Horrible Experience - Warning

[La2kw]

Why did you go downstairs to use the restroom? There are restrooms on the 4th floor near the monorail escalators.

I think CM's was reasonable in assuming you walked on the check.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

People, being a lawyer has nothing to do with the issue at hand so please stop attacking her for this..it is an irrevelant point. I think the only reason she mentioned this was to show you she wasn't the dead beat type.

Secondly, the Ladies room in Chef Mickey is down a set of stairs. That is the bathroom the wait staff tells you to use. There may be other restrooms but I believe they are outside the restaurant itself. There have been lines to use the bathroom inside the restaurant on many occasions( I remember grumbling about the wait).

In this restaurant people are away from their tables all the time going to and from the buffet. She hadn't even finished her meal yet.

The waitstaff at Chef Mickeys is not always easily found. I can attest to that myself and trying to let people at the podium know in most cases would be a waste of time as it is crazy busy there.

Finally the waitstaff should have treated her very differently and been apologetic. It is difficult to be a single parent traveling and dining with a small child. When a four year old needs to use the bathroom they need to use the bathroom! She unfortunately didn't have another adult to hold down the fort. Give her a break please

 

[LVSWL]

People, being a lawyer has nothing to do with the issue at hand so please stop attacking her for this..it is an irrevelant point. I think the only reason she mentioned this was to show you she wasn't the dead beat type.

Secondly, the Ladies room in Chef Mickey is down a set of stairs. That is the bathroom the wait staff tells you to use. There may be other restrooms but I believe they are outside the restaurant itself. There have been lines to use the bathroom inside the restaurant on many occasions( I remember grumbling about the wait).

In this restaurant people are away from their tables all the time going to and from the buffet. She hadn't even finished her meal yet.

The waitstaff at Chef Mickeys is not always easily found. I can attest to that myself and trying to let people at the podium know in most cases would be a waste of time as it is crazy busy there.

Finally the waitstaff should have treated her very differently and been apologetic. It is difficult to be a single parent traveling and dining with a small child. When a four year old needs to use the bathroom they need to use the bathroom! She unfortunately didn't have another adult to hold down the fort. Give her a break please

Finally, a voice of reason. I totally agree with you!

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

I think the server thinking that the guests were gone was a mistake that might have been averted if the OP had been able to notify someone of the need to leave for the restroom.

On the other hand, the server's public mention of the OP being a "walk-out" is a mistake that should have never happened. And once it was said the manager should have done something to make up for the humiliating situation.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I would assume at a buffet-style restaurant they're used to people leaving their tables frequently to get food. But it's hard to know how long a child will take to use the restroom. I think it would be reasonable for the staff to assume you weren't coming back if you were gone for 15 minutes and hadn't notified anyone. If you can't find the server right away and the child really needs to go, you could consider a couple of other options. Maybe ask a neighboring table to watch your table for you. I wouldn't mind doing that for a single mom with a small child. Or, how about writing a quick note and leaving it on the table - even on a napkin. Just put "Gone to restroom - be right back." That would be enough to let the server know that you didn't walk on the check.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Okay, let's see....

The alternative to the server offering the response she did within earshot of other customers would have been to escort the OP to a private area to make that statement. Right. Much less awkward all around.

Simply because other diners were within earshot does not mean they were listening, or overheard anything.

If anybody did hear - so what? It's not as if the OP was going to see these people ever again.

I, too, wonder why the OP didn't use the restroom on the same floor as Chef Mickey's.

While finding one's server to explain the restroom issue in advance may not be convenient, telling the Hostess IS. You have to walk right past the podium on your way out of the restaurant.

The term 'WALK-OUT' on the OP's room receipt is preprogrammed, both for terminology and case. It wasn't personal.

Posting one's job/career in an effort to show that one is not a deadbeat (see post 23) is ineffective - there are deadbeats in every walk of life, in pretty much every career, and at every income level.

I see several servers have stated here that in their opinions/experiences, they agree that given the situation the OP appeared to have left without paying. I know at least one of these posters is a Disney server.

 

[melmlantz]

Hello All,
My 4 year old and I took our third trip to Disney together on Dec 11 through the 18th. Although I have been to Disney may times before, this was our 3rd trip together. This was our first year not using the dining plan and paid out of pocket for a few of our choice disney dining experiences - OHANA and Chef Mickey. They were both disasters. The food was good, but the service was horrendous.
At Chef Mickey, my son had to use the restroom toward the end of our meal. I took him downstairs to the restrooms. As an independant 4 year old, he insisted on doing everything himself. Of course this meant a 15 minute wait for him. When we went back upstairs, our table was cleared and there were new place settings at our table. I got dessert and sat down with my son. The waittress came over and said, "I thought you just walked out on the check!!!!!" IN FRONT OF OTHER CUSTOMERS IN EAR SHOT!!!! The manager came over and said. "We thought you left - we pulled all your information from previous visits and from your reservations and already BILLED YOUR ROOM!!!!" I was disgraced, humiliated, and sad to be treated this way. I JUST TOOK MY SON TO THE BATHROOM!!!!!! I pulled out a credit card and told them to please bill me and that I do not walk out on my bills. They billed me and reversed the charges on my room. When I got my room bill at check out it showed my Chef Mickey bill with a note "WALK-OUT" and a few lines below there was a reverse on it.
I may have been dressed casual in a Disney t-shirt, I may be a divorced single mom, but I am an attorney and an upstanding member of my community and DID NOT DESERVE TO BE TREATED LIKE TRASH.

CHEF MICKEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES!!!

My experience at OHANA wasn't nearly as bad. I had very late reservations - 9:45. The food was excellent, but my waiter went home before serving dessert. Just left for the night. Didn't say goodbye, didn't clear our table, didn't bring dessert, didn't tell another waiter to take care of us. I sat there until I found a waiter to look for our waiter. He was shocked to tell us he had left for the night - then he cleared us and brought dessert. The manager was wonderful and told us that this should not have happened and picked up our bill. Thanks OHANA for making a mistake a good experience. We will always keep you on our dining to do list when we visit the world.

As a former waitress--and not that long ago--I'm kind of surprised at your reaction. It seems clear that you did not tell anybody that you were going to the bathroom... what were they supposed to think? It's one of the worst things that can happen to you as a waitress. Depending on the restaurant and manager, it may even be viewed as the waitress's fault--not to mention the feeling that you did everything correctly but just got stiffed. It's very upsetting. All it took was a simple "I'll be right back," or heck, write it on a napkin and set it on your plate. Don't cause the waitress or manager any upset. Maybe they could have said it a little quieter, but they were probably very upset. Restaurant employees are human, too, and as I said... it's one of the worst things that can happen to you as a waitress.

As far as the note being on the check... once you enter notes into most systems, they can't be erased. Those kinds of things exist as a safety.

I really don't know what else you would expect them to do in this situation.

As for O'Hana... that was very wrong of the server, it's code that you ask someone else to take care of your table if you are going to jet. Sorry someone did that to you.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

The restaurant's bathroom is DOWN the stairs IN the restaurant NOT outside it on the same floor!!!! It sounds like some of the posters haven't been in Chef Mickeys before. There can be a line waiting to get in the bathroom. It has happened to me on several occasions. Chef Mickeys should be aware of this. She didn't walk past the podium because she didn't walk OUTSIDE of the restaurant to use the bathroom. Further Chef Mickeys is usually a zoo. Trying to go to the podium to leave a message is not feasible. The line there is very long and people are all over the place and she has a four year old that has to go I have had a hard time finding my waitress when I was there. They were not particularly attentive after they served the coffee and juice.

Further the waitress should not have said "I thought you just walked out on the check" when she saw the woman having dessert at the table. Totally inappropriate to phrase it that way. She should have said. "I'm so sorry. I thought you had left" or just say nothing and reverse the charge . Zero tip for her in my opinion.

I'm sure the mom here didn't know she would be gone 15 minutes so she didn't feel the need to write criptive notes on her napkin or advise other patrons of her destination. She may have to do this in the future but it doesn't change the fact that the waitress mishandled the situation by being rude.

 

[02bBarbie]

I'm sure the mom here didn't know she would be gone 15 minutes so she didn't feel the need to write criptive notes on her napkin or advise other patrons of her destination. She may have to do this in the future but it doesn't change the fact that the waitress mishandled the situation by being rude.

Any time you leave a table for what could be any length of time (and the OP has self-reported that her son tries to do everything himself so she knows things can take awhile) one should make sure one's bases are covered - you can leave a criptive (sic) note, mention to a neighboring table that you're running to the bathroom and will be back, tell a server, a hostess, etc. If I were the server and I saw my table had been empty for 15 minutes, I darn sure would think I'd been stiffed. A simple act of forethought could have eliminated all of this.

And as far as being a lawyer = not being a deadbeat, first of all, deadbeats come in every occupation. Secondly, last I knew, when I made my ADRs they never asked me what my occupation was.

I don't see where the waitress' comment was all that horrible. Stiff her on the tip because the OP was technically the inconsiderate one? Yeah, that seems like a great idea.

 

[goofy4tink]

When did the bathrooms move? We've always used the set by the elevator to the monorail station. It's directly across from the escalator.

When using CM's, you are told to use the restrooms a level down...I've been to CM's more times than I can count and I have never used the restrooms outside the restaurant. The ones down a level are the restaurant restrooms. The OP was correct in using them.
Should she have alerted someone that she would be returning? Probably, yes. But, as others have said, it can be tough to find a server in CM's.....in fact, CM's has taken a turn for the worse in a lot of ways. Should the server have berated her? No, she could have made a quiet joke out of it, with an apology for misunderstanding. I always wondered what they did when people walked out of those buffets. I wonder what happens if there is no room key to be billed to.
Sorry you had that issue OP. Sure, it could have been avoided, but we aren't always thinking logically all the time and it can be stressfull being a single parent in that situation.

 

[maxiesmom]

There are 2 different bathrooms you can use. One is Chef Mickey's bathroom, which is down a set of stairs. It is very small, and often does have a line. Which is why I find it quicker to walk out of Chef Mickey's and use the one over by the escelator. On the right as you exit Chef Mickey's.

Hopefully everyone is on the same page about the bathrooms now.

I find the idea about leaving a note on your table a good one. You never know when a child will have to go, so you might not want to sit forever until you find your waitress. And if you run in to a line, you could be gone a while.
The OP didn't realize, but she also didn't deserve to be yelled at in front of the other customers.

 

[annie_in_wonderland]

I should think they would be used to this in a restaurant with so many children. You can't be the first person that this has happened to.

Don't take it personally. Sometimes WDW is so big that it just gets carried away with itself.

When I go to the bathroom at a restaurant I don't tell anyone I'm going. Who does that?

 

[RSoxFan]

Personally, I'd be more mad about the Ohana's incident, but maybe that's just me. The way your waiter just left you with nobody to cover the rest of your meal would really tick me off. That's just completely unprofessional. I'm glad the manager got involved in that case.

As for Chef Mickey's, I can see both sides. I don't really know what the perfect solution would be.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

Wow! Rough crowd

OP, I feel for you.

I think that CM's was quick on the trigger charging her room so quickly. Me thinks the waitress just wanted her tip and a turnover kinda like 2 tables for the price of one. They could have settled it at the end of the evening and without the WALK OUT label.

I hope that's not on her "permanent record".

 

[02bBarbie]

I should think they would be used to this in a restaurant with so many children. You can't be the first person that this has happened to.

WDW probably also has a good number of people who try to walk out on the check as well - again, it's good to look at both sides of the story.

When I go to the bathroom at a restaurant I don't tell anyone I'm going. Who does that?

I don't tell people at a restaurant I'm going to the bathroom. UNLESS - there's no one left at my table and I leave no identifying signs that I'm coming back. I like to think of it as common courtesy. As much as we like to think everyone is good and decent and moral, some people have no compunction about dining and dashing. I know way too many people who have worked in the restaurant business who've been stiffed by such people.

 

[annie_in_wonderland]

WDW probably also has a good number of people who try to walk out on the check as well - again, it's good to look at both sides of the story.



.

I can understand that WDW might have made a mistake (everyone makes mistakes) but if "the other side of the story" is them humiliating a guest in front of other guests and then leaving "walk out" on their bill even after they have paid, I'm not liking that side of the story at all.

Sorry, but it was all a big misunderstanding and the OP did return and paid her bill so what WDW should have said was, "Oh, so sorry! We didn't think you were coming back! We'll get you another table and take this nasty footnote off your bill!"

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

I agree, there was no justification for the waitress to mistreat her when she returned period.

 

[02bBarbie]

Having not been witness to the actual situation, I cannot say for certain that the OP was "mistreated." I imagine her feelings were hurt and emotions were heightened so perhaps she did feel mistreated.

I personally don't see where the comment "Oh, I thought you walked out on the bill" was so hurtful. If I were the OP, I would have been the one saying, wow, yeah, you know, I'm sorry, I can see where things could have been interpreted that way and just laughed it off.

 

[udsweetpea]

I'm a server at 1900 Park Fare and have had to deal with my share of walk-outs. At Disney though, people think the meal has already been paid for or directly does to their room bill even without signing anything. Many classy-looking people have walked out on the bill, and I've had to chase them down only to make them look like jerks (accidentally) for not paying.

Next time, let someone know. Fifteen minutes is a long time to be gone and a long time for that server to wait for you to come back or not.

 

[annie_in_wonderland]

Here's my thinking. If I owned a restaurant my goal would be to make all my guests comfortable and happy and never ever bad about themselves.

In my work, that is what I try to do for my clients and I think that is good policy for any business. If the client does something wrong, I am not saying that you need to be walked all over, but if there is a misunderstanding, it is just good business to be extra nice.

Maybe she "shouldn't" have taken it personally but a) we weren't there and b) it is her feelings not ours.

I still think WDW just doesn't use it's head sometimes. It's a big head, and probably hard to manage, but customer service is often lacking, IMO.