Duped on Allure gratuity refund

[norm1956]

This occurred on the Allure which sailed to West Carr. week of 9/22.

 

Assistant Front Desk Mgr on Allure, Edward Mulievi failed to process our gratuity refund as promised. We had an Awful experience with some of the staff, mostly our female Cabin Steward including having her yell at my disabled wife. I even gave her cash upfront to give us good service.

 

After explaining our situation at the guest service desk, "Raymond" from India insisted that RC issue a full refund for our prepaid gratuities in the amount of $168 and tip who we felt deserved it in cash. When it didn't get posted on the on board account, I went back and spoke to Edward who said that because it was paid prior to sailing, he would credit it back to my credit card and said. he was looking right at it and it was credited!!

 

But.. when I asked for something in writing, all he gave me was his card and said I could call him if there was a problem. Now 4 days later the credit has not been posted. The on board booking for our next cruise posted the next day! Of course, it's an 800# and not his direct line, can't get through to him and feel DUPED by RC and doubt I'll ever see my refund.

 

I'll never pre-pay gratuities again. We did tip the folks who deserved it - the way it should be.

 

Any suggestions on how to get this resolved?

 

Thanks,

Norm

[Jetdriver787]

Credits never seem to be as efficient as debits no matter where you make them. :) I wouldn't think three working days is any cause for alarm, and I would be inclined to give it a few more days. If you are concerned have you telephoned Customer services to seek confirmation that the refund to your card is being processed?

[Tapi]

...mostly our female Cabin Steward including having her yell at my disabled wife

 

Any suggestions on how to get this resolved?

 

Respectfully, call Royal and try to get the issue resolved. You have names and even a business card.

 

Try to be objective and stick to the RELEVANT facts. Avoid details that could elicit emotions that may blur the validity of your claim.

[Big_G]

It will take longer than that Norm but I would call Resolutions anyway. They can tell you if a request to credit your card has been submitted. After that it's up to Accounting and they're not exactly the shining star of the company. Be calm. The Resolutions people are truly there to help you.

[maureencruiser]

Yeah, slow down! Refunds always take longer, no matter what the business is. By the way, Wednesday is 3 days after Sunday, not four.

[Gig103]

I'd call and escalate it, but if you don't see the credit in 10 business days I'd call your credit card company and file a charge back.

[MommaBear55]

I hope you complained during the cruise so that the staff could have been given the opportunity to rectify their behavior, rather than just wanting your money back at the end.

 

I would be very surprised if you got refunded on your cash tip, as there is no paper trail to verify the amount and no way to credit an account.

 

I am sorry you received poor service. One of the reasons I cruise Royal Caribbean is for the service.

[molly361]

We were on the same sailing as you and have a credit balance on our Seapass which has yet to go back to our credit card. Like the others have stated it takes a bit of time. Sorry you did not enjoy your trip. We had great service and ran into nothing but great staff members.

[setsail]

I have never seen any credit from rci post to my cc in 4 days:rolleyes:. Relax and watch your cc statement online.

[mpoole3]

This occurred on the Allure which sailed to West Carr. week of 9/22.

 

Assistant Front Desk Mgr on Allure, Edward Mulievi failed to process our gratuity refund as promised. We had an Awful experience with some of the staff, mostly our female Cabin Steward including having her yell at my disabled wife. I even gave her cash upfront to give us good service.

 

After explaining our situation at the guest service desk, "Raymond" from India insisted that RC issue a full refund for our prepaid gratuities in the amount of $168 and tip who we felt deserved it in cash. When it didn't get posted on the on board account, I went back and spoke to Edward who said that because it was paid prior to sailing, he would credit it back to my credit card and said. he was looking right at it and it was credited!!

 

But.. when I asked for something in writing, all he gave me was his card and said I could call him if there was a problem. Now 4 days later the credit has not been posted. The on board booking for our next cruise posted the next day! Of course, it's an 800# and not his direct line, can't get through to him and feel DUPED by RC and doubt I'll ever see my refund.

 

I'll never pre-pay gratuities again. We did tip the folks who deserved it - the way it should be.

 

Any suggestions on how to get this resolved?

 

Thanks,

Norm

 

Just curious... The cabin steward was bad, so you removed her tips. (dont agree with this, but I understand) Why would you remove tips from the Head waiter? What did he/she do not to earn his tips?

 

How about the assistant waiter who works all mornings in windjammer? Did you ever eat breakfast there? Did he/she not also earn their tips?

 

Just seems a little unfair to remove everyones tips, for one person's actions...

[dcgrumpy]

Credit card refunds always take longer than charges. It's usually more than 3 business days. I've had them take a week or two.

[norm1956]

Just to clarify, we did enjoy our trip overall and received good service from most and tipped the ones who served us. Actually we gave the cabin steward $20 up front to ensure better service.

 

I appreciate everyones feedback but still believe this was handled badly. The credit does sometimes take longer but if the clerk tells you it is already posted it should not take several days. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

 

Sent from my IPhone.

[dcgrumpy]

Just to clarify, we did enjoy our trip overall and received good service from most and tipped the ones who served us. Actually we gave the cabin steward $20 up front to ensure better service.

 

I appreciate everyones feedback but still believe this was handled badly. The credit does sometimes take longer but if the clerk tells you it is already posted it should not take several days. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

 

Sent from my IPhone.

That means it was posted on their end. They have no control over what the banks do.

[norm1956]

Seriously, Just to make it clear to all who responded to our problem with refund of gratuity... it was RC that offered tto refund our pre-paids, not us.

YES we tipped everyone that deserved it, we are not that rude or cheap!

 

Upset about the refund because the mgr said he was looking at it on his screen but wouldnt give me a copy. Dont mind waiting but he was clear it had gone through. Honesty hoes a long way.

 

The problem with the cabin steward was from the start despite a hefty upfront cash "tip" Our attempts to rectify the situation with the front desk & her boss only served to piss her off more with rude stares and lack of towels. We never had this experience with RC staff before.

 

We didnt eat in the main dining room but agree with another poster the food wasnt as good as last year.

[LindaO]

Norm... just to let you know... It is not Royal holding up your refund (if they processed it on the day they said)... it is the Credit Card Company that holds refunds from being posted. I run a small business...and if I post a refund or return it can take as long as 15 days for those refunds to show on a persons Credit Card statement. We (the merchant) has no control over that. Good Luck!

[Big_G]

Norm... just to let you know... It is not Royal holding up your refund (if they processed it on the day they said)... it is the Credit Card Company that holds refunds from being posted. I run a small business...and if I post a refund or return it can take as long as 15 days for those refunds to show on a persons Credit Card statement. We (the merchant) has no control over that. Good Luck!

 

I could be wrong but I don't believe a Guest Relations person can post a refund directly to the credit card company. It has to go through Accounting back in Miami.

[Thetrail]

Seriously, Just to make it clear to all who responded to our problem with refund of gratuity... it was RC that offered tto refund our pre-paids, not us.

YES we tipped everyone that deserved it, we are not that rude or cheap!

 

Upset about the refund because the mgr said he was looking at it on his screen but wouldnt give me a copy. Dont mind waiting but he was clear it had gone through. Honesty hoes a long way.

 

The problem with the cabin steward was from the start despite a hefty upfront cash "tip" Our attempts to rectify the situation with the front desk & her boss only served to piss her off more with rude stares and lack of towels. We never had this experience with RC staff before.

 

We didnt eat in the main dining room but agree with another poster the food wasnt as good as last year.

If you consider 20 dollars a "hefty" tip your living in the 1950's. And your post is also a bit vague, who besides your cabin steward did you feel you needed not to tip. It seems that right from the get go you seem to have a problem with the auto gratuities which you state "as it should be" regarding no auto tips, so I'm looking for more clarification from your post....:confused::rolleyes:

[LMaxwell]

So when this posts to your credit card, in the same time as any other credit based refund, will you edit your post and title? "Duped" seems a bit heavy handed considering in this instance it is just a matter of waiting for the refund.

 

Tipping extra early on ensures nothing. Nice gesture but you aren't owed service above and beyond for that despite what you may feel. Sorry you had to get bad service but if they say you will get a refund, you will get the refund. If it hasn't posted in a week I'd file a charge back with the CC company.

[ryano]

Norm... just to let you know... It is not Royal holding up your refund (if they processed it on the day they said)... it is the Credit Card Company that holds refunds from being posted. I run a small business...and if I post a refund or return it can take as long as 15 days for those refunds to show on a persons Credit Card statement. We (the merchant) has no control over that. Good Luck!

 

Agreed. Im pretty sure it works the same with bank debit cards too. I just ran into a similar problem with my pest control company. Last month, I filled out a permission slip so they could debit the monthly charge from my debit card but it wasnt suppose to start til the end of the month when I got my next paycheck. The office "accidentally" :rolleyes: debited it that same day. I called them and they issued a credit right then but it still took 3 business days to post to my bank account.

[jakenashleysmom]

If you consider 20 dollars a "hefty" tip your living in the 1950's. And your post is also a bit vague, who besides your cabin steward did you feel you needed not to tip. It seems that right from the get go you seem to have a problem with the auto gratuities which you state "as it should be" regarding no auto tips, so I'm looking for more clarification from your post....:confused::rolleyes:

 

Slipping the cabin steward a $20 ON TOP of the tips they are already receiving (which by the way *may* lead to MORE $20's....op never specified) is considered to be above and beyond imho. hefty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

the op did not ask for auto-grats to be removed, guest services offered since there was no clear way to remove grats from just one person. the op then states he went and tipped the rest of the workers in cash. all he is asking is how to resolve the issue of not seeing the refund on his credit card statement as of yet, not whether or not he was in the wrong by removing the auto-grats.

 

I agree with above posters, give it some time then call RC relentlessly if it isn't rectified! good luck!

[ryano]

Slipping the cabin steward a $20 ON TOP of the tips they are already receiving (which by the way *may* lead to MORE $20's....op never specified) is considered to be above and beyond imho. hefty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

 

I totally agree. "Hefty" might be a little strong but an extra 20.00 on top of the prepaids is a pretty dang nice gesture. It would be about 80% extra if they still get the 3.50 per day from prepaids.

[mjldvlks]

I always take posts that start with an emoticon with a grain of salt.

[poncho1973]

I always take posts that start with an emoticon with a grain of salt.

 

This!

 

AND FYI "hefty" is that shiny nickel I got from my job at the shoeshine stand this morning.

[wwcruisers]

[quote=norm1956;

The problem with the cabin steward was from the start despite a hefty upfront cash "tip" Our attempts to rectify the situation with the front desk & her boss only served to piss her off more with rude stares and lack of towels. We never had this experience with RC staff before. [/color]

 

 

Just curious as to what the nature of the problem was. Were you just asking for towels? Why would the cabin steward yell at you or your wife? Did you contact the head of Housekeeping, before you went to Guest Services? Your mention of "her boss" would lead me to believe that you did, but it's not clear. Over the years, I've found that Guest Services is not all that helpful, on that rare occasion when you encounter problems with your room steward or waiter. Generally, you get better results going up their particular chain of command (Head Housekeeper, or Maitre 'd, respectively). After that, about all Guest Services could do was offer to refund your auto-tip.

 

As to what you should do at this point, I agree with the other posters. Call RC -- I think there is a special desk for post-cruise problems. If that doesn't work, write a calm, detailed letter and send it to Corporate in Miami. Make sure you include a daytime phone number, in case they want to call you back. Good luck!

[garycarla]

The term "duped" at this point is just downright wrong.

 

And, to say that it was NOT processed as promised is also wrong.

 

Why do people accuse people of things without KNOWING. Though I know nobody is going to do it, the person you mentioned could easily accuse you of slander.

 

If maybe 2 weeks goes by and this is not processed, MAYBE you can use those terms.