Is there a reason why servers don't like the DDP?

[labattblue]

Just curious as I've never been on the DDP...Is there any reason why the servers would not like customers coming in with it? They lose out on tip? Something else?

Thanks!

PS Sorry I meant to put this in the regular section for restaurants, not the dining reviews. Mods please move. Thanks!

 

[bicker]

There is no reason to believe that servers especially dislike the Dining Plan. I think that's often (though perhaps not always) just something some people say to explain what they feel was less than optimal service they personally received, but many folks who have talked to servers about it report those servers saying that they like the Dining Plan.

The servers get a guaranteed gratuity, which is both better than being stiffed, and generally better the standard gratuity recommendation. Furthermore, especially at Disney-owned restaurants, the vast majority of Dining Plan restaurants, the total bill that servers get tipped on is generally higher than it would have been without the Dining Plan.

 

[Warmwinds]

Maybe I shouldn't comment since I've never been on the DDP, but I've read a lot of times where people will say "If we're paying OOP we never order both appetizers and desserts, too much food, but on the DDP we can"...so maybe the waiters see a lot of wasted food being thrown out...I know that would bother me.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

I would think that the waiters would be more concerned with getting a big tip rather than food being wasted. We have always been encouraged to order as much as possible while on the DP. I almost feel guilty when I don't order desert.

 

[goofy4tink]

I've done the DDP twice now, Oct and Dec, and have yet to feel like I was treated differently than when I was paying OOP. I would think that the servers would not like the DDE card though. Since you get 20% off, I would think a lot of people would then tip on the discounted total, not the 'real' total.

 

[Ms.Mouse]

I would think that the waiters would be more concerned with getting a big tip rather than food being wasted. We have always been encouraged to order as much as possible while on the DP. I almost feel guilty when I don't order desert.

I feel "guilty" too!!! At both TS & CS they will say things like "And don't forget you get a dessert too" or You get an appetizer with this meal so do you want the fruit salad or a garden salad". When you are on the dining plan, it does seem as though they want you to get everything that is "due" to you.

I've never felt that I got waited on differently or with an attitude at all at WDW. I did feel that the very few times we had "bad service" it was because they were just not very good waitstaff anyway. They seemed to treat all their diners the same as us. When we asked about the tips on the DP, they always say the same. They get a certain percentage (I don't remember but I think it's 18%) They get it along with their check. The few times we got "bad service" we left no extra tip but if the waitstaff did average to very well, we tip extra accordingly.

 

[java]

We use dde and I can say they don't know we are using it until we get the check- so the treatment is fine. And when we tip we always tip the DDE discount given since it is 20%! makes it easy- and if the service was amazing we do bump it even. I will say that I think the waiters we have seen feel they have a chance at a better tip from someone that hasn't already paid it- does that make sense... Like they HAVE the ddp tip already so why try so hard.. a non ddp table could still be a ?tip so work for it.... That is what we have seen anyway although we have not ever done the dining plan.

 

[Nancyg56]

I have use the DDP three times and have never felt as though the servers treated my family differently. I always tell them prior to our order that we are using the plan and if we have a guest who is not on the plan. Our server at the CG thanked us for telling him in advance because he said that he would be able to prepare the check properly for us. He said that once the bill is completed it takes a while to void it and then to start over placing the least expensive items on a separate check. Our server at 50's PTC did the same for us in August, but knew in advance that we were not all on the DDP.

I would guess that based on the conversation I had the servers may have extra work and perhaps some irritated customers when they do not know in advance how to prepare the bill.

 

[freshmanjs]

Maybe I shouldn't comment since I've never been on the DDP, but I've read a lot of times where people will say "If we're paying OOP we never order both appetizers and desserts, too much food, but on the DDP we can"...so maybe the waiters see a lot of wasted food being thrown out...I know that would bother me.

Why would that possibly bother you? You would be working for a business that made more money. You personally made more money. Farmers made more money. And - no one was harmed in any way whatsoever.

 

[ransom]

I don't think the wait staff at Disney restaurants are fretting over the DDP. At least, there was no sign of such when we were there a couple of months ago for eight nights.

Even CS cashiers (who of course get no tips) insisted we take everything we were due under the plan - even when we didn't really want dessert!

At no TS restaurant were we made to feel like second class citizens because of the DDP. Every waiter or waitress either treated us no differently or seemed excited that we were on the DDP.

 

[LLD&WCD]

My Dh & I were actually talking about this the other day. And to be honest with you we felt as though we got "Better" service this past September while we were there and on the Dining Plan. We were only there for 2 days -- but we did notice a difference in the service & it was for the Better!! We went to Disney in October 2004 for our Honeymoon & then in December 2005 and paid out of pocket for all our meals those 2 years & were pleased ---but not quite as pleased as we were during our past vacation.
My Dh & I always tip - and will even if the service is not as good as we think it should be - but as I said above I believe the service was best this last trip. Maybe with the DDP they know they are getting a tip as another poster said - you know. They know they are not going to get stiffed by you since you have the DDP. But then again maybe it's the time you are eating (your seating time) maybe the wait staff is just tired or they could have been having a bad day. Or maybe it's just the time of the year. Who knows -- there are so many reasons as to WHY ? But through our experience we have never had a BAD meal per say @ Disney -- and I don't think the DDP would make the wait staff any less Disney friendly than usual!!!

 

[The Sweetness]

I think~
1~ Restaurants are more busy than they used to be before this version of the DDp (more tables = more $$$)
2~ I think more food is ordered than it would be sans DDP (bigger bill = bigger tip at WDW owned places ) with the exception of buffets, where I also think the garunteed 18% is a good thing
Some people actually dont think 18% is deserved by buffet servers, since we get our own food ((I totally disagree on that; I think buffet servers bust their buts ))

 

[bicker]

Even CS cashiers (who of course get no tips) insisted we take everything we were due under the plan - even when we didn't really want dessert!

This is a good point. I think a lot of people seriously overestimate the cost of an incremental amount of food. It's infinitessimal as compared to other considerations. Making you feel the $38.99 per day was worth it (so you'll tell others and perhaps make the same choice next time) is far more important than the little extra money CS desserts cost.

 

[Aimeedyan]

This is a good point. I think a lot of people seriously overestimate the cost of an incremental amount of food. It's infinitessimal as compared to other considerations. Making you feel the $38.99 per day was worth it (so you'll tell others and perhaps make the same choice next time) is far more important than the little extra money CS desserts cost.

You make a good point. When we went in Sept on the DDP, we brought my in laws for their very first trip to WDW. We shared many meals and still threw out tons of food BUT on the flight home, my FIL commented that the dining plan was the way to do Disney and they will be purchasing it when they come back with the grandkids.

It sold it to them!

 

[bicker]

It goes deeper than that. People call it "wasting" food but that's a twisted view. It is well-established that using food as scenary helps project a sense of abundance, celebration, satisfaction, etc. I've seen some incredible carved watermelons at weddings at the Grand Floridian. Those puppies are whole, not empty inside, and at the end of the affair, they're going in the trash. How often have you see a tomato rosette placed on top of a steak? How often does it get eaten? Eh? And restaurants learned years ago that if your customers are blanching at paying $25 for a pork chop, stick a second pork chop on the plate. It's not there to be eaten, but rather just to make the customer feel better about paying $25 for the meal... the cost of the extra pork chop is miniscule as compared to the increase in the perception of value, even though the pork chop ends up uneaten.

 

[Bichon Barb]

Why would that possibly bother you? You would be working for a business that made more money. You personally made more money. Farmers made more money. And - no one was harmed in any way whatsoever.

I'm not warmwinds, but I'd like to respond. While it's nice to make money, creating unnecessary waste is bad for the environment. Farming uses fuel, water, pesticides, etc. The extra food which is thrown away also creates more waste--not just in the food itself but the wasted energy creating the food, the disposable plates and utensils, etc.

And more simply, many people just find wastefulness to be ethically wrong.

 

[PeachesDoesHair]

We went in September for a week with free dining. Out of that we only had one server who wasn't on the ball. He just acted as if he didn't care. I don't think the dining plan had anything to do with it. I think he was just a bad waiter. Anyway, we had some exeptional service the rest of the week.

 

[Katiebell]

bicker, your points are very true, especially about garnishing and decorating tables with food. Technically, stringing popcorn and cranberries to hang on your Christmas tree is wasting food -- unless you put them outside after yuletide to feed the birds.

I wouldn't say it's a "twisted view" -- that's rather harsh, isn't it? -- but it is a conditioned view. As I said in another thread, I think it's cultural and generational. My mom was born at the beginning of the Depression, and lived through the rationing in WWII, when there truly wasn't enough food. When someone knows what it's really like to be hungry, yeah, they pass that on to their kids.

I'm not a "clean plate kid", but wasting food bothers me like...seeing people drive Hummers (there's a lot of them around here since our Governator made them so popular, but now I just laugh at them at the gas station ). Or when my neighbors' garbage can is overflowing into the street with newspaper and glass and cardboard and their mixed recycling can is sitting empty next to their house. But that's probably just the hippie in me, huh?

Peace

 

[Katiebell]

I'm not warmwinds, but I'd like to respond. While it's nice to make money, creating unnecessary waste is bad for the environment. Farming uses fuel, water, pesticides, etc. The extra food which is thrown away also creates more waste--not just in the food itself but the wasted energy creating the food, the disposable plates and utensils, etc.

And more simply, many people just find wastefulness to be ethically wrong.

Thank you, Bichon Barb...beautifully and eloquently put.

 

[freshmanjs]

I'm not warmwinds, but I'd like to respond. While it's nice to make money, creating unnecessary waste is bad for the environment. Farming uses fuel, water, pesticides, etc. The extra food which is thrown away also creates more waste--not just in the food itself but the wasted energy creating the food, the disposable plates and utensils, etc.

And more simply, many people just find wastefulness to be ethically wrong.

On your first point, the environmental issue is a valid point. I am not sure of the magnitude of it though.

On your second point about it being "ethically wrong," This view is a huge contributor to the horrible obesity problem we have in the U.S.A. To me, this is a much larger problem than any ethical concerns about food waste.

I can't see why a person would hold this view about ethics. Please explain it to me. It makes no sense to me because no one is harmed and some people (farmers, food workers) are helped.