HORRIFIC service (and response) at Concourse!!

[highsmith]

I am still fuming a bit. I had heard the food was not the best, but with this free dining, we had to take whatever reservations we could get. We had a 7:30 reservation on Wednesday. Great, got there at 7:20 and was told 15-20 minutes after reservation time. No problem. We got a drink and sat in the lounge. At 8pm, I went up and asked how long and was told 15-20 minutes after reservation time. I told them my reservation was 30 minutes ago and I have been here 40 minutes. They say they have to "look into it". While I am standing there, there were four hosts standing there not doing a darn thing and there are empty tables everywhere.

While I am waiting for them to get their story together and expalin to me the over half hour wait, a woman comes up and demands to speak to the manager. She then goes on to say she has two children (they were two boys about 8 and 10) that have to eat before 10 pm and she wants a table. Mind you, she has NO RESERVATION, but Susan (the apparent manager) says she can seat her within 30-45 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello! I have had a reservation for 90 DAYS and I have now waited 45 minutes and I have an infant and a 7 year old who need to eat too! I was furious! We were finally seated about 15 minutes later and Tammy, the server, was very polite when she saw what was going on and got food out quickly, but in good time and not rushing us. I tracked down Susan and explained what was going on and her only excuse was she was trying to clear tables (while she had four staff hosts standing with their thumbs up their noses) to turn them over. Hello!!! Make them do soemthing besides lying to people with reservations. I also told her I was made to stand around while she took someone without a reservation faster than my 90 day reservation and her response was that "this late we know we will get no shows and the woman had children". Um, so do I and I have an infant and a reservation!

Once again, I have been to Disney 20 times and have never, ever been this infuriated over poor service and utter lack of training with CM. I hope nobody else experiences this!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'm NOT making excuses for Disney, just trying to explain what may have gone on.
First, while Disney calls them 'reservations', it's the same old Priority Seating/Advance Dining that's been in existence for several years. It's like call-ahead seating at Outback except that most of us have to call way further ahead than when we're leaving the house
You make a reservation, you arrive x minutes in advance as advised and you're seated at the next available table for your size party, after others with reservations who arrived before you but (ideally) ahead of walk-ins - although that's not what it sounds like happened this time.
I have to admit I'm a little confused. Was the other party actually seated before you were seated? Or do you mean they were seated with less of a wait than you were (30-45 minutes vs. your apparent 55-65 minutes), but that you were eventually seated first?
As for hosts standing around and empty tables: Most likely, the hosts aren't trained to really clear/clean the tables; and empty tables are likely based on what the kitchen can handle at any given point.

Now, it's ALWAYS best to present your issues while you're at a location or business more than once you get home, but you could write a brief e-mail to Walt Disney World explaining what happened and why you are upset. I do realize you spoke to a restaurant manager - I'd have escalated my issues to her boss, and if necessary to the General Manager of the Contemporary. Most of the time, I just want someone to listen to me and apologize. If I want something else reasonable, I will know what it is before I air my challenges (in case I'm asked, "what can we do to resolve/fix this?")

 

[mickyzzzzz05]

What a nasty experience. The remark that the other woman had children when you had an infant was terrible. This was the manager?

I am glad that they were able to accomodate this other woman but it should not have been at your expense.

It sounds like your server was top notch.

I wish they would have handled the situation differently.

 

[highsmith]

Thanks for the response. The other party, which was the same size and WITHOUT Reservations, was seated almost at the exact time as us. I have considered trying to contact the GM of the hotel but also hope it was a one time issue and I was the one who got the short end of the stick. I understand it is priority seating, but it is not right that I kept getting told 15-20 minutes, but it had been close to an hour by the time I got a table, there were tons of tables and the kitchen did handle it once we were seated (and we were seated next to a party of 10 adults who ordered at the same moment and we all got our food together) and Susan, the manager, provided a worthless excuse and no apology. I thought I would jsut let it slide but I am still very irritated, after all this time and wanted to see if anyone else had experienced this.

 

[highsmith]

Yes, Susan the manager said that and then said nothing when I told her I had an infant and a 7 year old. She knew there was no response for her to say after that!

 

[mickyzzzzz05]

Yes, Susan the manager said that and then said nothing when I told her I had an infant and a 7 year old. She knew there was no response for her to say after that!

Her response should have been, "I am so sorry. You should not have had to wait that long to be seated. Our mistake and I am sorry."

No apology was not the proper response. I can see why you are fuming. You try to be reasonable and then get treated badly with no apology. I would be fuming too.

 

[dixiedizfan]

I don't blame you one bit; that was inexcusable. And I almost hate to ask now but, how was the food?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Thanks for the response. The other party, which was the same size and WITHOUT Reservations, was seated almost at the exact time as us. I have considered trying to contact the GM of the hotel but also hope it was a one time issue

My opinion, it may be a one time issue for YOU - but if even one party a night has a similar experience, and chalks it up to a one time issue when maybe, just maybe, it's not... the hotel REALLY wants to know! Heck, in a week I spent probably three hours in various parks' Guest Services offices One time things? For me, sure - but some of my issues involved misinformation being given by CMs, and while I knew to check further, not everyone would do that. Some people (non-DISers, of course ) would just accept the first response. And one of my issues involved mechanics (actual works, not CMs) that Disney may or may not have heard about from other Guests. Just to be safe, anyone visiting soon may want to try to avoid the ladies room behind Innoventions West and that's all I'm gonna say about that!
But back to Concourse. I know the e-mail address is on the disneyworld.com website; in addition, I'm sure more than a few DISers can provide you with it. Oh, and it's packed someplace in one of my suitcases At any rate, I really WOULD contact Disney about this. While there are two - well, really three - sides to every story, it sounds like you could have been treated a LOT better, but Disney can't fix what they don't know is broken.

 

[highsmith]

The food was acceptable. Not great, but cooked appropriately and the appetizer was good. So no qualms there and again, kudos to Tammy , our server, as she stepped in, got apps right away and drinks and she made sure our dinner came after, but not long after, we were done with our apps. We tipped her appropriately too!

I will likely compose a letter and send it to the GM.

 

[dawgfan]

Thanks for the review! Sorry for that bad service. I have never tried this place before. I will watch for further review before I do.

 

[eblack0409]

I am so sorry for your experience at Concourse......

You seem to have so much more patience than I do...I would have demanded I not be charged a TS credit for the meal.....with an ADR you should not have been made to wait that long!

Definately send a letter to the GM....I always think they deserve to know what's going on in their restaraunts!

 

[jjohnson]

We have been to Concourse 2x and have had the same wait issues as you. I ended up spending WAY too much in the gift shops.

I agree Tammy is terrific!