Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Four Corners States

Worst Non-Meal EVER!! If I could give them less than 1 star I would! How about No stars.... Kind of like my meal... Today we went to Olive Garden, Highlands Ranch for lunch. There were 4 of us. Service was slow but they were busy so we were willing to wait. One couple was splitting the Steak Gorgonzola, Medium, My DH Ordered the Shrimp Carbonara and I ordered the Steak Gorgonzola, Medium Rare over Spinach instead of pasta to make it a lower carb (although not Low Carb) dish. We had our salad and bread sticks and Waited and waited. Finally we got our meals, Sort of. The split dish was fine although a bit toward the rare side. The Shrimp dish was missing and my steak Gorgonzola was cooked Well Done! I sent my dish back to be remade. The manager came out to apologize and let us know that they were rushing the shrimp dish and she would be covering our meals. She apologized that my dish had been well done and said that they had switched cuts of meat. Ok. Fine. DH’s dish arrives about 5 minutes later and I tell him to go ahead and eat while it is hot. And I wait for my remade dish. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes… Finally as my dining companions have all nearly finished their meals I get the servers attention to ask him to just have my meal boxed and I’ll eat it at home later. The manager comes back over and says, “Was I supposed to remake your dish even though the meat will be well done? I have not charged you for your ticket”, “Ummm, no Why can’t you remake my dish and NOT overcook the meat????” I appreciated that she covered the ticket but I went there for a meal and I left without one! I realize that they have a different cut of meat but that doesn’t mean you have to cook it to oblivion! Had she said that they were unable to cook the meat in any fashion other than well done, but they would be happy to make me a different dish I would not be writing this but she did not. So now I have been at OG since 12:45 and we left after 2 and I am still hungry because I didn’t get served lunch. I have NEVER been so poorly treated at any restaurant Ever in my life!! It will be a cold day in hell before I go...

We went here this evening because we wanted an affordable, quick meal for our young family. We also wanted somewhere that wouldnt be extremely crowded at 4:30/5pm. We have 3 under 3, so going out to eat is extremely tough and since we didn’t have a sitter, we thought we’d try it w all the kids and what not a better place than A chain to bring kids to. I knew what to expect from the food and they like spaghetti with plain tomato sauce. Perfect. My only real complaint was seating was difficult. I had told the hostess I would like to be away from people because we have small kids and don’t want to disturb anyone who could be taking their dining experience seriously at the Olive Garden. Also needed a booth. The hostess then seated us in the middle of a large room, at a table with chairs only, right next to other people. The entire restaurant aside from this section was empty. I also mentioned I didn’t want to be that close to other people, but she suggested the only place they could fit us was another table, across from our table. Same setup. I was a bit confused by this, since the entire place was empty outside of this room. I’ve worked for this chain as a hostess and many other private Italian restaurants in NYC as a hostess, so I understand how it works w seating and sections etc. however, when a customer specifically asks, you cater. Finally after going back and forth, she moved us to the other side of the restaurant. The manager did come over and acknowledged what had happened (we did not call her over she came on her own accord) and she was extremely accommodating. She made sure we were comfortable and also comp’d an app for us. We were very happy with the service and the manager’s professionalism. Also we understand hostesses are trying to follow their own things and rules. Our server was very nice. I think his name began with a G. Service was very good. We’d go back...

READ BEFORE ORDERING TO GO: I am a rep that picks up food for doctors offices over lunch. On 9/15/23, I came inside to pick up my to go order, use the restroom, and see if I could eat a few bites before I had to present at the office I was presenting at. Tina, who was behind the bar, sees me sit down, and asked if I needed anything. I said no, I was just going to scarf down my food quickly before I go. She says it is her policy that I’m not allowed to be in the restaurant with a to go order and sit down, and that she is saving it for regular customers. I explain my situation, and she says no. There was one lady in the bar, eating by herself, and one other family in the bar. The place was pretty empty. So I asked for a manager and to get Roxy, an assistant manager. Instead of being in a place where she just realizes, I just bought a ton of meals, and simply wanted to eat mine, she decided to tell me her policy, but that they would make an exception for me. the tone came across as being annoyed that I would still want to even sit in their establishment. I’m just shocked that I just bought all this food, and the kind of treatment that I’m getting, so ask for the GM. Greg was understanding, shared that there should be some more customer service skill sets from both Roxy and Tina. This establishment needs to understand that the service they provide on a to go order also translates to people wanting to be in the dining area. How you treat people goes a long way. This experience does not make me want to bring my family here, however.

Also, Greg the manager told me that it is a different price for to go customers it is for customers who dine in. They said this is the reason for the policy. They do not want customers to pay the cheaper price, then eat at the establishment.

Customers are paying a premium for eating inside the restaurant. This somehow didn’t settle well...