Perception of slow service vs reality

[Happyjen27]

Had The Wave breakfast at Cali Grille this morning. When our waiter came for the drink order, we were ready for food order so put both in at once.
The table next to us put just drink order in, waited for the bar to prepare mimosa, etc.
After they got drinks they ordered food.
In the meantime, our drinks came, our food came quickly, and we ate and enjoyed the amazing view!
As we’re paying I hear them complaining to the manager that both of our tables were seated at the same time, yet we are done and their entrees weren’t out.
At the end of the meal I found the manager discreetly and let her know that we got food so fast because we ordered food at the same time as drinks. And in my opinion it wasn’t poor service, just a difference in when we ordered food. I feel bad that these guests didn’t realize that their own choices created the speed of service. The manager was great, firstly because she noticed the looks on that other table’s faces and came over in the first place. And secondly because she looked into their ticket, and was really tuned in to the workings of her restaurant. Perfect front of the house execution. She thanked me for letting her know why we got our food so quickly and said that the waiter will feel better about things as well.

 

[Heather07438]

Great point!

 

[MATTERHORN]

Thank you for doing that! I'm a CM at the Wave and I'm sure it was greatly appreciated. And we do have awesome managers!!!

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

We also had breakfast at the Wave yesterday morning. The service, food, and view was excellent. The manager was attentive and asked if our food was good, though she must have really been paying attention, because she mentioned she knew my sister and I had just started eating. We split the pancakes and the feast and it took us awhile to divvy it up. I was impressed that she observed that.

Our server was Susan and she was very good.

 

[Pipkin]

We ate at Topolino’s last night. We were in no rush. We ordered our drinks and apps at the same time and took our time ordering entrees. My pet peeve is having the apps unfinished when the entrees are served. Order to meet your needs.

 

[disney_runner]

So for the Wave, I'm planning to order drinks and food immediately, then when they bring the food, to give them my CC to pay the bill ASAP. I shall tip nicely (my daughter works in a restaurant, so I'm aware of the jerks out there) I assume this is OK? I've never been so rude at a restaurant before, but MK changed their hours and open at 8 now instead of 9, so with our 7:30 ADR, we really need to hustle.
Also hoping they start seating slightly early instead of exactly 7:30? I'm planning to arrive at 7:15!

 

[Eastern]

So for the Wave, I'm planning to order drinks and food immediately, then when they bring the food, to give them my CC to pay the bill ASAP. I shall tip nicely (my daughter works in a restaurant, so I'm aware of the jerks out there) I assume this is OK? I've never been so rude at a restaurant before, but MK changed their hours and open at 8 now instead of 9, so with our 7:30 ADR, we really need to hustle.

Paying the bill early is not rude.

 

[Brob2132]

I work in sales customer service training and consulting (in a different business channel).

The interesting thing about restaurants is there really are no expected promise times.The management likely has expected turn times, and waiters may make a comment about being especially busy, but that’s it. It’s left up to each individual’s perception on what is “too long”. Resetting a customer clock by returning to the table helps, but there’s no pleasing everyone.

 

[MATTERHORN]

So for the Wave, I'm planning to order drinks and food immediately, then when they bring the food, to give them my CC to pay the bill ASAP. I shall tip nicely (my daughter works in a restaurant, so I'm aware of the jerks out there) I assume this is OK? I've never been so rude at a restaurant before, but MK changed their hours and open at 8 now instead of 9, so with our 7:30 ADR, we really need to hustle.
Also hoping they start seating slightly early instead of exactly 7:30? I'm planning to arrive at 7:15!

You might get in maybe 2 minutes early, but it definitely won't be at 7:15, sadly. But as for the rest, perfectly acceptable! It's too bad you can't move it to a day where you could take more time to enjoy the food and the view!

 

[disney_runner]

You might get in maybe 2 minutes early, but it definitely won't be at 7:15, sadly. But as for the rest, perfectly acceptable! It's too bad you can't move it to a day where you could take more time to enjoy the food and the view!

Yeah I tried! But by that point, I couldn’t get an ADR anymore. Oh well. We’ll make the best of it!

 

[suzannews]

Thank you for speaking up on behalf of the server. It is very much appreciated.

 

[fla4fun]

So for the Wave, I'm planning to order drinks and food immediately, then when they bring the food, to give them my CC to pay the bill ASAP. I shall tip nicely (my daughter works in a restaurant, so I'm aware of the jerks out there) I assume this is OK? I've never been so rude at a restaurant before, but MK changed their hours and open at 8 now instead of 9, so with our 7:30 ADR, we really need to hustle.
Also hoping they start seating slightly early instead of exactly 7:30? I'm planning to arrive at 7:15!

We have been in the position of needing to pay early to make another appointment, and we were up front with them when we placed our order in the first place. We just mentioned we were on a tight time frame and would really appreciate them bringing the check when they bring the food. We have never had any server respond negatively to this (I am sure from a tip standpoint they like a quick turnover). It helps them pace things better if they know up front that you are on a tight schedule.

I don’t see anything wrong with arriving 15 minutes early. While they may not seat early, you want to have any possible time advantage on your side (plus, you want to be ready and waiting when they do seat). Just keep your expectations in check, so you aren’t disappointed if you are seated a few minutes after your ADR time. I do recommend walking to MK after your meal, as it will be faster than the monorail when time is of the essence. I have taken the monorail from CR to MK more times than I can count, and you are looking at a minimum of 30 minutes, and possibly as long as 45, to make the circuit.

You don’t mention how long your trip is, or if you have the option to move the reservation to another day, but if it were me, I would be trying for a reservation on my Epcot day, since Epcot opens later and you might not be so rushed. People cancel all the time, so it’s possible something would open up. I know my stomach wouldn’t feel very well rushing through a meal and then basically running to the park.

I am pleased the OP took the time to defend the server. I have been friends with many Disney servers over the years, and it meant so much to them to get positive feedback from guests, and it was so rare for them to get it. I am sure that server was very relieved and pleased that you cared enough to speak up.

 

[MATTERHORN]

And even though the view right now is amazing, it will take more time to get in/out of the restaurant with elevators and escalators versus when we are on the ground floor! But either way, I suspect you'll have a fabulous meal and a great day!

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We ate at Topolino’s last night. We were in no rush. We ordered our drinks and apps at the same time and took our time ordering entrees. My pet peeve is having the apps unfinished when the entrees are served. Order to meet your needs.

This is also one of my pet peeves. We’ve found it to be more of a problem when dining in some local restaurants where the restaurant uses a runner system to deliver the plated food. The runner may not know that a different runner has just delivered the appetizer a few minutes earlier. We attribute the problem to poor staff training. At the risk of offending the server, we now make a specific point of asking the server to time the food delivery appropriately. Sometimes, this means the server has to hold back the entree order to prevent everything being ready at once if the kitchen doesn’t manage the process properly. The server and the kitchen really need to be in sync to get the timing right.

 

[B-Ride]

I think we are all guilty of the old "those people came in after us but were served before us". However, there are so many factors involved that it is best to ignore other tables and enjoy your own meal.

 

[_19disnA]

I am sure restaurants see all types of people and there is no way to please everyone. Some people on vacation are just rude/arrogant/self-absorbed or act with a sense of entitlement like the whole world revolves around them. Would imagine the staff is glad when those types of people finish their meal and leave. Wouldn't surprise me to find out that some put on an act of being unhappy about something just to try and get free food or a discount on their meal.

 

[MissSha]

Thank you for doing that! I'm a CM at the Wave and I'm sure it was greatly appreciated. And we do have awesome managers!!!

you are??? I hope to see you the week of 8/21 as we have several breakfasts booked there that week!

 

[Moliphino]

We did one time have a waiter (at BOG, before it was prix fixe) who seemed to be ignoring us as much as humanly possible, but provided great service to the table immediately next to us. There was less than a foot between our tables, so it was super obvious. They had apps, meals, dessert, were served the complimentary bread before the meal, had drink refills, etc. We were on DDP, so no apps, but did have meals and dessert. We had to ask for the bread, which we got after our meals came out. Never asked if we wanted more drinks. They were done before we were because they didn't have to flag the waiter down for everything. We had just eaten there days earlier, same table but a different waiter, and had a great experience.

 

[MATTERHORN]

you are??? I hope to see you the week of 8/21 as we have several breakfasts booked there that week!

I wish! I hope you enjoy your breakfast, ate there yesterday and the food was great and view was fabulous! Only the few CM's with the most seniority got to move up to CA Grill during the refurb, so I'm temporarily at Sanaa!!! But if you're heading that way, let me know!!

 

[MissSha]

I wish! I hope you enjoy your breakfast, ate there yesterday and the food was great and view was fabulous! Only the few CM's with the most seniority got to move up to CA Grill during the refurb, so I'm temporarily at Sanaa!!! But if you're heading that way, let me know!!

I wish we WERE heading to Sanaa! The bread service is to die for, and LOVE the butter chicken. I bet you're amazing at your job....it must be so hard to make us whiny vacationers happy!