Steakhouse problem

[looneyric]

It's not relevant. The tip is included in the per person charge. If the casino comped the meal then the tip was handled as well. Each department on board has different budgets to work with; the servers would have still received their share of the tip even on a "comped" meal.

 

OP is not required or obliged to tip "extra" on a comped meal; that was already handled; it's just a matter out of which bucket the money comes from. And certainly not in the circumstance where this does not appear to be a case where the waitstaff did something extra to be deserving of a double gratuity.

 

It certainly is relevant. Stiffing a waiter on free meals and wine is cheap.

[LMaxwell]

It certainly is relevant. Stiffing a waiter on free meals and wine is cheap.

 

Maybe you didn't read what I had typed; the waitstaff isn't getting stiffed at all. The gratuity is included in the purchase price. When a meal is "comped" by another department it goes against that departments P&L. That department, the casino in this case, pays $70 to Steakhouse and the waitstaff gets their gratuity.

 

I NEVER said it would be right for the waitstaff to be stiffed in this situation, and thankfully, they aren't stiffed. But that's not really OP's problem either and it's not relevant here to whether Carnival should retroactively charge for something THEY offered to comp.

[looneyric]

Maybe you didn't read what I had typed; the waitstaff isn't getting stiffed at all. The gratuity is included in the purchase price. When a meal is "comped" by another department it goes against that departments P&L. That department, the casino in this case, pays $70 to Steakhouse and the waitstaff gets their gratuity.

 

I NEVER said it would be right for the waitstaff to be stiffed in this situation, and thankfully, they aren't stiffed. But that's not really OP's problem either and it's not relevant here to whether Carnival should retroactively charge for something THEY offered to comp.

 

I did read it, thanks. So they got a small tip from the casino. So what? It's cheap not to add gratuity on top of free meals and wine. Just common courtesy and etiquette. But I guess it's just me and you are right. Sorry for questioning you.

[AZbeachboy]

They would be only out $70, $35pp.

 

I think the poster is just trying to make a point that it is an additional $70.00 because they had to pay. Otherwise they would have gotten the free meal $70.00 plus not had to pay out of pocket $70.00 for something they had free.

 

Just a different way of looking at it. Actual money is still on $70. Business uses that all the time in accounting procedures to say this is a lost because we did not have use of something that we should have had.

[Halya50]

Why on earth should they comp you your dinner?????

 

They did the right thing a removed the wine. The dinner you were prepared to pay for, so what is the issue.

 

OMG, people just want everything for free.

 

It was a human error on the wine and that was corrected, I don't see the issue now?

[imnance]

I can't believe the number of people who think Carnival handled this in any sort of a professional manner and that the OP should just suck it up. :rolleyes:

 

 

No reputable land based restaurant would ever charge the customer after assuring them, not once, but twice, that the meal was on the house. I don't care if it was an honest mistake or gross incompetence. Once you tell a customer that something is free, you never go back on your word.

 

This is the sort of garbage that earns CCL the bad rep in the customer service dept. The sort of thing that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, that sends customers to your competitor. Carnival made the mistake, even after it was pointed out to them that the couple was sure they didn't earn the free meal. Carnival should have just been professional and absorbed the mistake without saying a word. Bad form Carnival. :mad:

[justjim312]

I never said it ruined my vacation, nor that I would never sail with Carnival again, because I will. I'm not trying to get something for nothing, I'm trying to get my dinner for what I was told it would be four times. If your told the price of something on land or sea, do you not expect it to be honored? Do you expect a charge to be sneakily applied to your credit card after you were told it was free, only to see it whne you get the bill? I appreciate your opinion, which I asked for. I don't appreciate you presuming things about the situation that I never said.

 

You are simply wrong. Get over it. Like they say, too bad so sad.

[LMaxwell]

I can't believe the number of people who think Carnival handled this in any sort of a professional manner and that the OP should just suck it up. :rolleyes:

 

 

No reputable land based restaurant would ever charge the customer after assuring them, not once, but twice, that the meal was on the house. I don't care if it was an honest mistake or gross incompetence. Once you tell a customer that something is free, you never go back on your word.

 

This is the sort of garbage that earns CCL the bad rep in the customer service dept. The sort of thing that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, that sends customers to your competitor. Carnival made the mistake, even after it was pointed out to them that the couple was sure they didn't earn the free meal. Carnival should have just been professional and absorbed the mistake without saying a word. Bad form Carnival. :mad:

 

Someone who gets it.

[LMaxwell]

You are simply wrong. Get over it. Like they say, too bad so sad.

 

Someone that doesn't get it.

[rdler]

I truly don't understand what the people who believe Carnival can not make a mistake are saying. If Carnival said the meal was comped, it should be comped. Especially if they said it 4 times.

 

If you all were, say, going to purchase a cruise, and then told nope, you were getting a free cruise, would you be pleased to see that cruise charged to your account at the end? Even if they let you keep the bottle of champagne that you begged John Heald for?

[looneyric]

Someone that doesn't get it.

 

Or simply someone who doesn't agree with you...

[Carnival_Brides]

I can understand why they'd want the dinner comped as well. They probably relied on the fact that the meal had been comped and then spent the money they had set aside for the steakhouse. It's not fair to the customer to now go over their budget bc they relied on the offer they were given.

 

This was exactly my thought as well. My wife and I budget $x every cruise and if the steakhouse assured me that my meal was being comped (twice!) we would have spent the money elsewhere on the ship. I'd be disappointed to find that a $70 charge had been added after-the-fact. *At least* they were willing to refund the bottle of wine that they insisted on gifting you.

[LMaxwell]

Or simply someone who doesn't agree with you...

 

His disagreement is clear, his understanding of relevant facts is not. No one needs to make me the straw man here.

 

Carnival told op his meal was comped. On a cruise comped means fee including gratuity. People bringing up whether op tipped extra or not, and we don't even know that, is not what is at issue here. The main topic is not tipping. It is whether carnival squelched on an offer, which they clearly did, and whether op should pursue remuneration for their unauthorized charge or not. At the very least

There is a breakdown in communications onboard and if the op does not make carnival aware, how could it ever get addrssed for the future.

 

I happen to feel, given what we know, that the op had a reasonable expectation to not be billed after the fact. His original intent or ability to pay is nullified by carnivals offer to cover the dining fee including tip, as their compliment.

 

Others on here think carnival did nothing wrong. Now that's something I dont understand at all.

[beamqueen]

I can't believe the number of people who think Carnival handled this in any sort of a professional manner and that the OP should just suck it up. :rolleyes:

 

 

No reputable land based restaurant would ever charge the customer after assuring them, not once, but twice, that the meal was on the house. I don't care if it was an honest mistake or gross incompetence. Once you tell a customer that something is free, you never go back on your word.

 

This is the sort of garbage that earns CCL the bad rep in the customer service dept. The sort of thing that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, that sends customers to your competitor. Carnival made the mistake, even after it was pointed out to them that the couple was sure they didn't earn the free meal. Carnival should have just been professional and absorbed the mistake without saying a word. Bad form Carnival. :mad:

 

 

 

Completely agree. In fact, just last night we went out to dinner at a land based restaurant. The waiter forgot to put in my moms order and she ended up getting her food 15 minutes later than the rest of us. The restaurant gave her the meal for free. We were most certainly not expecting this but it is GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE! I know this is a different situation than the OP but that is what makes people want to come back. If CCL wants to retain customers, they need to correct their mistakes. They made the mistake even after supposedly double checking! That $70 might ensure a repeat customer for the future. I think the OP is completely in line with disputing this charge.

 

I hope it works out for you- let us know what happens!

[imnance]

The waiter forgot to put in my moms order

 

Ack!:eek: Been there, done that. Completely my mistake. That's what a sincere apology and the comp button are for. :)

 

My restaurant's policy is to fix our mistakes as best as we can to ensure our customers return. Carnival's policy, in this case at least, is obviously different.

[Donray]

Amazing how some accept being told something and then taken away. It's incompetence at best, and never put up with.

 

Yes, fight for it. You didn't seek it, want it, expect it, but got it. Hold your ground.

 

I hope if you ever make a mistake you would never get forgiven for making a mistake.

 

Only a jerk would not forgive mistake. The same type of jerk that thinks if a sale sign is left up by accident that you demand the sale price and the person responsible for the mistake should be fired.

[nomadron]

The OP has not even hinted at legal recourse. They simply want a meal they consumed to be free because someone at Carnival made a mistake.

However, after reading this thread, it helps me to better understand why we have so many millionaire lawyers that sue anyone and everyone in sight for the tiniest perceived slight. I guess making a mistake and offering an apology for it is a thing of the past. Now you must be compensated or given something for free.

[larkz]

I've dealt with management level workers on the ships -- guest services and whatnot -- and found much to be desired. These people are profound idiots. Too bad they don't have the same training and customer service finesse that the room stewards, dining room staff, and other more "lowly" workers on the ship exhibit. This is the area in which I am most critical of Carnival Corporation.

 

Absolutely and without question, no manager of any business should screw up like that and then take back the gift, especially after the guest urged them to confirm it because it didn't sound right. It is terrible practice. It is an embarrassingly stupid mistake.

 

The primary issue here is not whether the meal had already been planned and purchased. The primary issue is the integrity and character of the steakhouse management. In this particular case, it sucks. Royally.

 

First they blow it on getting the correct comp to the correct customer. And then they sneak the charge back onto the customer bill! At the very least, the restaurant manager would meet personally with the guests, apologize and say that a mistake had been made with the comp. What a gutless worm. That restaurant manager needs to be ripped a new waste vent (so to speak).

[LMaxwell]

 

Only a jerk would not forgive mistake. The same type of jerk that thinks if a sale sign is left up by accident that you demand the sale price and the person responsible for the mistake should be fired.

 

Yes to first part, not to second part. That's a major leap...

[BourbonMan]

The primary issue here is not whether the meal had already been planned and purchased. The primary issue is the integrity and character of the steakhouse management.

 

This is 100% on the mark. The crazy thing is that Carnival now advertises that the "guarantee fun" on their commercials which leads one to believe they put their customers first. This is clearly not putting the customers first. It's $70 to the OP but in reality it's probably like $40 to Carnival. It's crazy they are not making good on their promise.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

My husband and I are currently waiting to get off the Pride this morning. We dined at the Steakhouse on Thursday night. Upon being seated at the Steakhouse we were told by the wine steward that our bill was being "taken care of" by the casino. We told him we thought he had the wrong reservation because the we had not spent more than a few dollars in the casino. He went and checked with his manager came back and confirmed our name and cabin number. We still told him we thought it was a mistake and he again assured us it was not. However, last night, which was the last night of the cruise, there was a charge for the Steakhouse and the bottle of wine the wine steward insisted we get because the casino was paying for it. Guest Services asked me to come back this morning to resolve the issue. Upon doing so, I was handed a phone by the guest services agent and made to talk tothe Steakhouse manager who refunded the bottle of wine, but refused to refund the dinner charges. I informed her of everything that happened (which she knew about because I believe she was the manager present that night).

I just want everyone's opinion on how this should be handled and who to follow up with.

 

Hey you got a free bottle of wine. Forget it.

[Tralfie]

Tempest, meet teapot. I honestly hope I never, ever find myself in the position of fretting about the cost of one meal. Especially one I was already prepared to pay for. Life's too short for that!

 

Richard/Tralfie

 

 

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[racegrrl]

Tempest, meet teapot. I honestly hope I never, ever find myself in the position of fretting about the cost of one meal. Especially one I was already prepared to pay for. Life's too short for that!

 

Richard/Tralfie

 

 

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I believe it's more about the principle. I have been in foodservice management for years. The way Carnival handled it is beyond unacceptable. Had this happened in my business, it would have never gotten this far. There were SO many opportunities for Carnival to redeem themselves, yet time and again they failed. If nothing else, the OP should carry this up the food chain with management so those that were a part of the debacle can get re-trained as they obviously need it.

[crusinpsychRN]

Someone who gets it.

 

Someone that doesn't get it.

 

Exactly.

[afreetdragon]

My husband and I are currently waiting to get off the Pride this morning. We dined at the Steakhouse on Thursday night. Upon being seated at the Steakhouse we were told by the wine steward that our bill was being "taken care of" by the casino. We told him we thought he had the wrong reservation because the we had not spent more than a few dollars in the casino. He went and checked with his manager came back and confirmed our name and cabin number. We still told him we thought it was a mistake and he again assured us it was not. However, last night, which was the last night of the cruise, there was a charge for the Steakhouse and the bottle of wine the wine steward insisted we get because the casino was paying for it. Guest Services asked me to come back this morning to resolve the issue. Upon doing so, I was handed a phone by the guest services agent and made to talk tothe Steakhouse manager who refunded the bottle of wine, but refused to refund the dinner charges. I informed her of everything that happened (which she knew about because I believe she was the manager present that night).

I just want everyone's opinion on how this should be handled and who to follow up with.

 

I say message John Heald on FB and get his opinion.