Duplicate Reservations - Head's Up

[pilferk]

The changes in the ADR are under way already. I usually book my change or duplicate ressi first and then immediatly cancel my first ressi. Yesterday, after I booked the change, the site immediatly warned me that I had a duplicate ressi and that I needed to cancel one. It did leave it up to me to make the cancellation though.

I'm pretty sure when we booked our ADR's for the last trip, that was already functional. We decided to change restaurants (WAY out...90+) for one day, made the new ressie, and it told us we had a duplicate and asked if we wanted to cancel one of them...which we did. I don't think that's a recent feature add.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

The issue is one of manpower, though.

If you can't take a CC, or apply the guarantee to the room, you're now creating a policy that will take SIGNIFICANT resources, potentially, to work through. Assuming you handle it the same way you handle room ressies, your patrons are now sending you a check/money order for each and every ADR (say $10 per ressie). You have to process that significant number of transactions (and pay for the manpower to do so) AND you have to note that deposit on their reservation (so the discount is applied at the table, and the whole host of nightmare CS scenarios that could crop up from that process) AND you have to find a way to refund that deposit when/if there is a cancellation.

Yes, they do it with room ressies..but that's a bigger ticket item with, I assume, much less chance of cancellation. Numerically, it's certainly a much smaller number of transactions than you're proposing with ADR's.

From a business standpoint, I'm not sure that's a cost justification you could make. Because while the current system has some customer service issues, it has little effect on Disney's bottom line, since there is almost always sufficient walk up business to cover the "no shows".

Any solution has to both solve the problem (which I fully acknowledge exists) AND be cost effective (or cost neutral) to Disney.

Just to clarify, I wasn't implying to allow people to mail a check or money order for a dining reservation. More thinking along the lines of mandatory credit card holds (sorry for those who don't use them) which could include debit cards and maybe a PayPal option for those using online booking.

Considering reservations are already tied to a person, it wouldn't be impossible or out of line to imagine that the ticket/guest ID assigned to the reservation could have a credit on the account when the person checked in. This feature could also be a benefit too, people could pre-pay part of their meals if paying OOP.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Here's the issue:

Not everyone making an ADR is going to have (or want to use) a CC to secure their reservation.

Well, not to be harsh, but oh well. Customers will adapt or not book reservations and then be at the mercy of what is available. I doubt it would impact Disney at all.

 

[PortMickey]

You can't get in to eat at a decent time unless you plan your dinner 3 months out. With that kind of wait list, I don't think they worry about no-shows too much. They can fill the tables pretty easily. Plus the dinning plans they have been giving with some promotions are keeping the restaurants very full. If the good restaurants are all booked, that helps fill all the not-so-great restaurants.

But with the kind of service they have been giving lately, it might not stay that easy.

 

[pilferk]

Just to clarify, I wasn't implying to allow people to mail a check or money order for a dining reservation. More thinking along the lines of mandatory credit card holds (sorry for those who don't use them) which could include debit cards and maybe a PayPal option for those using online booking.

But that brings us back to: If Disney doesn't require a CC to hold a room, why would they require one to make a dinner reservation? Because now you could be excluding a segment of your resort guests from making dining reservations...when you've spent years building up your resort to, in a nice way, hold people hostage on property (with ME, ADR's, Theme park transportation, etc all meaning you can hop off your plane, go to WDW, never leave the resort, and hop back on to your bus to the airport).

Considering reservations are already tied to a person, it wouldn't be impossible or out of line to imagine that the ticket/guest ID assigned to the reservation could have a credit on the account when the person checked in. This feature could also be a benefit too, people could pre-pay part of their meals if paying OOP.

Again, though...not everyone making ADR's is a Resort guest.

And it's unlikely that Disney would be willing to adopt the "sorry for those that don't have them" mentality, given it could exclude a decent number of their guests...which would create a CS nightmare for them. It could also cost them revenue and they're NOT going to adopt any solution that could, even potentially, do that.

It's a fine tightrope to walk. Any solution has to solve the problem, contain costs/resources for Disney, AND not create enough of a "negative guest experience" that it creates outcry. And make no mistake, forcing a non-resort guest to have a CC to make a reservation WOULD.

As for the credit system, yes, it's possible. But it's both inefficient and would create the possibility of HUGE CS issues when/if a deposit was lost, misplaced, miskeyed, etc. And, again, you're back to the rather large number of transactions that would be required by your proposal. Given the number and nature of those transactions, you'd have to expect a certain error ratio...and it would be rather difficult to resolve them in that setting, all things considered.

There just isn't a great system to impose "deposits" in order to secure ADR's that's both fair, efficient, and cost-effective. I understand why people want them, but I doubt we'll ever see them. They're just not as "simple" as people suspect.

 

[pilferk]

Well, not to be harsh, but oh well. Customers will adapt or not book reservations and then be at the mercy of what is available. I doubt it would impact Disney at all.

While I understand that frustration is fueling that sentiment, realism has to step in.

Disney isn't going to callously make that assessment. I'm not sure how you can follow the line of logic and come out the other side with "I doubt it will impact Disney". You're reducing your potential customer base and thereby reducing your potential revenue stream. In addition, you're certainly reducing the predictability of your business, night to night, which means both ordering and staffing become more guesswork...because you're going to have to rely on more walkups (and hope they show up).

All to solve a problem that, I'd guess, minimally impacts THE COMPANY right now. I'd bet very few average guests even realize they're being negatively effected (and we're not your average guests). And the few no shows per facility are easily made up for with walk ups.

You have to follow the proposal ALL the way through...because it's not just going to occur in a vacume. It's all well and good to say: "Not to be harsh, but oh well" when you're the customer, and not the business. Disney certainly isn't going to.

 

[PortMickey]

I agree with jlewisinsyr. Just take the CC to hold the reservation. They only run it if you do not show or cancel. It works great at California Grill. If you do not have a CC, welcome to 2 hour stand by list for dinner. If you are really planning to go to dinner, CC is not a big deal.

 

[pilferk]

I agree with jlewisinsyr. Just take the CC to hold the reservation. They only run it if you do not show or cancel. It works great at California Grill. If you do not have a CC, welcome to 2 hour stand by list for dinner. If you are really planning to go to dinner, CC is not a big deal.

Unless you don't have one. Or don't want to use one.

Here's what I propose:

Open a business and ONLY accept CC's. See what happens.

No business, least of all one like Disney, wants to limit it's potential customer base, take a hit to it's customer satisfaction ratings, and potentially take a media beating by making it's policies exclusionary or elitist. In addition, ADR's provide an added benefit for Disney (not just the Customer) by allowing them to plan a whole host of "stuff" they wouldn't likewise be able to plan if they were dependant on walk ups. You'd potentially see food quality and service decline as a result, because staffing and ordering would be effected.

You're not getting far enough down the "rabbit hole" on this one....Heck, the above "stuff" is just the cursory stuff you worry about. There's a dozen MBA's, sitting in a room in Orlando, who would extol 75 more, increasingly complex, issues you'd need to deal with.

 

[PortMickey]

Can you mail a check to Amazon.com?

Then it sounds like the best thing to do is leave it like it is. I don't think the current system is creating any empty restaurants, just hard to get reservations to the GOOD ones. Stand by is filling any no-shows pretty easily. If the restaurants are full, I don't think Disney is getting too upset.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Unless you don't have one. Or don't want to use one.

1) People will make excuses to justify any position.
2) Not having a credit or debit card is NOT a problem.
3) As a business person, we allow other ways of paying.
. . . charge to checking account
. . . charge to savings account
. . . charge to telephone number (cell or land-line)
4) Voilà.
5) Problem solved.

 

[PortMickey]

You're not getting far enough down the "rabbit hole" on this one....Heck, the above "stuff" is just the cursory stuff you worry about. There's a dozen MBA's, sitting in a room in Orlando, who would extol 75 more, increasingly complex, issues you'd need to deal with.

They already worked out all the kinks. They are already requiring CC for the highest demand restaurants (like California Grill) and it works great. Not too many duplicate reservations there.

 

[mcd2745]

1) People will make excuses to justify any position.
2) Not having a credit or debit card is NOT a problem.
3) As a business person, we allow other ways of paying.
. . . charge to checking account
. . . charge to savings account
. . . charge to telephone number (cell or land-line)
4) Voilà.
5) Problem solved.

Couldn't agree more. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the people who claim to be splitting up their parties and therefore have legit reasons for double-booking never really do so.

And as you laid out, there are several other ways to collect a fee/deposit other than CC so the "i don't have/use CCs" argument is moot.

That said, here's the system I'd like to see:

1) All ADRs require a $2 per person non-refundable fee that gets charged at the time of booking. If you no-show (don't cancel more than 24 hrs before your ressie), you get charged and additional fee of $5 or $10 per person. I know many will say, "people have emergencies", "things happen", etc. Well, if you truly have an emergency, you probably have more important things to worry about than a few dollars in fees.

2) The window gets reduced from the ridiculous 180 days to 45 days (or less). No one needs a meal reservation 6 months in advance - ever.

3) Of course, you wouldn't be allowed to have concurrent ADRs.


I've never done a Grand Gathering and am not that familiar with them, but I believe a PP mentioned that Disney has a dedicated service number for GGs. So, if you have such a large party, you should be able to make reservations through them and split up parties if you need to..and I don't even have a probelm with GGs having a priority over other guests. Although, I'm going to assume there is a minimum number of people required to qualify as a GG (and if I'm wrong, I'm sure one of you will let me know) - hoepully at least something like 24 people. If you're just 3 or 4 families totalling approx 15 people, and you want to split up have each ressie in the name of a person who will be at each restaurant.

 

[sazzifrazz]

I like the above idea. $2 is a token amount, but it adds up for someone who is trying to hoard like 30 ADR's. Maybe even do $5 a resi and it gets taken off your bill when you show up for your ADR. I wouldn't mind putting $5 down knowing I get it back when I show up...and it would really deter me from making multiple ADR's.

 

[MaryJaneP]

IMO $2 is too cheap, at least $5, prefer $10 for no shows.

Don't want to use a CC, buy a cheap prepaid card that only has enough for the ADRs. I mean really, people are smart enough to book trip and make ADRs. What is one more phone call or whatever. Excuses are excuses.

 

[sandym718]

I think the idea of charging to make a reservation is ridiculous. If that charge is put towards the actual meal cost, well, I guess it could be OK, but not an actual extra charge. To the poster who mentioned "hoarding" 30 ADR's. Yeah, to most of us that seems like a ton. But for a 14 day trip, on the Deluxe DDP - 30 ADR's would be fairly standard I'd say. And an extra $60 charge? Not reasonable.

Now, a CC guarantee, that I'm OK with, as long as they're reasonable. For example, 1 of our children gets sick and cannot go to dinner. One parent must stay in the room with them of course. Other parent and child go ahead to the meal, maybe getting a take out meal for the in-the-room parent, maybe not (maybe they will get room service or run to the QS before the others leave, since they could be touring the parks for a few hours after the dinner). I don't feel there should be a penalty for the sick child and parent not to eat. Not an "emergency" as mentioned above, but clearly a valid reason, and often times, not 24 hour notice.

I'm another who hopes they're very careful if they ever decide to auto cancel double bookings. Even without very large parties (large enough to qualify for Grand Gatherings), you can still have ADR's at the same time within the group. For example, the girls have a Princess lunch at CRT, they guys go somewhere else. And the numbers might not always add up. Say you're dining with another group of folks, maybe locals who don't have a ressie. Original ressie is for 4 people - 2 adults, 2 children. But they're meeting up with a family of 4, and as above - girls going one place, guys going the other. Both ADR's for 4 people, at about the same time, but NOT a double booking.

 

[johnGorski]

My idea is to have sections blocked out long term and short term.
For short term ressies 0-48hrs, have Kisoks in the parks/resorts where guest can make ressies that night.

 

[KYMickey]

I think the idea of charging to make a reservation is ridiculous. If that charge is put towards the actual meal cost, well, I guess it could be OK, but not an actual extra charge. To the poster who mentioned "hoarding" 30 ADR's. Yeah, to most of us that seems like a ton. But for a 14 day trip, on the Deluxe DDP - 30 ADR's would be fairly standard I'd say. And an extra $60 charge? Not reasonable.

If you can afford a 14 day trip and are on the Deluxe DDP $60 it's like pocket change compared to the rest of your costs! I'm not even going to comment or re-post the other part of your post because it goes back to the excuse making part of other people's justifications.

My idea is to have sections blocked out long term and short term.
For short term ressies 0-48hrs, have Kisoks in the parks/resorts where guest can make ressies that night.

Gee, that Kenan sounds like how they used to do it! A system that worked very well in my opinion. Making reservations for dinner 180 days in advance is just ridiculous.

 

[mcd2745]

I think the idea of charging to make a reservation is ridiculous. If that charge is put towards the actual meal cost, well, I guess it could be OK, but not an actual extra charge. To the poster who mentioned "hoarding" 30 ADR's. Yeah, to most of us that seems like a ton. But for a 14 day trip, on the Deluxe DDP - 30 ADR's would be fairly standard I'd say. And an extra $60 charge? Not reasonable.

If you can afford a 14 day trip and are on the Deluxe DDP $60 it's like pocket change compared to the rest of your costs! I'm not even going to comment or re-post the other part of your post because it goes back to the excuse making part of other people's justifications.

Actually, I suggested $2 per person. So, if they were a family of four, that would be an extra $240 in fees. But like the PP said, if you're doing a 14-day trip on the Deluxe plan, $240 is but a tiny fraction of the overall cost.

And WRT the splitting up parties...again, you can't physically be in two restaurants at the same time. So have one ADR in your name, at the restaurant you'll be attending. And the other ADR should be made by/in the name of a person who will actually be at the other restaurant.

And if my child was too sick, and had to stay back at the room with one parent, I really wouldn't care about an additional $10 or $20 fee. My bigger concern would be my child.

My idea is to have sections blocked out long term and short term.
For short term ressies 0-48hrs, have Kisoks in the parks/resorts where guest can make ressies that night.

As for the suggestion of blocking only, say, 50-75% of the restaurant for long-term ressies and leaving the rest for same day ressies/walk-ups...it sounds good. I just would be concerned about people getting to parks 2 hours (or more) before rope drop, lining up at the gate and stampeding each other to the kiosks or guest services or whatever. I know they used to have a similar system and while I never used it, I heard it was getting pretty crazy.

 

[Tisha_PA]

This whole idea concerns me simply because BIL and SIL are going the same week DH and I are and SIL and I have the same name (first and last). We both made the ADR's for our family's so there will be definitely be multiple ADR's under the same name in our case. However, if they go by phone number, then there shouldn't be an issue since we have different phone numbers.

 

[pilferk]

1) People will make excuses to justify any position.
2) Not having a credit or debit card is NOT a problem.
3) As a business person, we allow other ways of paying.
. . . charge to checking account
. . . charge to savings account
. . . charge to telephone number (cell or land-line)
4) Voilà.
5) Problem solved.

Which, as laid out, causes other snarls in the system.

The point being: Solving this "problem" (which, really, doesn't cost Disney a thing) would cost them time, money, and resources.

For what benefit?