being covered head to toe in strawberry daiquiri or any other kind of alcoholic beverage, I would consider that a very successful evening. Nevertheless, it happened and Ashley was upset enough about it to go to the Olive Garden Facebook page and complain/hope for a gift card so she can go back again.
Her gripe is that it was the server’s fault because the drink was placed in front of the child which resulted in the baby bukkake strawberry daiquiri disaster. While none of us were there, we can only assume that Ashley is telling the god’s honest truth and that the server practically handed the cocktail to the toddler. Nevermind that far too often, we servers have no place to put a drink down because the table is covered with cell phones, iPads, diaper bags and coloring books. Or maybe it was one of those issues where there is a high chair at the end of a booth making it near impossible for us to reach the table top at all. The only thing we can be sure of is that Ashley wasn’t paying attention and her baby done spilled a cocktail on itself.
Ashley went looking for a manager to ask for a new server, because it’s totally, 100%, all the server’s fault, right? Pouring salt into her wound, she was dismayed to learn that the restaurant would do absolutely nothing for Ashley except give her husband a new strawberry daiquiri. Wait, what? What else was she expecting? A formal apology that her baby hasn’t developed the necessary motor skills required to properly handle a cocktail? Did she want them to buy her baby a new onesie since this one was undoubtedly ruined? Did she require a promise from Olive Garden to pay for the dry cleaning bill? Did she want the server to return to the scene of the crime and gently swab the baby with dampened bev naps in order to remove every drop of sticky sweet simple syrup and strawberry puree from the poor child?
Look, Ashley. Mistakes happen and whether or not the server placed the drink too close to your child’s grabby little hands, it certainly wasn’t intentional. And as a parent, you have to bear some responsibility for the accident since you are the one who should be watching your precious little angel every second to ensure he or she doesn’t grab a steak knife, eat some salt, stand in a high chair or knock over a strawberry fucking daiquiri. It’s a shared responsibility and by no means the fault of Olive Garden. Your baby survived, right? Why not just chalk it up to that time you went to Olive Garden as a family and something funny happened and you can laugh about it for the rest of your lives? 19 years from now when your child is puking its guts out into a toilet because of too many White Russians and tequila shots, you can lean down to your child and hold their hair back as they release it all. And somewhere between them puking out Kahlua colored vomit and dry heaving, you can say, “Awww, sweetie. It’ll be okay. Hey, it all started when you tried to drink Daddy’s strawberry daiquiri at Olive Garden when you were a baby.” And the two of you will laugh and laugh.
Or you can just get upset about it and never go back to Olive Garden. Your call, Ashley.
p.s. Your husband drinks strawberry daiquiris at Olive Garden?
Desislava
I distinctly remember the case of a girl who got stuck in a toddler’s chair. The chair was small, obviously for small children! This girl, who was almost as high as me, got inside the chair… no one knows how. For 20 min they couldn’t get her out, she was stuck and crying. First I found it funny, but the child was obviously upset and in panic-she was kicking and screamig.
When I suggested to the owner of the restaurant that we give the girl free dessert, she just asked me if it was I who gave them the chair. When I sand no, she told me that the parents should watch their kid better and it was their fault, therefore no free stuff for irresponsible parents!
DancerDiva
baby bukkake strawberry daiquiri disaster
Scrape me up off the floor…I AM DEAD. ? ? ? ?
Catherine
I worked at an OG in a server position. Maybe the OG shouldn’t try and not squeeze everyone and everything into/onto a tiny table.
I know, I know profit margins and all. But really some of the tables can honestly be uncomfortable and unacceptable for a typical family dining experience. Isn’t that what the OG’s striving to be, a family restaurant.
So instead of cramming salt, pepper, sugar, all the new and great specialty food and drink cards and a kiosks so you can charge the family $2.00 fee for games per child. Might it not be better off just to Up your prices a bit and do away with a few tables.
Really the OG pushes its severs to sell alcohol, yet they want to be a family establishment. You cannot have it both ways. Face it families aren’t gonna booze it up on a special night and get into their automobiles and drive home buzzed. A family with kids just aren’t going to spend that extra cash for a special date night.
So OG why not just up your food prices a bit and give people a bigger table or just take some of the excess crap off the existing ones? Maybe severs might just be able to eke out a semi paycheck to help offset the $2.13 pay per hour that the OG still insists on paying it’s servers.
Really very few people even order coffee or cappuccino at the restaurant due to the customer base. So why insist on taking up precious real estate with a sugar bowl? Bring Sugar if someone is ordering coffee or tea. Face it the kids only empty out packets anyway or the patrons steal the Equal or Splenda packets.
It’s just such a taxing and tiring work environment. The OG just needs to decide what type of restaurant it wants to be. Then adjust food, beverages and service according. Make up your mind OG. Server’s can’t survive on $2.13 an hour when you’re offer lunch specials that start at $5.99 and everyone is ordering water or unlimited soda and then uses the $2.00 coupon and tips us 15%. No wonder service sucks. You get what you pay for.
Bartender
Are you joking!?! You have to be! Please tell me where this daiquiri should be appropriately placed on the table… Perhaps the “man” should have reached for it from the server so the toddler perched precariously at the end of the table (in the server’s territory) could not have pillaged it and created a huge debacle! This whole horrible situation that apparently ruined your entire dining out experience could have been avoided if you actually decided to PARENT. You know, being a parent and all… Or maybe your parents let you wreak havoc everywhere you went as a baby and that’s where snowflakes are born.
Nancy
Most servers have spilled drinks in their career and its is mortifying. EVERY TIME. I am sure the server probably apologized and did their best to clean up. If the manager didn’t go above and beyond, I would venture a guess that the guest had a bad attitude. I work in a mexican restaurant with very hot plates. Whenever possible I try to place the plates away from curious little fingers and warn the parents. Its my job to serve you not raise yoir damn kids.
KarenL
I have occasionally had a very young or inexperienced waiter put something breakable or hot in front of my toddler but it has never bothered me because I know it is MY responsibility to be on top of this stuff and I quickly move it out of the way. You can’t expect other people to be responsible for your child. That being said, I’m surprised in the interest of goodwill, they were not offered a free desert, no matter who was at fault. Sometimes a nice gesture like that can do wonders in calming down unreasonable angry people.
Mazz
So are you saying the restaurant should give these people free desserts because they didn’t supervise their own child? This is a classic example of rewarding bad behaviour. Unfortunately people are learning that you just have to kick up a fuss or threaten to leave a bad review on trip advisor or Facebook or whatever in order to get free stuff in restaurants. They got their drink replaced, didn’t they? Why isn’t that enough? They’re trying to blame the restaurant for their own bad parenting.
Marcia Bowman
I used to work at Olive Garden as a host, and nothing irritated me more than people putting high chairs on the ends of booths. I’d tell them that their child could be in danger of having hot food dumped on them, but they never cared, the just HAD to have a booth…people are idiots.
Shannon
Ive seen managers flat-out make them move or, at the mention of a high chair, place them either at a table or one of the booths we have that is specifically made to accommodate high chairs. It’s a fire hazard. Sure people have gotten pissed, but what can you do? Would the parents *rather* have someone run into/drop food on the kid? Because with our setup, that would be a certainty. Then again, maybe that would teach some parents that the world doesn’t revolve around their kid.
Tabitha
Tbh they were probably letting their toddler climb all over the table and grab everything like most trash parents you see in restaurants. (Not all parents-just the trash ones) Then get mad at the server for you not making your kid behave?
Nikki
Hey Bitchy…. This is your best response yet. Seriously, BRAVO. Not only am I laughing my ass off, but it is all 100% TRUE ? So fricken funny! Love love love
Jessica Leigh Price
Heather is obviously an idiot.
Hey, Heather who has kids? (5-9, I’d guess).
When you walk on the street with your passel of children, do you stand roadside, and have them on the inside? When you go to a restaurant, where hot plates of food are being distributed to diners, do you seat your children out of the path of the servers?
Because I do. My daughter is a teenager, and asked me “why do I always have to sit on the inside?”.
“Because everyone has to get through ME, always, before they can get to you.”
Heather, please position yourself between everyone in the universe and your children.
Jessica Leigh Price
Oh, and Ashley is obviously one of those idiots (like Heather?) who put the high chair in the path of the staff. Any parent with even the least bit of protective instincts positions their beloved child between them and the server.
Jessica Leigh Price
/s
Lara
I’m in the industry and also a mother of a baby the same age. It always has been, and always will be, the responsibility of the parent to keep their children safe. No matter in public or in their own homes. If this had happened at a daycare, Ashley would be correct. The server is not responsible for where she placed an item that was ORDERED by the child’s parents. You ask for things to be brought to you, you better find a safe place for it asap. Any parent KNOWS that. Say someone’s personal item was in the way, like BW said, iPad, cell phone, etc. That sever would probably have been reprimanded for moving an item in order to find a less “dangerous” place to put the god damn drink.
Kiwi
Amen !
Kay Lyn
Thank Cameron Rose. I was about to call Heather out for being an idiot, but you said it so much nicer than I would have!
Heather
well you don’t have kids so you have no idea. I agree with her. You’re an idiot if you put anything in front of a baby? I’d be pissed too and I’m a server . Your shit is usually funny and on point, but you are wrong on this one buddy.
Cameron Rose
“You’re an idiot if you put anything in front of a baby?” Is that a question? There’s only one reason to put something in front of a baby. Because there was no place else to put it. I assume the parents were present when the drink arrived. Why didn’t they move it? Good parents know babies grab things and that it’s their responsibility to keep their kid safe.
“well you don’t have kids so you have no idea.” if waiting on spoiled children for 20 plus doesn’t make you an expert on children NOTHING will.
E. Henderson
You don’t have kids. The ultimate excuse for lazy parents. And some of us actually put real thought into reproduction. Hell of a lot more given the number of asshole moos and duhs out there.
Cryssy
Roflmao! The brat isn’t the servers responsibility… The woman is lucky her crotch fruit didnt pull a hot plate of food on itself.
dana
I once served a party of 20 at elephant bar, and the drinks were huge, a man started grabbing drinks from my tray lost balance of the tray and two tall drinks poured from the tray onto a baby….i was blamed for not balancing my tray?
Rachel
A frozen strawberry daiquiri… her husband… LMFAO!!! Not my husband. ?????? How about watch your kid. Try that. Although it doesn’t surprise me if they were drinking frozen strawberry daiquiris. Be a man. Drink a real drink.
sara beo
these people sound like they are shitty customers, but all these comments making fun of the guy for drinking a “not manly drink” are pretty shitty too, and contribute to our sexist society with bloated and silly ideas about what’s masculine and feminine. do better people!!!
tara
this is my local Olive Garden, doesn’t surprise me one but that a customer would act like that, especially around here.
Nicole
Your husband drinks strawberry daiquiris!????
Vangie
????
Jessica
A husband’s strawberry daquirie…..hahahaha
Michael Cotier
Gee, not two year old ever makes a mess at home?