Goal driven waitresses over-sell service at the Olive Garden; great service at Lowe's

The MC's initial, and so far, only dining experience at the Olive Garden was not a good one. The frenzied crush of spring break diners on Friday was one thing to contend with; overzealous wait staff and the running narrative of management behind us were another. We wanted Jeanine to help us, but alas we got someone else who asked about 11 times too many, "Ladies, is everything all right?" and also tried a little too hard to sell us the vintage bottled "especially for the Olive Garden."

Behind us, near the entrance to the kitchen, a watchful manager asked wait staffers, "Did you make your goal today? Did you make your goal?" Goal, I believe, may have had something to do with the hard sell on wine. The managers also said things like, "I need you to watch Number 32, watch 32." That kind of internal whip cracking and pep talking, which we thought explained our waitress' overzealous behavior, should be done out of earshot of diners. Our loud meal, replete with the sound of breaking things near the entry to the kitchen, was topped off with a wooden chair that was being moved whacking a corner of our table and lifting it into the air while we ate. I think the staff makes a commission on desert, too, because we had to say "No" four times, the same waitress even offering to box it up to go.

Some folks like to go to dinner for the conviviality of breaking bread with one another. If we'd wanted the constantly appearing waitress hawking wine or desert or the manager behind us to be part of the conversation, we'd have invited them to join us in this $50 meal and to share the cost.

The outing is practically an argument for not frequenting high overhead chain restaurants that have quotas and to sticking to the local, home-owned eateries in which a wait person may appear de vez en cuando to refill your tea glass.

When the MC called the Olive Garden on April 12 to ask if wait staff drew commissions on wine sales, a manager named Raul said that was not the case. When the MC asked what the substance was of the "goals," he abruptly asked, "Where did you say you are calling from?" and then said the MC's question concerned "confidential information."

At Lowe's the MC found excellent service in the flooring department as well as in paint and plumbing. The extensive displays in the paint department allow thoughtful choices for quality, long-lasting products. Carlos Treviño in plumbing came up with some good suggestions for a plumbing dilemma.

At Alfredo's Tile on San Bernardo , the service was dismal. When we pointed out they had delivered the wrong color tile (white instead of the paid-for green), a delivery service for which the MC paid $25 because the heavy and unwieldly order size fell below their minimum, a clerk at Alfredo's told us we would have to pick up the exchange ourselves because the order was a small one. Once the MC pointed out that a delivery fee had been paid, she got with the onda but not terribly pleasantly. And as to the special order bull nose tiles to complete the job, they never arrived, and the MC's contractor had to make do with what he had.

Out of town visitors reported to the MC that the service and the quarters at the Fairfield Inn were top notch.