From now on I will never tell them I'm on the dining plan again....

[imthatgirl]

Whenever you check in for a reservation you're asked if you are on the dining plan, then when the server comes over it's usually one of their first questions.

From now on my answer will be no, and then when the check comes I'll let them know.

We found too much that once we told then we were on the plan our server immediately checked out. the last straw was at Coral Reef when our server asked us to order our dessert with our meal "to save time".

I was fed up. so the next night we ate at Whispering Canyon. told then we were not on the plan. got wonderful service(the only wonderful service we received all week).....then after the meal had ended said we changed our minds and we would be using our plan. Granted I have no way of knowing what kind of service we would have gotten otherwise....but it seemed pretty consistent.

Does anyone else do this?

 

[Cherinva]

I'm sorry this happened to you....I've never had a problem when using the dining plan, and I always tell them.

 

[smiths02]

Whenever you check in for a reservation you're asked if you are on the dining plan, then when the server comes over it's usually one of their first questions.

From now on my answer will be no, and then when the check comes I'll let them know.

We found too much that once we told then we were on the plan our server immediately checked out. the last straw was at Coral Reef when our server asked us to order our dessert with our meal "to save time".

I was fed up. so the next night we ate at Whispering Canyon. told then we were not on the plan. got wonderful service(the only wonderful service we received all week).....then after the meal had ended said we changed our minds and we would be using our plan. Granted I have no way of knowing what kind of service we would have gotten otherwise....but it seemed pretty consistent.

Does anyone else do this?

I don't want to be rushed at a meal...like clearing away dishes before I'm done, etc., but I also don't want to be ready to order dessert and then the waitress cannot be found. Since you said you were on DDP, she knew you would get your dessert entitlement, so she may have really been trying to save YOU time for the parks. In local restaurants, I order my drink, salad, entree at the same time. Especially with a young child with us, I appreciate this.

We were on the DDP in 2009, and I don't remember any bad service, even when we told them ahead of time.

 

[ibela]

No, that sounds terrible! And your server at Coral Reef could've just been a rotten server regardless of the dining plan. I don't see why they'd treat you differently since you still have to pay tip out of pocket...

 

[MoonFaerie]

I'm sorry this happened to you....I've never had a problem when using the dining plan, and I always tell them.

Same here.

 

[imthatgirl]

I don't want to be rushed at a meal...like clearing away dishes before I'm done, etc., but I also don't want to be ready to order dessert and then the waitress cannot be found. Since you said you were on DDP, she knew you would get your dessert entitlement, so she may have really been trying to save YOU time for the parks. In local restaurants, I order my drink, salad, entree at the same time. Especially with a young child with us, I appreciate this.

We were on the DDP in 2009, and I don't remember any bad service, even when we told them ahead of time.

Have you ever ordered dessert with your meal? I am a server and I would never ask someone to order their dessert with their meal. That's beyond tacky and just tells me she couldn't be bothered to come back and tell me about the desserts. Also being on the meal plan does not mean you will always get dessert. Sometimes I am full from my meal and don't bother with my dessert. Sometimes my husband and I will want something but not a lot, so we just order one to share. I had no young children with me. It was just my husband and I....it was not to save me time.

 

[leo711]

I have run into this same problem at the coral reef about 4 years ago. I have only experienced worse service at the prime time 50 cafe this December. We had a male server that could have cared less if we were there but put on the show for other guests that were not on the dining plan.

 

[BriarRosie]

I think you ended up with bad servers, not because of the DDP, necessarily.

I understand the reasoning behind the servers asking at every meal. The servers will never know if they are serving a first-time user of the plan, or someone who has used it on various trips. They want to make sure the guest is aware of the plan entitlements, so that makes sense.

Servers don't know if you want a fast paced or slow paced meal.

A good server might offer to speed up the process by ordering desserts up front, but should be willing to wait if the guest prefers to wait. I'm guessing that there are plenty of guests who do want to get in and out as quickly as possible, especially families with young children.

I don't hold it against the servers unless they have a bad attitude if you tell him/her that you don't want to order dessert up front.

 

[Jestocost]

IMO, Coral Reef in particular is set up to rush you through; DDP or no. Anyplace that has one-size of draft beer that's 24 oz. (or whatever it is), for example, wants you to order one drink and not reorder.

 

[imthatgirl]

I have run into this same problem at the coral reef about 4 years ago. I have only experienced worse service at the prime time 50 cafe this December. We had a male server that could have cared less if we were there but put on the show for other guests that were not on the dining plan.

I wonder of the servers don't realize that we can see them interacting with the other guests? The people to our right(who were so close we may as well having been dining with them) were not on the dining plan. She took the time to comment on a few of the meals and even asked them if they wanted appetizers. She never even mentioned appetizers to us.

We had an issue at O'hana too. The same type of issue where our server spent more time with the tables that were not on the plan.

I will fully admit though that being a server myself I do expect great service when I go out. More so then maybe someone who isn't as familiar with the business.

 

[imthatgirl]

I think you ended up with bad servers, not because of the DDP, necessarily.

I understand the reasoning behind the servers asking at every meal. The servers will never know if they are serving a first-time user of the plan, or someone who has used it on various trips. They want to make sure the guest is aware of the plan entitlements, so that makes sense.

Servers don't know if you want a fast paced or slow paced meal.

A good server might offer to speed up the process by ordering desserts up front, but should be willing to wait if the guest prefers to wait. I'm guessing that there are plenty of guests who do want to get in and out as quickly as possible, especially families with young children.

I don't hold it against the servers unless they have a bad attitude if you tell him/her that you don't want to order dessert up front.

I disagree with a server not knowing how you want your meal paced. With a few questions it's quite easy to read what a guest wants out of a meal. But, the server has to care to ask them.

 

[kaybird]

We have used the dining plan many many many times; have never had bad service because of the DDP. More often than not, you are asked so that the server can explain what is included on the plan, as there are a legion of people out there that have no clue. I would chalk it up to the server, not to the plan. (BTW- deserts at CR are VERY slow. )

 

[MariDisney]

We had the exact same experience at Coral Reef several years ago. I couldn't believe she was pushing us to order dessert with our entrees and appetizers. She also tried to talk us out of ordering appetizers because we'd have to pay OOP. I told her I understood the plan, but she still didn't want to put in the order. This same server told me that the entree I was ordering smelled funny, and was I sure I wanted it. Worse service ever. I didn't connect it to the DDP on the whole (except the app part). We aways get one of the dining plans and feel that our service has been good otherwise. I have had bad service consistently at Coral Reef and it's now on our "never again" list.

 

[4orm]

I wonder if there was a dessert on the menu like the lava cake at the California Grill that takes 20+ minutes to cook... We are always asked when we are there that if we want to order that particular dish that we might want to near the end of our dinner rather than wait for the dessert menu then quiet some time for the lava cake.

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

We thought it was just us! We've noticed less than stellar service several Disney restaurants when we've mentioned we were on DDP, while others around were not, even with the same server. We are nice people, leave great tips usually if we get great service. But I've learned to do the same thing.

 

[imthatgirl]

I wonder if there was a dessert on the menu like the lava cake at the California Grill that takes 20+ minutes to cook... We are always asked when we are there that if we want to order that particular dish that we might want to near the end of our dinner rather than wait for the dessert menu then quiet some time for the lava cake.

No there isn't. Everyone who eats at the CG is asked if they want to order it(or at least for the most part), not just the people on the dining plan.

 

[imthatgirl]

We only had one incident where I was truly ticked off at our server. (we were on DxDpl and we told them upfront at each meal) I don't think our experience had to do w/ the dining plan.

We were at Sci-Fi and our server was in a BAAAAAAAD mood. Right off the bat, we should have moved to a different area. Well, he also wanted us to order everything right then and there and my DH said, we're going to wait until we're done eating before we order dessert. ( that got his panties in a bunch, I can tell you that) So my DD ( who was 4 1/2) dropped her fork. (by accident). I went to ask him for another one.... " someone needs to be more careful, don't you think". I'm sorry, WHAT ??? Dude, she's 4, it happens !!!

Meanwhile, the seat in front of ours sat w/ dirty dishes the entire time we were there. ( no, it wasn't overly busy that day ) My DH finished first, so he cleared his plate and actually said " do you now know what you want for dessert ?". OMG, is this guy for real ?

I know, I know.... i should have gotten the manager, but to be honest, I wanted to be done and not make a big deal out of it. We were tired and wanted it over with. So we get to the check. I give him our card for the dining credits....now he's all sunshine and flowers because it's tip time. He actually has the nerve to say, "shall I go ahead and charge my tip to your card as a room charge ?" ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME ????
I said, "oh no...don't worry yourself with that, I'll handle the tip".

Guess how much he got ? I can say this though, we checked the room charges to make sure he didn't run through the tip. And we decided we'll never go back to Sci-Fi again.

Other than that one lunch, we had great experiences. but like I said, I think it didn't have anything to do w/ dining plan.....he was just a ......well, you know.

We had a similar experience at Sci fi. I will never step foot in that place again.

 

[Kay1]

I wonder if management doesn't encourage this to get the DDP people in and out, as Disney already has their money?

 

[Euphoria027]

I sympathize with everybody who experienced lackluster service on their trips. A bad waiter can absolutely ruin an otherwise lovely meal. But despite my overall disdain for the dining plan, I hesitate to blame the plan for the servers' failures.

In the case of the original poster, I fail to understand how you using the dining plan prompted to server to try to rush you through dinner. It sounds like you simply had an unprofessional, tip-hungry waiter. The more tables he served that night, the more tip money he received. Why would that change whether you are on the dining plan or not? Usually, the complaint is that servers stop caring about groups using the plan, because they no longer have to "work for their tip." In this case, it doesn't sound like he ignored you. But maybe I'm misunderstanding the situation.

As a general aside, it's possible that the server truly was trying to operate in the diner's best interest. (Wow, a post on these boards that actually tries to argue that a Cast Member is doing the right thing instead of automatically bashing and reporting him to management. What an novel concept.) I suspect that a vast majority of patrons at Coral Reef on a given day want to eat as quickly as possible in order to maximize their touring time in the park. I've had meals at Disney when I ordered everything up front because I wanted to make sure I was out by the lagoon to see IllumiNations or wanted to hit one last ride before it closed. The argument from former servers in "real-world" restaurants is actually quite silly and misguided. In the "real world," I agree the practice of asking your table to order everything at the beginning is tacky. But we're talking about a theme park. Speed trumps quality, and most people honestly don't care as much about what they eat as we do in this forum.

You are awesome.

 

[TDC Nala]

From now on my answer will be no, and then when the check comes I'll let them know.

This will likely not endear you to the servers, as they will have to run the entire order again, and might result in more time before you can leave.

I have deleted several posts with discussions of tipping. Most posters here are aware of the Restaurant Board tip discussion rules.