Rose & Crown Seating Fail

[Disney Khaleesi]

Though the attitude of the CMs at the restaurant was uncalled for, you're really the one at fault here. You were lucky they were willing and able to find accommodations for your two extra guests. They could have turned them away entirely (which I have seen happen to people before) or you could have had a significantly longer wait. As others have mentioned, Rose and Crown is a small and popular Epcot restaurant and there are people who made that reservation 6 months out as opposed to five, with their entire party size listed who may have also been celebrating something special. Disney is magical, but at the same point it is a real business with limitations and CMs who have to deal with rude and entitled guests all day. They do get tired of it and reach a limit at some point, so I take it with a grain of salt. That same CM you had a bad experience with could have made a magical memory for another family that will leave a lifelong impression on them. Rose and Crown certainly will not be hurting for your business. They're not at fault here. They accommodate you in the best fashion that they could. You still got to eat at the restaurant with your entire party, just as you were able to at all those other restaurants.

 

[Nancyg56]

No, the complaint is making an ADR 5 months in advance for a special birthday and Rose & Crown used the opportunity of extra people to provide the worst table. I am sure no one who has replied as ever gone to a restaurant and was seated at a table next to kitchen or away from the TV for the big game, etc.
and did not ask to be moved to a better location. I bet everyone has and in 99% of those requests you were treated respectfully and courteously even if there were no options. Again, it is all about the delivery of the message which is Disney's specialty.

Oh please! No one bats 1000 every time. Most people are gracious and sit where the hostess seats them, knowing that if one time they do not score the best spot, it all evens out. Your visit, while special and important to you, does not trump anyone else's. Nor does mine. We also save, plan, research, and anticipate our vacations. We all hope that somehow we will be chosen for those magical moments that only happen to one family a day, or that we have little bits of pixie dust sprinkled on our family. You got that pixie dust multiple times, and your infusion with additional people probably sent other people to the "undesirable" spot in the restaurant......but you do not consider their experience as important as yours? Everyone get their turn to sit in the sun...but some of us recognize that it all works out, we get the shade next time. Except you.....you think that you are more important than me.

 

[gogo]

OP, I understand your frustration and I think the responses you have received are harsh. But, vacations to Disney require a lot of planning especially with a large group. It would be nice to not have to plan out every detail so far in advance and make last minute adjustments to reservations of any kind. It really is kind of ridiculous to pick fast passes months or weeks ahead of your arrival in the parks. I chose mine but I have no idea if I will actually be in the parks when I had to choose them. I know we are talking about restaurant reservations but I'm just pointing out how regimented we have to be if we want to not be left behind when at Disney. As you have pointed out, sometimes Disney can accommodate you and other times not.

As far as your R&C reservation, it does sound like they accommodated you the best as they could. The eye rolling from the cm's would have made me mad. I don't care how many rude customers appeared before me, that is no excuse to be treated that way. And for all the people who say they would not be offended by it, etc., that's great but for a lot of folks that is a huge turn off and can certainly ruin your experience. I hate making excuses for bad customer service.

 

[Lisa F]

OP, I understand your frustration and I think the responses you have received are harsh. But, vacations to Disney require a lot of planning especially with a large group. It would be nice to not have to plan out every detail so far in advance and make last minute adjustments to reservations of any kind. It really is kind of ridiculous to pick fast passes months or weeks ahead of your arrival in the parks. I chose mine but I have no idea if I will actually be in the parks when I had to choose them. I know we are talking about restaurant reservations but I'm just pointing out how regimented we have to be if we want to not be left behind when at Disney. As you have pointed out, sometimes Disney can accommodate you and other times not.

As far as your R&C reservation, it does sound like they accommodated you the best as they could. The eye rolling from the cm's would have made me mad. I don't care how many rude customers appeared before me, that is no excuse to be treated that way. And for all the people who say they would not be offended by it, etc., that's great but for a lot of folks that is a huge turn off and can certainly ruin your experience. I hate making excuses for bad customer service.

there is no doubt that they should not have rolled their eyes.
however
i think it is more than a little harsh to put the CM personally on blast on an international message board for it.

 

[declansdad]

there is no doubt that they should not have rolled their eyes.
however
i think it is more than a little harsh to put the CM personally on blast on an international message board for it.

If they rolled their eyes at all.

 

[gogo]

there is no doubt that they should not have rolled their eyes.
however
i think it is more than a little harsh to put the CM personally on blast on an international message board for it.

Is it allowed to use a first name on these forums? I really don't know but I don't think a first name is a big deal.

 

[Hikergirl]

Is it allowed to use a first name on these forums? I really don't know but I don't think a first name is a big deal.

Except its not just a first name, we all know where she works too.

 

[Lisa F]

Is it allowed to use a first name on these forums? I really don't know but I don't think a first name is a big deal.

it's not about their name and the use of it.
it's about calling them out publicly for giving terrible customer service. Coming here specifically to complain about it. I did look at some other posts of the OP and as far as I can tell he does not really post on the restaurants board much (which is fine) but he came here explicitly to publicly shame these two cm's. A bit of an overreaction considering their extra people actually were accommodated.

 

[drew64]

Jimmy V - I agree with you that I wound up exactly where I would have as a party of 12. Ergo, they added a chair at each end which resulted in No Extra Table proving my math correct. I also called their bluff when they claimed to have a table for 12 inside. I said fine please move my family inside and I would cut two people out. Suddenly, that table was gone and only the sunny table was available.

Another piece of the story. So, after making your last minute request, being accommodated, being sat, "calling their bluff," you then sat there and sulked and refused to eat. I am betting Janet will be quite happy to hear you will not be back.
Also, you did not have someone sick drop off the reservation, nor did you "bump" into another party at the parks 5 times over the course of your trip. YOU chose to not contact the restaurants ahead of time when you knew you had 2 extra people, but instead chose to show up each time and expect to be accommodated at the inconvenience of others.
YOU did not plan properly.

 

[Aliceacc]

OK, here are my questions:

1. You knew at the start of your trip that you would be adding 2 people to every one of your ADRS. Why didn't you contact dining and change all your ADRs at that point? You started as a party of 12. You knew on day 1 that you would become a party of 14 for the week. Why didn't you do the obvious thing and change your ADRs at that point as opposed to repeatedly showing up with more people than they were prepared to accomodate?

2. Why on earth did you make an ADR at a restaurant with outside seating if sitting in the sun would make both you and your wife so uncomfortable that you would be unable to eat? If the issue is that serious, why on earth did you not choose from among the many restaurants that offer only indoor seating?

3. If you were that uncomfortable, unable to eat, why didn't you ask some other member of your party to switch seats with you? I for one have absolutely no issue with sitting in the sun. Judging from the number of people I see sitting doing the same in WDW, it appears that most people don't. Why couldn't two of the other 12 people in your party switch seats with you and your wife?

4. You "called their bluff??" They went out of their way to accommodate you and you "called their bluff?" Wow.

My guess is that a number of CMs that week went home and complained to their families about the party of 14 they had to deal with.

 

[Tozzie]

I am blown away by the responses. I thought I was sending a warning to avoid these rude cast members. The first disappointing CM post I have ever made in 40+ trips. Please go ahead and continue to frequent the Rose & Crown. My usual table of 4 will be open for many years.

Rude in your opinion, as for avoiding the restaurant I am not about to let one anonymous persons opinion on an internet message board influence my vacation habits.

 

[gogo]

Just putting OP's post in perspective. What the OP reported regarding the two CM's working at the restaurant probably happens all over Disney property daily. CM's rolling their eyes at guests and guests not being able to get last minute changes to reservations, etc. sound pretty common. So, I don't think future diners at R&C will hunt these two down and give them dirty looks or will his post reduce occupancy at this restaurant as many have pointed out.
Sounds like the person in charge of the seating did a good job as far as even accommodating the two additional guests. Her attitude of take it or leave it was not wrong in my opinion so calling her out for doing her job should have no negative impact. Although, I can't stand eye rolling (my pet peeve).

I read reviews on restaurants and if there are multiple reports of bad service and attitude then I would consider not going there. However, one person's experience at a particular time out of thousands of guests doesn't have an impact. I can't imagine anyone having this post on their mind when eating here. I personally like reading different experiences whether I agree with them or not.

Sounds to me the OP was very disappointed and he should have, could have handled his situation better so as to enjoy his dinner with family. That was his loss and missed opportunity to enjoy that time. But, attacking him by saying you feel you are more important, etc. just seemed mean or unfair. I don't think I would post someone's name for rolling their eyes at me but I don't know because I wasn't in that situation at that particular time.

And, as a final thought, how many of us have been late for adr's ? Does that make us inconsiderate of others? It just didn't appear to me that the OP went in with the thought that others would be negatively impacted by his last minute change.

 

[Bay_Lake_Tower]

I am blown away by the responses. I thought I was sending a warning to avoid these rude cast members. The first disappointing CM post I have ever made in 40+ trips. Please go ahead and continue to frequent the Rose & Crown. My usual table of 4 will be open for many years.

Even if you were entirely in the right, do you really, really think an eye roll calls for a warning to avoid a cast member? You're a customer, not royalty, calm down.

 

[Disneylover99]

And, as a final thought, how many of us have been late for adr's ? Does that make us inconsiderate of others? It just didn't appear to me that the OP went in with the thought that others would be negatively impacted by his last minute change.

It is inconsiderate of others to be late for ADR's. Hopefully, you'd be very apologetic when you arrived and thankful if the restaurant was able to accommodate you.

In the OP's original post he mentioned showing up a half an hour early to an ADR to tell them (not ask if it was okay) that there were two additional people dining with them. It just came across as entitled to me.

 

[gogo]

It is inconsiderate of others to be late for ADR's. Hopefully, you'd be very apologetic when you arrived and thankful if the restaurant was able to accommodate you.

In the OP's original post he mentioned showing up a half an hour early to an ADR to tell them (not ask if it was okay) that there were two additional people dining with them. It just came across as entitled to me.

Poorly written on my part. Being late for an adr on purpose is inconsiderate. But, just missing transportation by minutes or any number of unforeseen instances (that commonly happens to a lot of us) does not make you inconsiderate of others. That is what I meant by being late for an adr. And I would be apologetic but I wouldn't fall all over myself apologizing. Apparently the OP, after making an adr 5 months prior didn't think it was a huge deal to add two guests to the end of his table. I take him at his word that he was met with much attitude. Was he? Who knows, but that can be said for just about every post on here.

 

[mckennarose]

At our visit to R&C last month, while we were waiting for our table to be ready we saw at least 5-6 parties of people try to walk up and get a table with no reservation. I was surprised at how rude some of their responses were to the CMs at the reservation stand when they were told there was no availability or they were welcome to wait, but there was no guarantee for a table. When we were seated I talked to the CM seating us and voiced my surprise at the responses I witnessed. She told me it happens all day, every day. Not excusing bad behavior IF the CM in the OPs statement DID roll her eyes, but I can certainly be a little more sympathetic to the CMs at R&C with what they have to deal with at times. It is extremely popular and we've experienced top notch great service from them.

.......
Is it possible the chairs at the ends of the tables impeded where servers needed to pass?
.......

On this same visit it began to rain hard enough to the point of the staff having to put the sides down on the patio. Rain still came in at the bottom and I was seated nearest to the side so hubby moved his seat on the end of the table to make room for me to move away from the side as my feet and legs were getting wet. But, the patio is a tight space and he was half in the aisle and didn't feel he should stay there so he moved kind of on the corner and I sat up close to him. Point being, it's a small space for the servers and other guests to move between the tables and the building. There were no chairs on the outsides of the tables because of this. Thankfully the rain stopped and the sides went up for Illuminations.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

I am JANET.

Actually I'm not, but I wish I were, so I could respond.

Bullocks!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I am JANET.

Actually I'm not, but I wish I were, so I could respond.

Bullocks!

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

That is so awesome on so many levels.

Wish I could "like" more thank once!

 

[JimmyV]

At our visit to R&C last month, while we were waiting for our table to be ready we saw at least 5-6 parties of people try to walk up and get a table with no reservation. I was surprised at how rude some of their responses were to the CMs at the reservation stand when they were told there was no availability or they were welcome to wait, but there was no guarantee for a table. When we were seated I talked to the CM seating us and voiced my surprise at the responses I witnessed. She told me it happens all day, every day. Not excusing bad behavior IF the CM in the OPs statement DID roll her eyes, but I can certainly be a little more sympathetic to the CMs at R&C with what they have to deal with at times. It is extremely popular and we've experienced top notch great service from them.

So very true. We have no way of knowing if the previous 5 groups who arrived ahead of the OP all came in with one or two extra people, and when the OP arrived asking for two more people to be accommodated, eyes rolled. We can say all we want about how someone in the service industry should never do that. But we are talking about humans here, not robots. We have to give sway to human nature now and again. Unless we would prefer that all of our interactions take place with this guy...