HAL customer comments

[katgio50]

Does anyone think that the hotel managers actually read all of the customer comments? I would think that if they did, there would be some follow up with passengers at some point. I always spend quite a bit of time to write comments--both good and bad--and wonder if others do the same. I had an issue with one of the staff==the DJ==on our cruise and I would feel like someone might follow up on my comments. Just wondering.

[Love Cruises]

I have a feeling that they might. Our room steward was very anxious that we give him a rating on our questionnaire form and said that his manager does get the feedback from it. He was very attentive to us and it was no problem to give him a good review. The staff has been cut down and he was doing at least 20 cabins with a helper. These boys really need their jobs badly and the least we could do was to help him out.

We also list our displeasure that HAL does not do staff hosted games like Scattergories, Pictionary, Taboo, etc. We have even written to S.Kruse of our displeasure of these games being terminated but the response was that this is how they will be running their daily activities in the future with only the "dam" dollar sporting events hosted by the cruise staff.

[Coral]

Yes I do.

[Mary Ellen]

I had an issue with one of the staff==the DJ==on our cruise and I would feel like someone might follow up on my comments.As others have already mentioned, yes they are read. However, if there was a situation that you feel merits a follow-up, it should have been brought to the attention of 'someone in authority' while on board. Did you do so?

[Krazy Kruizers]

I don't believe that they have time to read them all -- it would be a time consuming job considering all the duties that everyone has to do from one cruise to the next.


They probably look for those that have a lot of writing on them.

[sail7seas]

I absolutely, positively KNOW they do. The HM reads all the comment sheets and takes them very seriously as do the 'powers' in Seattle.

[Jemima]

I'd guess all are read. They are probably not that time consuming to read because they aren't getting comments from everyone. Lots of people don't return comment sheets or surveys. Lots of others don't write comments. Still others probably write generic comments such as "Fantastic cruise!" "Excellent" or "Enjoyed our cruise".

[hammybee]

I too agree that each card is read on the ship and the scores are scanned somewhere, probably off the ship. Positive feedback for specific crew members is meaningful. As for the negative....a business has to focus on patterns unless there is an outrageous situation.

That one passenger hated the piano player and the next passenger loved the piano player....says what about the piano player?

That the folks in cabin 123 want to take their Cabin Steward home and the folk in cabin 122 thought the same Cabin Steward was a good for nuthin.... means what.....?

That one passenger misses the Pear Salad in the PG and the next passenger loves the new salad means what about salad?

With more than 1 million passengers a year, there is no way to please all of them, all of the time.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I agree that the Hotel Manager, Guest Relations Manager, Beverage Manager and other Managers ALL read those surveys. As a matter of fact I have seen the stacks on their desk. I also know that each department that has a comment about one of their crew members gets a copy of it to be read at their weekly meetings good, bad or indifferent comments are all read. While HAL may not be able to respond to each and every comment given they definitely do read them.

[mountainguy]

Yes. Hotel Managers read the comments. Believe it or not. Also, the Food and Beverage Manager, Guest Relations Manager, Purse and Culinary Manager help read them. If there is a relevant comment to a specific department or person, they are scanned and forwarded to that department or person. Also, they are electronically sent to the home office in Seattle.

[beachdreaming]

On our Westerdam 12/14 cruise we were told that they do read the comment cards and that this usually happens during embarkation or as soon as possible each cruise. The next to last day of our cruise my husband had a very unpleasant interaction with a spa staff. He reported this at the time and they listened at the front desk. We wrote about it on our comment card. When we got home we were still bothered about the incident and emailed HAL about it and got a canned response that said that we would personally hear from a HAL rep. So, I guess we'll wait and see. One of the questions that we asked in the email was if it is true that Spa employees aren't actual HAL employees and aren't held to the same standards as a true HAL employee. At least the rest of our cruise was wonderful and we were treated with respect from everyone else.

[TCF]

I am really not sure if they read them all or not.

On our Veendam cruise last October we complained about the failure of the A/C and HAL' seeming inability to fix it for four weeks!!

We were given two cards...I presume because the cruise was so long...and the A/C issue was put down in detail on both cards. Yet, a month later when we called HAL Seattle we were told that we would not qualify for a future OBC, that others were getting over the same issue, because we did not complain in writing at the time the event happened.

I pointed out that we had complained in writing twice...but did not rceive a promised reply to my call.

Finally, a firmly written letter to Kruse got us a $1400 future cruise fare credit!

Perhaps it, "fell off the radar", because so many pax on the cruise complained on the comment cards about the failure of the A/C...it was a very serious problem for many people especially when we hit the Equator....so they just stopped recording it for Seattle from the cards.

I think in some departments....housekeeping, dining, bars, front desk, etc.....where pax contact with crew is high the supervisors probably do read all they get. Other departments I am not sure.

[lorekauf]

I am really not sure if they read them all or not.

On our Veendam cruise last October we complained about the failure of the A/C and HAL' seeming inability to fix it for four weeks!!

We were given two cards...I presume because the cruise was so long...and the A/C issue was put down in detail on both cards. Yet, a month later when we called HAL Seattle we were told that we would not qualify for a future OBC, that others were getting over the same issue, because we did not complain in writing at the time the event happened.

I pointed out that we had complained in writing twice...but did not rceive a promised reply to my call.

Finally, a firmly written letter to Kruse got us a $1400 future cruise fare credit!

Perhaps it, "fell off the radar", because so many pax on the cruise complained on the comment cards about the failure of the A/C...it was a very serious problem for many people especially when we hit the Equator....so they just stopped recording it for Seattle from the cards.

I think in some departments....housekeeping, dining, bars, front desk, etc.....where pax contact with crew is high the supervisors probably do read all they get. Other departments I am not sure.
I tend to agree with you...I find it hard to believe they read them all but maybe they do. When I fill mine out I write a book...others maybe not so much. I would think it would be really time consuming and boring :eek: to read them all.

[Copper10-8]

Yes, like Lisa in Vegas, I have seen the stacks on a HM's desk. He would read (no longer with HAL) them all for feedback/training/acknowledgement, etc. He would then ship them off to the various Dept. managers for feedback and onward distribution, follow-up, you name it. Those comment cards are also part of the internal promotion process

[lorekauf]

. These boys really need their jobs badly and the least we could do was to help him out.


This statement really gets to me. Yes they do need their jobs but they also need to do a good job and when people go trolling for high marks nothing turns me off faster. I have to say I've had pretty good luck with my stewards on HAL but there have been one or two that left a bit to be desired.

[sail7seas]

FACT- Many a cruise we have been in HM's office and we see them set out in piles. A casual glance indicates he is in the process of reading them. They are without question read personally by HM, GRM, sometimes (maybe always) at least some are read by Captain, Department Heads and others.

[kryos]

Does anyone think that the hotel managers actually read all of the customer comments?
Oh, I know they do ... know it for a fact. Well, actually I guess I should say that the "appropriate" onboard manager reads them ... depending upon the nature of the comments.

I'm not sure of the exact order, but here's how the process was explained to me. The comment cards are removed from the lock box by, I believe, the Guest Relations Manager, at the end of the cruise. I think they first go to Seattle, where the quantative data is entered into the database. The comments are then read by HQ management, and they are forwarded back to the ship ... to the appropriate department heads ... for their review/action.

HAL takes the comment cards very, very seriously. That's why there is a lock on that comment card box which only the Guest Relations Manager can open. She opens it and immediately puts those cards in a box or large envelope and seals it. That's so that nobody else can get to them and possibly remove cards containing negative comments about his/her department. Only after those cards have been processed in Seattle do they get mailed back to the appropriate shipboard managers and especially if a lot of negative comments come in about a single thing, or a single manager's department, he has to answer for it. Lots of negative comments over time could result in the loss of his job if it's about something over which he has control. Now, of course, if the complaints are about AYWD or something that is a corporate policy decision, he would only be at risk if the complaint is about something over which he has control.

So, yes ... the hotel manager would see the comments relating to things under his command, and then he would pass them on down to his department managers for review. Just as he is accountable to Seattle, so would they be to him.

HAL's whole hook is "service." It's what they pride themselves on, and how they distinguish themselves from other basically mass market lines in the industry. If they are failing to deliver in that area, managers have to answer for that. HAL puts its management staff, especially on the hotel side of things, under a lot of pressure ... probably too much pressure ... to deliver. Those comment cards are one way to ensure those managers stay on their toes.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[GarySuzy]

Yes, I believe too that they are read. On our first HAL cruise we turned our comment cards in the last night of the cruise and in the morning the HM actually stopped by our cabin to discuss our comments.

[Pettifogger]

On this and other threads, I have seen the suggestion that passengers should resolve any complaints before leaving the ship or not expect them to be taken seriously.
That is all very well for complaints about things that fall into the category of injuries, such as coffee spilled on one's clothes. That can be relatively easy to compensate.
Things that fall into the category of insults are different. In the rare event that an HAL employee should be so rude that a passenger does not feel they can overlook it, there is no way HAL can compensate the passenger. If under such circumstances I were sent a free bottle of wine, I would feel worse (they think they can buy my dignity with 35 bucks.) All HAL can do is try to prevent repetitions.
But there is no way HAL can judge the merits of the rudeness complaint without a confrontation and few passengers want a confrontation while they are trying to enjoy a cruise for which they paid a considerable amount of money. But some rudeness complaints have little or no merit; sometimes the problem lies as much or more with the passenger than with the employee.
It seems to me that the proper procedure would be for the passenger to mention it on his or her comment card and for HAL to tabulate it without trying to evaluate it. Then, if a particular employee accumulates a disproportionate number of such complaints, HAL should address the problem.
If HAL disregarded a complaint about rudeness that I made on a comment card because I didn't seek to activate their disciplinary machinery while on the ship, I would feel that HAL was "selling me short" and I do not understand HAL's policy to be to "sell their passengers short."

[Sleepladypalmdesert]

Although I am not in the cruise business, my place of employment uses these cards as well. The process is exactly as Rita explained. They go from the customer to a company who compiles the data and a list of the comments are sent around to us managers. We can read everyone's comments. We have no way of knowing who said what though. I will post those in my employee break room and highlight the ones meant for my areas with an "At-a-boy" or "Come on we're better than this" beside some of the comments. Then a few weeks later the cards from my areas, make their way to my desk. My administrator has put sticky notes on the ones she would like me to follow up on. We speak with the employee for whom the positive or negative comment was made. I keep a copy in their file for use when evals are done. A single negative comment or two really does not matter, but the pattern of certain behaviors or comments will be taken very seriously. I always tell my staff to give me a "head's up" when we have had a customer who was obviously angry or acting out when they had their visit. I will call that person personally (I call it rounding). I will ask the customer what happened and let them vent on me. I tell them that I am sorry that their stay was not as it should have been and their expectations were not met. I will send them a 10.00 card for use in any shop on our campus...even the pharmacy, which many love. I just let them let me have it. Then I thank them so much for their feedback, because without it I cannot make necessary changes in procedure and it is people like that who make the difference to us. They almost NEVER fill out their cards, because they feel they have already vented. Consequently our scores stay higher than others in the organization. My department, despite a problem here and there, most frequently wins the highest awards for customer service.

So, long story long....I truly believe that all the cards are taken into account, otherwise the staff would not mention giving them a good rating. By the way, if I hear a positive comment about a staff member or the customer experience, I will let the person know that an eval is coming and those positive comments go up to administration and are very important for the good employee. I ask them to make sure to fill it out and express their good experience so the employee can get the recognition they deserve. Almost always they will send in the card with glowing remarks.

[lorekauf]

otherwise the staff would not mention giving them a good rating.
But people do not need to mention this IMO if they are doing a good job. The only people I have seen trolling for high marks are the ones that were ok but IMO not the best. I've never heard a word out of anyone that I considered to be doing a top notch job. It's just like people that complain that they have so much work and I'm talking about here in Calgary. There are usually people that are doing twice as much as them but you never hear a word from them.

[katgio50]

It seems that most of you feel that the questionaires are read which I feel good about. I did address the problem that I observed involving the DJ with the CD and he was very glad that I did and said they had had other complaints. Thanks for all of the comments and input!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

But people do not need to mention this IMO if they are doing a good job. The only people I have seen trolling for high marks are the ones that were ok but IMO not the best. I've never heard a word out of anyone that I considered to be doing a top notch job. It's just like people that complain that they have so much work and I'm talking about here in Calgary. There are usually people that are doing twice as much as them but you never hear a word from them.
I am sorry but I totally disagree with this comment ...THEY DO NEED TO ASK!!!! Here is the reason first off not every passenger fills this out, I am not sure of the percentage but it is not nearly as high as you think. Sadly most that doe are those complaining or not happy about something. The percentage is extremely low for those that are happy. Which is sad because if you were happy with the service why not let HAL know that you loved your cabin steward or you Dining Room Stewards. 2nd reason most people NO NOT understand the scoring. For those of us that have worked in an industry that uses this type of thing a 9 in HAL's case is what they expect but if you mark a 7 or an 8 then it is bad. Now the average person things "Oh that is good" but that is NOT how it is looked at. When I worked at a Toyota dealership there rating was 1 thru 10 and if it was not a 10 we lost points. All car dealerships run this same way so if you want to really hurt the person you helped you do not mark the highest rating.

I know this makes no sense but unfortunately that is how it works. So I can totally understand all the crew asking for you to fill out the comment card and to give them the 9 rating. I am actually suprised more HAL crew do not do that.

[INSIDERS CABIN]

Right-all questionnaires are read by dept heads. And, it is important to mention names of those doing a good job - I am sure it figures for promotions and yes, in customer service industry, employees and mgmt are penalized-bonus, percent of increase, promotion-for any dings such as lower ratings or complaints, no matter how insignificant. The customer's perception is always right! (Unfair!)

[sail7seas]

Add me to the list of those who understand outstanding crew people requesting we remember to complete the surveys at the end of our cruise. They know we have been pleased with their service because we thank them and tell them so. It is not out of line IMO during a moment when I am thanking them to add, "Would you please take a minute and complete the survey at the end of the cruise." What possible objection could there be to them hoping those they know they served well saying so in the most valuable way to them..... the surveys. I think a good word on the survey is about as important to them as the added tip many satisified people often choose to give them.

[Pettifogger]

If I were a cruise line, I would instruct all of my staff not to ask the passengers to submit favorable comment cards. My experience on HAL has been that all of them provide a surprisingly even level of excellent service and allowing some to ask to be singled out from all the others who also provide excellent service could damage the camaraderie that is such a delightful aspect of an HAL cruise. But then, I'm not a cruise line.

[traveling g'ma]

Just an observation

We sailed on NOORDAM 11/7-11/17 with ANYWD. Our cabin stewart was xcellent++, which we made note of on our eval. Our dining xperience was worse than POOR. Table for 2 at 6:15 should not be a problem--or so we were told--. We could not get a table for 2 without a wait (45 min +). We went to Lido and had a very good experience (at least 3 x) DINING ROOM STAFF SHOULD TAKE LESSONS! Also went to Pinnacle Grill (2x). Expressed all this info on our evaluation. To date we have never heard word one from HAL...Makes me wonder if comments are read/addressed.

Needless to say on our next HAL cruise --20 day collection, 5/23-6/12-- we are definetly doing set dining.

I'm disappointed in HAL'S lack of response to our eval. This was our 4th cruise on HAL

Anyway this is my venting. Happy, Healthy, Peaceful 2009 to all.

[jcrandle]

I was in a job for 30 years that involved my customers responding to questionnaires about their satisfaction with the service that the company's representatives provided. In some cases, managers sat down with the customer prior to the survey going out to make certain that the customer was aware which survey questions pertained to that manager's department. I never once heard a manager asking that his department be given favorable results, rather that the responder understood which questions involved service that was under that manager's control, and which were not.

As a side note, some customer support organizations are managed by negative feedback. Specifically, as long as you keep the complaints below X percent, your are doing an acceptable job. I recall that every software order was accompanied by a form that was signed by the distribution manager asking if your order was received in a timely manner, if it was readable on the computer, if the documentation requested was all correctly included, etc.

I always had the urge to call up the manager, and let him know that my order was processes quickly, all components were included, and that everything was OK. I expected that he would then pause, and ask, "OK, who is this really?"

Unfortunately, some jobs can only be measured on the basis of low negative feedback, because happy people often do not respond.

[Sleepladypalmdesert]

Well, again, my 2 cents worth....We pay significant attention to the customer satisfaction scores...but, we know there are just some people who hit the door sour and no matter what we do, we will not be able to please the folks that rate everything as 1 or 2. So, we focus on the 6's, 7's and 8's and try to bring them up to top scores. Those are the people that are trying to give a valid score. They have had some issues and deserve to have attention to those items. Particularly if they give us good detailed feedback that we can then go back and validate. The folks that score everything as a 1...well, no matter what we do for them, they are never going to be happy or satisfied. Those scores really get less attention than the 6-8's with good detailed information.

The best are those that give a good deal of 9's and then have a few lower scores. Those people really WANT to score high scores, but have had some issues and we can try to improve those items or deal with those employees and improve that person's performance. When I get a card with all 1's...I figure it is someone impossible to please or just with unreasonalble expectations. Everyone was terrible, everything was horrible. Those folks tend to take the most resources and are still unhappy. I would rather see that person go down the road to a competetor than abuse my staff.

[lorekauf]

I know this makes no sense but unfortunately that is how it works. So I can totally understand all the crew asking for you to fill out the comment card and to give them the 9 rating. I am actually suprised more HAL crew do not do that.
Fine...they can ask but I personally get turned off by this...it you don't that is great. I usually will give my cabins stewards/waiters top marks but when they start asking for them...I don't appreciate it.

I also want to add I always fill out my comment card for those who seem to think that I have to be asked by my cabin steward/waiter. I'm intelligent enough that I don't have to be told what to do and how to do it. One my last cruise my waiter was excellent. He did not ask for top marks but I gave him one. The white coat felt he needed to mention about giving the top mark. His perforance was mediocre in many ways.

If everyone always gives 9's across the board how would anything that needs attention be addressed?

[marle7]

I don't have a problem with anyone asking us or reminding us to fill out the cards. I do have a problem with anyone telling me or asking me to score the cards in a certain way.

[sail7seas]

Thank you, Marle. You clearly expressed the difference between the two requests.

I fail to see anything wrong with someone reminding us to complete the survey with no suggestion as to what we should write.

It isn't a question of intelligence IMO. I take it as a gentle reminder of how important those surveys are to the ship and the crew.
We've had a whole thread about "are they read". Perhaps there are many people who don't think they are read by anyone so don't bother to complete them. Perhaps that reminder might indicate to them they are considered valuable.

[Jemima]

The CD's disembarkation talks, including the statement on 9s, appears to me to be scripted as that is said on each cruise. HAL must want 9s unless the item was less than it should be. 9 on this type of survey does not mean perfect or fabulous, it simply means the item was satisfactory and met reasonable expectations. There are other surveys and evaluations which follow this system. Since that is how HAL interprets them, that is how we fill them out.
However, I do think individual crew should not be asking passengers to rate them well or add good comments about themselves.

[lorekauf]

Thank you, Marle. You clearly expressed the difference between the two requests.

I fail to see anything wrong with someone reminding us to complete the survey with no suggestion as to what we should write.

It isn't a question of intelligence IMO. I take it as a gentle reminder of how important those surveys are to the ship and the crew.
We've had a whole thread about "are they read". Perhaps there are many people who don't think they are read by anyone so don't bother to complete them. Perhaps that reminder might indicate to them they are considered valuable.



I guess the comment card arriving in your cabin may not be enough of a reminder for some. It's not the reminder that I mind it's the request. I guess I didn't make myself clear enough in the other 2 posts:D.

[markcruising]

I have a feeling that they might. Our room steward was very anxious that we give him a rating on our questionnaire form and said that his manager does get the feedback from it. He was very attentive to us and it was no problem to give him a good review. The staff has been cut down and he was doing at least 20 cabins with a helper. These boys really need their jobs badly and the least we could do was to help him out.

We also list our displeasure that HAL does not do staff hosted games like Scattergories, Pictionary, Taboo, etc. We have even written to S.Kruse of our displeasure of these games being terminated but the response was that this is how they will be running their daily activities in the future with only the "dam" dollar sporting events hosted by the cruise staff.


Slightly disturbing- there was a great deal of pressure from our stewards to deliver the completed comments forms to them. I had nothing but 9's and excellent things to say about my stewards however I like to deliver my comment cards to the comment box personally as there is always the chance of someone seeing a less then nine rating and not putting your comments in the box.

Perhaps I'm being paranoid but they asked me to give it to them four times and then when I stated that I had already put mine in the box at the front desk it was awkward. In fact they were kind of looming about the cabin on the final night and I felt a bit weird , I wasn't sure if they were waiting for supplemental tips or the comment cards but I had already done my comment card so I tipped again.

[m steve]

except the usual from the CD. At our meet and greet the hotel mgr. said that not only did they read all the commments but also read Cruise Critic to find out what we were saying about the service and our suggestions. They never mentioned about smuggling comments and i never found them overly concerned about bringing stuff on board.