Service vs. Food - Which is most important?

[UPbeekeeper]

In a perfect world, every place we went to eat would have excellent food as well as, beyond top notch service. Since this is real life, & we can't always have it all, what is the most important thing about the meal for you? What's the biggest determining factor in how you view your meal experience?

If you got mediocre food but fantastic, out of this world service, would you be more inclined to go back? What if it was the reverse...the best food you ever had, but lazy inattentive service?

For me, I can live with just ok food if I have incredible service, but if I have great food but poor service, the whole experience is bad for me.

Where did you experience your best service in Disney?

 

[Vader2112]

I have to say that is a tough question. I would say fantastic service sometimes can make mediocre food taste better! I recently stayed at PORS and dined at Boatwrights. The server did everything she could to make our meal memorable and enjoyable. She also was great with my kids who were wound up and ready to go . She mad dinner an event for them and took a little weight off our shulders so we could relax and enjoy the meal.

 

[DisneyDelirious]

Anywhere else besides WDW I would say the food. I don't generally get hung up on having someone pamper me, etc.. i tend to be pretty no frills and I go places for a product or service, and don't get too hung up on hwo they go about getting it to me as long as I get what I need. If my orthopedic surgeon makes my knees feel better I don't care about his bedside manner. That being said, Disney is a different animal for me. One reason service is more important to me at Disney than the food is that i am never really hungry. I rarely eat 3 meals a day at home and eat 2-3 meals a day at Disney plus a couple snacks! Meals is also a time when we slow down for a bit so bad service would stick out that much more. With kids we also do lots of character meals ( wife and kids love them) and I have to admit I enjoyt them as well. That distracts my mind away from the meal quality. The single largest reason service is more imprtant to me than the quality of the food is this.... I love Disney because it is a complete escape from reality. I stay on-site to maintain this forcefield around me, I stay for long periods to capitalize on this, and I come back for this experience. Bad service would really stick out to me because it would be in sharp contarast to what all the other CM's provide everywhere else on site. I can come up with exceptions to this but the fact is those folks work hard to make sure I have a magical day. Deviations frm that stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[real mad hatter]

It's a no brainer for me..Food 1st.. Service 2nd.. I'd hate my server to be laughing and jolly and putting down a plate of crappy food and smiling & saying " Bon Apetit "

 

[wdwmagic]

Food has to be number 1. No amount of great service is going to make up for terrible food. However, great food can makeup for less than great service. Obviously you ideally want both though LOL.

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

Food has to be number 1. No amount of great service is going to make up for terrible food. However, great food can makeup for less than great service. Obviously you ideally want both though LOL.

Completely agree with this

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Food.

Case in point- locally, there is a nice NY Style Deli(think upscale Carnegie Deli)...the food is AMAZING! Well, of course only if you LOVE Kosher deli, but I go there for the food. The service on the other hand varies greatly. Some days I'll get an amazing server, but I've had quite a few that have messed up my order in every way possible and then were crabby with me about it- even though it was their respective mistakes. So, their tips suffer from their poor service, but the amazing food keeps me coming back and feeding $ into the establishment. So the food makes it worth taking the chance that we'll get a surly forgetful server. Sure, my options are pretty limited since Houston isn't exactly a haven for Kosher deli, but if the food were bad- I'd never return.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

Food is #1, but bad service can really hurt the taste!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

This is a really interesting question for me. I just went to a new restaurant in my hometown yesterday and the food was good but the service was terrible! Once our waitress brought us our food we never saw her again even though as she set down our food we asked for a soda refill and some parmesan cheese. Long story short we ended up getting our meal free. So the question of food vs service is interesting. Ideally, yes you want both but that isn't always possible. I guess I would say food over service, because at least you get a decent meal and don't waste calories on something bad. I think it is easier to complain about service than bad food.

 

[luv]

Restaurants can survive anything - even poor service - if the food is good enough. But restaurants with bad food...they can't overcome that...unless they happen to in a theme park, airport or prison.

Food is the most important part. But nice people never hurts. And for what WDW charges for food, they ought to be nice!

 

[real mad hatter]

Food is #1, but bad service can really hurt the taste!

Bad service can only hurt the taste if your server flings a cupcake in your face with the chocolate chips still in it.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Both...but without good food, what is the point of dealing with an occassional bad server?

Sometimes people are just young, or new, not properly trained, and even there is just an occassional jerk that shouldn't be working in any customer service field.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

Bad service can only hurt the taste if your server flings a cupcake in your face with the chocolate chips still in it.

And the cupcake ends up on the floor....now that I think about it, if it had chocolate chips, I'd eat it anyhow!

 

[tracyandalex]

It's a tough call for me, but i think food wins by a small margin for me. There are places here in town where we suffer through the service because the food is so good and that is not saying that every server is, but a lot of them are. However, if the food is good, but not great then the excellent service might have me coming back anyways. Not even stellar service can over come consistently bad food though.

 

[JIMINYCR]

The food has to be the priority. I choose the restaurant based on the food quality, taste, presentation, and lastly value. I tip according to the service provided. At Disney I expect better service/attention by my server because it's Disney and they are supposed to be guest orientated, trained to make the guests experience a memorable one. So if they fail the poor service is noticed more and should be criticized more. Poor service doesnt reflect on the taste of the meal I'm served, It will cause me to significantly lower the tip left.

 

[DougK]

Food is number 1.

 

[rsoxguy]

I feel that emphasizing the quality of food and the quality of service should go hand in hand when dining at any eatery. Food can be prepared at home, and food can be served at home. The key phrase to consider as a patron at a restaurant is "dining experience". One is not paying solely for food, nor is one paying simply to be served. A good restauranteur will be mindful of food and service in order to provide customers with a complete dining experience. "Both" should be the expected norm when answering the OP's question.

 

[Mansion Butler]

Food, but if either sucks I'm not going back.

 

[Phonedave]

Both

If the food is good, and the service is bad, it can ruin the experience. On the other hand, I have eaten (and gone back to) some dives becaue the food was really good, and the service and decor was AWFUL- not just bad, we are talking broken tile floors, leaking ceilings, and waitress that would disappear for long periods of time. But man, Mexican food like you would not believe - all made that day, scratch made. Nothing from a can or a bag. That was a crazy place, a BYOB where people thought nothing of bringing in a cooler. Anyway I digress ....

It depends on the place for me. As evidenced above, good food and really poor service can be fun at times. On the other hand, great service can prop up lackluster food. I think if the food is truly horrid, no amount of service will help it. But it it is passable, good service can make that extra push.

Likewise, if the service is average, good food will help. But for places with really poor service, the food had better be something special, or else I will not be there.

-dave

 

[ddbowdoin]

FOOD... a lot of issues with service aren't really the servers fault. If the food is slow that is a kitchen issue, the service side just bares the brunt of the criticism. I don't expect service anymore, unless I am in a truly fine restaurant where specials are unique, items I have never had. A professional server can liken ingredients to other flavors, compare items and offer suggestions on paired wine.

but for everyday food... bring me bread, a coke and my food... thats all I expect of you