Is it just me or...

[DisOrBust]

all the dining reviews coming back with "poor service". In the past you would read the occasional bad service report but now with the dining plan and the loss of busboys it seems pretty consistant. I don't know if they have anthing to do with the bad service but it seems more then a cowinsedence(sorry, spelling??)

 

[ladysoleil]

I think you also have to factor in time of year and crowds, too. Even though right now is a "slow" time, they may not have as many servers on hand, and the restaurants are pretty full. It's kind of an arbitrary thing though, as "full" in some cases means that the sections that are open for dining are packed and all servers are on the floor, it may not mean that every table in the restaurant has someone dining at it all at once. Same with the resorts, some of them are "full" but just have closed off room sections that aren't available for use.

One of the servers we talked to said that they try to balance staffing with demand- without the dining plan, they'd be getting less shifts. So, the servers on staff are picking up more hours and working more, but there still aren't as many people on service staff as there would be during peak season. That can contribute to bad service- an overworked server isn't going to be able to do the best job.

The majority of my table service was excellent. I had only one bad TS service experience. I'm sure if I stayed at home for a week and ate out at a different place each night, I'd probably get bad service at least once, too.

I expect less from counter service, but again, the only "bad" CS we had was at POP. It didn't ruin our day or keep us from having fun, it was just a mild annoyance and quickly brushed off.

I think it varies. I've heard as many stories of good service as of bad, and I think we have a tendency to share more negative information on the boards. That's fine- sometimes it is more important to know what to watch out for, especially at WDW where we expect that most of our experiences are going to be pleasant and positive. But, more people may be taking the time to post about bad things that they weren't expecting. The people who everything went great for may not be as vocal about it.

 

[DisOrBust]

I had to bump this up again after reading the "new" dining reports. I have to say I am a bit miffed. We will be NOT on the dining plan and best get decent service. Some of these reports are having my hair stand up!! I hope everyone who get bad service lets them know or it will be the "norm" in WDW!!

 

[joliesmom]

I just returned from 12 days in the world and only had poor service once in Teppnayaki and mediocre service once at Ohana where he forgot our salad. We also had exeptional service twice once at Yachtsman and once at Whispering Canyon, and really good sevice at Alfredos. Will do a full report soon.

 

[Kycha]

I think it varies. I've heard as many stories of good service as of bad, and I think we have a tendency to share more negative information on the boards. That's fine- sometimes it is more important to know what to watch out for, especially at WDW where we expect that most of our experiences are going to be pleasant and positive. But, more people may be taking the time to post about bad things that they weren't expecting. The people who everything went great for may not be as vocal about it.

I totally agree. I am one person who will be vocal and tell you that we had no problems while using the dining plan last week. We had good service everywhere and exceptional service at Kona Cafe. I hope people will continue to take advantage of the dining plan because it is such a good value.

 

[BCV23]

I think some of the reports I've seen have been a little unrealistic. People have complained about a full service meal taking an hour and a half. To me, that is OK if you're doing three courses. I wonder if some people who are used to doing CS or buffets while at WDW are surprised that a leisurely sit down meal takes a little longer.

I'm not flaming anyone or speaking of anybody's report in particular. Just something I've noticed.

Interesting about the staffing as well.

 

[DisFlan]

I'm hoping things will improve now that the "free" dining offer is ending. We'll be there in 2 weeks - and we're not on a dining plan, just DDE.

Free dining did its job and filled a lot of rooms, but I have a feeling it won't be offered again. Or if it is, it'll be modified quite a bit. I don't think they were really ready for how much it stressed the food services and overcrowded many of the restaurants.

DisFlan

 

[Cookie Princess]

I must admit I am a tad worried. Our trip is just 4 weeks away and the restaurants seem to keep removing items from the menus and/or changing the rules. I am now reading that a child can't order a milk as a beverage under the plan. Please tell me this isn't the case. The service level decrease is probably in part due to the plan, but also because WDW now has the waiters/waitresses busing the tables as well as doing their server jobs. It's all about the money!

 

[DiscussDisney]

We just returned on Wednesday and here is my service reviews:

Chef Mickey's - Excellent. Tom was our server and he was great. Never had to ask for a soda refill or to have our used plates removed. A+

Le Cellier - Don't remember server's name, but she was also excellent. Refills were given without having to ask. A

CRT - Again, don't remember the server's name, but he was also very good. Service was a little too fast for my taste, but again, never had to ask for a refill. B+

O'Hanas - After the first day, it seems I can't remember any of the server's names, but once again EXCELLENT. Server came over immediately. Drinks arrived promptly and refilled our potatoes, wings, etc quickly. A+

1900 Park Fare - Nope, don't remember name. But our server was VERY energetic and fun. Gave us lots of tips on where to sit the kids, what drinks were included in the plan, how the characters "worked the room". Here, we had to ask for refills, so I'll bump the service down to A.

So, as you can see, overall we had Excellent service on the free dining plan.

 

[eclectics]

We had ten nights of the dining plan and all the TS restaurants were crowded or fairly full. We told our servers we were on the dining plan right off. I have to say we had wonderful service at EVERY restaurant we ate at! Not one server treated us badly or ignored us. Maybe we just got lucky, but I would tend to doubt it. I can't comment on other people's dining experiences, but I will say I saw none of the "awful service" a lot seem to be reporting.

 

[WDWBetsy]

This is just my opinion...

Even in my daily life, I can go out to lunch with some of my co-workers, and my expectations and observations of levels of service can be totally different than those who are sitting at the same table. I'm a pretty patient person, and unless someone is downright rude to me, I just relax and enjoy the meal. I'm usually given drink refills before I'm done with the first.

I've been to lunch/dinner with friends who absolutely embarrass me when they roll their eyes and declare that the server isn't getting any tip because they were a little slow getting the drinks refilled. Or the rolls aren't brought out quick enough, so they get up and gripe to the manager expecting the meals to be comped.

I guess I just am a little more understanding because I've worked in the service industry and if I see someone working their butt off at other tables and doing their best to serve mine, too - I appreciate their hard work and understand that they'll get to me ASAP. If a server comes off as not caring or rude, I definitely take that into consideration when calculating their tip and even complaining.

Don't get me wrong - if someone treats me badly or keeps screwing up, I do talk to the manager. But I'm always polite and keep my expectations realistic. There's a difference between constructive criticism and just ripping someone wide open in a restaurant making a scene. I don't equate someone not refilling my drink with the "right" to yell at a CM or manager and cause fellow diners to witness a meltdown. That's not my idea of a good meal, especially at Disney World.

I'm not saying that the complaints that I've been reading recently are not valid. I just don't get worked up about a restaurant being a no-no because of a recent rash of "bad service" posts. There are crappy servers who really need to reflect on their careers. Communication is key to customers -- a little heads up on why that item I ordered is taking so long goes a long way in my book. Just my perception of how people can perceive service - good or bad.

 

[andrabell]

WDWBetsy, your avatar is precious and your post is the best one I've read regarding Disney dining to date.

Thank you!

 

[lyncruiser]

In our experience, free dining has made one-TS restaurants miserable -- crowded, loud and frantic. The staffs are stressed, the kitchens overloaded, apparently menus have been cut back to make it through the promotion without losing money!

When we were at Chefs de France about the third night of free dining, the maitre d' already looked ready to collapse -- and he had a month yet to go!

It's enough already!! At least free dining is ending before we arrive later this month, thank heavens!

We were there in late August on a previously-planned trip that happened to coincide with the beginning of free dining. We will never go again during a free dining promotion (we didn't participate in it, using DDE instead) and will cancel our trip if it is offered again.

Fortunately, I don't believe we will ever see free dining again.

As for the reports of service problems during free dining -- I'm ignoring them as I think any dining report during free dining -- whether as to food or service -- is irrelevant once free dining has ended.

 

[LeesyUD]

I think the thing people need to realize is that the free dining didn't fill up the restaurants anymore than it would have during the busiest times at WDW...during Xmas and the summer alot of the restaurants get filled up so the servers should be used to those crowds. I think it is just a case of coincidence. I was in Disney during free dining, just got back this week. Here are my expriences with service:
Le Cellier: Exceptional - Stephanie was our waitress and she was so kind and accomodating. We had a vegetarian at our table that had to change her selection a few times bc there were a few things that we didn't realize that had meat or meat sauce in it. Stephanie double checked everything she ordered to make sure it was vegetarian-friendly and she was patient with all of us.
Ohana: Awesome! We loved our server at Ohana! Again he was also very nice! We asked for a second and then a third helping of the potatoes...the third turned into a fourth helping though because he brought an extra plate of potatoes we weren't expecting that third time! (We really liked those potatoes) Also he kept assuring us that if we needed anything else just to ask!!
Boma: Fine - with a buffet you don't get a whole lot of service...but we did have the nicest and happies greeter I have ever seen in Disney World. His name I believe was Thabo. He made us smile the minute we walked in with his eneregy!
California Grill -Wonderful! I was suprised at how efficient our server was...I don't think I had an empty glass on my table more than a second...everytime I was running low, he was right there to fill our glasses!
Mama Melrose - Ok - Our waitress was very friendly and helpful at first...but then I think she fell in a rabbit hole...It took 20 minutes just to get dessert. In her defense though she had a trainee tagging along, so I think that slowed her down a bit at the end.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

Boma: Fine - with a buffet you don't get a whole lot of service...but we did have the nicest and happies greeter I have ever seen in Disney World. His name I believe was Thabo. He made us smile the minute we walked in with his eneregy!

We had the same greeter at Boma! He was awesome and energetic. We also had the same overall feeling about service. It was fine, but not anything special.

Our other experiences:

Chef Mickey's: great service

Yacht Club Galley: prefect level of being there without being over bearing! Great food too!

Sci-Fi: really late getting into the restaurant (30 mins past ADR), but that could have been a party size problem (we were a group of 8). Once inside, our server, Corey, was awesome. 4 of us were on the Dining Plan and 4 were not. Everyone ordered whatever they wanted, and when it came time to settle, Corey put the most expensive stuff on the Dining Plan and the less expensive stuff on the other ticket regardless of who ordered what.

Crystal Palace: seated right at ADR time; server kept up with refills and additional requests (extra napkins, etc) without a problem.

CRT: felt a little rushed, but service overall was great.

JIKO: Impeccable service and attitude. We asked for a wine recommendation and got an outstanding one.

Boma was the only place we did not increase our tip to 20% or better. I know it is a buffet, but I shouldn't have to flag down a greeter to get my server.

 

[kaytieeldr]

We had ten nights of the dining plan and all the TS restaurants were crowded or fairly full. We told our servers we were on the dining plan right off. I have to say we had wonderful service at EVERY restaurant we ate at! Not one server treated us badly or ignored us. Maybe we just got lucky, but I would tend to doubt it. I can't comment on other people's dining experiences, but I will say I saw none of the "awful service" a lot seem to be reporting.

I have to agree! I told every server when they first approached my table that I was using the Dining Plan, because while I pretty much knew what I would order to eat, I was never sure which drinks were included. I got nothing but EXCELLENT service!

 

[GC&S]

We were there 6 nights and no problems with service while using the dining plan. Our only problem was breakfast at our hotel (not using dining plan) and we got a rude waiter who did the eye roll thing with us when I asked if I could get a child's portion of fruit for our 3 yr old. Other than that, everyone was nice, helpful and very attentive. We tipped over the dining plan almost everywhere we ate.

Two restaurants, we heard families complaining loudly about the bad service. We couldn't figure out what they were talking about. Our waiter had one of the tables and he busted his rear trying to make them happy. IMO they were very rude to him and expected the world just because they had the dining plan. I think they were the type of family that wasn't going to be happy with anything, anywhere, anytime.

Personally, we didn't expect primo service, but we got it most places, even CS places. The eyerolling waiter ticked me off but it certainly didn't ruin my day. Using the dining plan was a great perk for us, but we didn't build our vacation around it.

Edited to add - last week we didn't have any problem ordering milk or juice for dd under the dining plan.

 

[afcgirl]

I think the thing people need to realize is that the free dining didn't fill up the restaurants anymore than it would have during the busiest times at WDW...during Xmas and the summer alot of the restaurants get filled up so the servers should be used to those crowds.

Exactly!

We go in July every year and most of the restaurants are packed. If a restaurant can not handle a capacity crowd, there is something wrong with how it is run. After all, there are still the same number of seats in a restaurant whether there is free dining or not, so it is not like there are more people in the restaurant than at the crowded time of year.

And if a maitre d' is about to collapse when his restaurant is full, then he is in the wrong business. He should be thrilled that his restaurant is full.

 

[buzzmom3]

We were there 9-24 thru 10-1 with the dining plan. We did not have bad service any where! Our "cousin" at O'hana was wonderful, never had to ask for a refill. Pip at 50's Primetime was great! Very fun! We also went to San Angel Inn, CRT, Chef Mickey's, Mama Melrosa's and Liberty Tree Tavern. No compliants!

 

[MOMOFMNM]

our service was great in all places except a few, and combined with cold and or not very good food, that is why I said what I said in my report:

CM great
Sci Fi service great (but he was reaaally busy)
Tepanyaki bad food and service IMO
CRT fun but server was unkind when I spilled my diet coke and food was cold but the meal was FUN and exciting and desert was good
Ohana EXCELLENT
Flame Tree great
Cpt cooks great

I did not necessarily complain about the time, I was just letting folks know to expect 2 hrs for a 3 course meal and plan parks accordingly...we missed out on a lot of attractions because of eating but we only had 5 days to begin with, reason 4545999 why we are going back soon!!