In a viral TikTok, an Olive Garden customer says the manager retaliated against her because she used to work there. It reportedly got worse after she called the corporate manager.
Nani (@anaihs9170) has reached over 33,000 views on her original video. She posted four separate videos updating viewers on how she handled the encounter.
To start her first video, Nani records herself walking out of the entrance and explains that she has just finished a meal at the Olive Garden in Olathe, Kansas. She then points to a sign on the front of the building that reads “General Manager” and the name Casey Lee.
“I used to work here years ago,” she says. “I came in for my birthday with my mom today.”
Nani says she and her mom were served watered-down soda and that the server took “three hours” to bring out their food.
“Mind you, because I know that it’s not the server’s fault, I don’t complain about it,” she says.
Next, Nani says a manager walked up to her table because her mom told the server that she wanted to ask a question. “Not Casey,” she clarifies, “a different manager.”
@anaihs9170 UNBELIEVABLE, just cause i used to work here forever ago doesnt mean you can single me out #fyp #foryoupage #olivegarden #badservice ♬ original sound – Nani:))
Nani continues her story in a second video and says, “My mom ordered a coffee, but she didn’t want the coffee anymore, so she asked if she could get a soda instead and if it would be an upcharge.”
She adds, “And if it was an upcharge, that would be fine.”
However, Nani says the manager “practically attacked” them over the question.
She says she told the manager that she didn’t want to speak with her anymore and asked if she could speak to Lee. “Because I know Casey,” Nani adds.
Nani says that when Lee made his way to her table, he asked if he could speak with her privately. “I don’t work here anymore!” Nani exclaims in her video.
“I’m trying to be respectful of the situation, so I go aside and talk to him,” she says. “Casey practically tells me that because I used to work here, I should know every single little rule from Olive Garden.”
She adds that Lee told her there is an issue “every time” she comes into the restaurant as a customer.
“Not true,” she says. “And maybe if you weren’t such a crappy restaurant, we wouldn’t have an issue. … I wonder why I stopped working here.”
In the third part of her video series, Nani claims that Lee disrespected her and her mom and accused them of just wanting items taken off their bill.
“I never asked for anything taken off,” she says. “I just said, ‘Can I get a different soda? Mine is watered down.’”
“And my mom literally just asked if she could get another drink, and she would pay for it,” she adds.
Nani pans her video to record her mom, who is walking around while on the phone. “Look at my poor mom calling corporate,” Nani says.
Before leaving the restaurant, she says that she told Lee, “This is a very unprofessional conversation. … I don’t work here anymore.”
“We left and didn’t pay for our food or anything,” she adds before ending her video.
A few days after Nani posted her original video series, she posted another TikTok saying there had been an update.
Nani says that someone from Olive Garden’s corporate office called her back and told her that they would speak to Lee. Although, “they think that maybe he just did it because he felt comfortable enough to reach out to me,” she says.
@anaihs9170 #stitch with @Nani:)) update on olive garden situation #fyp #olivegarden #badmanagement #badservice #trash ♬ original sound – Nani:))
“I feel like he kind of just justified Casey coming at me that way,” Nani continues. “He said that it wasn’t right, but it wasn’t wrong.”
A viewer agreed with Nani in the comments section of her video, “I used to work for Olive Garden. I worked for five years only for my manager to treat me like sh*t.”
“I’m sorry they put you through it too!” she responded.
The Daily Dot reached out to Nani via TikTok comment and direct message, Olive Garden by phone and email, and Casey Lee by LinkedIn message for more information.
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