Just returned disappointed in Counter service

[sdoll]

We just returned from our vacation
This was our 5 trip in 3 years. Safe to say we love the World. But we were really dissapointed in our counter service experinces. This was the first time we were not on the dining plan. But I was wondering if anyone else has had issues lately. Maybe it would help if I shared our problems.
-At AK we went to eat at my all time fave. Flame tree BBQ. We waited in line for our order for 35 mins!!!! and then waited another 20 mins for food. When I finally sat down to eat my yummy chicken was I ever shocked. It was so dry it was hard to swallow. I did not complain because I could see that everyone was really working hard.
At MK we went to Pinochio's haus. 45 mins in line before we left...Because we really had not moved.
At MK Peco's Bills over 30 mins.
I usually don't get upset about this kind of stuff I work in the service industry and if peolple are really trying hard I can't ask for more than that and I felt that the cast members were working but every place we went was super slow. Not sure if Disney world is cutting back on Cast members to save money in tough times but not the normal excellent service that we have grown to love. Any one else notice this?

 

[dzneelvr]

I'm wondering if it was because you went in "off-off" season?? We've gone every summer and NEVER had anywhere near your wait times. That would seem to be standard practice for most service industries--hire fewer workers in the slower times. We used to go in January years ago when DS and DD were little and found the counterservices had alot of register lines closed but it didn't add too much time to the order. We found the dining areas quite empty.However, that time of year the sit downs were wonderful--most were able to accomodate us as walk-ins; something that would not happen in the summer months! Pros and cons to be had in every season at WDW, I guess.

 

[BabyPiglet]

Maybe you didn't go at the right times. Around noon all the CS places are PACKED!

 

[simonkodousek]

When we were in WDW last July (one of the busiest times of the year) our longest CS wait time was 10 minutes, and that was at Captain Cook's at the Polynesian. Maybe Disney is cutting down on the number of CM's working at the CS restaurants, but that definitely wasn't happening in summer.

 

[Disney Ella]

We were at WDW last August and Flame Tree Barbeque was the only counter service we went to that had long wait times, and it appeared to be because they moved very, very slowly. We were there around 11:30 and there were only four people ahead of us, yet it took forty minutes from the time we entered the line until we had our food.

 

[rgf207]

We went in the end of June last year. We at lunch at about 11:30am and never waited more than 10 minutes.

This is strange. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. What time did you eat?

 

[Sugardimples]

We were also there last week and had no problems at all. Never waited more than a few minutes.

 

[hildarumpole]

Disney isn't suffering from the tough economic times. They're making great profits, so they can afford to be properly staffed for the crowd levels. When we visited last June, we noticed that several CS locations were very slow. We always went right when they opened and were among the first in line, yet some places took a very long time to get orders out. Tusker House at AK was particularly bad. We were first in line. It took less than a minute to place our order, but 15 min. to fill it. I watched the kitchen help. It looked like a movie in slow motion. There was also a lot of confusion about beverage dispensing. A CS at Typhoon Lagoon was another place that was stuck in low gear. I got the impression that some of the kitchen help might be special needs after talking to one of the CMs after an order goof-up.

 

[MercyMe]

They hire a temporary, seasonal staff for the peak seasons and special events. As mentioned previously, this is off-off season, so they're running the parks with skeleton crews. Disney reported a record $$ year for 2007, so it's definitely not a sign of hard economic times.

 

[MyGoofy26]

I don't know how much this affected things, but over the past month a new crop of CP's (students on the college program) have been rolling in. I know that Quick Service is one of the biggest roles for recruiters to fill but unsure how many CPs they hire vs. regular staff. . . but if there are enough new CPs just starting to find their groove or just being trained, I can see how that might slow the process down a bit.

 

[micksterlee]

We have never had much of a problem at CS places, service has always been pretty quick and the food tasty.

 

[jonestavern]

We were at Flame Tree & Tusker House (the old CS version) last Nov/Dec and were served at very reasonable times and both times, the food was good.

We do eat at 'off' times (very early or very late for lunches or dinners). The same vacay, Morocco CS had wicked long lines for late lunch, but we got went thru the line & received our food within 20 minutes.



Jean