More Poor Service

[flightoffear1996]

First off I went to Kings Island yesterday for the 5th time this year.  What is with the food service this year?  Slow staff, super long lines, and they seem understaffed and under trained.  We waited last week for 45 minutes for some ice cream.  Just insane.  I would be more inclinced to spend money on the smaller treats inside the park if I didnt have to wait longer to get than I do for most rides.  

 

We went to the Reds Hall of Fame Grill yesterday and got seated promptly.  Our all season long refill cup can't be filled up here?  What the heck!  Okay, so we just ordered water.  Got our hamburger and fries which we paid the upcharge for.  The hamburger was overcooked and super dry to start with and then we finished eating.  We where there for about an hour and only checked on when the waitress brought us our food and to take order.  She dropped of the check the same time she brought the food out.  We were going to leave a nice tip anyways for her however after sitting there for 90 minutes she never came back.  We just left the $5.00 to cover our bill cause that is all the cash we had and we didnt want to wait any longer to get our card back.  

[rhyano]

Food Service has always been an issue, at least for the last couple of years, i waited at LEAST an hour to pay my bill at Reds, no one knew what they were doing

[Outdoor Man]

Have had very similar experiences this year.

Yesterday was mild for us... having had terrible guest experiences the first couple of visits, we unfortunately knew what/when to avoid.

 

It seems, though that a number of the lines bunch up at the cashier.  Why does it always seem that they place the most inexperienced computer person at the cashier position?

 

A few weeks ago, the Chicken Shack (by Banshee) had two cashiers more interested in flirting with girls on the other side of the door than serving the "line" in front of them.

 

 

It seems rather epidemic that to solve staffing issues, places (not just Kings Island) throw employee volume at it.  Not to get into a political bent on this, but in the whole $15/hour debate.... I've said before- pay more, hire fewer and more mature employees.  There's nothing wrong inherently with hiring teens.  But, unfortunately, the supervisors tend to be borderline teen/college age and attain the position by tenure rather than qualification- and most want to be the "cool" supervisor, not the one that expects excellence.

[flightoffear1996]

I don't think we will be going to the Reds Hall of Fame Grill anymore.

[Gordon Bombay]

 

 

It seems rather epidemic that to solve staffing issues, places (not just Kings Island) throw employee volume at it.  

I think you have to look at incentive as well. Not knocking food service/fast food jobs in any way, but they're fairly common to come by all over the region within close proximity to residential areas/transit.

What's the incentive to working in food service at Kings Island when you could find the same type of work much closer? Not to mention, for better or worse (and experiences in service vary wildly by location), but even companies like McDonalds offer actual benefits and regular pay increases on top of year round work.

[Magenta Lizard]

You must have gotten the same server at Red's that my husband and I did the time before our last visit. It was taking so long after we were done eating for her to turn up, we ultimately asked the host for our bill, expecting him to go back and let our waitress know to bring it, which is what would be the case in most restaurants. Instead he brought it himself. We left a small tip, but nowhere near what we usually do.

Yesterday, however, we got an excellent server. I was so impressed, I actually stopped by Guest Services to fill out a form praising the service we got. I will be asking for Teresa specifically, next time I choose to eat there.

[flightoffear1996]

Its just such a shame because I love spending extra money because I feel it provides good entertainment for my family and its a great boost to the local economy.  But when your waiting 45 mintues with a crying three year for an ice cream cone it makes it impossible.  There have been cases this year I got a fresh hot pizza and by the time I was able to pay for it, the pizza was already cold.  Its not just bad service its downright horrible.

[shark6495]

As Terp says why would the park care. You never see the park comment on threads like this. They have your money. I will give the park one more weekend to fix things before I start complaining non stop to them and make a don't waste your money phone call to WCPO....

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[KIfan73]

Strange enough, I've found it to be almost impossible to buy something at the Sweet Spot.  Twice last year, and once this year, the employees were in a constant conversation between each other, and it was almost impossible to get their attention to get them to wait on me.  Twice, I've had to just lay down what I was going to purchase and leave.

[Outdoor Man]

 

 

 

It seems rather epidemic that to solve staffing issues, places (not just Kings Island) throw employee volume at it.  

I think you have to look at incentive as well. Not knocking food service/fast food jobs in any way, but they're fairly common to come by all over the region within close proximity to residential areas/transit.

What's the incentive to working in food service at Kings Island when you could find the same type of work much closer? Not to mention, for better or worse (and experiences in service vary wildly by location), but even companies like McDonalds offer actual benefits and regular pay increases on top of year round work.

 

 

I know this is a simple solution to a complex problem, but that's where I say- hire fewer and pay better.

[silver2005]

As Terp says why would the park care. You never see the park comment on threads like this. They have your money. I will give the park one more weekend to fix things before I start complaining non stop to them and make a don't waste your money phone call to WCPO....

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Call Buddy LaRosa and Skyline whilst your at it.

[FoF96"]

Food seems to be a big problem at many amusement parks.  I don't know what these places can do to improve efficiency and speed without making the employees want to be there.

[Hoeter]

This past weekend. Cedar Point.

 

Polar opposite of my experiences with Kings Island in regards to dining plans and food service operations in general.

 

Ate at Chickie's and Pete's, Frontier Inn, and Panda Express. Waited less than 10 minutes for my food each time. Also hot, fresh, and delicious each time.

 

And they managed their lines efficiently and kept things moving. This weekend I was able to appreciate my dining plan for what it's worth.

[dtk1378]

I know it was because of the light crowd, but it was extremely refreshing to be at the park on Sunday and not have to wait in any lines for food. I was literally the only person in line for food at the Juke Box Diner at 6:30pm.

 

Compare this to the weekend prior where I stood in line at Skyline in Coney Mall for 10 minutes with the line not moving one inch and finally just saying let's go somewhere else to eat which we ended up going over to Planet Snoopy Grill where the line moved efficiently and didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes to get our food. Also saw the young supervisor there who was working her tail off to keep everything in order as it looked like she was in charge of both the Snoopy Grill AND the ice cream shop... and at Skyline, I saw no supervisor, just slow service.

[jdawg1998]

Strange enough, I've found it to be almost impossible to buy something at the Sweet Spot.  Twice last year, and once this year, the employees were in a constant conversation between each other, and it was almost impossible to get their attention to get them to wait on me.  Twice, I've had to just lay down what I was going to purchase and leave.

 

I am pretty sure Sweet Spot is not a part of the food department, but the merchandise department. 

 

Still, though, that's not right!

[Joncars05]

If you don't like the service than do as my wife and I do leave the park and grab some food outside of the park then head back in.

As Terp says why would the park care. You never see the park comment on threads like this. They have your money.

This right here is the reason they don't care if you get your food fast or not. If you continue to pay for terrible service then don't expect things to change. If they start noticing more people are leaving the park at lunch time and coming back when lunch is over and they see revenue drop then they might change their act. But until they see revenue from food drop they won't care. My wife and I can't stand the service (and ridiculous prices) at KI so we don't eat in the park. We would gladly go 3 minutes away and eat at Skyline without the wait, bad service, lower quality food, and price hike that comes along with eating Skyline in the park.

[shark6495]

Last year we had a friend who waited in a 90 minute line in Soak City.

We have one meal plan and that's to just allow us to grab a quick bite during off times for our son.

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[upstop]

Even though I rag Disney a lot around here, they really have food service down to an art. Even with massive crowds I never waited more than ten minutes. You order and pay and take your receipt to a counter to pick up your food. Their menus are limited to a few items and I also believe the employees might be paid a little more too. I was always greeted with a smile, and told to have a magical day.

[Pez]

I also have had to no-tip at the HOF grill on one occasion a few years ago.  When they're bad, they're dreadful.  Food Service is definitely the most problematic part of the Kings Island experience.  Seasonal food service is not a job people will take if they have other options so they wind up giving people their first jobs.  Too many inexperienced employees is a problem on it's own, but I don't think they've hired enough employees either.  They probably can't find anyone.  They regularly tweet that they are hiring.  KI doesn't use H-1B employees like I have seen at Carowinds and Cedar Point.  Most of the restaurants have serving and checkout lanes that are not in use so the facilities are in place to provide better service, just not the people.  I am not sure how much money it would take for more qualified people to take a seasonal food service job.  Probably a lot more than $15.  I don't know what the answer is, but it is frustrating. 

 

It's worth saying most of the people I have seen working in the shops and in the restaurants do a good job in light of the circumstances.  I expect they will do much better as they become more experienced.

[Kenban]

Even though I rag Disney a lot around here, they really have food service down to an art. Even with massive crowds I never waited more than ten minutes. You order and pay and take your receipt to a counter to pick up your food. Their menus are limited to a few items and I also believe the employees might be paid a little more too. I was always greeted with a smile, and told to have a magical day.

 

I totally agree.  The cashier should come first, then go pickup your food at a counter.  In some cases it makes sense to pickup your food first but only locations like Hanks where it is custom.  Run the food service more like what it really is, fast food.  Most of the food locations are not a cafeteria why should it be setup like one.

[homestar92]

Had a decent enough experience using my dining plan at Worlds of Fun on Monday. Walked up, placed my order, they scanned my card, I got fresh food and walked away with it. My only complaint is that Chickie's & Pete's didn't open while I was at the park (though considering it was a rainy weekday in May, I totally understand it even if I don't like it). Unfortunately for Cedar Fair, had they opened Chickie's and Pete's, I probably would have sat for a while, had a drink or two (which are very high profit margin items) and spent a couple more hours in the park. As it was, I rode all the rides I cared to ride and then left, and enjoyed my drink later, not at a Cedar Fair property. Shoutout to the bartender at the Branson, MO Buffalo Wild Wings, who recommended a slight tweak to my usual drink of choice that made it even tastier than usual.

 

Last year, I ate with my dining plan at Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Carowinds, Cedar Point, and Valleyfair. Of those parks, all but Kings Island offered great service, and all but Kings Island and Kings Dominion offered great food (KD had very efficient service, but the food was frankly terrible). Heck, at Valleyfair, they had difficulty getting my dining plan to scan and in the name of good customer service, they just went ahead and took my word that I had one and comped the meal.

 

I don't know what the issue is, but I'm not 100% sure that it's purely because of dining plans. If that were the case, you'd see issues at the other properties, but other parks seem to get by fine with dining plans. But Kings Island seems to have a chronic issue with foodservice that has gotten worse and worse every year. If anything, dining plans exacerbated what was already an issue, but I don't think they can be blamed solely or even primarily for the issues we're seeing.

And frankly - dare I say it - for as long as I've been going, Kings Island's food options have been lackluster at best. Sometimes I'll get good food at chicken shack, and I've always got to have my blue ice cream, and I like Potato Works well enough. But other than that, there's not a single food item at KI that I feel like I HAVE to have. The closest would be Potato Works, which absolutely PALES in comparison to similar options like Potato Patch at Kennywood or Happy Friar at Cedar Point. But look at other parks and you've got Cedar Point, which has Pink's, Cheese on a stick, Chickie's and Pete's, Dragon Inn corn dogs, I could go on and on. Or Carowinds, where I've literally never had food that wasn't fantastic. Or Canada's Wonderland and Valleyfair where you can get poutine. We have nothing that really screams "Kings Island" to me, and what we do have is usually served up slowly and without a smile. Something's gotta give.

And I'm a shameless Kings Island fanboy. When I even stop defending the park, you know that there's a really bad problem.

[shark6495]

I did give the park a call and asked about the possibility of the refund if service is so poor and they stated (as believed) there are no refunds. When I mentioned that the lines for food were the same amount of time as leaving the park and coming back to the park all she said was "I know sir". And when I said well it seems sort of like a waste of money then all she said was "of course sir."

Again, I'm glad we only got one to get the meal for my son when he gets hungry at the park and we don't want to leave just yet but man oh man. When his belly gets bigger and he can wait longer between meals we won't be buying.

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[dtk1378]

Sounds like whoever you talked to on the phone didn't care one bit and was just saying whatever she could to get you off the phone as quickly as possible. Poor training I guess even goes to their customer service departments...

 

I'm sure they've been fed the line that "You all will get some calls early in the year about our food service, just explain you know there's an issue but we cannot issue refunds. Give it a few months when everyone learns about our great new drink refill stations and those lines will be history!!!".

[flightoffear1996]

I also wrote a complaint to the park and just got the standard response.  If I paid for single day ticket and waited the long for my waitress to come back I would have been really upset.  There is no reason for it to take 8-10 minutes to take an ice cream cone order.  Have one person taking the food orders and the other running and getting the cones.  Its not that hard.

[medford]

Homestar,

 

While not for food, I had a similar experience at Valleyfair last season.  As we were leaving, we were purchasing a few souvenirs for the kids and shirts for mom & dad.  The cashier asked if I had a season pass.  I jokingly said "sure, but its for Kings Island so I don't think it works"  I wasn't expecting a season pass discount, but the cashier kindly said, well lets try it anyways.   When it wouldn't work (for obvious reasons) she called over her supervisor who said, just knock off 10%, thanks for stopping by.

 

It blew me away, great customer service, and frankly I couldn't recommend the park enough to anyone that was in the area.

[homestar92]

Valleyfair had the best customer service I've ever seen at a non-Herschend park. I wonder if perhaps the reason for this is that there's another decent theme park within the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area so they have to actually compete...

 

The fact that my visit lasted only four hours and yet I find it so memorable and place the park on such a pedestal should speak volumes about my experience.

[marth555]

Disney Park service really is something wonderful

[dragsterguy21]

Cedar Point seemed fantastic opening weekend. The employees knew all the dining plan options and that they actually changed from last year. The Panda Express line that took me 30 min at KI opening day took me 10 min Cedar Point opening sunday

[sixohdieselrage]

I was aggravted when I went the other day with the wife and daughter. No drink refill stations were open (I have the new orange cup). Also, the Rivertown Funnel Cake building wasn't open yet. But what annoyed me the most was, I literally just got a 50% off coupon from the KI app for that, and they weren't open... I'm hoping it will improve as more employees are out of school and college for the summer.

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[Creed Bratton]

As far as the coupons, they come at random times whether a stand/store is open or not.