Darden reviews

3.8

68% would recommend to a friend

(2,847 total reviews)

Rick Cardenas

75% approve of CEO

68% positive business outlook

Darden has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 2,847 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Darden employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Restaurants & Food Service industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

3K reviews
3.0
Jun 23, 2012

Good Company amid Growth Chaos

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good benefits, caring culture, ambitious strategy, beautiful new green facility with onsite wellness center for immediate medical needs and gym.

Cons

Political nightmare with nervous people. Management is based on instinct and tradition with little empowerment and lack of understanding of well-thought out strategy. Difficulty managing the parallel yet differing needs of corporate work with operations. Inaccurate bell curve based performance ratings.

2.0
Jun 21, 2012

Working as a Olive Garden Server......

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good Money. Okay Managers. Really good quest service.

Cons

The people I work with are HORRIBLE! It makes the job un-bearable. I am currently looking for another job for that reason. All of my co-workers freak out over everything, and the managers dont do anything about it. Everyone is extreamly catty, and talks crap about everyone else behind their back, it really makes for a bad work environment and awkward to work around. And everything is so expensive, I hear my guest complain alot about the bill. Lunch time is awful, unlimited soup and salad is only 6.99 which means no one tips well. All managers and employees think it is a fine dining restaurant. (which it is not). So they expect a ton from you. The only plus side is the dinner money.

4.0
Jun 18, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

averaged about $20/ hour. Manager's performances are tracked by corporate so they do care how there employees are fairing, and are very willing to train. Managers are serious about helping your fellow servers, so each day you are designated a partner. If you get really busy, you can request your partner to aid you.

Cons

Barely any break betweens shifts when working a double, especially if your the last to get off from the morning shift. The managers will sometimes coerce you into working a double by offering a free meal, but often times there is no time to eat it between lunch and dinner shift, so you end up standing up in the "break" room (it's more of a coat room where they purposely remove the chairs so no one can get too relaxed back there) scarfing down the meal. Depending on the location, its not common that the servers will have time for a break. There is no one to cover your tables, and with people waiting to sit, there's no way your taking a break, which can be tough on the smokers. Required to give a portion of your tips to the bussers and bartenders.

Viewing 2584 - 2586 of 2,847 Reviews

Glassdoor has 2,910 Darden reviews submitted anonymously by Darden employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Darden is right for you.