Lack of Food & Beverage staff?

[TrainsOfDisney]

There’s some really weird stuff going on with f&b. Between limited staff, mobile order, shorter hours, a general decline in food quality at most locations, running out of items, and the weekend crowds it’s really frustrating.

The good news… it’s my only complaint. Everything else has been great and seeing Halloween at the Disneyland resort is super impressive!!!

But yeah…. What’s up with f&b!? Is there a way to complain that is helpful?

Disney's World Class Guest Service.
*sigh*

To be fair, this one cast member that scolded me is BY FAR the exception. Overall the cast interactions have been very good with F&B being the worst but lots of that is because they are set up to fail.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

This photo sums it ip so well…. They have blocked off half of Jolly Holiday with a trash can and wet floor sign and the pastry case is filled with pre-wrapped pastry items. Yum!

 

[Dear Prudence]

I can only imagine food being one of the worst areas to work in the park and in MOST places you can't tip them.

 

[Lilofan]

I can only imagine food being one of the worst areas to work in the park and in MOST places you can't tip them.

Working in food and beverage is not for the weak and weary. There is a system of teamwork to strive to deliver hot fresh food served timely in clean surroundings in an intense environment, chaotic controlled madness. There are lots of moving parts.

 

[Dear Prudence]

Working in food and beverage is not for the weak and weary. There is a system of teamwork to strive to deliver hot fresh food served timely in clean surroundings in an intense environment, chaotic controlled madness. There are lots of moving parts.

I worked in food service for a few years. My loyal customers loved me (I took customers with me when I went to different jobs), but generally, people were absolutely terrible. Especially Starbucks. People are so abusive to people in food service, and I could not imagine working somewhere like Disneyland where people are extra entitled and awful.

 

[SevenSevens]

My wife works in the food industry (not at Disney though) and the whole industry is facing staffing issues.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

My wife works in the food industry (not at Disney though) and the whole industry is facing staffing issues.

I definitely believe it’s not unique to Disney, but Disney needs to find a solution ASAP.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Some further speculation on my part:
Even before the pandemic, food service was likely among the least-desired jobs at the resort.

Post-March 2020, it's worse because many many MANY of the people who got sickest from covid or died from it worked in restaurants or kitchens.

The shortage of food service staff, as mentioned above, extends far beyond just Disneyland.

Further complicating matters, DLR likely is facing a situation where they cannot raise the wages of food service specifically to attract more workers without drawing ire from other departments that they are not ALSO receiving the same pay increases. Of course, the best thing to do would be simply to be equitable in that situation and extend the same raises to all, but Disney will always be more concerned about their own costs and fight to keep them low. So the situation is likely to persist.

 

[TP2000]

This is also why restaurants are typically half full but not accepting walk-ups, leading to a lot of altercations between guests and the hostesses.

I have long thought that the job of restaurant hostess was one that merits more respect than it generally gets in society. But if you treat them respectfully, they can make the evening.

Yes, I can poke fun at bad hostessing, like the poor young ladies staffing the hostess podium at Oga's Cantina in June, 2019 who appeared on the verge of a nervous breakdown, or worse, even though the land overall was nearly empty. It was clearly an issue of bad training and bad management.

But to balance the needs and wants of endless arriving parties, all of whom seem to be celebrating a birthday or anniversary or promotion or who just want their regular table at the window, must be maddening and nerve-wracking. The young women who do that well are truly talented.

That said, I know from personal experience that a kind smile and a wink plus a low-key demeanor can open doors for you with the restaurant hostesses of America. You can sense when things are high-strung, and if you just take it easy and explain you are happy to wait in the bar until a proper table is ready, almost always things go swimmingly with the hostess. And before you know it you're led to a corner banquette with a great view of the dining room drama!

The job of the restaurant hostess, when done well, is honestly a true art form.

My hat is off to them!

 

[TP2000]

The shortage of food service staff, as mentioned above, extends far beyond just Disneyland.

Further complicating matters, DLR likely is facing a situation where they cannot raise the wages of food service specifically to attract more workers without drawing ire from other departments that they are not ALSO receiving the same pay increases.

Agreed to all of your points. I had wondered, and this seems as good a thread as any, what the recent passage of AB 257 in the State of California will mean for Disneyland fast food restaurants?

Does AB 257 even apply to Disneyland? I imagine it must, since certainly between DLR and WDW and the DVC properties in Florida, South Carolina and Hawaii there are more than 100 Disney branded fast food restaurants that apply under AB 257. So does Disneyland now potentially have to pay up to $22 per hour for Tomorrowland Terrace CM's? Do they have to abide and obey the local Fast Food Council? There will be a Fast Food Council for the City of Anaheim, a separate Fast Food Council for County of Orange, that both report to and support the Fast Food Council for the State of California. All three will have various rules and regulations and wage requirements for fast food restaurants in Anaheim, California. I can't see why Disneyland's fast food locations would be exempt from that.

Or, because they are already a part of a union, does Disneyland's fast food joints get exemption from AB 257?

And with union contracts, you can't just tear them up and start over mid-contract. You've got to wait until the union contract expires before you re-negotiate wages. But if the Fast Food Council in Sacramento decrees wages for burger flippers go up to $22, doesn't the Disneyland union have to go along with that?

It's all very messy, it seems to me. I don't envy TDA in this environment. Even though my visit today to my local In-N-Out was flawless, with perfectly groomed and clean cut young kids, not a tattoo or piercing in sight, all in starched white clean uniforms, with big smiles and happy greetings and sunny "Yes, Sir!" attitudes. For a simple cheeseburger and a 7-Up.

In-N-Out always seems to be the exception that proves that it's entirely possible to run a simple fast food joint with very high standards in California. Which doesn't explain Tomorrowland Terrace.

Gov. Newsom Signs Legislation to Unionize CA's 556,000 Fast Food Workers - California Globe

Governor Gavin Newsom and the state's legislative Democrats just gave a whopper of a gift to the SEIU labor union - Gov. Gavin Newsom just signed Assembly

californiaglobe.com

 

[TP2000]

This photo sums it ip so well…. They have blocked off half of Jolly Holiday with a trash can and wet floor sign and the pastry case is filled with pre-wrapped pastry items. Yum!

You are immersed!

And it's a dirty, cracked Wet Floor sign at that. Like something from a gas station in the bad part of town.

Your point is very valid. And you are right that the CM's, even up to the powerless Dockers-clad manager of this location, are all set up to fail. No one is caring about the details, no one is caring about the "Show" that Disney used to be so proud of. It's a mess. From a multi-Billion dollar company. That doesn't care, but can Tweet with the best of them.

And in three days they'll open the D23 Expo and pretend they are the providers of World Class Guest Service. And that they immerse you, in something. It's all such a farce at this point.

Disneyland's Food & Beverage team, as the worst offenders, are merely the canaries in the coal mine.

 

[SevenSevens]

Just checked job listings. Cashier and Food Service Worker-Part Time starts at $15.95/Hour at DLR. And of course requires you park 3 miles away and take a 6 hour shuttle to your job, unpaid (Slight hyperbole). The local In-N-Out cashier starts at $17/hr, and I've seen signs at other fast food and fast casual places starting at $18 and higher.

 

[TP2000]

Just checked job listings. Cashier and Food Service Worker-Part Time starts at $15.95/Hour at DLR. And of course requires you park 3 miles away and take a 6 hour shuttle to your job, unpaid (Slight hyperbole). The local In-N-Out cashier starts at $17/hr, and I've seen signs at other fast food and fast casual places starting at $18 and higher.

Although, I went to In-N-Out just yesterday and had a dramatically perfect experience. The kids working there were flawlessly groomed, clean cut, starched bright white pristine uniforms that could have been used in an operating room, no tats or piercings or black nails, and were crisp and polite and happy to serve me a cheeseburger and a 7-Up for a few bucks. Genuinely happy and cheerful young people, all of them.

If you work at Disneyland, they have much lower standards now. You can have tats and long hair and chipped black fingernail polish, and you don't have to be very polite or say much.

It's a trade-off for the unskilled labor force in SoCal. Perform at a higher standard and get paid more and park 30 yards from your work at In-N-Out, or perform at a lower standard but get paid less and park 3 miles from your work at Tomorrowland Terrace.

It's their choice.

 

[Lilofan]

Just checked job listings. Cashier and Food Service Worker-Part Time starts at $15.95/Hour at DLR. And of course requires you park 3 miles away and take a 6 hour shuttle to your job, unpaid (Slight hyperbole). The local In-N-Out cashier starts at $17/hr, and I've seen signs at other fast food and fast casual places starting at $18 and higher.

Looks like a better deal at WDW. $17 per hour in WDW housekeeping and lower COL compared to living in CA.

 

[Lilofan]

I definitely believe it’s not unique to Disney, but Disney needs to find a solution ASAP.

As the late famous chef and foodie Anthony Bourdain said - undocumented illegal immigrants are the backbone of the restaurant industry whether some care to admit to this or not.

 

[Phroobar]

As the late famous chef and foodie Anthony Bourdain said - undocumented illegal immigrants are the backbone of the restaurant industry whether some care to admit to this or not.

That's true and even they won't work for Disney.

 

[truecoat]

As the late famous chef and foodie Anthony Bourdain said - undocumented illegal immigrants are the backbone of the restaurant industry whether some care to admit to this or not.

The key to fixing the labor shortage is immigration reform. Serious reform and not dreamer-type programs. Seems we have a lot of people wanting a better life and willing to work. 6-month work visas would be a good start.

 

[drizgirl]

As the late famous chef and foodie Anthony Bourdain said - undocumented illegal immigrants are the backbone of the restaurant industry whether some care to admit to this or not.

Illegal immigration seems very high right now. Wonder why we still have such a labor shortage.

 

[Dear Prudence]

I saw an advert outside Panda Express a few weeks ago that manger salaries were starting at 60k a year, I just don't think that Disney asking people to work for less than In N Out when they allow guests to treat people like crap is just gonna cut it!

 

[Lilofan]

I saw an advert outside Panda Express a few weeks ago that manger salaries were starting at 60k a year, I just don't think that Disney asking people to work for less than In N Out when they allow guests to treat people like crap is just gonna cut it!

At times starts from the top. Bad behavior is copied by others. Like children following and copying parents actions.