Bad service with dining plan??

[Princess Mckenna]

We are going to be at WDW the first week in Dec. We are also apart of the dining plan.

I have been a lurker for a while on the boards and it sounds like a lot of people are having unpleasent experiences at the restaurants, whether it be the servers attitude or just not going out of their way to be of any service. Is it because of the dining plan and the tip is already included? I would hate to think that were the case. We go to WDW just about every year and always have such great experiences eating out, I am getting nervous if the attitude is changing at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Any positive experiences with the dining plan??

Thanks for any feedback!

Karen

 

[Crankyshank]

We had bad service except for 2 occasions and although we were on the dining plan, I don't think the fact we were on the dining plan was the reason we got bad service since we didn't mention we were on the dining plan until we paid for the meal. We didn't have any extras or alcohol so there was no need to mention it until the end.

 

[Hopefully]

We just returned on Sunday. We were on the Dining Plan. We always said so right up front, since we also had an "Adult Beverage" and we needed 2 separate charges.
We had excellent service everywhere we went. We were not pleased with our meal at the Yachtsman's Steakhouse, but that said, the service was wonderful.
We ate at: The Rose & Crown, The Yachtsman, Teppanyaki, Morocco, "Ohana and LeCellier.
I personally believe that service levels are a perception. If your expectations are unreasonable, you WILL be disappointed!!! I have also seen, over the 20 years we have been visiting Disney, that the rudeness of some guests has grown to a level that is amazing.
I don't think the dining plan has impacted service levels at all.
Go and enjoy yourself, you will have a great time.

 

[SB in KY]

I have to agree with the previous poster....I have been somewhat dismayed over the past several visits at the growing number of incredibly rude patrons we have seen in restaurants and on transportation.

In August we sat next to a woman at Beaches and Cream that told the waitress she was on the dining plan, fussed and fumed throughout the entire meal over more minutia than you can imagine, had to argue about every course of her meal (wanted shrimp added to her ceaser salad appetizer.. they do not serve shrimp there, she complained for 15 minutes, the fries had too much salt so she sent them back for plain ones, which were too bland for her and they burned her tongue and she had them haul out the manager over that one, then the crowning blow....since she had seated herself at the counter she refused to sign the ticket because they charged her for a TS meal....she wanted it to be a CS credit!!)

I was ready to slap her and I was just sitting there listening to it all....while she was waiting on the manager to "straighten out " the charging mess she attempted to tell my very blunt 17 yo DD what a rip off the dining plan was and how lousy the service has been, etc. DD calmly looks her in the eye and said "Well in my opinion that server has tried to accomodate your every unreasonable request and you have been unbelievably rude to her. I hope you leave her a gargantuan tip for her efforts" (at this point I am getting ready to sprint out the door when violence breaks out!!). Fortunately the response took the woman by suprise and when the manager came out she just signed the check and huffed out (and another CM working behind the counter that overheard DD's comment gave her a hug on the way out!!)

Unfortunately it was not an isolated incident....I suspect even Disney service is erroded by unreasonable guests!!

 

[bicker]

What we often see here is the dissatisfaction, reasoned or unreasonable. The Internet is not a normalized source of information.

 

[Alice28]

No complaints here- we had great time & no rude service.

 

[pumpkinboy]

I think most of the time the server does not know who is and who is not on a dining plan. We had great service for the most part on our most recent trip. The best service was at Spoodles on the Boardwalk, tho I have been disappointed by the greatly diminished menu there (our wonderful server informed me that they had lost their old chef and were breaking in a new one - he was optimistic about the future of the menu); the food was still very good, just fewer choices. We also had exceptional service at the Coral Reef. 50s Prime Time had very good service, even tho it was just my 5 yr old and me (so no adult beverages); the food was unremarkable at best, but the service was quite good. The service was also very good at Marrakesh, Nine Dragons and the San Angel Inn, all at Epcot. We had indifferent service at the Crystal Palace, but great food.

 

[eclectics]

It seems to me for every complaint of bad service I read, someone else writes to praise it . I wouldn't sweat it very much. I'm sure you will recieve decent service at the very least. If it turns out to be exceptional, even better! Enjoy!

 

[Hanover]

We had great service during every table service meal we had in August except at Chef Mickey's. Lots of people have had great service there, so I'd be willing to try it again. We did 8 TS meals beginning the first day of free dining. We tipped an extra 5% after every meal, even at CM.The waiter there just seemed overwhelmed with too many patrons to look after...he was really slow to bring drink refills and take away plates, but he was also really nice and great with our boys.
My friend just went in early October (last week of free dining) and had such bad service she wrote a complaint letter. She even had a waitress tell her that she was only getting a 13% tip and she may want to tip more.

 

[tallpkb]

We went 9/27-10/4 and were on the dining plan. We had very good service at every restaurant except Cinderella's Royal Table (dinner). As my husband put it, "that waitress needs to take some 'happy' pills". She was nasty!

 

[Harmony]

We went 9/27-10/4 and were on the dining plan. We had very good service at every restaurant except Cinderella's Royal Table (dinner). As my husband put it, "that waitress needs to take some 'happy' pills". She was nasty!

We've been to WDW several times and eaten at *many* different places. Our service has always been great except at CRT. Once for dinner and once for breakfast. What is it with CRT and customer service? I'm sure others have gone there and had great service so maybe it's just coincidence but I'm not sure I want to give them yet another try.

 

[nybound]

We let all of our servers know ahead of time that we were on the dining plan, and not once did I feel like we got bad service.

Just a few isolated examples:

1) DD6 accidently bit her tongue at Les Chefs de France and our waitress (who was at another table) stopped and came by to make sure everything was okay. I thought her concern was genuine.

2) At Le Cellier (which seems to take a bit of drubbing here for their service), our waitress was great in making sure we maximized our dining plan experience by letting us know everything that was included (and probably added a few things that weren't at no charge).

We tipped over and above the included dining plan credit, but we never told any of our servers we were doing that (not so much as to be deceptive, but that the additional amount was contingent on the level of service).

 

[lisaviolet]

Hi,

The dining plan was fantastic. I was thankful to have it "free" and really enjoyed it and the service at Disney.

I had a horrendous night at CG. And horrendous is not too dramatic of a word. It was surprisingly emotional and awful. This was a service issue. And I am certain it was about being on the dining plan. I know it is difficult to believe and imagine but it was intentional. Long story. Food was fantastic though.

However, I know for a fact that there are numerous wonderful servers at CG...I saw them and I've heard about them on these boards. This was just one server who actually was fantastic with the majority of his other diners (in my viewing those who were not on MYW...I had lots of time to see that!!....ie. service can be his specialty!!) So my experience with my server is very isolated and does not mean that CG is not a fantastic restaurant. I did trust my emotional reaction to the night and talked to the manager. And I will go back.

I guess what I wanted to say is threefold:

1) I never thought I would have such an experience (not just poor service by the way....worse) at a restaurant at Disney so if you've always had mainly wonderful service at Disney please don't assume that if there are complaints that it usually has something to do with the person posting. I know 90% of the people who reply don't think that way but I have felt sometimes, not necessarily on this thread, there sometimes is a judgement of "oh I've never had that...I loved that place......these people are just too critical". And I know this thread was about posting positive experiences.... opposite stories of the previous negative ones. I just mean some threads and posts.

2) Don't worry Disney is still exceptional in customer service in general in my opinion and a couple of incidents on these boards (some very serious in nature) doesn't change that fact.

3) I think it is best if we all go straight to a manager when these serious situations happen because I know that I wouldn't want any of you to have anything but great service.

I loved the dining plan. Had excellent service in general. And loved being able to eat in nice restaurants where I wouldn't usually dine.

Have a wonderful time.

Lisa

 

[heathpack]

We did 10 days of free dining in late Sept and had almost uniformly good service. The only restaurants we had bad service at were Spoodles and Olivia's and both times waiters were very pleasant and friendly, but seemed inept and disorganized. This did not seem to relate in anyway to the dining plan-- we got no vibe that anything was intentional or that anybody else was getting better service. Just bad waiters (or maybe ok waiters having a bad night)... Our waitress at Boma was also incredibly slow with the drinks but nice. And oddly, for some reason she brought me my coffee (which I ordered at the end of the meal) in a To-Go styrofoam cup... A lapse which I could not construe as having to do with being on the dining plan.

We had great service most other places: Ohana, Whispering Canyon, Hoop Dee Doo, Rose and Crown, Liberty Tree Tavern, California Grill.

We had fine but not great service at: Cinderella's Royal Table, Marrakesh, ...

H

 

[PrincessCandaceMarie]

I was just at WDW and had over 60+ PS made during my stay and not once did I have poor service, rude attitudes, etc., it all was truly amazing...and I always confirmed with my host/hostess that my dining plan was next to my name (to be sure) and reconfirmed with the server when they appeared at my table...no worries! It was great and even when my server went beyond their duties, I tipper more than necessary, even if they didn't expect it, I did and it made them smile. Being a server is hard work!

 

[angel's momma]

We had 13 nights on free dining, and always told the server we were on the plan before ordering.

This definitely made a difference in the service at Concourse. Our server there was only concerned with trying to get us to order the most expensive items on the menu, and was obviously disappointed if we didn't order her suggestions, and she even tried to get DH to change his mind about his appetizer until he finally said "I'd like what I ordered, please". She never checked on us, never refilled empty water glasses. When she came back to take our dessert order (before we'd even received our appetizers - but maybe that's normal at CSH?), DH & I told her what we wanted, I leaned over to DD7 to find out what she wanted, but the server simply rushed away & said over her shoulder "I'll bring her the sundae, she'll like that." Turned out DD had actually wanted to order the sundae, so I couldn't say much. After the meal, we got up to leave, and she started clearing the table before we actually left the table. We don't eat out much, so maybe that's normal, but we didn't encounter that anywhere else at wdw.

Every other server we encountered did a fine job, some were exceptional - CRT & WCC come to mind. A few did make suggestions concerning what items were covered by the plan, but they did it subtly. We'll be buying the dining plan for our trip next year, but CSH isn't on the list of restaurants we'd like to go back to (even though it was the most expensive meal we had).

 

[Crankyshank]

I don't feel I am rude. I work in customer service and am always polite and friendly because being rude or berating a wait person or sales person does nothing but antagonize the situation.
I also do not feel I have any sort of unreasonable expectation towards service. Unless refilling soda glasses, placing your dessert order within 30min of finishing your meal, or providing forks is unreasonable expectations. Or a waiter not reaching between a forkful of food and my DH's mouth to grab a glass.

 

[INdisbound]

I felt we also had a few experiences of poor service while at WDW. We were on the dining plan and did inform the servers prior to ordering that we were on the plan and how we planned to use our meals when doing something out of the ordinary(pay for kids, buy alcohol, etc). We are very laid back people and I don't think our expectations were out of proportion.

At Maya Grill the service was very slow. The server initially took our orders but then never return to refill drinks, allow us to order dessert or pay the bill. The restaurant was practically empty, so I don't think he was overworked. Also, we only ordered 3 meals-2 adults and 1 for DD7, but he charged us for 4 table service meals. Our DD3 was with us, but she didn't order a meal.

At Sci-Fi, the service was also lacking. The server brought the wrong drinks and dessert. He also "upgraded" my husbands order of ribs to a full slab upon his own initiative. I'm fairly certain that he did this to increase his tip. When my DH said, "Geez, I didn't know the meal came w/ a full slab." The server said on the dining plan you get the full slab instead of the half. It's show as an extra on the menu.

We also had very slow & inattentive service at Cap'n Jacks.

Everywhere else was fine-Boma, O'hana, Chef Mickey's, Akerhus, Le Cellier, Biergarten.

 

[Lizzybee]

We had great service at Disney and I was really clear that we were on the free dining plan at the beginning of each meal. It's like a woman who got shoes on sale, when someone says "Cute shoes!" You can't just say "oh thanks!" you have to add "and I got them on SALE" it's like a woman's badge of honor. So that's kind of how I felt every time we ate at TS. So I said it with a smile and enthusiasm. All of our servers were so very gracious and attentive, we were even offered the glowing cubes in two places, at 1900 Park Fare our server suggested the special drinks and even a smoothy for me. At Prime Time, we got the glowing cubes in souvenir cups. I guess some people would have been annoyed that it took a long time at Prime Time, but we enjoyed the a/c and comfy seats. The only server who was "just ok" was the one TS I paid OOP. lol Even so she wasn't bad, just so so.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

We just came home Sunday from 8 days at WDW. We didn't have any rude servers. The guy at Boma was slow, but it was busy in there. I was worried that we might have bad service after so many negative reports, but it was fine. Enjoy your trip!