What's With Needing a Manager to Approve All DDE Purchases??

[Bill From PA]

We saved a bundle with our DDE card last week but the annoying thing is that every time we used it the server had to get a manager to approve the purchase. The bartender at the Contemporary told us it was to keep CMs from claiming a DDE purchase for a non-DDE meal, charging the guest full price and pocketing the difference. He said someone was fired for just that thing. It seems to me that with magnetic media in a card that this would not be possible. Is this going to be how it is for good? Sometimes the wait was more than just a few minutes.

Bill From PA

 

[Esmerelda]

Wow...that's weird. We must have used our card last year at least 30-40 times between 2 trips and nothing like this ever happened to us. I wonder if this is something new? It sounds a tad annoying but I still have a new one to use this year as we saved tons of money last year.

Anyone else experienced what Bill did?


Esmerelda

 

[Rhonda]

We've been using ours all year -- and just used it Sunday morning at Boma -- and this has never happened! Weird!

 

[Acklander]

I know they've had to get a manager's approval while we were at the bar at the contemporary and also at the bar at Ohanas. Maybe they always have to get a manager's approval but I don't notice it in the restaurants, since I don't see them actually ring it up my meal, but I notice it in the bar because I'm sitting right there.

 

[BCV23]

It is not new.

We've only had DDE since 2005 but I know this was the rule then. It just isn't usually apparent as a manager is usually near and the whole thing happens seamlessly without a diner even knowing about it. You only learn about it if there is enough pf a delay for the server to feel it necessary to explain. The longest wait we've had was probably 5 minutes at Boma.

One server we've known for years at Kona told us that years ago a manager's approval wasn't required. We figured the change had to be as a result of some kind of abuse but it is interesting to hear what kind!

 

[castleri]

Had it happen last April and September at several places so it has been going on for a year or so now. I found that telling the server when we ordered that we had the DDE card helped in some cases. They would take the card when they finished serving the last item and that way got everything taken care of while the bill was being rung up and before they brought it to the table.