Revamps for Olive Garden, Red Lobster failing

Darden can't seem to convince more people to sit down for a meal at its Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants.

The company reported a sharply lower quarterly profit on Friday that missed Wall Street expectations, with sales down at its two biggest chains despite ongoing attempts to revamp their menus with lighter, cheaper options. Darden said it would slash costs to prepare for future challenges, in part by reducing its workforce.

It also said that its president and chief operating officer, Drew Madsen, was retiring and would be succeeded by Gene Lee, effective immediately. Lee headed Darden's specialty restaurants such as The Capital Grille and Bahama Breeze, which had fared relatively better than the company's flagship chains.

The shakeup comes as Darden Restaurants Inc. struggles to keep pace with a shifting industry, with more people heading to chains such as Chipotle that offer food perceived to be higher quality at relatively cheaper prices. As traffic has declined at Olive Garden and Red Lobster over the years, Darden has been trying to win back diners with lighter dishes and promotions intended to underscore the affordability of its food.


http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/darden-restaurants-coo-madsen-retire-20315570

No mention of how shitty they treat their workers over the years in the article for one the reasons they are failing besides their bland food.

Meanwhile over time:



Darden Restaurants violated federal labor laws by underpaying thousands of servers across the country at Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Red Lobster and other eateries, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday on behalf of the workers.

The lawsuit filed in Miami federal court seeks to collectively represent current and past employees who worked for Darden from August 2009 to the present. It seeks potentially tens of millions of dollars in back pay and other compensation, plus interest and attorney fees. … Claims against Darden include:

Servers showed up for shifts as scheduled but were not allowed to clock in until customers began arriving. Some were also forced to clock out and continue working without pay.


Employees who worked beyond 40 hours a week were not paid 1.5 times their regular pay as required.

Tipped employees refilled salt shakers, rolled silverware in napkins and vacuumed for more than 20 percent of their work time. Such “side work” beyond 20 percent for tipped employees entitles them to at least the minimum wage, which those employees otherwise do not usually get.


http://blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping/33009/olive-garden-parent-company-sued-for-underpaying-workers/


4 of America's Favorite Restaurants That No Longer Deserve Your Business



Darden Restaurants, which owns Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains, began experimenting with cutting worker’s hours before the Affordable Health Care Act (“Obamacare”) was passed. It was trying to get employees below 30 hours a week so the chains would be exempt from having to provide them health care or pay penalties under the new law. This is from a company that spent over $1.5 million in 2012 in political contributions, according to OpenSecrets, with taxes and health issues being its top two issues. They're trying to wiggle their way out of this law.



http://www.policymic.com/articles/19376/4-of-america-s-favorite-restaurants-that-no-longer-deserve-your-business