More Concerns about the DDP

[cjstarr]

Mind is more of a concern about the treatment by the restaurant themselves. From what I have read (and it seems to be from quite a few) it seems that you get better or (preferred) treatment if you pay OOP then if you use the DP. It does not seem to matter if it is the DDP or D-DDP or any of the others. What Gives!!!! The fact that I pre-pay for my meals should be no difference then if I wait and pay for them when we dine. The waiter / waitress will still receive a good tip for their services if they do the job for which they are performing, and if they (waiter / waitress) decide that they do not (for what ever reason) want to give you good service then they should not receive a good tip. (jmpo) Has anyone ever said anything to any of the management about this treatment? It has me thinking about how my family and I will be treated when we are there and if should drio my D-DDP altogether.
How come this situation is not being handled by someone from Disney?

 

[TDC Nala]

Doesn't make sense, really, that dining plan guests would get worse service than OOP guests, because the dining plan (both basic and deluxe) doesn't include the tip. The servers need to work just as hard to get good tips out of the dining plan guests.

Some thought this was a concern last year, when the dining plan already included a pre-set tip. If it was indeed a concern (I never personally experienced this), Disney has handled it by removing the included tip.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Most likely, it's more a matter of perception than fact - so there's really not much TO be addressed by Disney.

 

[Tricia1972]

Most likely, it's more a matter of perception than fact - so there's really not much TO be addressed by Disney.

This is what I thought when I first read the original post also.

 

[minniekissedme]

Most likely, it's more a matter of perception than fact - so there's really not much TO be addressed by Disney.

We spent the beginning of Feb w/7 nites on the DDP. Not once did we experience anything less than good service from any of the servers we encountered. Frankly I thought it was better than the previous year when we were on the DDP w/tip.

I've come to the conclusion and there is nothing you can do about it...some people always have to have something to complain about.

Eat well!!!!!

 

[Disney Padawan]

Mind is more of a concern about the treatment by the restaurant themselves. From what I have read (and it seems to be from quite a few) it seems that you get better or (preferred) treatment if you pay OOP then if you use the DP. It does not seem to matter if it is the DDP or D-DDP or any of the others. What Gives!!!! The fact that I pre-pay for my meals should be no difference then if I wait and pay for them when we dine. The waiter / waitress will still receive a good tip for their services if they do the job for which they are performing, and if they (waiter / waitress) decide that they do not (for what ever reason) want to give you good service then they should not receive a good tip. (jmpo) Has anyone ever said anything to any of the management about this treatment? It has me thinking about how my family and I will be treated when we are there and if should drio my D-DDP altogether.
How come this situation is not being handled by someone from Disney?

What you're saying had or has a lot of truth to it. I did a similar thread a few months back stating the same thing. It seemed to me (by what many others wrote) that people using the DDP were being treated differently than those paying OOP.

The results of my thread were typical (half yes half no) but many did point out this dilema. This was an on going problem that was happening and was being talked about on many Disney boards. Many think it's one of the main reasons the 2008 DDP doesn't include tips.

I've stated before that Disney should pay their employees more because they're overworked and understaffed. The hotel staff and restaurant employees suffer from this a lot, I'm not making excuses for poor service though.

The complaints seem to have reduced quite a bit specially when you read about the many 2008 TR. Even though I don't agree with many aspects of the DDP, if Disney felt taking out the automatic 18% tip will better improve service, so be it.

So I wouldn't worry too much about the DDP. If you see it saves you money then use it. Anyone (guest or CM) can have a bad day but I'm sure the majority of your trip will be filled with the nice and curteous CM's many of us have grown used to.

 

[LeesyUD]

I have been on the dining plan twice, both times tip included. We tipped extra anyway, but the servers did not know we were going to do this and we received excellent service just about everywhere we ate both years.

 

[Jessma9902]

I didn't notice any problems when we were on the DDP in December. The staff treated us as a guest- regardless of how we were paying. I will say that the only time I felt even remotely slighted was at CRT when our waiter was pretty short with us and made us feel rushed. I think it may be the choas and busyness of the restaurant, but he was really ready for us to get going as soon as we looked like we were winding down our meal.

I think Disney does a fantastic job with trying to provide exceptional service in all areas of their business, but like any other business, they will occasionally have a irritated or less than perfect person on staff... it is just the way the world is.

 

[wdwlvr629]

We've done the DDP two times (last year & the year before) and we had no issues with any of our servers. They all did their jobs with smiles and were as good as if we were tipping OOP. As stated above, some people aren't happy if they don't have something (or someone) to complain about. I'd not be concerned, as with any other cast member @ WDW, most are great!

 

[cjstarr]

Thanks to all for the replies about our concerns. Maybe I'm doing too much research into this but it being our first stay at WDW I want to try and resolve as many problems as I can before our trip.
If all the research that I have done to date can head off just one problem then it is one less I'll have to face.
I will start a new post with our ADR's so we can see if the D*DDP is what we need.
I’m sure that we’ll resolve this problem also with the many nice members that are here on this forum.

Take Care

CJ

 

[ReneeA]

I have been on the dining plan twice, both times tip included. We tipped extra anyway, but the servers did not know we were going to do this and we received excellent service just about everywhere we ate both years.

Us, too. We had amazing service from all but 2 places...and even the ones that weren't fabulous were still fine.

 

[BCV23]

Thanks to all for the replies about our concerns. Maybe I'm doing too much research into this but it being our first stay at WDW I want to try and resolve as many problems as I can before our trip.
If all the research that I have done to date can head off just one problem then it is one less I'll have to face.
I will start a new post with our ADR's so we can see if the D*DDP is what we need.
I’m sure that we’ll resolve this problem also with the many nice members that are here on this forum.

Take Care

CJ

CJ, please don't worry about service. Great service is a hallmark of WDW. We've dined at the restaurants since the early 80s and the great service is one of the reasons dining at Disney is so much fun. Really. We've dined on and off plans and it just doesn't matter. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the quality of service whether you choose a dining plan or not.

Have fun planning. No worries!

 

[Tricia1972]

I was thinking about the service also, and really there isn't much of a way to compare bad service on the DDP vs paying OOP. You may just have a server who is having an 'off' day and may not be 100% magical, but it probably has nothing to do with how you're paying.

I would guess that those reporting bad service with the DDP would be reporting the same service when paying OOP.

Go and have a wonderful trip CJ!

 

[Mom2PixiePrincess]

I was thinking about the service also, and really there isn't much of a way to compare bad service on the DDP vs paying OOP. You may just have a server who is having an 'off' day and may not be 100% magical, but it probably has nothing to do with how you're paying.

I would guess that those reporting bad service with the DDP would be reporting the same service when paying OOP.

Go and have a wonderful trip CJ!

I agree completely! We had some problems on our Feb. 2008 trip and we had the DxDDP. HOWEVER, I don't think the plan was the problem. It was the various servers. We unfortunatly ended up with several servers that were overly aggressive about tip. (I'm guessing they were probably stressed from getting stiffed, it's my understanding that the new dining planning is causing a great loss in tips) But upon reflection I think this would have been the case regardless of using the DDP or OOP. We still had some absolutly WONDERFUL servers too. IMHO it comes down to a matter of training, who's been trained well and who hasn't. I've noticed many newer Disney employees that are lacking that exceptional Disney service that we've come to expect and appreciate. Hopefully the powers that be will notice the changes in the Disney staff as well and beef up their training again, including ground maintaince.
Disney is still the greatest place on Earth though!

 

[williamohms]

We returned from WDW on Monday and used the DDP. We received great service while on the DDP, no servers were rude or attempted to ensure we knew we had to tip. The Server at Tutto Italia went out of his way to ensure we understood that the kids got something from the appetizer section of the menu as well as their meal and drink plus a dessert and then went on to explain the Adult menu to my wife and I telling us what he would recommend. In the end I tipped him $7 over the recommended 18% as he did a great job and was at our table at least 10 times during our meal.

The only time we ran into anything that resembled problems was a counter service area charging for table service meals. I went to the Concierge desk at our resort and it was fixed right away.

 

[planplan]

did the dining plan last year...why would anyone think they wouldn't like the guest on dining plan. if i was a server, i would love a family to come in on the dining plan last year. They have 18% for sure, with high bills because of the apps and desserts. service was the best last year. they pushed the food on us because it moved the tip up higher. do the dining plan at least once in your life. you won't regret it.

 

[angelmav]

did the dining plan last year...why would anyone think they wouldn't like the guest on dining plan. if i was a server, i would love a family to come in on the dining plan last year. They have 18% for sure, with high bills because of the apps and desserts. service was the best last year. they pushed the food on us because it moved the tip up higher. do the dining plan at least once in your life. you won't regret it.

Yeah, but the example you give, is LAST year. Even people reviewing on All-Ears are still basing it on last year. I think thats part of the problem, as the guest is already let down by THIS years plan so the rose colored glasses are removed ahead of time.

The one thing I can see possibly being an issue on THIS years plan, is the DDP guest will be trying their best to maximize their credit and probably running up a higher tab, to which some may not be tipping accordingly.

 

[cjstarr]

Yeah, but the example you give, is LAST year. Even people reviewing on All-Ears are still basing it on last year. I think thats part of the problem, as the guest is already let down by THIS years plan so the rose colored glasses are removed ahead of time.

The one thing I can see possibly being an issue on THIS years plan, is the DDP guest will be trying their best to maximize their credit and probably running up a higher tab, to which some may not be tipping accordingly.

Should you still Tip accordingly even if the service you received at WDW was not what it should have been?
I have always given Tips according to the service that I received.

Excellent Service 3% to 5% above what is expected
Good Service----what is expected
Fair Service-----5% below what is expected
Poor Service----No more then 5%
Anything under this I have been known to have a talk with the Manager!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Last year I used the DDP, when the tip was included, and I never recieved bad service, so I doubt the DDP has any impact on service. Maybe some servers, that others had, did slack off since they knew the tip was already included, but I would blame that on those particular servers being lazy and not caring, then the DDP.

Since the tip is not included this year, I don't see how that could affect anyone's service. I'll still tip 20%, but if the service is bad, and I'm pretty easy to please, so it would have to be pretty bad, I just won't tip as much. It's that simple.

 

[skater]

Two years ago I felt like we were getting treated more poorly than OOP tables near us at LTT. The waiter disappeared for us but seemed attentive to other tables and insisted we order desert with the entree and appetizer. The same year we had a not so great experience at Teppanyaki where the server (not the cook) was grouchy and almost gleeful about what we could not order. Other than that I've noticed no difference and last year we had mostly great service.