CRT- Bad Server Experience

[mommy4]

I had really looked forward to our lunch in the castle (CRT), but our server ruined the "magical" experience for us. He was very rushed and just seemed inconvienced by us and the kids were actually very well behaved. I'm really wondering if it's because he already knew he would get the automatic tip. It was really bad service.
The princesses were great though, but I wouldn't go back for 2 TS unless I knew it would be better service.
I have emailed Disney, but probably won't hear anything back.

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

That's too bad, Its so expensive to eat there and there is no excuse for service like that. I hope you hear back!

 

[disnut8]

I would hope it's not because he knew he would get an automatic tip. Not to flame the OP but I've been seeing dining plan participants blame the automatic tip for lots of perceived poor service.

You do not have to pay the automatic tip. It's not automatic at all. You can simple speak to a manger and leave whatever tip you feel is appropriate. If people would just do this and make the server and the manager aware right then and there something was wrong, the issues could be cleared up right away. Letters after the fact don't accomplish much.

 

[perriwinkleblue]

I try to be understanding and give a server the benefit of the doubt (as long as they are nice). I mean, sometimes a person has a bad night or is just frazzled - but rude is rude. I hate when a waiter/waitress acts like we are "putting them out" I mean, that is their job, right? As long as we treat the staff politely and are not too demanding, I don't see why we should not expect decent service. As far as the kids are concerned, CRT is a Disney restaurant, nuf said.

Bad service can really ruin the experience. I hope you get great service in the future.

 

[dbk1029]

TO my knowledge gratuity is not added in on the basic DDP nthis year. Did the OP have the deluxe? if so I thought CRT only counted as one on the DDDP.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Gratuity is automatically included at CRT no matter how you are paying.


OP- I'm sorry you had bad service. We ate there for lunch in August and had one of the best servers I have ever had anywhere. He really made us feel special.

 

[AuroraBeauty]

Yes, at CRT the gratuity is automatically calculated and included in the 2TS credits. If you are paying OOP, the gratuity is still included in the price and no extra 'service charge/gratuity' is necessary.

For the DxDP, it still counts as 2TS.

I agree that if you feel you are receiving poor service that you should ask to speak to a manager. You do not need to ask your server to get the manager. You can get up and go to the hostess stand or ask another server.

CRT has gone 'down hill' and the experience is very rushed but it is extremely popular and they're trying to accommodate as many families as possible -- and the servers want to earn as much as they can.

No matter how good their service is they won't get more of a tip, so why try too hard. Just do enough to make the family feel their not getting ripped off. It's kinda sad, but that is what you get some times with these 'prepaid' kinda meals.

And for the record, we won't be going back.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Gratuity is automatically included at CRT no matter how you are paying.

Which means EVERY Guest at CRT is paying an amount that includes food, tax, and tip - which means that if the reason the server was "rude" is the guaranteed tip, he would be expected to be equally rude to EVERY party.

 

[AmberI]

I hope it wasn't a older man named Scott. We were there last month and this server was great. We sat down at 7:30pm and stayed there till the fireworks were over, he also helped keep my kids busy, he was a great server. I tipped him a lot more.

I wish your lunch went a little better.

 

[noahdove]

We didn't have lunch but breakfast a couple of years ago and I didn't go back this year due to poor service. It was almost like we were bothering our server..once she brought our breakfast, she didn't come to check on us...the Princesses were great tho

 

[koolaidmoms]

When I have bad service or bad food no matter where I am I try to let a manager know as soon as it happens. This gives them a chance to rectify the situation. If it does not get any better then I go the corporate route. I think it is only fair to give someone a chance to fix the situation whatever it may be. Most times things have been fixed to my satisfaction whether a new plate was brought out or a server was spoken to.

 

[jenjersnap]

We had the worst server ever at CRT dinner in September. So bad I still get sad and angry thinking about it. He was extraordinarily rude and sullen the entire time and rushed us, told us incorrectly that the kids didn't get appetizers, etc. We were celebrating our anniversary before MNSSHP and wearing cute, pricey personalized shirts and he dumped gravy from DH's pork chop all over our middle DS, ruining his shirt and sealing our bad time. We complained to the manager who gave us a certificate to get a new shirt but she was extremely hostile also. Neither apologized. It put a damper on our entire evening.

No mention of our anniversary though it was noted on our adr and DH mentioned it at the podium. They also lost our special slipper dessert order.

Those two successfully made sure we won't be going there again. I don't think they care one iota about customer service because they know the throngs are still coming and the server, of course, got a huge tip for treating us like trash.

 

[captaindavidhook]

I had really looked forward to our lunch in the castle (CRT), but our server ruined the "magical" experience for us. He was very rushed and just seemed inconvienced by us and the kids were actually very well behaved. I'm really wondering if it's because he already knew he would get the automatic tip. It was really bad service.
The princesses were great though, but I wouldn't go back for 2 TS unless I knew it would be better service.
I have emailed Disney, but probably won't hear anything back.

I am sorry to hear that. The experience i had was just great. We had the best server in the world and my brother after we eat even told the manager how great and pleasant she was. The food,characters and the server were all A+. I defintely think you just had bad luck that is all. give it another try and i defintely think you will enjoy it more.

 

[disneynuts777]

I had really looked forward to our lunch in the castle (CRT), but our server ruined the "magical" experience for us. He was very rushed and just seemed inconvienced by us and the kids were actually very well behaved. I'm really wondering if it's because he already knew he would get the automatic tip. It was really bad service.
Same thing happened with us for Dinner this past August and my DD's are tweens. The server kept coming by to take our plates when we were still eating. I felt like I could not shovel it in fast enough so that she could get us out of the table. When dinner for 3 is coming close to 150.00 I would like to enjoy the food I am getting.

 

[ScottJoseph]

Disnut8 gives good advice. Whenever you're unhappy with anything about a dining situation -- anywhere -- you should ask to speak to a manager about it -- and this is the important part -- while you're still there. You're spending a lot of money to dine there, and you want the experience to be memorable for good reasons, not bad. But if you don't speak up while you're still in the restaurant, there isn't much the manager can do to fix the problem and save the day.
"But I didn't want to cause a scene" or "I didn't want to embarrass the people I was with" are some of the common reasons people don't ask to see a manager. Contacting the next day rarely brings about satisfying results.
Scott
www.scottjosephorlando.com