DDP Service

[lambo606]

Hi everyone... I'm currently at WDW and am asking myself whether I was right to take the DDP plan or not...

This is my 3rd vacation in a row to the world but the first where I have used DDP. Whilst it is undoubtedly good value, I am not convinced the service offered by staff once they have identified that you are on DDP as good as if you were paying cash?

At the start of your meal in table service restaurants they always ask you if you are on the plan, the pretense to which I believe is so they can advise you of your choices...

However... I feel it is more to identify how hard they need to try for their tip
I have found service to be lacking in several restaurants this year and wondered to myself if this could be why?

Example: 2 nights ago I ate at Alfredo's in Italy - service was GREAT however the server didn't identify we were on the plan till the end of the meal. Tonight we ate their again, however our waitress established whilst taking our drinks order we were on DDP.

We sat and watched how our meal portions were notably smaller than others who (having asked them) were not on DDP. I complained to the duty manager however they were obviously not going to give anything away!

Has anyone else experienced anything like this?!?!?

Thanks for your comments!


....Going to Animal Kingdom tomorrow!!

 

[bicker]

I never had a single concern about service being affected by being on the Dining Plan in February. We were treated as well as we have been the other times we visited each of the restaurants. I think service quality is really dependent mostly on the server's standard level of service (the server's basic capability, and how well the server is feeling that day), and the diner's attitude towards the server (both how the diner talks to the server, and the extent to which the diner is looking for trouble vs. looking to have a great time).

Have a great time!

 

[septbaby]

As long as the server isn't particularly rude and your food is good I wouldn't worry. Sometimes you get what you ask for, you expect worst service, you get worst service. You are on vacation, enjoy. Honestly if the portions are a bit smaller and you are getting the appetizer and dessert can you really eat all of that? You are actually at WDW now, just enjoy the vacation and don't worry about what you think could happen with service. Hopefully you have some buffets planned and portion sizes are up to you.

 

[TAKitty]

We have had good and bad service both on the plan and off. I have not noticed a real difference.

 

[Nancyg56]

I agree with the above posters. We have used the DDP for three trips and have had the free DDP one time. Our service was excellent for the most part. We paid OOP for some of our meals and I found the servers to be professional either way.

Go with the expectation that the service will mirror your attitude and you will be happy.

 

[lambo606]

Thanks for your replys!

Generally the dining I have experienced has been great, it has just been on a few occaisions that I felt that there was a marked difference from my previous experiences of the restaurants and I wondered if anyone thought it was to do with the DDP.

The instance last night was perhaps just chance that our meals were smaller than everyone else around - I'm going out to enjoy today now no worries! Thanks!

 

[JimMIA]

I'm not sure how good an indicator Alfredo's is. We stopped eating there years ago because of mediocre food and lousy service. And that was pre-DDP.

Hopefully, when they replace the restaurant, they'll replace the staff and we can return.

In many trips, both on DDP and off, we have never noticed a difference in service. If anything, most of the time we've felt the service was better on DDP...just because of the efforts to make sure we understood the plan/options, etc.

It is possible now, however, that we will start to see some degredation of service because of all the controversy over the gratuity being removed for 2008. Some servers may be upset about that, and might not give their normal level of service -- especially during free DDP. I suspect many servers have sort of a love/hate attitude about free DDP anyway, and if service is going to suffer, I would expect it to suffer there first.

 

[wilde_oscar]

I have to agree with the OP. We did notice a difference in service between meals on DDP and meals OOP. The vast majority of folks retort that they got the same service on DDP as off DDP, but the complaint door has squeaked open a little. The occasional, but increasingly frequent mentions that service suffers on DDP get more and more validation everyday.
It is this observation that has changed our use of DDP during the free DDP period... We are a party of two, but tables for a party of two are difficult to come by, further we were often made to wait excessively as larger parties with ADR times after ours were repeatedly seated ahead of us. Therefore, this year, all of our ADRs are for a party of 4. None of our reservations reflect DDP. My intent is to act confused, when asked repeatedly if we are on DDP. At the end of the meal, I'll say we do have meal vouchers attached to our room keys, can we use those to pay for the meal. An honest mistake. Are the morality police gonna jump all over me for saying this? Don't really care if they do. The system is what the system is, and if ya have to game the system to get seated on time, and get consistent service, so be it.
To the naysayer’s that say nay on always being treated well when on DDP... I have asked several cast members what they hear and observe, and have gotten consistent answers that if the server knows you are on DDP, they are more lax with service THAN if they have to work for the tip. It is human nature, the way the world works. Please do not put words in this post that are clearly not there, nor change the meaning. I am not saying that DDP always gets bad service. Mood of the server, having a bad day, busy, in the weeds, etc. impact the level of service you receive. But if you were the server, having a less THAN stellar, busy day; and you know that the 18% is a lock, would you relax service at one table and pick up the pace for the table that you are working for the tip?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Are the morality police gonna jump all over me for saying this?

No, but the 'out of consideration for the Cast Members' police would like to point out that unless you order only items covered by the Disney Dining Plan, you are making unnecessary work for your server. That person will then need to cancel your transaction in the POS and reenter it as two separate transactions - one DDP, one cash.

It continues to be interesting that only two out of numerous meals detailed in a now-closed thread provided you with what you consider poor/bad/neglectful/whatever service, yet you continue to focus on those two occasions and plan your entire next trip on the primarily baseless assumption that you will get a different level of service if the server thinks you're paying out of pocket for your meal.

The 'worst' service I ever had on the DDP was from a server with too many tables - and that can only be considered less than stellar because he was rushed (having a reservation for ten minutes before the restaurant closed probably didn't help ). It's likely MOST advisable for a Guest who resents the server getting tipped under all conditions, not to use the Disney Dining Plan. This gives the Guest 100% control over the tip. In addition, and remembering that this thread is NOT about tips, frankly, I don't give a rat's patoot that my FREE meals entitle the server to a tip no matter what the level of service.

Anyway, as has been stated above, if one goes into a situation looking for the negative, one will surely find that negative.

I have asked several cast members what they hear and observe, and have gotten consistent answers that if the server knows you are on DDP, they are more lax with service then if they have to work for the tip.

Note to self: During upcoming trip, prior to ordering, ask all servers if I will be getting a different level of service than a Guest not using the DDP.

 

[bicker]

The occasional, but increasingly frequent mentions that service suffers on DDP get more and more validation everyday.

I've been keeping a very close eye on the discussions and have noted that very few people, who have had a lot of experience visiting WDW multiple times, over the past two years, with more than one trip on the Dining Plan and more than one trip off the Dining Plan, have noted any significant difference. I think I even remember one report of someone feeling they got better service on the Dining Plan than they got while not on the Dining Plan. Reports are all over the place, and there is no reportable trend AFAIC.

Also: Do keep in mind that a lot of folks who have never used the Dining Plan are also reporting a decline in service quality (often commensurate with a deliberate reclassification [downgrading] of certain restaurants).

 

[wilde_oscar]

No, but the 'out of consideration for the Cast Members' police would like to point out that unless you order only items covered by the Disney Dining Plan, you are making unnecessary work for your server. That person will then need to cancel your transaction in the POS and reenter it as two separate transactions - one DDP, one cash.

It continues to be interesting that only two out of numerous meals detailed in a now-closed thread provided you with what you consider poor/bad/neglectful/whatever service, yet you continue to focus on those two occasions and plan your entire next trip on the primarily baseless assumption that you will get a different level of service if the server thinks you're paying out of pocket for your meal.

The 'worst' service I ever had on the DDP was from a server with too many tables - and that can only be considered less than stellar because he was rushed (having a reservation for ten minutes before the restaurant closed probably didn't help ). It's likely MOST advisable for a Guest who resents the server getting tipped under all conditions, not to use the Disney Dining Plan. This gives the Guest 100% control over the tip. In addition, and remembering that this thread is NOT about tips, frankly, I don't give a rat's patoot that my FREE meals entitle the server to a tip no matter what the level of service.

Anyway, as has been stated above, if one goes into a situation looking for the negative, one will surely find that negative.

Note to self: During upcoming trip, prior to ordering, ask all servers if I will be getting a different level of service than a Guest not using the DDP.

you can't resist drawing to an inside straight, can ya?