Do Disney restaurants have managers??

[chefgirl96]

Hey all! Avid foodie here! I love reading the dining threads/reviews while planning my girls' first trip for 2010. Just curious, but do Disney restaurants have managers?? I read different reviews/situations about slow service, rude servers, lost personalized menus, etc. I've worked in food service & customer service for years and to me, these things are just UNACCEPTABLE! I would never waste a second at a restaurant here at home to speak to a manager if I were unsatisfied with my server or meal. I rarely read of this happening at Disney. Do the Disney managers care? Will they bring you new food if yours came cold? Do they comp meals?

Is bad service just something I'll have to put up with, since it's "Disney"??

 

[vicki_c]

Yes, Disney restaurants all have a manager. If you have a problem, you should ask to speak to the manager while you are there.

 

[madalex]

Is bad service just something I'll have to put up with, since it's "Disney"??

I just returned from a 10 day trip to WDW. Every dinner we did and several of our lunches were table service. Overall, the service was quite good. There may have been minor quibbles here and there with the service, but nothing that got even remotely close to the level where I would feel it was necessary to ask for the manager. This experience is consistent with the service I have received during over a dozen prior trips to WDW over the last decade.

So, no, you will not have to put up with bad service because it is Disney because (in all likelihood) you will receive generally good service.

 

[Lynne M]

Remember, people only bother to post the unusual, and especially the bad, on message boards. How many people are going to take the time to post that their meals and service were just as they expected them to be?

This is how we get people thinking that a) all of the hotels are totally infested with bedbugs, b) all of the hotels have terrible housekeeping, c) all of the hotels have terrible transportation problems, and d) everyone gets fabulous free upgrades to deluxe resorts just by asking.

A handful of reports on ANYTHING here doesn't mean it's the norm. I've had many dozens of TS meals in my 20+ trips WDW over the last 20 years, and I've found food quality, preparation and service to be well above average. I think most people here would agree.

 

[chefgirl96]

...the message board phenomenon. I have read lots of good service reviews, praise of servers, etc. I do take {some things} with a grain of salt & realize that some scenarios are the exception rather than the norm. I was wondering as to the management structure, since I don't often read of bad service scenarios being resolved through a manager. Instead, more often than not, the poster leaves with a proverbial bad taste in their mouths & vow not to return to the restaurant again.

 

[vicki_c]

...the message board phenomenon. I have read lots of good service reviews, praise of servers, etc. I do take {some things} with a grain of salt & realize that some scenarios are the exception rather than the norm. I was wondering as to the management structure, since I don't often read of bad service scenarios being resolved through a manager. Instead, more often than not, the poster leaves with a proverbial bad taste in their mouths & vow not to return to the restaurant again.

Yes, just like the visitors who found their room unacceptably ________ (fill in the blank with whatever you like) or things were broken in their room or whatever, but they didn't call the front desk or maintenance or housekeeping, they just came back and said "I will never stay at XYZ resort again!" Usually in all caps with some mad smiley face in their title!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I was wondering as to the management structure, since I don't often read of bad service scenarios being resolved through a manager. Instead, more often than not, the poster leaves with a proverbial bad taste in their mouths & vow not to return to the restaurant again.

Honestly, the bulk of that is due to the Guest NOT dealing with the issue as it occurs.

I am in NO way excusing bad service - but when people wait until they get home and complain on an Internet forum, INSTEAD of talking to management while a problem is occurring, management cannot be aware that a problem exists and so cannot resolve it.

Really, there are people who come back and post that "this" lousy thing happened at "that" restaurant and the manager did ___ for them (or similar situations).

But those posts can only exist from people who did something about the problem AT the restaurant.

 

[sockies31]

one of the manager at Le Cellier was awesome! I had to arrange a lunch for 25 people and i had to call the restaurant directly and he set up the ADRS and emailed me the confirmation numbers. we are all sitting in the same area since they cannot put that many tables together.

 

[Lynne M]

Honestly, the bulk of that is due to the Guest NOT dealing with the issue as it occurs.

I am in NO way excusing bad service - but when people wait until they get home and complain on an Internet forum, INSTEAD of talking to management while a problem is occurring, management cannot be aware that a problem exists and so cannot resolve it.

Very true. It seems that 9 times out of 10, when someone posts a complaint here and is asked "did you get management involved?", they say "no, I didn't want to deal with it".

Very common on the DVC boards, where someone says something like 'oh, the fridge in my villa wasn't working right. ' Did they tell anyone? No. So it's still broken for the next guest.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Oh, right. I forgot. The fridge in my studio wasn't working right. I couldn't figure out why my food was going bad.

Duh. It was plugged in, but turned up to the warmest setting. It took water bottles that didn't freeze for me to figure that out

On the other hand, I had a bed issue that mattered immediately - the beds at OKW are too high for me to get in! Admittedly, it took two calls to the office; after the second one, the Engineering Manager called me back within five minutes, and we worked out a solution. I ran into him later in the trip and we had a nice, long conversation.

The last call I made before I checked out was to Engineering, to tell them I was leaving - so they could reconstruct the bed before another Guest arrived

 

[DWFan4Life]

For sure, Disney restaurants do have managers. Maybe it's not just necessary to call her/his attention unless it's really not good.

 

[spotty]

The nice thing that we have experienced in the restaurants is that when something really is wrong, most servers will quickly resolve the problem so there is no need for a manager.

I did have one experience that was so horrible between service, atmosphere, food, etc that I actually wrote a letter since it was a favorite restaurant and we were worried it was taking a turn for the worse. The GM of the restaurant actually called me at home to talk about it.

 

[Uncleromulus]

At most of the Disney restaurants (the Signatures anyway) you will usually spot the manager out and about in the restaurant most of the evening.