Report horrible service? (this has been resolved)

[Sarahslay]

I just got back from a quick trip to the World late last night, and while I didn't report the absolutely horrible service I received at one of our dinners then, I am feeling more and more like I need to. I took DD1 (10) down for a quick weekend trip and she wanted to eat at Coral Reef, so I reluctantly booked it after hearing not great reviews about the food. I had heard they had good service despite this so I figured it would make up for the food, along with the atmosphere. I wish I had gone to Guest Services after the meal to report this, but we were tired and had a Soarin' FP to get to so I decided against it (plus I was with DD1 and didn't want to ruin her trip by going and complaining about service).
A little background about what happened, and maybe you guys could help me decide if it's reportable or not (Warning, it's long lol): After being sat it took close to 15 minutes for our waiter to come to our table, and then he disappeared taking forever with our drinks. After coming back he pressured us to order quickly, and then when I asked for suggestions he started talking to me like an adult to a picky eater kid, he took a flashlight with a pointer out and proceeded to point at everything on the menu saying "You COULD eat any one of these, but most people eat anyone of these and seem fine, you should just pick one." I was expecting something along the lines of "I really love the mahi..." or something like that *sigh*. We ordered and I saw other tables receiving bread...and we never did. Our food was brought out about half an hour later by someone who was not our waiter, we hadn't seen him since he brought our drinks and took our orders. I look over and he's at a table with several really cute college aged girls, not taking orders, just talking....for most of our meal. He disappeared after a while and came to our table with.....bread. I was already done with my meal at that point, and so was my daughter, so I didn't want the bread anymore. I informed him that it would have been nice to have BEFORE our meal, not as a dessert. I also informed him that I had indeed seen him socializing at the table with the cute young girls, and I wasn't pleased. He apologized but you could tell he didn't mean it. I also pointed out that we both had nothing to drink since he had never refilled them, and thankfully he brought us water (which was not what I wanted, I wanted a second cocktail).
The table next to us was a young couple celebrating their one year wedding anniversary and they suffered the same fate as us. They had ordered champagne to go with dessert and the champagne never arrived, the wife got up to use the restroom and told the husband that if he hadn't come back by the time she did she was going to deal with the waiter herself (this was after my "dealing" with him). Champagne finally came but the wife never came back, and when the waiter finally brought the husband the bill he just dropped it and started walking off. The husband knew at that point the guy wasn't coming back for a long time and got agitated asking him if he could pay now. The waiter told the husband that he would be back....and he was gone for a good long time after. The husband was angry and just walked out, and they never came back to pay. All the while the waiter is taking his sweet time at the table with the cute girls and making sure their bills were paid immediately, giving them lots of attention. When he realized the people had walked out his hands started shaking and he was really attentive to us, finally bringing our check and I paid on the spot, but only left him a $2 tip (which was extremely generous, I only left it because he didn't drop the bill and run never to be seen again). Meanwhile there was an Asian family who still hadn't been helped after nearly 15-20 minutes, and surprise surprise he was their waiter.
So after all of that I will never go to Coral Reef again especially with that service, but also the food isn't worth the cost IMO. But does this warrant a report? It was like run down Applebees service, not what I've come to expect from Disney. Thankfully the girls working in Sunshine Seasons, where we went for dessert since we wanted to just get out of Coral Reef, restored my faith in CMs because they were so sweet and helpful. (if you made it this far, thanks!)

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

It stinks you had bad service but I probably wouldn't bother complaining at this point. What would you hope to get out of it now that you're back from the trip?

 

[Lesverts]

Why wait until now. I’d have asked for the manager immediately when I was there as soon as things started to go downhill. From both sides (establishment and customer) it is always better to resolve any issues as quickly as possible. The customer leaves happier and the establishment is more likely to have done something to leave a better impression.

Also never understood people who walk out on a check at Disney. You’ve likely made an ADR. They have your credit card/MDE/they know where you are staying. The mouse will get its money.

 

[rg35]

I would report it. Do you have the CM's name? I wouldn't expect anything but at least maybe Disney can take "corrective" action with this CM to prevent future visitors from having the same bad experience you did.

Honestly, ruling out Coral Reef forever simply because you had one bad waiter on one visit is overkill though, IMO.

 

[nurseholly]

I disagree with PP. It's not about what you expect to "get out of it". If I were the manager, I would want to know. That goes beyond just poor service. He neglected his job. If he is doing this to you, he will do it to others and his boss needs to be aware so that at the minimum he is made aware that this is not acceptable

 

[Paulines]

So sorry this happened to you & DD, and I get why you let it go at the time. Kids at that age can get embarrassed/ upset easily (especially girls...ask me how I know)!

I would certainly make a complaint with the restaurant manager and if s/he poo-poos you, send an email to CS. Hopefully, that waiter will be retrained or disciplined!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I just got back from a quick trip to the World late last night, and while I didn't report the absolutely horrible service I received at one of our dinners then, I am feeling more and more like I need to. I took DD1 (10) down for a quick weekend trip and she wanted to eat at Coral Reef, so I reluctantly booked it after hearing not great reviews about the food. I had heard they had good service despite this so I figured it would make up for the food, along with the atmosphere. I wish I had gone to Guest Services after the meal to report this, but we were tired and had a Soarin' FP to get to so I decided against it (plus I was with DD1 and didn't want to ruin her trip by going and complaining about service).
A little background about what happened, and maybe you guys could help me decide if it's reportable or not (Warning, it's long lol): After being sat it took close to 15 minutes for our waiter to come to our table, and then he disappeared taking forever with our drinks. After coming back he pressured us to order quickly, and then when I asked for suggestions he started talking to me like an adult to a picky eater kid, he took a flashlight with a pointer out and proceeded to point at everything on the menu saying "You COULD eat any one of these, but most people eat anyone of these and seem fine, you should just pick one." I was expecting something along the lines of "I really love the mahi..." or something like that *sigh*. We ordered and I saw other tables receiving bread...and we never did. Our food was brought out about half an hour later by someone who was not our waiter, we hadn't seen him since he brought our drinks and took our orders. I look over and he's at a table with several really cute college aged girls, not taking orders, just talking....for most of our meal. He disappeared after a while and came to our table with.....bread. I was already done with my meal at that point, and so was my daughter, so I didn't want the bread anymore. I informed him that it would have been nice to have BEFORE our meal, not as a dessert. I also informed him that I had indeed seen him socializing at the table with the cute young girls, and I wasn't pleased. He apologized but you could tell he didn't mean it. I also pointed out that we both had nothing to drink since he had never refilled them, and thankfully he brought us water (which was not what I wanted, I wanted a second cocktail).
The table next to us was a young couple celebrating their one year wedding anniversary and they suffered the same fate as us. They had ordered champagne to go with dessert and the champagne never arrived, the wife got up to use the restroom and told the husband that if he hadn't come back by the time she did she was going to deal with the waiter herself (this was after my "dealing" with him). Champagne finally came but the wife never came back, and when the waiter finally brought the husband the bill he just dropped it and started walking off. The husband knew at that point the guy wasn't coming back for a long time and got agitated asking him if he could pay now. The waiter told the husband that he would be back....and he was gone for a good long time after. The husband was angry and just walked out, and they never came back to pay. All the while the waiter is taking his sweet time at the table with the cute girls and making sure their bills were paid immediately, giving them lots of attention. When he realized the people had walked out his hands started shaking and he was really attentive to us, finally bringing our check and I paid on the spot, but only left him a $2 tip (which was extremely generous, I only left it because he didn't drop the bill and run never to be seen again). Meanwhile there was an Asian family who still hadn't been helped after nearly 15-20 minutes, and surprise surprise he was their waiter.
So after all of that I will never go to Coral Reef again especially with that service, but also the food isn't worth the cost IMO. But does this warrant a report? It was like run down Applebees service, not what I've come to expect from Disney. Thankfully the girls working in Sunshine Seasons, where we went for dessert since we wanted to just get out of Coral Reef, restored my faith in CMs because they were so sweet and helpful. (if you made it this far, thanks!)

That's a bummer you had such a bad experience, but I understand not wanting to be a buzzkill since its a special trip with your child. But I would have said something on the spot to their manager and not have waited. No guarantees it would have fixed the problem waiter but could have helped and would have made management aware of this waiters shortcomings.

 

[OKW Lover]

Yes, please report. It won't help you but it could help another guest if the CM gets some remedial training.

 

[Arielfan98]

I faced similar service when I went to Skipper's Canteen back in Jan. 2017 and I really regret not speaking to a manager about this. I mean our waiter was almost a copycat of what you described. Later on I read a review from a woman who dined at Skipper's Canteen 2 months later and we put two and two together and realized we had the same waiter. Had I spoken up to a manager, who knows? Maybe the lady wouldn't have suffered the same fate as me and maybe I would have received some sort of small compensation such as a free cupcake or fast pass I don't know. Point is, maybe something would have been done, and I regret not speaking up. I do feel my experience is a little too late, but I don't think yours is.

 

[DisLiss]

If you know the name of the CM and can provide that along with the time and date of your ADR, yes, I would still send off an email to someone about your experience just to let them know what is happening. This CM needs to change his behavior, and that likely won't happen until people speak up about how bad their service from him was.

 

[gharter]

I would have spoken to the manager before I left. Probablymidway in teh meal when the service was already terrible.
Now, I would still call and complain, not that it will help you any, but maybe help future guests.
The waiter also didn't help himself as he lost out on several tips by ignoring other tables.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I agree with the PP's who suggest that you send an e-mail and report this. If you have your receipt or know the date and time of your meal, that would probably help them identify who the server is. No one wants that kind of service, so, even if it doesn't help remedy your experience, it will help others. I've had a few incidents in WDW that I didn't report at the time for the very reasons you mention (DS was with me, I didn't want to waste more of our park time, etc.). I simply e-mailed guest relations after the fact to report what I had experienced. The typical response from WDW was thank you for informing us, we are sorry you had a bad experience, we will alert their manager and look at re-training. I never complained to try to have someone fired nor to get compensation. It was simply an effort to help ensure no one else had a repeat experience.

 

[Sarcazm]

Hello OP. I've never worked at Disney, but I was a Restaurant Manager once upon a time.

Firstly, if you want to report it, report it. At the very least, the manager can either coach the waiter or if he has had a lot of complaints, discipline him (or fire him).

Secondly, don't feel like you can't say something while you're in the restaurant. You don't even have to be mean about it (if that's what you're worried about). Just a "I have fastpasses for Soarin' soon, so I need the food and drinks out quickly. I would appreciate it." If it's beyond that point, get a manager involved. That way the manager can expedite everything. Maybe bag it up for you. It's our job to make sure you're happy.

Thirdly, no matter how long it's been since the experience, you should still report it. I know that at my restaurant, this service would not be acceptable. I can only imagine what would be acceptable/unacceptable at a Disney restaurant. It's supposed to be the most magical place on earth, right?

Also, you can send in 2 reports about your Disney World experience. One on the worst experience and one on the best experience. That way they know you had a good time regardless.

 

[ScubaCat]

I had a similar experience at Tony's town square, although it was with the food quality and not the service, and neglected to report it. I totally understand the dilemma of sacrificing your limited vacation time to report these incidents. That said, I still regret it to this day. On the other hand... it has firmed up my desire to never accept substandard quality or service again. Finally, (yes, in my early 40s,) I've learned how to figure out what to report and what to let go, and to not these mega-corporations peddle their junk on me.

Just as a recent example, I spend around 20-25% of my life sleeping at hampton inns. They're usually excellent (as in better than disney hotels IMHO) but I came across one that was unusually terrible and made sure to follow up with a polite, yet informative letter to hilton guest relations. At first I received a useless canned response, so I replied back asking to escalate it. I then received a very nice, personal response which actually addressed the issue, and the agent comp'ed me a bunch of hilton points and 2 free one-night vouchers as compensation. It's less the compensation and more the acknowledgement of the actual issue that I was pleased with. Maybe now that they're aware of the issue, something will be done. Maybe, or maybe not, but at least they KNOW now so there's a CHANCE.

In the case of this Coral Reef meal, they may or may not comp you if you send the letter. I would never EXPECT anything, but I think it's important that the powers-that-be are aware of these issues. Or, at a minimum, they know that WE know.

 

[freshmanjs]

Par for the course at Coral Reef, unfortunately. Agree, report it to provide feedback.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Doesnt hurt to report the incident now...why not? I disagree with those thinking its too late at this point. Its never too late. I think as a manager of that restaurant, i'd want to be aware of what is going on.

When im dining at a restaurant and my server is no where to be found, I will flag down another server, ANY server, and ask them to get me either MY server OR the manager. Whichever is fine. Mind you I wouldn't wait 15-20 min before flagging down another server. Thats crazy.

 

[coast2coastmickey]

OP, your lesson learned is that you had many opportunities to ask for a manager and you blew it. I understand why, but don't let a bad waiter dictate how your meal goes in the future.

I would still send the feedback to Disney as it will help. It could be used for coaching, or even disciplinary action up to and including termination, to prevent others from having the same issue.

 

[SteveH]

Ask yourself two things? Why wouldn't you report it, even now, and why didn't you ask to talk to the manager on the spot? I have no issue asking to talk with a manager when something is wrong, but I am also even quicker to talk to one when things go right.

I don't know if the other table was the problem or not, but you had poor service period and the manager needs to know, don't be the silent majority that do nothing and say nothing. A manager can't fix things if they are not told about it. You can call or probably find an email. If you have the receipt then have that with you so you can tell them the exact time, and probably the name of the server or there will be a code for it.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

OP, your lesson learned is that you had many opportunities to ask for a manager and you blew it. I understand why, but don't let a bad waiter dictate how your meal goes in the future.

I would still send the feedback to Disney as it will help. It could be used for coaching, or even disciplinary action up to and including termination, to prevent others from having the same issue.

OP. This poster is right but I sympathize. I would have asked for the manager after a 10 minute wait on seating, drinks, bread and bill. He would have been corrected. I am guessing the girls were "purple folder interns" he had met on the job.

This doesn't happen to me for long at Disney World.

 

[Sarahslay]

To those wondering why I didn't report it then: I had a migraine that morning that I spent most of the morning trying to soldier through, but it took up a big chunk of our afternoon after visiting first aid in AK for help. I felt horrible for taking up that time in my mommy-daughter vacation that was already short to begin with (we flew in EARLY friday morning, and flew back late sunday). I actually tried to flag down several servers but they all ignored me, all walking past me in a very hurried manner as they worked their back sides off. Several times after I confronted him about our service CMs in nicer outfits (i.e. not the Coral Reef uniforms) walked over to the stairs near our table, looking right at me and talking, then they would walk away. I felt like maybe they already knew, and I had a feeling the waiter had spun a weird story about it. I didn't want to take up more of my special trip so I let it go, it's just been bugging me that I didn't say something ever since. I still enjoyed our time together even with the horrible service, and I think doing more than what I did would have put that time together at jeopardy.
I saw a message asking why I won't eat there again just because of bad service, it's not just that. We were practically sitting at the same table as the couple next to us that walked out (which I seriously don't condone, I would never do that), the food is definitely not worth the money, and I didn't leave feeling like I needed to go back and try more things on the menu like I normally do. It didn't impress me on any level, even if we didn't have the bad service I just wasn't impressed. There are so many other places I love to eat on property so why would I waste my time going to one that leaves me feeling less than impressed.
I don't personally want anything from reporting it, but he should be retrained. This isn't acceptable on any level, especially Disney. It's not about me wanting to get anything, it's more wanting everyone to experience the Disney I know and love, and if that behavior becomes the norm then all that magic will go away. I'm an AP, and want to enjoy my time there, and want others to as well.