Horrible "Dining" Experience at DCA

[RyMickey]

I made my first trek out to the West Coast last week and plan on doing a bit of a detailed pros/cons report considering I'm a frequent WDW-goer. However, I just wanted to mention what was quite possibly the WORST service we've ever gotten in a Disney park across two nights at DCA last week.

On Monday evening, we decided to wait in line for the seemingly delicious-looking lobster nachos at the Cove Bar. We arrived at 7:40pm and there were about five parties ahead of our threesome. We decided to wait it out -- we had Fastpasses for World of Color and we really only wanted an order of lobster nachos and then we'd head out. So, we wait in line about 15 minutes, seeing a bunch of empty tables in the bar area. The two hosts simply weren't seating the tables. Frustrated, we asked why there's all these tables sitting empty. The response: "The server of that section doesn't like us to seat too many tables for her." Really? Seriously? This is the same server that's been standing talking to a table for five minutes while neglecting her other tables? This is a server that works off of tips presumably and she doesn't want to be doing her job?

At 8pm, after we'd stood in line for 20 minutes, we were then told, "We close at 8:15, so if you're not seated, you're out of luck." This was said as we still stared at those empty tables which is just RIDICULOUS.

Anyway, by 8:05pm we're seated (not in the aforementioned server's section). We knew what we wanted so we hoped to be in and out quick. Five minutes go by. Ten minutes go by. Not a single person comes to our table. Our table was "looked at" by several servers, but no one came up to us (nor did anyone come up to the family of four who was seated next to us two minutes after we were seated). The servers stopped at the tables all around us, but never at ours. After fifteen minutes, we gave up and walked out. Simply the worst service we've ever gotten at a Disney resort.

Until...

Night #2 -- we head over to DCA around 7pm hoping to snag a quick dinner and ride California Screamin' and RSR. About 7:55pm we walk up to the Cocina Cucamonga/Lucky Fortune area and begin to peruse the menus. One of our party heads to the Lucky Fortune line, while my brother and I stare at the menu at Cucamonga deciding what to get completely obvious that we were getting ready to place an order as the menus are right above the cashiers. As we're about to get in line, a worker comes out and stands in front of us and says, "We're closed."

Listen, I understand if your hours are until 8pm. That's fine that you're closing. But you SAW US staring at your menu board. Are you seriously not going to tell us, "Hey, guys, we're closing, so if you want to place an order you need to do it now." Sorry, but to simply not allow us to place an order AFTER YOU SEE US STANDING THERE FOR A MINUTE LOOKING AT THE MENU is just HORRIBLE customer service.

Honestly, I would've stopped at guest services both nights, however, considering this was my likely only trip to DL, we found ourselves rushing back to DL to try and get on a few more rides.

The rest of the trip was great (although ride breakdowns were much too frequent for my liking), but this service we experienced was the worst I've ever gotten at any Disney location -- DL, WDW, or DL Paris.

That being said, kudos to the workers at Flo's who, after the Cucamonga fiasco, were incredibly pleasant, kind, and truly seemed to be enjoying their jobs.

 

[Iceman93]

First, I'm sorry you had some service experiences that frustrated you and that weren't up to what I'd expect from a Disney park.

But I have to say, if they only ticked you off enough to post on an internet message board but not enough to give up a ride to stop in at guest services to complain right then and there... well, I guess you weren't really that upset after all. And that's how Disney will take it, too, if you decide to write a letter or e-mail after that fact.

Again, sorry it happened but I guess it really wasn't that a big a deal to you.

 

[SMD]

I've always had bad service at Cove Bar, but I've never experienced seaters. During the day it's just first come, first served. It's fine if you sit at the bar, the CMs are nice and you can easily get their attention. But I've never encountered a server walking around taking orders. It doesn't help that people dining at Ariel's treat it like the waiting area. I've seen families insist that they need 6 chairs around a 4 top so their kids can all sit and wait. It must be hard for a server to navigate all the activity there, especially when so many people have no intention of ordering. I've also heard nasty comments about people ordering drinks at noon with kids around. Yes, it's Disney, but it's a bar. Don't bring your kids into a place with adult beverages if you don't want their precious eyes to see adults consuming those beverages. I wouldn't even try to go there during dinner hours or WOC, just seems like I'd be asking for a lot of frustration.

You were looking at the menu for a minute? How quickly should the CM have stopped what they were supposed to be doing to come over to you or shouted out to you from where they were? I could just as easily see the complaint going the other way, that all you were trying to do was read the menu to see what's there for future reference and after a minute a rude CM came up or called out that they're closed.

 

[HydroGuy]

Something did not sit right with me with the OP being frustrated by service at DCA and then getting kind of shot down by two responses. I would have been frustrated too and I doubt I would taken the time to file a complaint either.

OP, it is not uncommon for WDW vets to visit DLR and their post-trip posts on this forum sometimes focus on which parts of DLR are not as good as WDW.

It is also not uncommon for DLR vets to get defensive to such posts.

Your detailed pro and cons you plan to write will likely go over better when folks see you are recognizing some of the good experiences you had. A post titled "WOC was awesome/Cove Bar was not" would probably be received better here.

Anyways, I look forward to your detailed post and hope this thread does not discourage you from writing it!

 

[drew64]

Empty tables in a restaurant does not mean they can all be seated. It does depend on staffing levels and how many tables were recentyl seated for a particular server.

How long were you staring at the menus. You planned to grab something there, but didn't check when the restaurant(s) closed.

Honestly, seems like some of this was poor timing, and some was poor planning.

 

[sherilaine]

I disagree completely with the "if you did not complain right away you must not have been that upset" comment. People move along and try to make the best of what time they have.

Contacting Disney after the fact does not diminish their response.

While I think this service was awful I can't say I am shocked either. Not every CM is filled with magic and loves their job BUT telling us does no good, tell Disney too!

 

[RyMickey]

I'd use quotes, but since I'm posting this from my phone, I'm not sure I can.

To the posters "defending" me, I appreciate it, although being on the boards for a decade, I'm well aware that saying ANYTHING bad about Disney will immediately send you to the slaughter. I was expecting this response to my post which I simply posted so that others could be aware of the issues in case they plan on attempting to experience the same things we did.

As far as the Cove Bar, we knew what we wanted as soon as we sat down. We didn't even look at the menus. Sitting and waiting 15 minutes for service (and us not being the only ones this happened to) proved that the bar was unable to handle the amount of business and should either increase their staff or reduce their size. Someone commented that they perhaps weren't seating due to the kitchen being understaffed, etc, and that's all well and good, but it still shouldn't be acceptable. You have an open air facility where I can see empty tables and I'm told the reason I'm not being seated is because the server doesn't want me to be (while this same server chatted it up with a group of four women for over five minutes after they paid their bill -- nice customer service for them, but awful for us). I work in the customer service industry and know full well I need to make up a better lie than that if I'm running into issues.

As far as the Cucamonga situation, there's really no excuse for this one. If I'm standing there looking at the menu literally four feet away from the cashier, you should tell me, "Hey, we're closing. Would you like to buy something?"

You can try to defend it all you want and blame me for poor planning, but that's just incredibly poor service.

As I said, I would've complained without a doubt, but seeing as how this will likely be my only trip to Disneyland, I needed to make the most of it (which meant booking it over to DL for another ride on Indy). In the grand scheme of things this certainly isn't a big deal. However, others in the same boat as me should be aware of this issue.

Lest you think I believe Orlando is perfect, I shutter whenever I hear the term "Magic Band."

 

[Jerry Horne]

I'd use quotes, but since I'm posting this from my phone, I'm not sure I can.

To the posters "defending" me, I appreciate it, although being on the boards for a decade, I'm well aware that saying ANYTHING bad about Disney will immediately send you to the slaughter. I was expecting this response to my post which I simply posted so that others could be aware of the issues in case they plan on attempting to experience the same things we did.

As far as the Cove Bar, we knew what we wanted as soon as we sat down. We didn't even look at the menus. Sitting and waiting 15 minutes for service (and us not being the only ones this happened to) proved that the bar was unable to handle the amount of business and should either increase their staff or reduce their size. Someone commented that they perhaps weren't seating due to the kitchen being understaffed, etc, and that's all well and good, but it still shouldn't be acceptable. You have an open air facility where I can see empty tables and I'm told the reason I'm not being seated is because the server doesn't want me to be (while this same server chatted it up with a group of four women for over five minutes after they paid their bill -- nice customer service for them, but awful for us). I work in the customer service industry and know full well I need to make up a better lie than that if I'm running into issues.

As far as the Cucamonga situation, there's really no excuse for this one. If I'm standing there looking at the menu literally four feet away from the cashier, you should tell me, "Hey, we're closing. Would you like to buy something?"

You can try to defend it all you want and blame me for poor planning, but that's just incredibly poor service.

As I said, I would've complained without a doubt, but seeing as how this will likely be my only trip to Disneyland, I needed to make the most of it (which meant booking it over to DL for another ride on Indy). In the grand scheme of things this certainly isn't a big deal. However, others in the same boat as me should be aware of this issue.

Lest you think I believe Orlando is perfect, I shutter whenever I hear the term "Magic Band."

I thank you for this information. I plan on visiting The Cove Bar for the first time during our upcoming visit. I there is even a hint of poor service, I will know to hit the door. My time in the resort is at a premium and there are other options.

 

[dragonflycurls]

I disagree completely with the "if you did not complain right away you must not have been that upset" comment. People move along and try to make the best of what time they have.

Contacting Disney after the fact does not diminish their response.

While I think this service was awful I can't say I am shocked either. Not every CM is filled with magic and loves their job BUT telling us does no good, tell Disney too!

I agree too. On a trip a year ago we had really bad service at Ariel's and were just shocked really. I wouldn't have thought to stop at Guest Services, so I wrote an email after the fact. I can see why it would have been beneficial to do it then and there, but Disney responded (and not with a typical canned response) and really tried to make it right for me.

It's a bummer- especially when they saw you standing there! I work in the customer service industry, and I completely understand what it is like being at the end of your shift after a long day and just wanting to go home, which I'm guessing might have been the case here. But, no excuse for them not giving you a heads up or being nice about it.

 

[SMD]

It's a bummer- especially when they saw you standing there! I work in the customer service industry, and I completely understand what it is like being at the end of your shift after a long day and just wanting to go home, which I'm guessing might have been the case here. But, no excuse for them not giving you a heads up or being nice about it.

OP didn't say they weren't nice about it, he just didn't like that when he tried to go to the register to order he was told they were closed. I think it's 50/50 what the right thing to do there is. For every person who gets upset that they were allowed to read the menu for a minute without getting a head's up that they were close, there is another person who will be upset at being told they were closed while just reading the menu and not yet trying to order. Maybe the CM flipped a coin and it didn't land the way the OP would have preferred here. Is this really such terrible service that it's worth posting a complaint on a message board, contacting Disney or giving it a second thought to most people?

 

[RyMickey]

SMD -- I do think it's important enough to note that for a company that prides itself on providing the best possible customer service that it didn't in this situation. It should be noted that I was four feet from the cashier and another worker -- not the cashier -- came out and stood in between myself and the cashier and as I walked up said they were closed. Both of them saw my brother and I looking at the menu for two minutes, yet didn't have the courtesy to say, "we're closing if you'd like to place an order." Had I walked up after and they were closed this wouldn't have even have been an issue. I would've been late. But standing there, this was poor service on their part. Once again, I'm not saying this is the end of the world kind of thing, but it's just not good in the grand scheme of customer service.

Then again, this poor job from the Cucamonga workers allowed me to visit the pleasant crew over at Flo's and have a great dinner there.

 

[VandVsmama]

If I were in that situation at the Cove Bar, I would have been as irritated as you were and I, too, probably would have walked out. Look at it this way...it's that establishment's loss. Their staff didn't earn any tips from you that evening! Thank you, btw, for posting about it here because it definitely does not make me inclined to go there when I am at DL next time!

Re: the counter service place....
On the one hand, 1 of the posters does kind of have a point. If one had noted the time, then one might have made one's decisions a bit more quickly. On the other hand, you were on vacation. And when I'm on vacation, my brain goes into a bit of a time warp. I kind of lose all sense of time and I don't keep very good track sometimes of when certain places are closing, opening, etc.

Also, the CM's working there *could* have noticed your party looking at the menus and they *could* have said something about closing in just a few minutes. It is a real bummer that they didn't!

I certainly hope you go back to DL again and that these 2 experiences didn't sour the whole trip for you. It's the luck of the draw sometimes, I suppose!

 

[RyMickey]

Thanks, VandVsmama. This by no means deterred my overall thoughts on DL and it certainly wouldn't stop me from going back...just being an east coaster, I'm unsure when that will be.

It really was just kinda funny that this happened two nights in a row to us at DCA. Night one's issues just made night two's actually funny to us and just painted these two places in a poor light.

Like I said, though, it just made the Flo's folks shine brighter!

 

[lucysmom]

Well, I would have been fuming both nights. Those experiences would have left me with a bitter feeling. I am glad Flo's worked out for you.

 

[VandVsmama]

Thanks, VandVsmama. This by no means deterred my overall thoughts on DL and it certainly wouldn't stop me from going back...just being an east coaster, I'm unsure when that will be.

It really was just kinda funny that this happened two nights in a row to us at DCA. Night one's issues just made night two's actually funny to us and just painted these two places in a poor light.

Like I said, though, it just made the Flo's folks shine brighter!

I hear ya! When we went to DL last May, we had a fabulous time. But the DLH Bell Services ruined 1 of my pieces of luggage. The hotel did reimburse me for part of the replacement value of the bag. But it was a real bummer nonetheless. The rest of our stay was great. I think that we just ended up with a bell hop who wasn't paying attention and ran over my bag and somehow ripped 4 big holes in it. It would make me nervous enough to wonder if I'd want to use Bell Services at the DLH again next time.

 

[cinder-ellah]

Sending you extra Pixie Dust. I agree some CM's need alittle extra education on customer service. Fortunately most are outstanding and keep the magic alive ! I'm so glad the CM's at Flo's treated you well.

 

[Barry Browning]

I would sit down and write customer service and see what they offer to do for you here.In my mind a free meal for your party sounds reasonable.I have in the past gotten blue fast passes when something like this happened on a ride or with dining.

Overall we have decided to eat more in downtown Disney.For the same money you get better food and service in my opinion.Again sorry this happened to you.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I actually appreciate your post - Cove Bar is one we haven't gone to on multiple trips to DL, but one I thought would be fun on our June trip. We may still try it, but at least I'm going in with eyes wide open.

 

[bumbershoot]

Because I haven't been to dlr in awhile but we have a visit coming up thanks to rundisney, I have to clarify. They have seaters/hosts now? Last time I went you just walked past the CMs out front because they were there for the restaurant below. You could even enter on the other side closer to Screaming '. And as long as you didn't have kids with you you could just go right up to the bar no table required.

Has it really changed that much?

 

[RyMickey]

Because I haven't been to dlr in awhile but we have a visit coming up thanks to rundisney, I have to clarify. They have seaters/hosts now? Last time I went you just walked past the CMs out front because they were there for the restaurant below. You could even enter on the other side closer to Screaming '. And as long as you didn't have kids with you you could just go right up to the bar no table required.

Has it really changed that much?

I do not know whether they have the seaters/hosts during the daytime, but twice around 7:45ish on the night we attempted to eat at the Cove Bar there was a host (and hostess) seating people. They also had them there the second night when we walked by around 7pm.

The entrance to the bar was next to the Duffy gazebo also. You didn't enter through the restaurant.