Via iStockphoto / @johnridgewayagain TikTok
An Olive Garden customer has gone viral after questioning why the chain requires photo ID when one is using the Pasta Pass.
When it comes to bottomless pasta, Olive Garden is the place to be. But does its requirement for photo ID when showing the Never-Ending Pasta Pass go too far?
Since 2014, the Never-Ending Pasta Pass has become a defining quality of Olive Garden. As previously reported by BroBible, the pass has been utilized by competitive eaters. And for those with an unwavering love of pasta, a lifetime pass was also introduced in 2019.
That being said, the pass does have its problems, like the expectation for customers to show photo ID.
And for TikToker John Ridgeway (@johnridgewayagain), it was just too much to bear.
Ridgeway began the video by saying, “The problem with Olive Garden making people show photo ID for the Pasta Pass is surveillance. Like, that’s the main issue I have with this whole situation.”
He goes on to explain how, in his opinion, the issues Olive Garden is afraid of can be solved without the need for photo ID.
How Can Olive Garden Solve This Problem?
Ridgeway suggests making a section on the app dedicated to putting information in for Pasta Passes and having the option to report lost or stolen cards.
He then questions what would happen if one wanted to give their pass to a family member. In this scenario, Ridgeway argues that while they are classed as “authorized users,” the rules mean that they can’t use a photo ID to prove the pass was given to them by a family member. In this scenario, he adds, an app would be useful.
“Like I feel like that’s the situation that needs to occur,” he adds. “Because it really makes me feel like its a similar situation to basically someone buying a gift card, and literally it’s their gift card. … And it’s already paid for and the money is already on the gift card, and then the person who was given the gift card gives the gift card to someone else so that someone else can use the gift card or have it, but then when that person who just received the gift card goes to use it, they have to show a photo ID to prove that they’re the owner of the gift card.”
“It’s like, that’s ridiculous,” he says. “And there is a way to report gift cards as stolen or lost, which I kinda feel like is crazy because you know people are most likely just going to use it.”
More Suggestions
Ridgeway then once again lays out why an app function would be useful.
“Like, I feel like that’s the whole thing; it’s like policing that people are eating and like the surveillance of who’s eating and who’s using this and, like, it’s really weird to me,” the TikToker continues. He then adds that there are other ways to solve this issue.
“Like, you show a photo ID when you’re 21+ and you’re getting drinks,” he says. “You know what I mean? It’s like, this is a pasta pass. This is for some food. Why is there so much policing over food? And it’s like just make a system where if it is lost or stolen, the person who bought the pass can report it through the app. That way, you’re not having to check people’s photo IDs because they have a pass to eat pasta at Olive Garden that has the never-ending pasta anyway. That’s what I just don’t get.”
BroBible reached out to Ridgeway via Instagram direct message and Darden via email.
What’s The Olive Garden Never-Ending Pasta Pass?
In July, Olive Garden announced that it was bringing back its Pasta Pass after six years, with 10,000 customers getting the opportunity to snag the deal. The pass offers 13 weeks of unlimited breadsticks, soup, salad, and pasta for $100. In order to access the promotion, customers must show photo ID with a name matching the one on the pass.
Ridgeway isn’t the only one to question this, either. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) referenced the rule as part of a wider discussion on voter ID and the Save America Act in an interview with CNBC.
“When you think about something like Save America, which is at the heart of democracy, just saying show picture ID to vote,” he said. “For God’s sake, you can’t go get pasta at Olive Garden without a picture ID. Why not be able to show a picture ID to vote?”
It’s Not That Serious—Or Is It?
Commenters had mixed opinions.
“This is so scammers don’t buy and take advantage,” one wrote.
“Mean they’re not storing the ID info,” a second posited. “Mfs just scam so hard until what makes it worth it is done with. And I am anti surveillance – anti AI. All of it. But showing your ID isn’t an issue until they start swiping it.”
While a third said, “The point of it is that the pasta pass has your name on it, it’s only for that person. The point of the pass is that it is for that singular person. Otherwise, you have one family member with a pass, trying to get a family of five’s NEPB for free.”
And a fourth remarked, “Baby these are minimum wage workers not the government.”
Meanwhile, a fifth proclaimed, “The day I show my ID for pasta will be a cold day in hell.”
@johnridgewayagain the policing and surveillance of who gets to eat is crazy on Olive Garden’s behalf 😐 like allow people to link the card to their OG account and report it as missing rather than making people show photo ID #johnridgeway #olivegarden #pasta #surveillance #fyp