Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Thornton Township

This experience at this Olive Garden was not the best... and probably will be the last time I go back to this (that) location. When you first walked in, the hostess were amazing. I will give them praise and gratitude for their kindness - sweet as can be. She seated my family; the four of us, including me.

But as soon as you are seated, that is when the disaster occurred. Our waiter was not the best. He could have been better, but he wasn’t. We ordered our drinks before eating. It took him 25 minutes just to bring us a pitcher of water. I order a Mango Strawberry Margarita. It was not the best, but acceptable. Before we switched from the table to the booth, the waiter asked me what kind of soup I wanted. I said Minestrone soup... it took him three times just to get out to me. After he asked me what kind of soup I wanted. Then when I receive the soup, it was warm.

We continued on to order our food and he insulted my younger brother in the process. My brother order the create your own pasta. My brother requested pesto sauce; the waiter goes on to ask, “Do you know what that is?”. First off, you’re not going to stand there insult my brothers intellignece. Second of all, he is very competent and is aware of what “pesto sauce” is. He eats that only with his pasta. That comment and statement was beyond rude and down right stupid of that waiter to say.

Then he takes everyone’s order and begins to walk away. About 5 minutes later, he comes back to the table asking us, again, what did we order. Now, I sat there and watched the waiter write our orders out... so how are you forgetting what we ordered if it’s RIGHT THERE in front of you... Can you not read your own hand wrtiting? At this point, I’m completely annoyed. He goes back to place the order, but then returns, not even two minutes later asking the same exact questions!? I’m completely at a lost at this point in time.

Meanwhile, during this whole ordeal, he brings my stepdad his Sangria. The sangria was not a sangria. The first time he brought the drink out, there wasn’t any fruit in the glass. We, politely, asked him to please provide the fruit that comes in the SANGRIA. He brings back the Sangria with two orange slices in it... if anyone who drinks sangria, you know for a FACT that there is more fruit inside that glass. We asked the waiter why wasn’t there more fruit in the glass; his response, “The bartender doesn’t want to cut up more fruit because it’ll be a waste”. I understand that wasting food would be an issue, but if I requested sangria with ACTUAL fruit in the glass, than I expect it to be so...

So, we asked for a manager. The manger comes over. I forgot the woman’s name, I believe it was Serena, I’m not entirely sure, but she was not AT ALL a pleasant relief. She was getting smart with my mother and stepdad over the drink, stating that what we ordered is what was ordered. My stepdad asked for a Sangria. She claims that what he received was a Sangrita (Margarita & Sangria mixed). As we explain to that woman, we did not order that, but a Sangria. So instead of her listening, she decides to get smart with the tongue a bit, somewhat apologies in a a way, and goes to get the correct drink.

I don’t care how tired you are, you ready to go home or whatever, I expect that when i come into your establishment, I should get the upmost respect, especially when I’m spending my hard earned money. I didn’t have to come into Olive Garden, I could have went to another restaurant, but I didn’t. I would like to be able to enjoy a wonderful dinner with my family, but this experience was the worst I’ve ever had...

The food was not the best, some of it was cold and half warm. This entire dinner was a mess. From the manger to the waiter, I most likely will not return to that (this) location. If the manger and waiter would have been a bit more considerate and pleasant, I probably would but when you insult me or my family, that’s where we have a problem. Work on how you treat others. Treat people the way you would want to...

I would prefer to give 0 stars. This is the worst Olive Garden in the area and I will never go back. I visited with a party of 8 on July 20 around 1/2pm. Our server Kalahari had terrible customer service. We had slow service from start to finish. She took forever to bring complimentary wine samples to our table. When our food finally came the take home pastas that we’re a part of the buy one take one we’re left sitting out on the serving tray. She never came to check on the table or the food after she served us. After an hour she gave us the checks after we requested it. At that point, we asked about the take home pastas and expressed our concern since they where left out. All the take home pastas need to remain refrigerated. One guest at our table paid for her food separately with a credit card. In the process of paying for her food, Kalahari pocketed the card and did not give it back at the completion of the payment. When the guest got up to find the manager, Kalahari took the card out of her pocket quietly and placed it on the table without apologizing or saying a word. Meanwhile the other check with all the other orders included an overcharge. We asked Kalahari multiple times to take the charge off and asked for the updated status of the check however she continued to avoid eye contact and avoided the area our table was in. We then had to find the manager and ask him for help to get the charge taken off twice. We also asked him for fresh take home pastas which took an additional 10-15 minutes to get that. Overall the service was horrible. There were no accommodations made for our experience. During most of our stay we felt avoided by Kalahari. After our stay, I then proceeded to contact corporate however they have been no help. The first time I called corporate, they told me the location would contact me within 2 days. I waited almost 2 weeks and did not receive a call from the manager of the Lansing location. I then called corporate early last week and expressed my frustration. According to their record, the manager of Lansing stated that he called and spoke with me directly and offered a gift card; however, that was not true whatsoever. I never received a single phone call from him in which I explained to corporate. They told me the manager would in fact contact within 2 days after the second phone call however I have yet to receive a phone call a week later. Based on the horrible customer service within the last month, I am done with Olive Garden and all Darden Restaurants. My family and I are frequent diners at most of Darden Restaurants however we will no longer give them our business. I am extremely disappointed in the way my complaint was handled by the corporate office and they way my issues were handled at Olive Garden in Lansing. Not only have you lost business from my family and I, I will share my experience with everyone I know and tell them to stop giving Darden business. I will share my experiences every single social media platform. The lack of customer care is unbelievable and I will no longer tolerate! I will NEVER go to any of Darden Restaurants and will NEVER go to any Olive Garden! The sad thing is, the food was not even good so all the drama we encountered was...

In short; you may want to be patient some days where it is crowded, but you'll always receive the best service so please don't be dismissed by other comments. I don't write reviews however with the waiters I've had , I honestly want to make sure that this location is kept alive and running for more years to come.

Now in terms of a long review: I come here time after time, and I have to say that I am always pleased with the service that I receive. I want to say I frequently come once a month with my girlfriend. Now the service I have reached on each occasion is great. First of all you have to realize that if you'd like to have a nice meal, than yes you have to have patience, which I always tell my server to take their time, and as long as the food is made correctly than I will be happy. So for those individuals that complain about the wait time, I know you wouldn't like the pressure of someone breathing down your neck. Now the wait time really does depend on the amount of guests, however when it comes to receiving soup they always have given it to me as I have placed my order, and usually a 5-15 minute wait for the appetizer that I would order which I recommend ordering the sampler and just order all toasted ravioli; it is very good and a good companion to the soup. I wouldn't recommend the appetizer if for example you would just like unlimited soup/salad and than have your diner, but I like to pile on the food. The 5 cheese ziti al fono is a delight for myself, and when it comes to my girlfriend she orders Fettucinne Alfredo, which sometimes doesn't have enough cause , but if you ask nicely they will always bring out more to accompany your dish. The management is great, however you will often see a disconnection with the staff and the higher management; as management will often sit individuals as fast as possible, which the staff cannot kept up with, I've witnessed this once and just would like to say is create the best environment for the employee and they'll create the best environment...