customer satisfaction/comment cards

[Mrs Miggins]

I see there was a thread about this in 2008. Just back from a Celebrity cruise and was rather shocked that our waiter practically begged us to rate his and the others that served us as 'excellent'. He said that anything below that - even 'Good' was counted by Celebrity as a failure and that their money would be cut as a consequence. He actually said that he did not get a salary at all and that his earnings were entirely based on these comment cards. He said that just getting 'good' would result in him losing at least $200. We had already filled out our card - and rated him and his colleagues as 'good' although we felt they were let down by long waits from the kitchen, wrong information about the ingredients of certain dishes (someone on our table - not in our party - was allergic to dairy products) and in some cases rather poor food. Next morning I mentioned to our Butler that he was the only one we had rated as 'excellent' and he said 'please rate everyone as excellent otherwise they lose money.
I felt really bad about this and since we had not handed in our comment card I went and got another card and changed our ratings.
It seems to me that this is an intolerable way of paying staff. Everyone's assessment of 'good' or 'fair' or indeed 'excellent' is different. I would like our comments to be acted upon - but surely Management should tighten up their act and not rely on this very embarrassing procedure.

[CruisingChick]

On our most recent cruise our waiter did not do this, but I have had waiters in the past who have done the "selling of" making sure we mark them excellent on the comment cards.

Our waiter was excellent so we had no problem marking him that, he was so much better than our last two waiters.

Excellent is a hard rating to maintain and we do fill out the comment cards honestly.

I believe this should be only part of the way Celebrity rates the crew on their perofrmance because there are some people who are NEVER pleased so I'm sure they never mark anyone excellent.

[nps001]

I know that X takes their ratings very seriously, however, I really doubt that they are penalized for guests giving a good rating. I believe their service charges/tips, etc. are theirs to keep. Perhaps there is an incentive and they are rewarded with extra money for excellent ratings.

One thing about your comment has changed. You can no longer get another comment card. In fact, if you try to turn one in to a staff person, you will be told that they cannot accept them and they must be placed in the box at Guest Services. No one on the ship can handle these. In fact, they are collected by the port agent and sent to Miami for tally.

[tteettimes]

i also recall the ratings concern by the Butler and Steward----on a couple of different cruises it was as though they were after a "Promotion" though----
I didn't hear anything about the docking of wages

BTW MrsMiggins----did you enjoy your Cruise out of Barcelona???
did you enjoy Bill Perkins and his knowledgeable commentary and organizational skills????-----He enjoyed you and MR. and was very appreciative of being invited over to the Ryder Cup as your Guest.
He is a personal friend of Americas guest (who shall go nameless ).
He and I live in the same town and i watched your Roll Call board
sorry to hear negative about the Debarkation--------I have enjoyed the Sky suites on Century and Galaxy------loved the Butler and the extra large balcony
have SS Corner Aft on the Equinox in feb------anyway---just wanted to say hello------hope everyone gets an ' Excellent" review and comment
they do make a difference
CIAO for now

[ellbon]

Interesting about the comment cars. I had done mine over as i did not like what i wrote or needed more room.. if people are not excellent i do not write hat they are. i find most waiters are only good but have had great room stewards and bar waiters.

[Mrs Miggins]

Hi tteetimes - had a great cruise and our trip with Bill was fabulous -
Disembarkation was a breeze for us - 20 euros taxi to the airport. Would never buy the ships airport transfers - big rip off.
Re getting another comment card I had to go to Guest Services and explain that I had made a mistake on the card and needed another one - luckily I had not posted the original card in the box !

[Orator]

They take comments seriously. I've been told several times by crew members that ratings are used by some lines to determine time off and promotion. I usually write a letter to the line if I've had exceptional service.

[BruceMuzz]

Originally Posted by Mrs Miggins

I see there was a thread about this in 2008. Just back from a Celebrity cruise and was rather shocked that our waiter practically begged us to rate his and the others that served us as 'excellent'. He said that anything below that - even 'Good' was counted by Celebrity as a failure and that their money would be cut as a consequence. He actually said that he did not get a salary at all and that his earnings were entirely based on these comment cards. He said that just getting 'good' would result in him losing at least $200. We had already filled out our card - and rated him and his colleagues as 'good' although we felt they were let down by long waits from the kitchen, wrong information about the ingredients of certain dishes (someone on our table - not in our party - was allergic to dairy products) and in some cases rather poor food. Next morning I mentioned to our Butler that he was the only one we had rated as 'excellent' and he said 'please rate everyone as excellent otherwise they lose money.
I felt really bad about this and since we had not handed in our comment card I went and got another card and changed our ratings.
It seems to me that this is an intolerable way of paying staff. Everyone's assessment of 'good' or 'fair' or indeed 'excellent' is different. I would like our comments to be acted upon - but surely Management should tighten up their act and not rely on this very embarrassing procedure.

So Mrs Miggins, he was a lousy waiter, but absolutely truthful when he told you this story?
This guy really saw you coming.

Aside from being upset about his poor service, you should also be very upset that the waiter thought you naive enough to believe his lame sob story.

[Mrs Miggins]

No he wasnt a lousy waiter - I would rate him as good - but let down by very average food and poor kitchen information and availability.
I have read before about the bad terms and wages of the staff on board ship - and to be truthful if my putting excellent instead of good gave him a few extra dollars then I am comfortable with that.
What I am not comfortable with is not really knowing what is true - was he spinning me a line ? does it really impact on his (presumably very low) earnings or time off ?
In the UK now there are very strict rules on minimum wage and fair distribution of tips to waiters (in the past employers could use the tips to make up waiters wages to the minimum allowed - but this is now illegal).
My point about what you might think of as 'good' and I might think of as 'fair' is also pertinent.
I am also interested in the percentage of cruisers who don't complete these forms at all and what impact that might have.
What I would like is greater transparency.

[uktog]

I have to say I have noticed this pushing the old excellent rating - I ignore it and rate it as it has been - and yes excellent is a rating I am happy to be able to use for many of the services on X. However, I am not prepared to use the rating if it is not justified otherwise I would rather just not hand the questionnaire in - continuous improvement requires honest and transparency

Unfortunately I have also noticed a trend of the old - "I get no wage only your tips" sobstory (which is actually untrue) or "I will loose all my pay if you do not rank me excellent" tail (also untrue) being targetted to UK cruisers. I think sadly some may have had a bad experience of prior cruisers who despite it being well published do not realise the tipping culture and of course our sometimes slightly more reserved way of rating things. Because we cruise a lot I can spot when this speech is beginning and usually firmly and politely cut it off with a "yes I know the ratings are very important to you and we have already completed the form"

On one cruise I actually had to say to one fairly average waiter who kept bringing up the subject that the more he raised the issues the lower his rating could become.

Anyone else also notice that the good guys very rarely raise the issue, they are confident you will rate them well

[Wine-O]

When we were on Solstice, we received exceptional service in both Blu and from the Main Cabin Attendant. Both reminded us how important the feedback on the comment cards were to them. They never brought up the question of tips to us although we gave them both extra. Maybe it's a UK thing?

[Rick-cruiser]

How companies decide to evaluate and process their comment cards are really of no concern to me. Whenever asked to fill out a comment form, I will do so gladly and thoughtfully - however, and most importantly, always honestly.

Don't ever let a person pressure or intimidate you into doing otherwise.

- Rick

[MacThespian]

Originally Posted by uktog

Anyone else also notice that the good guys very rarely raise the issue, they are confident you will rate them well

Yup. On my Celebrity cruise this summer, I had probably the worst room steward in my experience, on Celebrity or any other line. He was adequate, I guess, but multiple requests for things that should have been in my cabin before we boarded (distilled water for my CPAP, for example) did not get acted upon until I spoke to top staff at the Connections party. He also brought up the evaluation issue (though not quite in as whining a manner as some here seem to have endured); I rated him as I felt his service deserved.

[gospelle]

If I had a staff member tell me how I should fill out my comment card, I would comment about that on the card and would tell them point blank that they shouldn't be talking to guests about that.

I find it akin to begging and think it detracts from my enjoyment of the cruise where I want to be taken care of, not harrassed or given a guilt trip. I think the claims of reduced tips, etc. based on comment cards are bogus and are simply a way to earn extra money, which on top of all I give them is warranted only if they are in actual fact "excellent".

I pay full prepaid gratuities at a minimum and usually tip very well on top of that as a matter of course.

I will fill out my comment cards honestly and will report to guest services any attempt by a staff member to guilt me into a false report.

[vvnh16a]

After just returnng last week from the 16 day Millinieum repositioning from LA to SAN JUan we received a call yesterday from Celebrity Miami thaking us for filling out the comment card and to assure us our comments and recognition of staff mentioned (good and bad) would be fowarded to Miami and ship supervisors. ALso suggestions made regarding ship or customer service operation would also be forwarded to the appropriate staff.

At least one thing I have learned is that someone is reading these comment cards!!!

We appreciated the call...Has anyone else received a call like this!!!

[mardon]

I have read on other posts that people were called from Celebrity re: comment cards but mostly because of food issues. To rate someone just 'good' because they were let down by long waits from the kitchen, wrong information about the ingredients of certain dishes (someone on our table - not in our party - was allergic to dairy products) and in some cases rather poor food is really not fair to the waiter. It is not his fault. Also, fact is that the crew members get paid $50 per month from the cruise line and depend on our tips to make their salary so when they tell you they make very little, they are telling you the truth. I think most people make the time to fill out those cards to complain but never make the time to compliment jobs well done.

[sasset]

We have stopped attending these assemblies. On several of our cruises the debarkation briefing, led by the Cruise Director (that they impress upon you that one member of your family should attend) were 90% on how important the cards were and that anything less than excellent is deemed a failure. This was even more pronounced when one of either Weir brothers hosted the event.

So it's not just a few waiters.

[eileen & jay]

Originally Posted by vvnh16a

After just returnng last week from the 16 day Millinieum repositioning from LA to SAN JUan we received a call yesterday from Celebrity Miami thaking us for filling out the comment card and to assure us our comments and recognition of staff mentioned (good and bad) would be fowarded to Miami and ship supervisors. ALso suggestions made regarding ship or customer service operation would also be forwarded to the appropriate staff.

At least one thing I have learned is that someone is reading these comment cards!!!

We appreciated the call...Has anyone else received a call like this!!!

Returned home from work today and had a message on our home phone from Celebrity regarding our 10/16 NE & Canada cruise comment card. Agree...happy to learned that someone is REALLY reading our comment cards.

[sam1948]

[
At least one thing I have learned is that someone is reading these comment cards!!!

We appreciated the call...Has anyone else received a call like this!!![/quote]

I too was on the 16 days Millenium Panama Canal cruise, had a call from Celebrity staff thanking me filling the comment card and talked over what I put down.
Only one complaint from me: 90% of the hot soups were too salty

[jaybird from SC]

Originally Posted by vvnh16a

After just returnng last week from the 16 day Millinieum repositioning from LA to SAN JUan we received a call yesterday from Celebrity Miami thaking us for filling out the comment card and to assure us our comments and recognition of staff mentioned (good and bad) would be fowarded to Miami and ship supervisors. ALso suggestions made regarding ship or customer service operation would also be forwarded to the appropriate staff.

At least one thing I have learned is that someone is reading these comment cards!!!

We appreciated the call...Has anyone else received a call like this!!!

We have been called a couple of times and were asked in detail about our comments. We appeciated the call and were totally honest and pretty much positive. I had experienced an incident while standing on one of the lower outside decks. A lighted cigarette tossed from "above" landed in my hair. Luckily no harm to me but it could have landed on a deck chair cushion just as easily. We immediately called security who quickly went looking for the culprit who tossed it. We were impressed with their actions and gave them positive feedback on our comment card as well. At least we know they read the card..