A warning about Spoodles!

[CACruiser]

I would have protested. My son is age 10 and looks older for his size. He is already 5 feet tall and looks like he could be in middle school/jr high. People question his age all the time.

He orders off the kids menus all the time, since he has'nt developed "sophisticated" tastes yet.

Spoodles should know better!


Never be afraid to question the waitress!

LisaCA

 

[Epcotgal8]

I don't think it's right either. IMO, if a restaurant thinks the fair market price for a kids meal and a certain portion of food is say $5.99 then if that is all the food that you are receiving it shouldn't matter whether you're 8, 18, or 80! It's just a tactic to up the tab and *some* servers try to up their tip that way. What they don't know is (in our case anyway) we would rather tip a server who is accomodating and friendly a lot more than one that would "force" us to order more than we can eat.

 

[Nanu57v]

You should write a letter to the manager about your experience. I'm curious to know what happens. (The customer is always right, right?)

 

[chvyman411]

I would have made sure that extra $6 was deducted from her tip.

 

[CarolAnnC]

If you are dissatisfied with a particular restaurant's policy, I would definitely take it up with the manager on duty. I would not, however, penalize the server by withholding a gratuity. It is the case of not shooting the messenger. The server is simply doing as instructed by the management there.

 

[CarolAnnC]

And thanx Horace for your information on ownership. I had heard that they were not part of BWV, like the coffee stand down on the boardwalk which is not Disney owned. Thank you for the clarification.

 

[Rafikifan]

Originally posted by CarolAnnC
If you are dissatisfied with a particular restaurant's policy, I would definitely take it up with the manager on duty. I would not, however, penalize the server by withholding a gratuity. It is the case of not shooting the messenger. The server is simply doing as instructed by the management there.

True, it is ultimately up to the management but a good server would act a bit more understanding and should have at least attempted to ask her manager. I just read a post the other day from someone who went to Chef Mickey's for dinner and their dd is a very picky eater and they told the server she was only going to eat off of the children's buffet and the server asked her manager who ok'd her only charging them the kid's buffet price. I would think they would be a lot more strict about buffets than mac and cheese at Spoodles. Having to order double and charge $12 for mac and cheese is irrational IMO.

 

[nuthut]

It's all up to the waitress on this one. The manager and cook does not know how old the child or person at the table is, only the waitress. The fact that your child did not eat the meal does not have anything to do with the cost. You will be charged either way. I would have not left any tip. A tip is for good and fine service including accomidating the needs of the customer. No tip from me this time.
Disney's central reservations tptold me that Flying Fish and Spoodles are not owned by Disney but by other firms.

 

[CarolAnnC]

We said okay and didn't question her, but WOW, we paid $12.00 for a bowl of mac and cheese and that didn't include her drink

True, it is ultimately up to the management but a good server would act a bit more understanding and should have at least attempted to ask her manager

Sorry, but it sounds to me that the server did nothing wrong. The customer specifically states they did not question the charge. I truly feel the server should not be denied a gratuity when they were doing as told by the restaurant management.

 

[Cinderella37]

I used to wait tables and sometimes to ensure that my customers had a great experience, I'd use my own judgement and give them what they wanted. After all, servers work for gratuities. I don't think when the order for a child's dinner goes into the system, a manager comes around to check to see if the person who ordered it is 12 and under, or whatever the age is. If I had been the server, I would have placed the order without charging more. She had to have ordered it as open food and noted to the kitchen what she wanted. Seems like it was more trouble than it was worth, especially since the guests weren't too pleased. If she would have ordered a house salad for dinner, the cost would have been less than the child's meal so what's the difference? Would she have doubled the price of that?

I may be wrong if there is a rigid policy in place at the restaurant, but servers "bend" the rules all the time to make people happy outside of WDW let alone at WDW. That's why it's called the hospitality industry.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Sorry, but it sounds to me that the server did nothing wrong. The customer specifically states they did not question the charge. I truly feel the server should not be denied a gratuity when they were doing as told by the restaurant management.

I disagree.

She was not powerless in this situation. She was empowered enough to ask the childs age and charge for a double portion. She was empowered to use her discretion. She chose power, so the customer can choose not to tip.

I worked at Taco Bell for many years (part time) and even I had enough autonomy to be fair to a paying customer.

 

[brettborowski]

Originally posted by CarolAnnC
Sorry, but it sounds to me that the server did nothing wrong. The customer specifically states they did not question the charge. I truly feel the server should not be denied a gratuity when they were doing as told by the restaurant management.

People don't go on vacation to "take it up with the manager on duty" when they're dissatisfied with a restaurant's policy.

Denying (or being very generous with) a gratuity, is every diner's privelege. And I'm extremely skeptical that "management" has been pushing their servers to zealously enforce the 12-and-under rule, so I think this does fall within the server's discretion and is a quality-of-service issue. The OP was looking for a child's portion at a child's price, not full access to a buffet or a discount on a full-sized portion.

A smarter server would have anticipated this party feeling ripped off and acted accordingly--which might have meant not asking the girl her age in the first place, or perhaps offering a double portion (at double the price) if she didn't think it would be enough, or going to her manager herself so as to avoid having the party feel stung or having to "complain."

I guess for future reference, those of us with daughters can teach them to respond to questions about how old they are with "It's not polite to ask a lady her age!"

Me, I don't like complaining. So when the server at Portabello Yacht Club charged me $2.50 for each glass of milk my 5 year old daughter ordered (and she only drank about 1/3 of the 2nd glass), her tip was affected. She was a good server otherwise and I didn't stiff her by any means. She got 15%. But just about everyone else on our trip got about 19.5%. (Why 19.5? Because I'm lazy and tripling the 6.5% Florida sales tax works for me.)

Brett

 

[rcyannacci]

Gosh, I hate it when stuff like this happens. You end up feeling bad either way- I always feel like a royal pain in the *** or like I'm being high-maintainence if I call for the manager, but when I don't I feel ripped off. I also waited tables in my youth, and if anything, it's made me far more observant of good and bad service. Honestly, this situation does seem like bad service to me. I agree with others who have commented that she probably had the freedom to make this decision. I worked with many servers who worked like crazy to drive up the price of a bill to increase their tip/percentage. I'm not saying this was the case here, but it is a possibility. It's chancy, however, because, like others suggest, you might lose that tip in the process.

It's sad that this happened at Spoodles- it's one of our fav. places, and I would hate to go back and not have exceptional service. That's the problem (or blessing) with Disney- there is so much great service that one exception really sticks out.

 

[tnkrbell]

Im sorry but 12.00 is ridicuous for a plate of at the most 1.00 mac and cheese~!!!! I also would write a letter to the resteraunt!!

 

[Crissup]

My thoughts...

The server, technically, did nothing wrong. Yes, many servers will bend the rules to make their customers happy and line their own pockets with bigger tips (at their employer's expense). Heck, I've had bartenders let me keep beer glasses that weren't supposed to be souveniers. Their employer had to pay to replace them, but the bertender got a larger tip for it. So, should *all* bartenders be judged on whether they allow me to steal their employer's dishes? What about waitresses? When I get a server who is willing to bend the rules, I count my blessings and enjoy it. However, if I get a server who is simply following the rules set forth by her employer, I don't hold it against her. She told you about the double charge *before* you agreed to order it. I'm sure she was trying to ensure you weren't surprised when the bill came and didn't want you to feel ripped off.

Sounds like it was a lose/lose wituation for the server. Either follow the rules set by her employer and get screwed in the tip, or ignore the rules of the establishment that pays her salary just so she could line her pockets with larger tips.

My guess is that she sleeps well at night.

 

[Cinderella37]

Giving away restaurant property and allowing an older child to get a kid's portion (especially when you hear of so many restaurants that allow older children or adults to order from the children's menu) are two entirely different things. No one is breaking the law or getting anything for free. It wasn't a "kids eat free" deal. Is permitting two people to share an entree or allowing someone to order an appetizer as an entree wrong also because the restaurant could be losing potential profits?

It sounds like the server was trying to up her tip, if you ask me. Several people I worked with would be livid if someone wanted to share an entree or didn't order alcohol because of a lesser check total, thus less of a tip.

 

[Rafikifan]

Originally posted by Crissup
My thoughts...

However, if I get a server who is simply following the rules set forth by her employer...

]

How do any of us know WHAT her employer's policy is? She never made any effort to even ask. Most managers worth a grain of salt would ok the kid's meal order since they allow people to split orders, only order an appetizer etc. Not to mention the rest of the family was racking up a nice sized bill. Did the server do something technically WRONG? No. But she sure didn't seem to have any interest in trying to accomodate this family.

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by tnkrbell
Im sorry but 12.00 is ridicuous for a plate of at the most 1.00 mac and cheese~!!!! I also would write a letter to the resteraunt!!

So is $9.99 for $2 worth fish and chips at Mara. Food is expensive in the theme parks. However, the time to complain would have been while the OP was still in the restaurant.

 

[MDonley]

Wow, $12 for Mac & Cheese for a 13 year old. Does that mean that a 26 year old would have to pay $24 for the same meal (based on age)? Must be paying for the atmosphere too!