Thoughts on "holding" quick service tables?

[disneyfireman]

Holding a table while a family member orders. Is common sense. Nothing will stop that. It’s just dumb to not do it. Why have all the family in line? Holding tables is smart. We take I would say less than average time to eat. We want to get back to the attractions and sights.

 

[NormC]

My kids grab a table while I pay for the food and wait for the trays. If some princess thinks that is rude she is sadly mistaken. That is how quick service is done.

 

[ninjaprincesst]

How is it self centered to occupy a table for the least amount of time?

It is self centered to go hold the table when you don't even have food yet and that is certainly not occupying it for the least amount of time if you are sitting there while your party is in line, and I never said anything about people lingering my whole issue is with people who hold the tables before they even have food forcing people with food already to not have a table. People rarely linger that long anyway.

 

[dgauthier]

My kids grab a table while I pay for the food and wait for the trays. If some princess thinks that is rude she is sadly mistaken. That is how quick service is done.

that is how McDonald's and Burger king does it, you pay while your family sits and then they bring your food out or call your name

 

[lazyboy97o]

It is self centered to go hold the table when you don't even have food yet and that is certainly not occupying it for the least amount of time if you are sitting there while your party is in line, and I never said anything about people lingering my whole issue is with people who hold the tables before they even have food forcing people with food already to not have a table. People rarely linger that long anyway.

You have repeatedly failed to address the provided examples of how people are able to simultaneously accomplish tasks by splitting up. On their face they appear to be reducing the total time the table is occupied.

 

[correcaminos]

I was giving this thought as I was eating at a local sort of fast food place that does Chicago-style food. Every single person ordered and then sat at their table waiting for the food. The last time we went to Wendy's, we ordered and sat while waiting for our food. In Wendy's case they brought it to us. At McDonald's where I worked for many years, people ordered food while someone got a table, got the ketchup, and all the other stuff while waiting for the food.

So in my somewhat limited work experience in fast food, I would say that the norm is to order food and have someone go sit and find a table while the other person is waiting for the food. In every single fast food place, including Disney, that is how it works. With the exception of some places at Universal. However they have it set up differently so that you can all stand together while ordering and waiting and whatever. Though I will say I needed to sit down, and the cast member was incredibly rude to me. So when you come from a norm of order food, sit down while waiting, then get food brought to table. When someone tries to change it, it feels very strange.

 

[Patcheslee]

You have repeatedly failed to address the provided examples of how people are able to simultaneously accomplish tasks by splitting up. On their face they appear to be reducing the total time the table is occupied.

That's what I'm struggling with on the logic. Say 10 minutes person A is waiting to order while person B,C ect is holding a table and gathering condiments or whatever. Another 5 minutes to actually get food, and 20 minutes eating, so 35 minutes a single table is occupied. VS Persons A,B,C all wait 10 minutes to order, after order person A waits for food 5 minutes while B,C gathers condiments. Whole group finds a table and spend the same 20 minutes eating, table is occupied for 15 minutes less.
Over an 8 hour period that is 13.71 turns with a saved table vs 24 turns unsaved.

 

[Chi84]

I suspect that at certain very busy times, the wait for food might be longer and saving tables could be the less efficient system. But the system employed at Universal works only if everyone follows it. I don’t care what system Disney puts in place as long as it’s the same for everyone. I don’t need someone telling me I’m a worthless excuse for a human being for doing what is obviously allowed and grabbing a table while my husband orders food. Because unless everyone is prevented from sitting until they have food, I’ll be the one with no table while others are saving them.

 

[jaklgreen]

I was giving this thought as I was eating at a local sort of fast food place that does Chicago-style food. Every single person ordered and then sat at their table waiting for the food. The last time we went to Wendy's, we ordered and sat while waiting for our food. In Wendy's case they brought it to us. At McDonald's where I worked for many years, people ordered food while someone got a table, got the ketchup, and all the other stuff while waiting for the food.

So in my somewhat limited work experience in fast food, I would say that the norm is to order food and have someone go sit and find a table while the other person is waiting for the food. In every single fast food place, including Disney, that is how it works. With the exception of some places at Universal. However they have it set up differently so that you can all stand together while ordering and waiting and whatever. Though I will say I needed to sit down, and the cast member was incredibly rude to me. So when you come from a norm of order food, sit down while waiting, then get food brought to table. When someone tries to change it, it feels very strange.

I think the issue is that the parks are a whole different ball game then regular restaurants. The peak times are really the only times that the waits are crazy. It is not unusual to be in line and waiting for your food for 20 minutes. I think what is being said is that during these peak times, if your family is sitting there holding a table for these 20 minutes, then someone who has their food could have used that table and ate and left. If you actually go into these places at lunch time and pay attention to what everyone is doing, you will see that there are many tables with kids sitting there for quite a while while parents are getting the food and others wandering around with their trays trying to find seating. We are really only talking about maybe and hour and a half a day at most. Getting food and then sitting down is not at all strange for many. Those who travel solo or are single adults with little kids have no other options but to do this. Do you never go out to eat alone? And again, WDW counter service restaurants are not like real world fast food places. You can't even compare it to Universal Studios because they don't have the same attendance that MK does. From Theme Park Insider ....
Global Top 20:
Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom, 20,450,000, 0.3%
Disneyland, 18,300,000, 2.0%
Tokyo Disneyland, 16,600,000, 0.4%
Universal Studios Japan, 14,935,000, 3.0%
Tokyo DisneySea, 13,500,000, 0.3%
Disney's Animal Kingdom, 12,500,000, 15.3%
Epcot, 12,200,000, 4.2%
Shanghai Disneyland, 11,000,000, (partial year in 2016)
Disney's Hollywood Studios, 10,722,000, -0.5%
Universal Studios Florida, 10,198,000, 2.0%
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, 9,788,000, 15.5%
Disneyland Paris, 9,660,000, 15.0%
Disney California Adventure, 9,574,000, 3.0%
Islands of Adventure, 9,549,000, 2.0%
Universal Studios Hollywood, 9,056,00, 12.0%
Lotte World, 6,714,000, -17.6%
Everland, 6,310,000, -9.5%
Hong Kong Disneyland, 6,200,000, 1.6%
Nagashima Spa Land, 5,930,000, 1.6%
Ocean Park, 5,800,000, -3.3%

 

[correcaminos]

I think the issue is that the parks are a whole different ball game then regular restaurants. The peak times are really the only times that the waits are crazy. It is not unusual to be in line and waiting for your food for 20 minutes. I think what is being said is that during these peak times, if your family is sitting there holding a table for these 20 minutes, then someone who has their food could have used that table and ate and left. If you actually go into these places at lunch time and pay attention to what everyone is doing, you will see that there are many tables with kids sitting there for quite a while while parents are getting the food and others wandering around with their trays trying to find seating. We are really only talking about maybe and hour and a half a day at most. Getting food and then sitting down is not at all strange for many. Those who travel solo or are single adults with little kids have no other options but to do this. Do you never go out to eat alone? And again, WDW counter service restaurants are not like real world fast food places. You can't even compare it to Universal Studios because they don't have the same attendance that MK does. From Theme Park Insider ....
Global Top 20:
Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom, 20,450,000, 0.3%
Disneyland, 18,300,000, 2.0%
Tokyo Disneyland, 16,600,000, 0.4%
Universal Studios Japan, 14,935,000, 3.0%
Tokyo DisneySea, 13,500,000, 0.3%
Disney's Animal Kingdom, 12,500,000, 15.3%
Epcot, 12,200,000, 4.2%
Shanghai Disneyland, 11,000,000, (partial year in 2016)
Disney's Hollywood Studios, 10,722,000, -0.5%
Universal Studios Florida, 10,198,000, 2.0%
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, 9,788,000, 15.5%
Disneyland Paris, 9,660,000, 15.0%
Disney California Adventure, 9,574,000, 3.0%
Islands of Adventure, 9,549,000, 2.0%
Universal Studios Hollywood, 9,056,00, 12.0%
Lotte World, 6,714,000, -17.6%
Everland, 6,310,000, -9.5%
Hong Kong Disneyland, 6,200,000, 1.6%
Nagashima Spa Land, 5,930,000, 1.6%
Ocean Park, 5,800,000, -3.3%

But the thing is, they're not. They're not any different than any super buys fast food place I've been to. I've gone to other amusement parks and other than the random time at Universal (due to it being HP world) we don't ever deal with it. Not ever... not at my local amusement parks, zoos, national parks etc. They are all done exactly as I described.

I also have never waited 20 minutes for food. We do the whole go wash hands, look for table and low and behold food is ready. Even my allergy friendly meals.

Which is the point of what I said. Since 99% of the places do it that way (including Disney most of the time - they used to do this but seriously dialed back because it was chaos) we expect it to be done this way.

I don't expect some internet princess to scold me and call me entitled when in fact I'm about the 100% the opposite of that. (jokingly here, I'm Gen X so I'm against those entitled babies that I work with now and then )

FTR eating alone has nothing to do with this. You aren't clogging up a line waiting for your food like a family would be. I'd rather families split apart and get out of my way so more can order than clog the line. Granted I've been going for 37 years now so I'm just speaking of experience there as well.

 

[lazyboy97o]

That's what I'm struggling with on the logic. Say 10 minutes person A is waiting to order while person B,C ect is holding a table and gathering condiments or whatever. Another 5 minutes to actually get food, and 20 minutes eating, so 35 minutes a single table is occupied. VS Persons A,B,C all wait 10 minutes to order, after order person A waits for food 5 minutes while B,C gathers condiments. Whole group finds a table and spend the same 20 minutes eating, table is occupied for 15 minutes less.
Over an 8 hour period that is 13.71 turns with a saved table vs 24 turns unsaved.

The waiting for food being nearly as long as the time at the table is indicative of a throughput problem. There are also other variables that have been discussed, such as the registers not having space for the entire party and longer ordering due to people changing their orders. You’re time waiting to order and get your food is increased by having to navigate crowds that do not have a designated waiting area to occupy.

You can't even compare it to Universal Studios because they don't have the same attendance that.

Attendance is completely irrelevant. Three Broomsticks and The Leaky Cauldron are designed differently. They have a single entrance that leads to a single queue designed to accommodate entire parties and going to the register is controlled to prevent over crowding. The point between the registers and dining area is also centrally located to allow staff to monitor most of the exits in case anyone does enter through them. Springfield is slightly different with its two entrances, but they too can be centrally monitored and their is also the single queue designed to accommodate entire parties. In looking to improve upon the efficiency of Three Broomsticks, The Leaky Cauldron has people wait for their food at a table instead of near the registers.

 

[jaklgreen]

Attendance is completely irrelevant. Three Broomsticks and The Leaky Cauldron are designed differently. They have a single entrance that leads to a single queue designed to accommodate entire parties and going to the register is controlled to prevent over crowding. The point between the registers and dining area is also centrally located to allow staff to monitor most of the exits in case anyone does enter through them. Springfield is slightly different with its two entrances, but they too can be centrally monitored and their is also the single queue designed to accommodate entire parties. In looking to improve upon the efficiency of Three Broomsticks, The Leaky Cauldron has people wait for their food at a table instead of near the registers.
[/QUOTE]
Kind of like they are doing with Satuli. I think that they are learning but it is a bit more difficult to redo the existing ones. They can, but imagine the outcry as they shut down a counter service while they update it.

 

[Lensman]

That's what I'm struggling with on the logic. Say 10 minutes person A is waiting to order while person B,C ect is holding a table and gathering condiments or whatever. Another 5 minutes to actually get food, and 20 minutes eating, so 35 minutes a single table is occupied. VS Persons A,B,C all wait 10 minutes to order, after order person A waits for food 5 minutes while B,C gathers condiments. Whole group finds a table and spend the same 20 minutes eating, table is occupied for 15 minutes less.
Over an 8 hour period that is 13.71 turns with a saved table vs 24 turns unsaved.

I think the idea is that in the "hold table" model, you spend 5 minutes getting condiments and 5 minutes looking for a table, and this matches the 10 minutes for the other person to order, wait for food, and bring it to the table. And in my case we have 15 minutes to "cover" because of the extra 5 minutes my wife or I will spend sanitizing the table and cleaning gunk off the seats, lol. Note that this model depends on the CS doing its job of maintaining the < 10-15 minute wait-order-prepare-serve cycle. We can contrast this with hypothetical in-law family B who doesn't grab a table until they get their food, but then gets condiments after they get a table. [who in their right mind does this other than my in-laws!?!?].

At any rate, I get that holding tables is a pet peeve of many people and that if you do it wrong at CS where the kitchen is overwhelmed, you end up with bad feedback loop.

Personally, I tend to not do it but that's probably habit from work where we obviously don't do it or when I'm traveling by myself when I don't do it. My wife is an adamant table-holder, and I go along with her on it because I don't think it's worth getting a divorce over it. I'm not going to tell her that you folks think she's self-centered because, well, like I said before, I don't think it's worth getting a divorce over it. Hmm, but wait, maybe this is consistent with some other things she makes me do... maybe...

fast food place that does Chicago-style food

I don't want to go too off-topic, but what is Chicago-style food? Is it just the pizza and the hot dogs, or is there more? And yes, I admit that I'm opening myself up to personal attacks here but I'm sure my Chicago-style cousins will appreciate any mud slung my way for my ignorance. Lol

I hope all of you realize and appreciate how neurotic this thread is. I find it therapeutic and a bit cathartic because I can't talk to my wife about this issue. In fact, as you've noticed above, I've got a bit of Stockholm syndrome going on in that I'm rationalizing table-holding.

 

[correcaminos]

I think the idea is that in the "hold table" model, you spend 5 minutes getting condiments and 5 minutes looking for a table, and this matches the 10 minutes for the other person to order, wait for food, and bring it to the table. And in my case we have 15 minutes to "cover" because of the extra 5 minutes my wife or I will spend sanitizing the table and cleaning gunk off the seats, lol. Note that this model depends on the CS doing its job of maintaining the < 10-15 minute wait-order-prepare-serve cycle. We can contrast this with hypothetical in-law family B who doesn't grab a table until they get their food, but then gets condiments after they get a table. [who in their right mind does this other than my in-laws!?!?].

At any rate, I get that holding tables is a pet peeve of many people and that if you do it wrong at CS where the kitchen is overwhelmed, you end up with bad feedback loop.

Personally, I tend to not do it but that's probably habit from work where we obviously don't do it or when I'm traveling by myself when I don't do it. My wife is an adamant table-holder, and I go along with her on it because I don't think it's worth getting a divorce over it. I'm not going to tell her that you folks think she's self-centered because, well, like I said before, I don't think it's worth getting a divorce over it. Hmm, but wait, maybe this is consistent with some other things she makes me do... maybe...


I don't want to go too off-topic, but what is Chicago-style food? Is it just the pizza and the hot dogs, or is there more? And yes, I admit that I'm opening myself up to personal attacks here but I'm sure my Chicago-style cousins will appreciate any mud slung my way for my ignorance. Lol

I hope all of you realize and appreciate how neurotic this thread is. I find it therapeutic and a bit cathartic because I can't talk to my wife about this issue. In fact, as you've noticed above, I've got a bit of Stockholm syndrome going on in that I'm rationalizing table-holding.

Street style. So dogs, gyros, subs/sandwiches. The owners lived in Chicago and brought us their favorite foods. No pizza. Which is good because I am definitely a NY style pizza gal.

I find this thread interesting because of how judmental some are. It's like ketchup on hot dogs, who knew some would be so downright rude about it (yes, borrowing from another thread). Save, don't save. I don't care, just don't be rude to others.