How Princess lost $100k

[Cruiserkenn]

I agree with others, that it is better to print the boarding passes at the airport.

If you printed on the ship, to be able to expedite the airport experience, then maybe the $50 was worth it.

 

I know it feels bad to be overcharged. Recently, a car service overcharged my credit card by $50, for a ride home from the airport. After patient discussions, on both sides, they relented. That felt good. I was prepared to forgive them, even if they didn't relent, because of their always outstanding service. Maybe karma played a role here?

 

Happy travels, all, in the future.

[Ethel5]

Good for you in doing that. Someday I hope the cruise lines will value their customers rather than treat them like you were treated.

 

More people need to do what you have done. I applaud you for taking a stance where Princess easily could have fixed their error and kept a very profitable customer happy.

 

He's not a "profitable" customer until he actually TAKES the cruises.

[mmckm]

$100,000 has nothing to do with his problem. Even if he had the cruise booked. He seems to think that he should get more because of the amount he is planning on spending. what would he be demanding if he had spent this amount on a cruise. I can see someone like this saying I just spent $100,000 on a cruise and you owe me a refund on this. Why should he get a refund unless it was a mistake. The person that spent $500 deserves the same outcome.

[latebloomer56]

I wonder if they logged out correctly. If they were not familiar with the system it is possible that they forgot to logoff after they got their boarding passes.

 

That happens often last Oct. trip several times over the 10 days I found somebody still logged on. I closed their login but if somebody found the OP's logon still open they could of used their account. Just a thought, because 50 dollars is steep. We get free minutes but noticed on our charges no internet charges on the account even for activating accounts (was 3.95 at one time) or any charge for printing our airline boarding passes.

Sorry they feel so strongly they will pass on a world cruise with Princess.

[TracieABD]

OP??? OP???

 

I wonder if they have any new information to share with us.

[iancal]

Don't sweat the small stuff.

 

Do not understand why the OP would think that Princess lost $100K. That implies that the cabin was not occupied for their planned itinerary.

 

I sometimes think that people who make statements like these or imply that they could kick up enough fuss to have an employee dismissed over a customer service event are just more than a little full of themselves.

 

We often vote with our feet and with our wallet on numerous purchase decisions. But there is nothing in it to brag about. Just one more buy or no buy decision.

Edited December 29, 2015 by iancal

[elliair]

There's been times when I've been at the Internet Cafe and people will walk up to the service desk and ask where their minutes went on their account. They insist that they haven't been on the internet at all. When the attendant looks at their accounts he tells them that they didn't log out. Logging out is stressed over and over again. I have a feeling this is what happened to the OP. If they don't know the ins and outs of logging out, I can see this being an honest mistake on both parts. However, this is just an automatic procedure when using public computers. I've had to log back on at times to make sure I logged out of my Yahoo mail account - a couple of times I didn't.:eek:

[MGAfhc]

The new software that was installed in November is not very intuitive with regard to logging out. People seem to think that closing the browser will log you out. It doesn't, you need to click on the "End Kiosk Session" tab. I can be a bit obsessive about logging out and often am not satisfied until I try the browser again and it tells me that I cannot use it because I am not logged in.

[Seafoam Green]

We've taken several cruises with Princess and reached the Ruby level. We booked a future cruise and were planning to book a cruise around the world. On a recent trip we needed to print our boarding passes and used the Internet cafe. The hostess was helpful in assisting us select per minute charge and within around six minutes we were on our way. We figured under $10. After leaving the ship we noticed a $50 Internet charge. We thought this an easy error for Princess to correct and opened a case with them. After several weeks we got a call back from the customer service rep there was no error and the charge would not be removed and there was nobody we cold escalate to. I pointed out that we had planned $100k in future business we would take elsewhere and he didnt care. I wrote a letter to Princess summarizing their error and they never replied. I don't really care about $50 but I'll take my business elsewhere if Princess doesn't understand basic customer service.

 

Ruby level is reached after 3 cruises, so you were either on your 4th or 5th cruise with Princess.

 

You booked a future cruise and 'were planning' to book a world cruise - so, what Princess has from you is $100pp in deposits for one cruise of unknown length, nothing close to $100K.

 

For $40, you could have opted for EZ Check and Princess would have printed your boarding passes and you could have met your luggage at your final destination, if the service was available on that particular cruise. That would have been a wise investment and spared you the need to complain here...

 

:D

[baldercash]

After leaving the ship we noticed a $50 Internet charge. We thought this an easy error for Princess to correct and opened a case with them. After several weeks we got a call back from the customer service rep there was no error and the charge would not be removed and there was nobody we cold escalate to. I'll take my business elsewhere if Princess doesn't understand basic customer service.

 

This part of the post encapsulates the problem.

The poster is told the agent they are speaking to is the final word and that there is no recourse to their decision.

I do not believe this was a true statement as I doubt they were dealing with anyone higher then a front line rep. If it is true that front line reps at Princess have the final say in all resolutions there is problem at Princess.

The charge could easily be maintained and simply turned into a $40.00 future internet credit at a very minimal cost to Princess. The poster acknowledges he expected a bill of $10.00 so the disagreement is over only $40.00.

This is just a reflection of very poor customer service on the part of Princess.

 

I was unhappy / disappointed with a change made to my sailing on a Royal Caribbean cruise, I called and told the agent I wanted to cancel it the agent told me I would lose my deposit if I canceled and that I needed to move it. I told him I did not care and to just cancel it. The agent got a manager on line to work with me on the booking in an attempt to keep my business not just take the $200.00 deposit and close the books.

That I consider good customer service.

 

I guess Princess is doing so poorly that the $50.00 needs to go to the bottom line to keep them afloat?

[notentirelynormal]

The charge could easily be maintained and simply turned into a $40.00 future internet credit at a very minimal cost to Princess. The poster acknowledges he expected a bill of $10.00 so the disagreement is over only $40.00.

This is just a reflection of very poor customer service on the part of Princess.

 

I guess Princess is doing so poorly that the $50.00 needs to go to the bottom line to keep them afloat?

 

Since the OP has not come back to clarify anything we really don't know what happened. It is also is impossible to know the "tone" of the conversation. I found that talking nicely and being reasonable to people is the best way to get problems resolved. Even if I'm not 100% happy there is still no need to be rude to the person trying to help me. We have no way of knowing how the OP handled this. Nor do we know if the OP signed off properly.

 

We can look at this from another angle. If Princess really believed they were in the wrong would they lose a customer over it. OR does Princess have documentation to back up their charge? I'm guessing they do. It is just too easy to cancel the charge on your credit card by challenging it. Then Princes would have to "put up or shut up" on the charge. I'm guessing the OP won't be able to go this way.

[MCC retired]

Looks like the stock market hasn't heard about the 100K loss yet .

Carnival Corp stock price is up to over $55 a share today.

2015 has been very good for this stock while many other investments had a down year.

Edited December 29, 2015 by MCC retired

[peninsula_2014]

Looks like the stock market hasn't heard about the 100K loss yet .

Carnival Corp stock price is up to over $55 a share today.

2015 has been very good for this stock while many other investments had a down year.

 

Cruise ships use lots and lots of fuel. As energy costs plummet in 2015, these companies' profit margin should have improved considerably. Perhaps that is one positive factor in support of the higher stock price.

 

For curiosity, I just checked out world cruises. It is difficult to find many such cruises that sell for $100,000 per cabin. You have to keep cruising for more than 100 days and pick the largest suites to accomplish this feat.

[baldercash]

Since the OP has not come back to clarify anything we really don't know what happened. It is also is impossible to know the "tone" of the conversation. I found that talking nicely and being reasonable to people is the best way to get problems resolved. Even if I'm not 100% happy there is still no need to be rude to the person trying to help me. We have no way of knowing how the OP handled this. Nor do we know if the OP signed off properly.

 

Correct we cannot assume the poster was rude or gruff in his interaction, he may have been very pleasant in his interaction.

But do you believe there was no one superior to the rep he spoke with? I don't, many agencies now grade reps on how few complaints get escalated above them. The rep's call record likely looks better if they just hang up on the person.

 

 

We can look at this from another angle. If Princess really believed they were in the wrong would they lose a customer over it. OR does Princess have documentation to back up their charge? I'm guessing they do. It is just too easy to cancel the charge on your credit card by challenging it. Then Princes would have to "put up or shut up" on the charge. I'm guessing the OP won't be able to go this way.

 

Are you new to Cruise Critic, have you not read some of the outrageous and callous decisions that have been made by many cruise line Customer Relations / Service reps on board ships and over the phone?

It is more likely they don't care.

As for trying to cancel a payment on a credit card it is not as easy as you think and with the posters explanation it would be difficult.

[RocketMan275]

Correct we cannot assume the poster was rude or gruff in his interaction, he may have been very pleasant in his interaction.

 

But do you believe there was no one superior to the rep he spoke with? I don't, many agencies now grade reps on how few complaints get escalated above them. The rep's call record likely looks better if they just hang up on the person.

 

Neither can we assume the cruise line employee was anything other than pleasant.

 

It is also possible that the supervisor was listening in and cued the employee not to refer the call upwards.

 

Are you new to Cruise Critic, have you not read some of the outrageous and callous decisions that have been made by many cruise line Customer Relations / Service reps on board ships and over the phone? It is more likely they don't care. As for trying to cancel a payment on a credit card it is not as easy as you think and with the posters explanation it would be difficult.

 

Two points.

 

The only thing we have to rely upon that those were actually "outrageous and callous decisions" are the biased reports of those who didn't get what they wanted.

 

When you concede the posters explanation would be insufficient to get a card reversal, you are also conceding that the posters really didn't have a case to begin with.

[RDC1]

Correct we cannot assume the poster was rude or gruff in his interaction, he may have been very pleasant in his interaction.

But do you believe there was no one superior to the rep he spoke with? I don't, many agencies now grade reps on how few complaints get escalated above them. The rep's call record likely looks better if they just hang up on the person.

 

 

 

Are you new to Cruise Critic, have you not read some of the outrageous and callous decisions that have been made by many cruise line Customer Relations / Service reps on board ships and over the phone?

It is more likely they don't care.

As for trying to cancel a payment on a credit card it is not as easy as you think and with the posters explanation it would be difficult.

 

Princess has the scoring system after the call that they seem to be using that enables the caller to score the call 1-5. So I doubt it is that.

 

 

Whenever I have asked for a call to be escalated they have done so. Depending upon the issue it is sometimes a different department. The norm for a call like this (dispute over on ship billing) would be to open an investigation which is a query to the ship to ask if the documentation on the ship shows the charge to be valid. If it does then the charge will stand. That seems to be exactly what happened. There is no where to escalate to because the case was opened, the investigation was completed and the determination was made. End of process.

 

The best place to resolve a ship charge is on ship. The IT manager would have had the ability to correct. All home office can do is go by the documentation.

 

 

In these days of the internet you have a tendency for processes to be locked in and followed without much ability to deviate on the part of customer service. The reason is potential cost. While this is a relatively small charge. What happens if you start deviating from process and people start posting that customer service can eliminate charges up to X$. How many calls do you think that they would start receiving? and what do you think the total cost of such adjustments would be. You end up with fewer complaints if you have a good process, explain the process and follow it.

Edited December 29, 2015 by RDC1

[RDC1]

One other note:

 

When you call normal customer service with an on board charge issue, they start an investigation. However the customer service department you call, is not the department that conducts the investigation, it is escalated to another group. When you get a call back it is from that group, not the standard customer service rep. So that is why the person indicated that there was no supervisor or escalation path available. The person calling was already at the escalation level.

 

The OP seemed to think it was a routine customer service rep calling, but that is not how it works.

[geoherb]

Apparently the OP should learn that threats don't get you anywhere. I've had to deal with Princess's customer service to get refunds a couple of times when I could not get them fixed on the ship. Both times I've been able to do so by presenting just the facts without threatening to take my business elsewhere.

[jwm51]

I wonder where the OP went to?:rolleyes: First post about $100,000 and disappears.:eek: Interesting. Also note he/she said IF. This is a tell. :DDon't threaten if you're not going to follow through. Just a thought.:p

[peninsula_2014]

I wonder where the OP went to?:rolleyes: First post about $100,000 and disappears.:eek: Interesting. Also note he/she said IF. This is a tell. :DDon't threaten if you're not going to follow through. Just a thought.:p

 

Yep. First and ONLY post, ever.

 

I am not able to any available Princess cruises listed for a hundred grand. Have to look harder.

[keithm]

We've taken several cruises with Princess and reached the Ruby level. We booked a future cruise and were planning to book a cruise around the world. On a recent trip we needed to print our boarding passes and used the Internet cafe. The hostess was helpful in assisting us select per minute charge and within around six minutes we were on our way. We figured under $10. After leaving the ship we noticed a $50 Internet charge. We thought this an easy error for Princess to correct and opened a case with them. After several weeks we got a call back from the customer service rep there was no error and the charge would not be removed and there was nobody we cold escalate to. I pointed out that we had planned $100k in future business we would take elsewhere and he didnt care. I wrote a letter to Princess summarizing their error and they never replied. I don't really care about $50 but I'll take my business elsewhere if Princess doesn't understand basic customer service.

100K? Are you trying to impress us? I find it pretty hard to believe that someone's planning to spend that kind of cash,even on a world cruise (Which Princess really doesn't do)They mostly do "legs" of a world cruise.Personally if it was me, I'd be choosing a more luxurious line than Princess. I'd do a Grills suite on Cunard!

[keithm]

I wonder where the OP went to?:rolleyes: First post about $100,000 and disappears.:eek: Interesting. Also note he/she said IF. This is a tell. :DDon't threaten if you're not going to follow through. Just a thought.:p

Click his/her icon & it should list all their posts. You really spot the phonies that way!

[keithm]

Yep. First and ONLY post, ever.

 

I am not able to any available Princess cruises listed for a hundred grand. Have to look harder.

Yeah, I checked them out. You're right, it's the only post ever by them. Real phony all right!

[cruzsnooze]

Actually the world cruises that are full 100+ days exceed 100K depending of the cabin you select. I doubt the OP sincerity if they used this ploy to get a refund instead of stating their facts. The world cruises sail full so Princess didn't loose so much a cent.

[GUT2407]

Click his/her icon & it should list all their posts. You really spot the phonies that way!

 

Or even just look at the number next o the word Posts, it says 1.