Should I expect a reply after emailing a complaint??

[pokerpro5]

Pete, and everyone else:

 

Stop writing complaint letters.

 

This is 2014, and that's not the way to get it done anymore.

 

You need to track down someone with power and authority at the company, and call them.

 

I have said this countless times, plenty have disagreed with me, yet we keep seeing threads like these where people write and either get ignored or receive form letters in response after a long wait.

 

There is a very easy way to resolve all NCL issues where you have a reasonable complaint. You call their Miami office during business hours of 9:00am-5:30pm PT.

 

That phone number is 305-436-4000. Do not be afraid to call. They make it public on the NCL website. Ask for a manager, and you will get a much quicker, much better, and much more satisfying resolution than if you had written a letter.

 

I have used that number myself and had great success with it.

 

I have also had great success by directly calling the appropriate empowered departments at other companies, while friends and peers of mine keep writing letters and pull their hair out in frustration for months.

 

Good luck.

Edited August 21, 2014 by pokerpro5

[smeyer418]

proper manners dictate that all mail even email be responded to. so you should expect at least an acknowledgement of your letter. IMO which differs from the previous caller, calling to a call center never gets you any one with real authority. They don't answer the phones and will assiduously avoid the calls. At macys herald square all the executive offices are on the 13th floor? Anyone ever get to that floor? no its not accessible to the public. My Mom was in charge of the complaint desk at on the 9th floor...

[pokerpro5]

proper manners dictate that all mail even email be responded to. so you should expect at least an acknowledgement of your letter. IMO which differs from the previous caller, calling to a call center never gets you any one with real authority. They don't answer the phones and will assiduously avoid the calls. At macys herald square all the executive offices are on the 13th floor? Anyone ever get to that floor? no its not accessible to the public. My Mom was in charge of the complaint desk at on the 9th floor...

 

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

 

I didn't say the OP should call a "call center". I said that he should call the Miami corporate office at NCL, which is empowered, staffed with people with good customer service skills, and is known to resolve issues quickly and fairly.

 

I have used that number myself, so I'm not just pulling these theories out of my rear end.

 

You are failing to differentiate between a low-level call center (which frequently has very little power and authority) and a corporate-level complaint line (also known as Office of the President at some companies), which is VERY empowered and gets the job done right.

 

We are fortunate enough to have such a number to call for NCL, so why not use it?

 

Trust me, I am an expert in extracting resolution and satisfaction out of companies (my friends and family come to me all the time to help them with their issues), and letter writing is one of the biggest mistakes one can make (unless you are given no other option).

[www3traveler]

I wrote a letter, send it via the US Postal Service and received a very positive and un expected response from Norwegian.

[pokerpro5]

Customer service professionals responding to letters/e-mails are trained that "it's easy to say 'no' to a letter" and "a letter can't argue back".

 

They typically skim the overly-detailed letters they receive, and just try to come up with the "gist" of what the customer is trying to say.

 

Then they either deny the request completely, or offer some kind of boilerplate, one-size-fits-all form of compensation (which is never good for the consumer).

 

I think a lot of people have this fantasy that they will write a detailed, 3-page letter about everything that happened, and some intelligent, reasonable, and concerned employee will read every word, understand it completely, do hours of research, and make things right.

 

That's not the reality. Letter/e-mail departments at all companies are very understaffed and in fact the employees are judged on how many they answer/resolve per day (the more, the better).

 

When you write a letter, you put THEM in a control regarding how much time and effort they spend on your problem.

 

When you call, you are the one in control, as you can argue back when you don't like the answer or solution you are given. You can also clarify any misunderstandings, and you can keep explaining until you are certain that the person on the other end "gets" what really happened. A letter cannot do any of these things.

[pokerpro5]

I wrote a letter, send it via the US Postal Service and received a very positive and un expected response from Norwegian.

 

Yes, and this happens sometimes, giving people the impression that letter writing is the best way to get things done.

 

But look how many threads are created on this forum about their letters/e-mails getting ignored, or receiving a form-letter in return?

 

Besides, whatever you wrote in your letter could have likely been accomplished in less than 30 minutes by a call to the Miami office.

[smeyer418]

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

 

I didn't say the OP should call a "call center". I said that he should call the Miami corporate office at NCL, which is empowered, staffed with people with good customer service skills, and is known to resolve issues quickly and fairly.

 

I have used that number myself, so I'm not just pulling these theories out of my rear end.

 

You are failing to differentiate between a low-level call center (which frequently has very little power and authority) and a corporate-level complaint line (also known as Office of the President at some companies), which is VERY empowered and gets the job done right.

 

We are fortunate enough to have such a number to call for NCL, so why not use it?

 

Trust me, I am an expert in extracting resolution and satisfaction out of companies (my friends and family come to me all the time to help them with their issues), and letter writing is one of the biggest mistakes one can make (unless you are given no other option).

besides the fact that you response(wrong wrong wrong) is just plain rude, you are entitled to your opinion. Yes a letter can be said no to as to a person can be told on the phone. Its am issue of getting to some one who can respond. You don't think the corporate office has ways of sending calls to the "right" department?

As I said, you have an opinion and I have mine. Neither is right or wrong. One may get better results than the other and I prefer email as I hate waiting on the phone...sometimes for hours. You know what Comcast does with calls right?

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/10/comcast-complaints_n_5120383.html

[pokerpro5]

besides the fact that you response(wrong wrong wrong) is just plain rude, you are entitled to your opinion. Yes a letter can be said no to as to a person can be told on the phone. Its am issue of getting to some one who can respond. You don't think the corporate office has ways of sending calls to the "right" department?

As I said, you have an opinion and I have mine. Neither is right or wrong. One may get better results than the other and I prefer email as I hate waiting on the phone...sometimes for hours. You know what Comcast does with calls right?

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/10/comcast-complaints_n_5120383.html

 

This isn't just an opinion. I am actually an expert on obtaining refunds, allowances, and fixing billing problems between customers and corporations. I'm in the process of writing a book on this matter.

 

If you hate the phone, then yes, it's your option to write a letter, but you will get inferior results in most cases. There are a few outlier circumstances where a letter will result in a surprisingly good resolution, but with every passing day, customer complaint letters are increasingly ignored and/or answered with boilerplate responses. Even in the best case scenario, letter-writing results in a wait of days, weeks, or months, while phone calls often give instantaneous results.

 

Yes, a customer can be told "no" on the phone, but a customer can then refuse to accept that "no". I cannot tell you how many times I have turned an initial "no" (or the rep not understanding the problem in the first place) into a "yes" PLUS additional compensation for my time and trouble.

 

There is no substitute for back-and-forth, live, one-on-one interaction when it comes to problem solving. This will always be superior to e-mail and letter-writing.

 

I have been doing this for decades, and my success rate is very close to 100%.

 

You are not required to do it the way I do, but you also won't get the results you're looking for if you stubbornly stick to the letter route.

Edited August 21, 2014 by pokerpro5

[smeyer418]

self proclaiming that you are an expert, doesn't make it so. Its rare that one size fits all. I saw your response to the NCL social media person too and my rude comments stands. You can be forceful without being insulting or rude. That takes tact.

In any case we look forward to your book, let us know when its published.

Edited August 21, 2014 by smeyer418

[pokerpro5]

self proclaiming that you are an expert, doesn't make it so. Its rare that one size fits all. I saw your response to the NCL social media person too and my rude comments stands. You can be forceful without being insulting or rude. That takes tact.

In any case we look forward to your book, let us know when its published.

 

One size doesn't fit all.

 

That's why a phone call is better, because you can adjust on the fly (based upon what the person says to you), rather than a letter where you're not even sure if the recipient is reading all of it or understanding it.

 

My comment to the NCL rep might have been a bit confrontational, but unfortunately that situation is a microcosm of what is wrong with NCL customer service in general. I have also been a victim of calling NCL, being told one thing, and then finding out I was completely misinformed. This is a chronic issue of theirs, and here we have one so blatant that even the official NCL rep presented us with incorrect information. They have a policy communications problem at NCL.

[smeyer418]

One size doesn't fit all.

 

,,,,

My comment to the NCL rep might have been a bit confrontational, but unfortunately that situation is a microcosm of what is wrong with NCL customer service in general. I have also been a victim of calling NCL, being told one thing, and then finding out I was completely misinformed. This is a chronic issue of theirs, and here we have one so blatant that even the official NCL rep presented us with incorrect information. They have a policy communications problem at NCL.

This is a continuing problem with ALL call centers. and that is why I disdain calling. You yourself have explained the problem quite well. You expect minimum wage people to be experts....more than once I know more than the call centers.

But its not only call centers. I was on a Delta plane that had to make an emergency landing. When we landed we were told they were putting on a special additional flight for us at 3:30(they were flying a deadheaded plane down for us) but when we got to the ticket counter the passenger service agent rebooked me for 7. I asked nicely what happened to the 3:30 and the harried agent screamed "what you know my job better than me?" I sort of look at him in disbelief. I said we were told there was an added flight and that he should check. He did. I was right. he came out from the behind the counter and profusely apologized giving about 20 free drink coupons...and the drinks were given to us free on the extra flight anyway. On the return flight back a few days later we had the same flight service crew and I asked are the drinks still free...and they were(those were the days)....

[pokerpro5]

This is a continuing problem with ALL call centers. and that is why I disdain calling. You yourself have explained the problem quite well. You expect minimum wage people to be experts....more than once I know more than the call centers.

But its not only call centers. I was on a Delta plane that had to make an emergency landing. When we landed we were told they were putting on a special additional flight for us at 3:30(they were flying a deadheaded plane down for us) but when we got to the ticket counter the passenger service agent rebooked me for 7. I asked nicely what happened to the 3:30 and the harried agent screamed "what you know my job better than me?" I sort of look at him in disbelief. I said we were told there was an added flight and that he should check. He did. I was right. he came out from the behind the counter and profusely apologized giving about 20 free drink coupons...and the drinks were given to us free on the extra flight anyway. On the return flight back a few days later we had the same flight service crew and I asked are the drinks still free...and they were(those were the days)....

 

This is why to avoid using call centers to solve your issues, and instead reaching someone with authority/empowerment to get things done.

 

I was never advocating counting on the lowest-level customer service agent solving these issues.

[OceanDreaming2]

I would write an email or a snail mail so I would have proof of my complaint. Making a phone call only adds to the confusion and you have nothing in writing...