This will be a long post as I feel the need to cover all the various glib, kneejerk defenses that people counter post defending bad service.
I know good service from bad service… I worked in a fine dinning establishment in my college days. Around $100 per person before including alcohol on the check. I made good money in tips, enough to avoid massive student loan debt at one of the most expensive bastions of upper learning in the U.S. I have traveled the world on an expense account, and have eaten in fine dinning establishments the world over. I write reviews for the local alternative newspaper for both local restaurants and restaurants I frequent in my travels. I know good service from bad.
Example of good service… Sat. morning before starting shopping and errands, we stopped into IHOP. We ordered breakfast, which is normally quick get in and get out. After about 10 min. of waiting on food, the server told us while warming up coffee that the kitchen was backed up, so there would be a slight wait for breakfast. She kept the coffee warm, and let us know about the delay. Good service, bad kitchen… she earned the tip on service which I would happily pay, but it will be a few months before we might return as the kitchen was slow (1/2 hour before we got our meal after ordering).
Bad Service… Last year we ate at Boma after a day at AK. 9pm reservations we were seated at about 9:10p. I have meds I take so I was waiting on the server to come by so I could get water. She went right into trying to pad the bill by asking what refreshments she could get us from the bar. I told her I just need a glass of water to take some pills. She disappears for 10 min.; when she comes back it is obvious she forgot the water, I am sitting and waiting. I have not got up to take part in the buffet, and at this point I already know she is not in the weeds, she is not backed up, she is pissed I ordered water and not an alcoholic beverage. If ya eat out enough, you can feel the vibe. This is the point where people want to make excuses, nope not gonna hear it none fit. If you are waiting on water to take a pill, you pay close attention to what is going on. She just did not wanna provide service for a table that was not, as she perceived, going to pad her pocket further by running up a bar tab. She never cleared plates not once. She disappeared with our card for 45 min. before bringing the bill for me to sign. How is contacting a manager going to fix this? The damage is done, the cows are out of the barn. The only recourse left is no tip. Well with
DDP automagicly adding 18% and a tired spouse that just wanted to goto bed, I signed even though it galled me to do so. Trying to have it corrected would have been a lengthy conversation with a manager that had had a long day as well, since it was free DDP there was no way in hell they would comp the meal, and sleep was more appealing then spending another 45 min. waiting on a manager and have to explain what happened and why service at a buffet, that only involves getting drinks and clearing plates, was lousy.
So all that said, you can have your own opinion on providing a living wage, on always tipping 20%, on the fact that you have never gotten lousy service at WDW while on DDP, you can side with the waitress saying that I am ill mannered and must have done something wrong, you can attack me and say that some people never have fun and always get lousy service… feel free to flame, I am a big boy I can take it. What you were not, is there. We received fantastic service at 14 of our 16 table service meals. Two of which we left a tip in the 100% range as the service was that good (Breakfastasouras, ask for Mikeasouras; Le Cellier, a restaurant that gets it right consistently and yes a 100% tip was a healthy chunk of change). With out getting into a lot of fundamentals of economics, and what fundamentally drives people… the quickest way to register that the service was bad, is to not tip. I paid for DDP, even during the low season when DDP is free you are paying for it. Let no one assume that Disney is loosing money on this proposition. It’s my money, and if I do not wanna tip for lousy service, well gosh darn it, remove the tip… I do not want to have to hunt down a manager (earlier in the week at Tony’s we got lousy service and I had to wait in a line to complain, two people ahead of me complaining about service, hmmm so it was just me huh?) recant the story, and go though a long sob story of apology or explanation… it is a waste of time when leaving no tip pretty much sums it up.
I applaud that the tip is being removed from DDP, and further I am excited that the majority of people think it will no longer be worth it and will dine off site. Guess what, that will thin the heard of the bad servers. That is really how the economics of the situation will pan out. Ask an economics professor at your local community college.
As for this years trip, forewarned is forearmed… as a customer group, IF (there is not assumption that all service is bad) you receive bad service for a DDP meal, ask the manager to remove the tip. All this bunk about that it cannot be done… bogus (the union are not the ones paying the check, even if they add it back in, etc. I was to sign a tab with no tip added). Some one, somewhere cares that the guest received poor service, and once enough people make it clear that poor service will not be tolerated… oh wait a tic, the rumor is that the tip will be removed next season? Well I’ll be darned, the servers will have to earn the tip each and every table, each and every guest… maybe someone was listening to my rants this past year.
I was always a good speller and English was my favorite subject. That was back before there was such a thing as spellchecker. I really think it was better when people had to know how to spell. My kids have never cared that much about spelling things correctly and I think that's really sad, but their teachers don't seem to mind either. A misspelled word when I was in school would have been an error. For them, it wasn't, because their teachers looked at content, not spelling. Again, I think it's unfortunate that it's come to that!
Note the bold type 
Anyawy, the folks at Waffle House were so sweet, they had no plasticware left, so they gave us silverware to take w/ us!! Those waffles were awesome!! P.S. They got a great tip!
