Olive Garden Server Job Description & Interview
Job Description and Duties
What Does a Olive Garden Server Do?
As a national restaurant chain, Olive Garden must constantly provide a great dining experience to hordes of customers. Specific serving job duties include taking drink orders, informing customers on any specials, taking down proper food orders, serving food items, and properly handling payments at the end of each meal.
Other Daily Duties
During lunch and dinner rushes, servers may need to spend time seating customers and handing out wait times. An Olive Garden server must always try to keep the dining areas neat and tidy. In order to receive hiring consideration from Olive Garden, a potential server must possess the ability to stay calm and courteous to even the most disagreeable customer. A server must also realize when a fellow employee needs assistance of any kind.
Salary and Compensation
How Much Do They Get Paid?
Many servers with Olive Garden start out earning minimum wage; however, the restaurant chain allows servers to collect tips and gratuities in exchange for excellent service. Olive Garden servers often work on evenings and weekends to accommodate the lunch and dinner rush.
Does Olive Garden Offer Additional Job Benefits?
Though many servers work on a part-time basis, Olive Garden does offer attractive job benefits. Workers earn flexible scheduling, time off, and employee discounts on meals. Eligible Olive Garden associates may access some additional employment benefits, mainly extra paid vacation and a 401(k) retirement plan. The amount of work benefits available depends greatly on amount of experience in the industry, employment status, and job title.
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Review the Olive Garden Application page.
Olive Garden Server Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer:
Please describe your job title and primary duties?
Olive Garden Server:
About half of the time I’m a server. A lot of times servers are given three tables, and you work your section all night. I do soup, salad, drinks, and everything, and then I also do to-go and catering, so anytime somebody calls to place an order for a party, a wedding or just a simple meal, I do that as well.
Interviewer:
What was the work environment like?
Olive Garden Server:
Crazy. Yeah, it’s kind of unpredictable, so you never really know. You can kind of predict business trends, but a lot of times we get hit when we don’t expect it or we get really slow when we don’t expect it, so you just kind of go with the flow. But it’s a lot of fun and it’s definitely rewarding.
Interviewer:
What was your favorite part about working there?
Olive Garden Server:
My favorite part is definitely my coworkers. I’ve made some really good connections there and some really good friends.
Interviewer:
Please describe the application and interview process.
Olive Garden Server:
We have four managers. We have three and then a general manager. When you apply, you apply online. It’s a simple application, and then a personality test to make sure you’d be well set up in the restaurant industry. Then you have three interviews, typically three, and then will go through three different managers, usually ending with the general manager himself.
Interviewer:
What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Olive Garden Server:
They asked me why I wanted to work there, what does teamwork mean to me, do I think I could fit well in the environment, how would I tackle certain challenges, like coworkers doing certain things or guests doing a certain thing and how to handle that kind of thing. They definitely make sure you’re a good fit before they really walk you into anything.
Interviewer:
How were you notified that you received the job?
Olive Garden Server:
They told me in my interview when I could start orientation. I know that a lot of times they do call backs for second and third interviews, but mine were scheduled there, so a lot of times it kind of depends on the person. But usually you’ll sit down for your first interview and they schedule everything consequently during those. Once I started orientation, they gave me my new training dates and who I’d be training with so I knew what to expect, so that was all during the same day.
Interviewer:
What set you apart from other candidates?
Olive Garden Server:
I definitely wanted to be there long-term. I’ve been there a little more than two years now. I plan on being there at least through my bachelor’s, possibly through grad school, which is something they’re definitely looking for. They look for high energy, excited people that are willing to work as hard as they can there and put their all into it. I think that I displayed good traits with that. I was definitely ready to be there and I’m happy to be there.
Interviewer:
What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Olive Garden Server:
The restaurant industry is hard. It’s emotionally grueling. Sometimes you have to be ready to unprepared in a way. You never really know what’s going to hit you. You just have to be able to cope with that and adapt to it, and it’s really important to work with a team. That’s definitely not something you go into when you’re kind of independent of everybody. Everything’s a team and you just have to be ready for whatever hits you.
Olive Garden Server Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Olive Garden Employee: I’m a server, and my primary duties are of course customer service, taking orders, getting drinks, basic service, and other standard duties.
Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Olive Garden Employee: The work environment is good. I’m currently working there, and it’s a corporate type of job. It’s very professional, and it’s a good place to work.
Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Olive Garden Employee: My major is in sales, so I like that it is a commission-based and performance-based deal. Tips really reflect what kind of job you’re doing, so that’s probably my favorite part.
Interviewer: Did you earn any benefits or other job perks?
Olive Garden Employee: They have great health insurance. They have a flexible work schedule typically; they like to work with your school schedule. They realize this may not be the career job that they would like but are going to college and trying to better themselves in that way. So, they take that into account.
Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
Olive Garden Employee: You go in, and they tell you things they are trying to address, as far as restaurant issues and such. They’re kind of the equivalent to a shift meeting. You start your shift, start working, then you leave and go home.
Interviewer: Did you experience any promotions or career growth?
Olive Garden Employee: I’m a trainer there now, and they have given me a few awards, like employee of the month kind of stuff and a few other awards.
Interviewer: How did the job help you later in your career?
Olive Garden Employee: The shedding of fear, as far as talking to a large group is desirable in the business world; you can’t be afraid to go after the money and ask for it.
Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Olive Garden Employee: It’s pretty professional, standard corporate format. You fill out an interview. There’s an IQ test involved, though it’s not technically an IQ test. They do evaluate your critical thinking skills and what not. Then, you’re in for your interview, and of course the employer decides if you’re going to be working there, or if you’re not.
Interviewer: What should an applicant wear to the job interview?
Olive Garden Employee: An applicant should absolutely wear a shirt and tie to every job interview you get. It’s just fact. They teach you that in business school.
Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Olive Garden Employee: Standard job questions, such as long-term and short-term goals. The fact that you have those and are willing to bring that skill set to the interview is basically what the interviewer wants.
Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking for employment?
Olive Garden Employee: You just have to want it; you can’t just wait for things to fall in your lap. Suit up, go caffeinate yourself, have answers ready, and be confident with what you’re saying. That helps. That goes a long way.
Olive Garden Server Interview Video 2
Video Transcript
Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Olive Garden Server: I was a server there, and primary duties were to wait on people, roll the silverware, clean up the tables, and any extra things they needed me to do.
Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
Olive Garden Server: Typical day… you just go in, punch in, make sure you’re shaved, and you start waiting on tables. It’s always busy, but it did get slow towards the end.
Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Olive Garden Server: The application and interview process… the application was pretty simple. The interview wasn’t that bad, wasn’t that interrogating. They ask you questions, like: “How would you benefit the company?”, “What do you want to get from working here?”
Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Olive Garden Server: They wanted to know how my attitude was. They wanted to know, as I said before: “How would you benefit the company?”, “Why do you want to work here?”, “Do you consider yourself a good worker?”, “Do you want to stay here?”, “Do you want to be a manager?”, and stuff like that.
Interviewer: What set you apart from the other candidates?
Olive Garden Server: I would say I was more ambitious than them. Talk to people, get to know them, get in there, so by the end of the night, they would think this guy was a good server, and I would get a nice big tip, like 10 bucks. Other servers would just go in and, “I’m just going to go in and ask what they want and go get it.” I like to create a conversation. I like to get a little personal, make them feel good about themselves, and it always worked out good for me.
Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Olive Garden Server: Go in there with a dress shirt, a dress tie, dress pants, nice shoes. Go in and present yourself, that you want to work, work any shift you want to work, and that you’re there to make money and help them. You would benefit them by making good business because if you’re going to be a good server, they want to come back and that benefits the restaurant.
