Service has gone down

[aubriee]

When I went solo in May, I was a little concerned that I might get subpar service, but am happy to say I did not. Maybe because I was solo I got excellent service. I dined at Le Cellier, Marrakesh, Biergarten, Rose & Crown, Rainforest Cafe at AK, Mama Melrose, Sci Fi, House of Blues, and CP. I even got a patio table at Rose & Crown for Illuminations and after I told the waitress I did not mind if someone wanted to share the table with me, she just laughed, told me she appreciated it, but to take my time and enjoy the view. Of course because I was dining solo and taking up one of their tables I felt like I needed to tip extra and did so. In fact the waitress at Rose & Crown got a 40% tip, because she was so nice. I'm usually easy to please: keep my water glass full and give me the check when I finish and you'll get at least 20%.

In May I just used my DDE card, but in Sept I'll be using the free dining (along with the DDE). I'll have my son and D-I-L with me, so I'd better not get subpar service.

 

[Uncleromulus]

First I would say that in general, after MANY meals over MANY years at WDW, we found service to be quite good. A few slips here and there (and of course Fultons, which always has poor service) but by and large we've been pleased.

However--I am inclined to think that this free meal and voucher business somehow might tend to invite poor--or rather, indifferent--service. It shouldn't, of course, but the "tip" situation and the now frequently crowded restaurants (along with no bus staff) might tend to discourage wait staff from being overly attentive.
But I'll soon see. We're going on Oct 1 and I'll pay special attention to our service.

 

[Martha7]

What is the situation with tips for people on the dining plan? Is the tip somehow included, which is causing a problem for the servers? (I haven't researched the dining plan, since we don't have any trips planned for that time period.) TIA!

 

[bicker]

On a larger scale I believe that this is a trend that extends well beyond the realm of Disney

Good point. Compared to the average level of service in the broader context, my experience is that Disney is doing quite well, maintaining its leadership of its contemporaries.

 

[indigoxtreme]

Yes the tip is included anywhere from 15 to 18% as well as tax being included. I always tip 20% or more if I receive great service and will tip additional if the service is great. If not, I will let management know. If I find this to be a trend, then I will take it up with Guest Relations while at Disney. Yes the dining plan is free basically, but we are all paying a lot more for the rooms than normal. So we are paying for the dining plan in a sense.

 

[sleepydog25]

Good point. Compared to the average level of service in the broader context, my experience is that Disney is doing quite well, maintaining its leadership of its contemporaries.

My DW and I took an overnight trip to see a concert, and at breakfast the next morning, we went to an IHOP in north Charlotte. It was the most efficiently run, friendly, and organized service I've seen outside of an upscale restaurant. There were bus people descending on open tables within seconds of the patrons' departure, and the servers were prompt in checking to see if we needed refills, napkins, etc. Though I've had generally good service at WDW, Disney could learn something from this "lowly" IHOP management team.

 

[jana]

What is the situation with tips for people on the dining plan? Is the tip somehow included, which is causing a problem for the servers? (I haven't researched the dining plan, since we don't have any trips planned for that time period.)

18% tip is included in the dining plan. I beleive the 18% was decided on in a deal with the unions over anything that's prepaid.

Yes the dining plan is free basically, but we are all paying a lot more for the rooms than normal. So we are paying for the dining plan in a sense.

Not true, for anyone taking out a package the price is the same with or without dining. Now granted it means you're not able to use AAA,Fl resident or AP rates, but if you take a package those rates are not available to you anyway. For those people who can't get discounted room rates the prices they pay with dining is the same as they would have paid without. therefore the dining is free.


P.D.Chris said

And service will continue to be mediocre or worse because people put up with it. I've seen this so often in all kinds of industries. The corp. heads decide to cut costs and we, the people, put up with it and continue to give them our money

IMHO there are sufficient staff at most the restaurants, most of them do a great job, however WDW is still short of staff and there are a few sub standard CM's slipping through the net. While people still give those subpar staff 15% in tips for shoddy service, they will stay in the job because it's not bad money. If you want good service , reward it when you see it and penalize those that don't give it. It's the only way to "help" those staff that are not up to the grade to make up their minds that this particular career is not for them.

Which leads into
Nukeantz said

Like smucks we leave 15% for bad service and more for good service.

I have to ask WHY? Why do we feel we have to leave 15% (or anything) for poor service. While some people continue to pay 15% for bad service, we will all continue to receive bad service. There is no point in complaining about poor service, but still giving those people decent tips. While they are making a decent living with giving poor service, they will continue to take it.

The other aspect of this is that those waitstaff that work their butts off to give good service see the people working alongside of them not putting in the effort and still getting paid decent money. If I was in that situation I would be asking myself why bother? Why put in 110% and really put it in, when someone else is putting in 25% and getting almost the same money. Nothing will act to de-incentive decent staff as quickly as people paying good tips for bad service.

P.S. added after the next post

IMHO tipping waitstaff worked previously because it encouraged good service, BUT now it is EXPECTED (indeed the Government taxes people accordingly). A secondary matter is that food costs/expendature has increased faster that wages. Where 30 years ago people may have gone out and eaten at places where they would spend say half a days wages, they now think nothing of spending more than one days wages on a meal. Tip levels have risen along side that of the food costs, not the wage costs of the general public. Therefore waitstaff, in mid to high end restaurants, have gone from a low paid job to a pretty well paid one. We are "guilt tripped" into paying 15% as "the norm" because we don't want to be seen as tightfisted. Do the maths people, an average WDW meal for 4 is over $100, most waitstaff have 3 or 4 tables each (those tending at buffets usually have more), most WDW restaurants are packed to the gunnels. Those staff can be earning $60-80 AN HOUR for average to poor service.

IMHO this whole tipping waitstaff thing has got WAY out of hand. Something needs to be done to bring it back into line, and IMHO it should start with those that don't do the job properly.

 

[Uncleromulus]

I certainly agree with that last paragraph. Which is what the "automatic" gratuity might be doing. Maybe some servers feel 18% is just fine for not doing a thing, and the good ones feel that most times they'll get 18%, even when they give excellent service.

 

[Brier Rose]

We just got back from a 10 night trip as well. We were not on the dining plan, and this is the FIRST time we have ever noticed poor service.

It was really terrible. You practically had to beg for refills of drinks, and it was soooo hot outside! Of course people are going to need lots of refills.

We had bad service at
Chef Mickey's (I couldn't even tell you what our server looked like)

Mama Melrose

CRT (we had the DDC, and the server refused to add our discount until we had filled out the tip portion of the orignal receipt..trying to ensure we would tip on the undiscounted amount! He also took away my DS appetizer plate, while he was still eating eat.) There were also a few dead bugs on the floor in the filthy bathroom..but that's another story! We also had a problem with the princesses here. Just all around bad experience from what used to be one of our favorite restaurant.

Ohana (fair service)

The Plaza (terrible...terrible, s-l-o-w service)

San Angel (fair service)

Le Cellier (just rude..acted mad and made a smart comment when we didn't order wine with our lunch.)

On the flip side we had EXCELLECNT service at

Sci Fi Dine In (very nice and attentive. Even brought my DS extra chicken nuggets when he finished all of his and was still hungry..no charge. She also brought us all a round of drinks in to go cups...her idea...also no charge.)

Rose and Crown (best server of the trip! We stayed an extra hour just talking with her...it was late and we were the last ones there.)

Rainforest Cafe (super sweet, and she even came over before we left to thank us for being so kind and couteous to her. She said she doesn't get that a lot. Makes me sad. )

Almost forgot..LTT (excellent attentive and helpful server)

 

[missypie]

Very interesting about the bus staff being laid off. We were at WDW from May 26-June 5th, and LTT was the place where we noticed that there was no bus staff. Even though, as I've noted, service was not good at LTT, I left a nice tip because we knew that all the waiters were bussing their own tables. No wonder they were throwing the food down and avoiding eye contact...they were moving so fast just doing the basics, they had no time for the paying guests. (In fact, our waiter was trying to clear the tables so fast that he dropped one of those heavy knives on my DD's shoulder. We didn't make a big deal about it, but she was bruised.)

 

[patsal]

We were not on the dining plan, but felt that some of the dining service was sub-par. We were there from June 30-July 15 and here are a few of the things we noticed:
Crystal Palace 7/2--excellent service and food was what we were used to there.
Boatwrights twice for breakfast--both were very good and the service was very good as well. First day (7/3) better than the second (7/9) as far as interaction withthe waitress and drink refills.
Whispering Canyon (7/3)--service was really bad. We had a 6:20 PS for dinner and only saw our server twice--once to take the order and once to bring out food and drinks which came out together--never offered refills, kids got the shakes and they never came by to refill--I asked another waitress that did get them for us--I gave her a few $$ as we were leaving. This was the second time I've eaten there and I don't intend to return.
Lunch Rain Forest Cafe AK 7/5 no problems good service and good food.
House of Blues 7/6-Great service, great food, fab. drinks! Our best experience this trip.
Dinner 'Ohana 7/7--lousy service, lousy drink refills, great food
Lunch Le Cellier 7/10--great food, great service
Flying Fish 7/12--great service, great food, lousy atmosphere--this is where the dripping wet barefoot issue happened--I really wish they would enforce some sort of dress code.
Kona--really bad servie, the waitstaff literally ripped the appetizer plate out of my hand and had me drop the chicken wing I was eating to place the entree on the table--no drink refills and check was broughtout before asking the kids if they wanted dessert--which they did.
Garden Grill-bad service, bad food, not very reassuring from manager--made excuses rather than addressing problem. Character interaction was great! Will not return unless there are significant changes that I read about here!
Counterservice was always friendly and effecient, though the new choices for the kids really are lousy since the new dining plan has been put onto place.
Sorry this ended up so long!

Now that the bussing idea has been thrown out there-maybe they are feelling a bit more stressed since everything was much busier than it was last year. Of course that would account for the "great chicken wing caper" as well--really to pluck the wing away form a "Buffalo" girl!

 

[missypie]

Table service meals at WDW - for our family of 5 (with two ordering off the children's menu) ranged from $95 to $180. Can you imagine going to the type of restaurant in your home town where you'd expect a $180 tab that didn't have bus staff????!!!! That's really disgraceful. Herea at home, we don't eat at a single quick serve restaurant (the kind where we have a $30-$40 tab) that doesn't have bus staff.

 

[DisFlan]

The parks are busier than they've been in years, and the free dining offer has been heaped on top of that. People who may never before have eaten at a table service restaurant are flocking to them. People who may never have eaten on-site previously are eating there. People who brought their own food in the past are eating there. So yup, service is likely to suffer. Did anyone really expect otherwise?

I'm more than a little relieved that free dining will NOT be offered when we're there. If it's extended through October, we'll be doing a few meals where it isn't offered.


DisFlan

 

[dizplanner]

But dining was NOT free during any of these reviews. So FREE dining cannot be blamed for these reviews. Just overworked or uncaring servers.

 

[missypie]

The parks are busier than they've been in years, and the free dining offer has been heaped on top of that. People who may never before have eaten at a table service restaurant are flocking to them. People who may never have eaten on-site previously are eating there. People who brought their own food in the past are eating there. So yup, service is likely to suffer. Did anyone really expect otherwise?

I'm more than a little relieved that free dining will NOT be offered when we're there. If it's extended through October, we'll be doing a few meals where it isn't offered.


DisFlan

When a restaurant becomes busier than it has been in the past, a prudent restaurant manager/owner hires more staff...he or she doesn't lay off exisiting staff. It sounds like Disney is buying into a "captive guest" philosophy...they're here, so they have to eat here, whether the service is good or not. And if dining is free...sure; but if not, guests will tire of that.

 

[DisFlan]

But dining was NOT free during any of these reviews. So FREE dining cannot be blamed for these reviews. Just overworked or uncaring servers.

Even worse. This doesn't bode well for when it IS in force.

To be fair, I think the parks have been busier this summer than Disney predicted. WAY busier. Staff can only be increased and trained at a certain level. They probably haven't been able to keep up. And it sounds like part of the trouble IS new, inexperienced staff. Seasoned wait staff know how to handle crowds without losing their Disney cheerfulness or compromising service.

I'm thinking about making cards that say, "No, we're NOT on the dining plan, and we tip extremely well for good service." Just to make sure they know they'll get more for their efforts than the anemic tip included in the dining plan.

DisFlan

 

[k5thbeatle]

...IMHO there are sufficient staff at most the restaurants, most of them do a great job, however WDW is still short of staff and there are a few sub standard CM's slipping through the net. While people still give those subpar staff 15% in tips for shoddy service, they will stay in the job because it's not bad money. If you want good service , reward it when you see it and penalize those that don't give it. It's the only way to "help" those staff that are not up to the grade to make up their minds that this particular career is not for them.

Which leads into
Nukeantz said I have to ask WHY? Why do we feel we have to leave 15% (or anything) for poor service. While some people continue to pay 15% for bad service, we will all continue to receive bad service. There is no point in complaining about poor service, but still giving those people decent tips. While they are making a decent living with giving poor service, they will continue to take it.

The other aspect of this is that those waitstaff that work their butts off to give good service see the people working alongside of them not putting in the effort and still getting paid decent money. If I was in that situation I would be asking myself why bother? Why put in 110% and really put it in, when someone else is putting in 25% and getting almost the same money. Nothing will act to de-incentive decent staff as quickly as people paying good tips for bad service.

P.S. added after the next post

IMHO tipping waitstaff worked previously because it encouraged good service, BUT now it is EXPECTED (indeed the Government taxes people accordingly). A secondary matter is that food costs/expendature has increased faster that wages. Where 30 years ago people may have gone out and eaten at places where they would spend say half a days wages, they now think nothing of spending more than one days wages on a meal. Tip levels have risen along side that of the food costs, not the wage costs of the general public. Therefore waitstaff, in mid to high end restaurants, have gone from a low paid job to a pretty well paid one. We are "guilt tripped" into paying 15% as "the norm" because we don't want to be seen as tightfisted. Do the maths people, an average WDW meal for 4 is over $100, most waitstaff have 3 or 4 tables each (those tending at buffets usually have more), most WDW restaurants are packed to the gunnels. Those staff can be earning $60-80 AN HOUR for average to poor service.

IMHO this whole tipping waitstaff thing has got WAY out of hand. Something needs to be done to bring it back into line, and IMHO it should start with those that don't do the job properly.

AMEN! If I get good service I will let them know and tip well above 15%. If bad I'll also do the same by tipping less. Often I will write "poor service" on the bill and hand it to them.

 

[tigerlilly]

I am really considering just doing a lot of counter service meals! I have to say I thought WDW would be better then say Disneyland Resort...we usually go to Disneyland and after our first trip there almost 3 years ago we stopped doing full service restaurants. On one trip we had horrid service at Blue Bayou, House of Blues, ESPN and RainForest Cafe...and the the then Ariels Grotto. We did have descent service once at the Wine Country Tratorria in DCA (different trip). I think crowds do have a lot to do with it since Disneyland is consistently crowded when we go.
I wonder also if doing meals at "off" times is better for better service and more relaxed meals?

 

[lynr]

We were in DW in June and I was commenting to our server at the 50's Prime Time about the fact that we had encountered so many rude and obnoxious guests at the park. The server agreed with me and I think the servers might be a little off because of the treatment they are receiving from the guests.

Lyn

 

[missypie]

I am really considering just doing a lot of counter service meals! I have to say I thought WDW would be better then say Disneyland Resort...we usually go to Disneyland and after our first trip there almost 3 years ago we stopped doing full service restaurants. On one trip we had horrid service at Blue Bayou, House of Blues, ESPN and RainForest Cafe...and the the then Ariels Grotto. We did have descent service once at the Wine Country Tratorria in DCA (different trip). I think crowds do have a lot to do with it since Disneyland is consistently crowded when we go.
I wonder also if doing meals at "off" times is better for better service and more relaxed meals?

Please don't do mostly counter service just because of our posts about bad table service. WDW has some good restaurants. It's your body and you'll function better if you have some tasty, healthy food in it. It's also a more relaxing break at the parks to do a sit down meal. But just know that someone in your party may need to be a bit agressive in asking for drinks, seconds, etc. It mortifies my kids, but I have no problem with getting out of my chair and asking for refills, the check or whatever, if we've been forgotten by a waiter.