A TikToker’s quick stop at Olive Garden to pick up soup to go turned into an unexpected rollercoaster of emotions as she tried to figure out whether she got played by the cashier.
“I think Olive Garden tricked me into paying for more than I wanted,” LeAnne Ranae (@lranae97) starts her video. Her video was viewed 19,300 times over the past four days.
When ordering to-go, she says she requested two bowls of Chicken & Gnocchi soup. She also ordered breadsticks and Alfredo sauce to dip them in. But the cashier decided to be helpful in a way that left LeAnne a little uncertain.
“She was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to make this cheaper for you.’ She’s like, ‘Honestly, you’re going to want to do a half gallon instead of the full gallon, because it will be $1 cheaper,’” LeAnne recalls.
For the breadsticks and dipping sauce, LeAnne was charged for an appetizer. Her total was $26. LeAnne says she opted not to question the method and just handed over her card. But her unease grew when the cashier handed her a flyer about Oliver Garden’s catering service, LeAnne continues.
“Does she think I’m feeding people? It’s just me. And I looked in the bag—so, she packed me bowls, she packed me a ladle. It’s just me!” LeAnne says, pulling the items out one-by-one to show viewers. “This is my soup. … Y’all, it’s in a bucket. Wow.”
@lranae97 Thank you, Olive Garden for charging me for 4 people even though its just me 😋 #olivegarden #fypage #soup ♬ original sound – LeAnne Ranae🌼
Viewers defend the server
Olive Garden is known for its relatively affordable meals. So it’s understandable that the TikToker would want to make sure she was getting a fair shake. But savvy viewers soon let her know that her cashier did, indeed, do right by her here.
“She hooked you up!” wrote @dstrakt. “Appetizer Alfredo is the best way to ring you up for the Alfredo sauce you wanted. soup was the same amount as two bowls.”
“Just checked the menu, for two soups it would of been 16.58 (feeds two) and for the half gallon 17.99 (feeds 6),” @vander_1217 confirmed.
Several viewers admitted that they always purchase soup to-go from Olive Garden like this. One added, “When I figured out that you could order a whole gallon of whatever soup you wanted, I was in heaven.”
“I just made this soup over the weekend and I spent $28 on groceries to make the soup AND still had to cook and clean,” @lanirod44 said. “No breadsticks either. I knew I should have gotten the gallon instead.”
Fortunately, even before posting the TikTok, LeAnne seemed to have come to the realization that coming home with a “bucket” of soup that she loved wasn’t such a bad deal after all.
“This actually is brilliant,” she says before sitting down to enjoy. “Oh my gosh, this might be the best thing I’ve ever discovered.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to LeAnne via TikTok comment.
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