a bit frightened of dining plan

[2xcited2slp]

after reading all of the threads of bad service on the dining plan i am getting a little anxious. i have never used this plan but have scheduled it for upcoming october trip (not free dining BTW). i am also in the service business (spa) and tend to bend over backwards to make people happy and am a pretty easy going person. i do not, however, want to be taken advantage of by recieving less that quality service. we all work very hard to make our money and treat ourselves to a wonderful (and not cheap) vacation. i know not to expect perfection but i also want a memorable, positive experience. should i be worried???

 

[doombuggy3]

I think there's a good chance you could get good or bad service either way, whether you're on the dining plan or not. I don't think that the dining plan directly affected service. I think since there are more families dining because of the benefits of the dining plan and the regulars who pay with cash have overwhelmed disney's resturants, which is what other people on the boards have skepticised. I think either way you take your chances because of this. I am going to try the dining plan in 7 days, look for my trip report! Maybe it'll help you!

 

[calgarygary]

Last year, we were on the free dining plan at the beginning of October. Our ADR's were at Boma, CG, H&V, 1900 PF, Ohana, and Teppanyaki. We received very poor service in the lounge prior to our meal at CG and had a very long wait to be seated at Teppanyaki. Other than those 2 issues, we received good service and quality meals - so I wouldn't be too concerned.

 

[Sammie]

The way I look at it, is I do not accept bad service.

Whether I pay OOP or use the Dining Plan I have paid for a quality product and service. I will not be rude, but I will not accept anything else.

If the food is not acceptable we send it back. If service is not acceptable I will speak to a manager.

 

[oogieboogie]

I've never seen a difference in service whether I'm dining with Dining Plan, Free Dining Plan, Disney Dining Experience, paying full price, or when I used the vouchers (when they were still available). In many instances, I was given service above and beyond the call of duty, regardless what plan/package/discount I was on.

Case in point:
Last year on DDP, we ate at Le Cellier. My youngest didn't order anything, only wanted the pretzel bread. Our server kept the bread refilled, and even packed us 4 pretzel breadsticks in foil to go for us so that my son would have more bread. Did we ask for it? No, we didn't. She did it just because...

I've never encountered rude behavior, and if I do, rest assured it'll be reflected in the server's tip. I've encountered slowness, partly due to the sheer volume of people in the restaurant, which I can understand. But I look at it this way... I'm there on vacation and if dinner is going to take 2 hours, so be it... It's not like I have to go to work after the meal.

Take a deep breath and relax...

 

[Conservative Hippie]

We did the DDP last year (NOT free), and will be doing it again in July (again, NOT free). I don't recall getting bad service, and I don't expect it next time, either.

 

[PlutosFriend]

after reading all of the threads of bad service on the dining plan i am getting a little anxious. i have never used this plan but have scheduled it for upcoming october trip (not free dining BTW). i am also in the service business (spa) and tend to bend over backwards to make people happy and am a pretty easy going person. i do not, however, want to be taken advantage of by recieving less that quality service. we all work very hard to make our money and treat ourselves to a wonderful (and not cheap) vacation. i know not to expect perfection but i also want a memorable, positive experience. should i be worried???

We just returned. We were on the DDP. I never told unless I was asked. Two places asked at the time we checked in. Those were Coral Reef and Le Cellier. I did not find the service lacking at those two restaurants. In fact our waitress at Le Cellier was by far our best of the trip. She was one that I tipped extra

 

[Nancyg56]

We used the dining plan last year, and were pleased. We paid OOP for seveal meals, but never noticed a difference in the level of service. I did have a server at CS who did not provide grreat service, but I got the impression that he was a bit lackluster, paying OOP would not have made a difference. I did not see the plan making a difference.

 

[PIXARFREAK]

I must comment, while I do not have decades of experiences of service (good or bad) under my belt, I have worked in retail service. I approach or at least have learned to take this approach with bad service.

Most service people are young, 20somethings. I have had bad service by both young and older. I tend to excuse the young as they are still in a learning stage about life. I will say that most bad service is because of poor management/organizational skills, either on the part of management or the server themself.

When I see a less than thrilled server, I use a bit of reversed psychology. I use many thank you's, smiles, maybe try to chit-chat, "when you get the chance could I have ...". I basically go out of my way to be extra pleasant. I try not to confuse the order, make sure my kids are quiet when we place the order, etc.

If the server is young, they learn nothing if you return the nastyiness, no matter how minor.

 

[MyGoofy26]

I wouldn't worry about it. . . even though the negative experiences are the most memorable, they're in the minority of all dining experiences. Let's face it, everything goes smoothly and there isn't much more to say than "what a great meal! and great service!" If things go wrong, there's usually a WHOLE (often amusing) story to go along with it.

We did the DP in December and our only poor experience was our waiter at Le Cellier. It wasn't horrible, and had he not been waiting on the people RIGHT next to us who were paying cash I would have just assumed he was busy. Other CMs brought out our food, took awhile to get refills, etc. But he was never rude or got things wrong and we would have otherwise not thought twice. . . except he was constantly checking on the people next to us, bringing them refills, and bringing out all of their food.

 

[Gillian]

We were on the dining plan in April and our server at Le Cellier was great! I remember reading elsewhere that someone had a wonderful server at Boma on the dining plan, while ours was just so so.

I guess it is just luck.

 

[kcashner]

We just returned (5/13) from 8 nights on DDP. We found the service to be excellent--in fact, it was much improved from WDW trips over the last couple of years. In our entire trip, we only encountered one person who didn't seem to understand what Disney is all about, and she wasn't a server.

The servers at Le Cellier and Les CHefs de France were absolutely outstanding. We were asked if we were on the DDP, and at Le Cellier the server commented that it was an excellent value and went on to explain what was included.

As to the DDP, the servers are getting an automatic 18% tip from everyone on the plan. That's 18% of what you actually order. It shows up as a line item on the bill. Most servers would love to know that they would recieve an automatic 18%--no one can stiff them, etc. In several cases, I left a few dollars extra on the table because I felt the service was exceptional.

If you receive poor service, ask to see a manager. There is no excuse for poor service anywhere.

 

[kristenrice]

I haven't been back to WDW since the DDP was introduced, but we went on the "Gold Plan" for our honeymoon which included all our meals. We never told the servers that we were on the plan until the time came to pay the check. We still received excellent service. At the Rainforest Cafe ( not offered on the DDP ), the offered special was a "Surf 'N' Turf" w/ lobster and filet mignon. When my husband declined, saying that he preferred crab legs to lobster, the server left and returned saying that the substitution was no problem. My husband was thrilled when the bill came and he discovered that HIS entree alone was over $65! It was included in our meal plan so we really got our money's worth on that meal! That is the best feature about the dining plan...you can order what you want without worrying about how much it costs. It makes your vacation so much more enjoyable!
Have a great trip and Hakuna Matata!

 

[aubriee]

We used the free dining plan in Sept (even shared some meals) and got excellent service everywhere except San Angel Inn (also got bad service there Jan '05 and was not on any plan) and CRT. The bad service at CRT I believe is the only one related to the dining plan. We had a waitress who was very verbal about not liking the free dining plan and how she felt people were taking advantage of it. After we returned I read several reports about this one waitress and how outspoken against the plan she was. I ate at CRT again in Dec and again in Jan and did not see her.

On the other hand most CMs were very helpful with the plan and would even make suggestions on how to get the most out of it. Of course their tips increased if they could get you to order the more expensive items and they probably also knew they had a good chance of getting extra tips if their service was superior (which most were).

 

[disneymom06]

I used the plan last year, loved it, and have felt that it would benefit the CM if we understood the plan and received help ultimately making the monetary amount larger and the tip larger. Some CM's were very helpful with explaining the plan, ultimately received a large tip because of their assistance, but I felt that at Chef Mickey's once the CM knew we were on the plan and he was getting an automatic tip, he dissappeared. It was just an observation but it did make me think twice about informing the CM that we had the DDP. Any comments?

 

[tinkamom]

I have a theory that may help you receive excellent service....Do a photo review of each place you dine, start by telling your server you are doing a food review to be published on the internet and would they like their photo to be included in it. Then be sure to take your food photos and add them to the food porn thread! (You'll get better service and we'll get to see pictures!)

 

[ReneeA]

We had great service on the dining plan...so much so that we left an additional $5-10 tip at 6 out of 7 meals.

 

[Barbers2005]

We just got back from WDW (on the DDP) and found the service to be excellent at all the restaurants. Except for Le Cellier, none of the waiters/waitresses even asked if we were on the dining plan until we were ready to pay.