Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Saskatoon

Good Evening Chris,

I just arrived home after having dinner at your restaurant.

It was my first time dining at this location of the Olive Garden.

After completing several errands in the area, I received a phone call from my father's care home asking if I could please help them out in approximately an hour as he was extremely confused and anxious.

Instead of making the drive home, I decided to dine in and calm my nerves before continuing on.

My waitress was amazing! She engaged in meaningful conversation of which I appreciated. Showing up at timely intervals....not too soon and not too absent. She was extremely pleasant and created an experience that made me want to come back.

In addition, I observed very pleasant encounters between other staff with their customers. I also witnessed another co-worker speaking with respect as she explained the employee food discount and guidelines for family members.

I was about to summon you over to my table to express my pleasant observations of such great team cohesiveness until I encountered a conversation between you and a young female staff member.

It appeared that she made an obvious mistake that needed to be reconciled, however your approach absolutely crushed her spirit. Her eyes and body language was a sign of defeat & embarrassment. Instead of you taking this opportunity as a 'leader', as a 'role model' to empower & educate her to achieve a better outcome.....you embarrassed her and made her feel worthless in her position.

REALLY?!

You could have created a learning opportunity with kindness and compassion....but you chose not to.

You pinned her to the wall with your words stating, "tell me they paid their bill?" That statement alone implies shame. And if that wasn't enough...you stated it a second time and asked her to call them.....a second shaming to the circumstance.

Wow! No support.

Then you proceeded to tell her that this would be recorded as a 'careless conduct'.

You would benefit from a service management course & interpersonal communications course.

In addition, you owe this young lady an apology & the customers that witnessed your...

Generous portion sizes, made sure that no guest left hungry. The portion sizes were indeed huge, perfect for those with a hearty appetite or for sharing among a group or for take away.

We kicked of with Minestrone vegetarian soup, famous house salad with breadsticks. Then, we had Shrimp Fritto Misto as appetizers. For Classic Entrées, we ordered Eggplant Parmigiana and Herb-Grilled Salmon. For dessert we had Black Tie Mousse Cake. P.S For halal eaters, parmesan cheese is not halal. So dine at your own will.

One of the highlights of the meal was the grated parmesan cheese, that seemed to be served nonstop. It was a cheese lover's dream come true!

However, the strong odor of cheese that permeated the air throughout the restaurant could be overwhelming for some diners. If you're a fan of Italian cuisine with a penchant for cheese, this restaurant is worth a visit.

The service was quick, and the ambiance was nice. The service provided by the waitress was exceptional. She was attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable about the menu, providing recommendations and answering questions with a smile.

Concerns: Everything was going well until it was close time. Our waitress started rushing us with constant reminder that they will be closing soon and that her manager wants us to know that. The rushed behavior of the manager towards our waitress, particularly towards closing time, and the discomfort we felt as diners of color were concerning. It left us with the uncomfortable feeling that the manager might have been biased or racist. It's important for all diners to be treated with respect and not feel rushed or discriminated against based on their race.

The situation might have been improved by now since we dined here back on the evening of Dec 4th...

The "please fill out our online survey" had a character limit, but here is what I would have told the restaurant in a more direct fashion if I could. The following is why I was reporting such a positive review on their form:

Given the COVID years, many chain restaurants found many challenges in maintaining operations which leads to a present service culture of "lazy shortcuts". This location and staff were exemplary in terms of their polished and consistently strong representation of Olive Garden. The staff members were more than "friendly and helpful"; they were genial and warm. The facility was immaculate. The food portion sizes were more than generous. As a parent, I was also extremely pleased with how well the staff operated around and with my children.

Our server, Nisargkumar, was clearly the most visible part of this genuinely successful visit, but my observations of every visible member of the staff only reinforced my opinion. The woman at the front counter (I didn't catch her name) displayed the character traits I've described with just as much resolve.

It is, in this economy, an increasingly rare thing for folks to choose to go out and eat in a public restaurant. One could argue that much more rides on the selection of a restaurant than perhaps was normally the case a few years ago. A bad experience, even in a convenient neighborhood location, might have a heavier impact on future choices. With this in mind, I am so happy to have this Olive Garden location in my area. I will be back based on my experiences that evening, and I'm very happy to tell others the same thing.

And...