"This might be YOUR vacation, but it's MY life"

[darkbeholder]

I just got back from the Radiance and the post cruise survey had a question asking if any staff had asked for ratings in the survey and what department they were in. So looks like people have complained about the hard sell and the line is hopefully going to discourage it and allow the 5's to actually be for amazing service/food and not because of begging

[bUU]

If I gave a 5 in any category on my last cruise and this time whatever it was was not as good, the score will be lower. If someone does a better job than someone else, it's a disservice to the person who did a great job to give a mediocre performer the same score. Also, we sail Celebrity from time to time. We expect the food and service to be better on that line and it usually is. But we can't use a 6 for Celebrity to indicate that these things were better than they were on Royal. Now when it comes to the Value for money question, we'll usually rate Royal higher.

This is one reason why I'm relatively suspicious of any numerical rating system. Is Royal Caribbean's intention to rate its staff against Celebrity's? Probably not, yet some passengers will and some won't. It all "comes out in the wash" of course (i.e., only an idiot gives individual scores any credence - all that matters is how aggregated metrics change over time). However, I feel that there are superior methods of assessing performance qualitatively (a set of statements rated along the strongly agree/strongly disagree scale) rather than with numerical ratings. It's a matter of disagreement between customer loyalty professionals, though, and admittedly there is no evidence that respondents think deeply enough about the questions asked and the answers given for there to be a substantively more useful result one way versus the other. (The kind of surveys I am referring to often even have disqualifying questions: Questions that are intended to ask the same question as another question in another way. If answered differently, that could be used to discount the entire survey as inconsequential feedback.)

 

With respect to the service categories, they could save themselves a whole bunch of survey reading and employee counseling if they just made it easy to adjust the tips up or down.

However, if there is no evidence that respondents think deeply enough about the questions asked and the answers given in numerical surveys, then surely that's an indictment against making it easy to change the most important number of all: The actual amount of money. Though I don't recall any of them recently making the argument, the anti-tipping contingent's best argument is that, for a number of reasons (some alluded to earlier in the thread), passengers are simply no longer a reliably good source of information about their own perceptions of quality. And of course that's one of the strongest arguments for cruise lines doing whatever they can to make it that much more difficult for passengers to directly affect how much of a gratuity they give to any one staff member. People complain about tip pools and such, but despite vapid protests to the contrary, it is assuredly far fairer than the direct tipping approach.

 

It makes one wonder, now, how much surveys are intended to solicit input versus intended to project the impression that input is being solicited. By the desperation we see in cruise ship crew about the scores, it's clear that that isn't the case aboard ship though.

 

And that's the crazy part, can't averages be calculated? The rest of the world doesn't work that way.

Of course the numbers are aggregated (and hopefully more intelligently than just averaged). However, having said that, the number of top scores, itself, is another metric that tells a bit more of the full story. I think it is a very unreliable story, but it is a story all the same, and if the feedback is not being analyzed all that intelligently, I could see that aspect playing a very prominent role, especially among the staff that have the most contact with passengers.

 

Perhaps service was better when tips were given directly and not as part of a predetermined tipping pool , I'm not sure . I do believe the stories here on CC that there were lots of empty seats in the MDR on the final night back in the day when that's when you tipped your servers .

Good point. I had forgotten about that.

 

I think a lot of folks have a vested interest in supporting one perspective or another with regard to the tipping matter. They want to see things the way they want to see them. I'm not convinced by claims that any of the changes folks say they feel would be better would actually be better for the cruise line, as the implication would have one believe.

[John&LaLa]

I just got back from the Radiance and the post cruise survey had a question asking if any staff had asked for ratings in the survey and what department they were in. So looks like people have complained about the hard sell and the line is hopefully going to discourage it and allow the 5's to actually be for amazing service/food and not because of begging

If you just got back from Radiance, weren't the survey marks based on a scale of 1-10? All this reference to 5's is driving me crazy

 

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[John&LaLa]

We have just returned from Rhapsody OTS and having asked our waiter why we should rate the food top in the survey when most meat in the main dining room was dry and tough , (we will rate our waiters top as they were excellent ) He said if we did not rate the food top it reflected on him as he was told what to recommend by the chef and it was our waiters fault as he was not seen to be doing his job properly if we were unhappy with the food even if we didn't like what the chefs recommendations of the day were!

This cannot be right.

A rating for service reflects on the waiters.

A rating for food reflects on the chef/food department.

Just off Rhapsody myself. No requests for survey marks.

 

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[Clarea]

If you just got back from Radiance, weren't the survey marks based on a scale of 1-10? All this reference to 5's is driving me crazy

They have been 1-10 for all of our web-based surveys

[Big_G]

My cruises on Navigator and Liberty during this past January and January 2016, the only time one server mentioned the survey was just to remind us to complete it. There was no request for any particular score. We stayed in a JS but I don't know if that made any difference. Sometimes these posts make it sound like it's nothing but continuous pleading for scores and that just hasn't been my experience.

 

That's also been our overall experience. I think our last couple of cruises the survey asked if any staff asked for perfect scores.

[John&LaLa]

They have been 1-10 for all of our web-based surveys

Getting ready to do Rhapsody TA survey. I think I'll be kind with marks, 9's and 10's for the most part. I will utilize the comment sections for any constructive criticism.

 

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[Clarea]

Getting ready to do Rhapsody TA survey. I think I'll be kind with marks, 9's and 10's for the most part. I will utilize the comment sections for any constructive criticism.

Sometimes I think that it's not productive to put down too much in the comments, especially if you have both positives and negatives to mention. We (wife and I) typically choose one of us to do positives and the other to do negatives.

[Crusingdiva62]

I hate taking those surveys because I know anything other than the perfect score is thrown out and considered to be a negative. I don't want someone to be fired because of some survey.

[the mistral wind]

I hate taking those surveys because I know anything other than the perfect score is thrown out and considered to be a negative. I don't want someone to be fired because of some survey.

 

I know what you mean. But i really think they utilize the surveys to correct problems that seem to occur regularly.

To help the cruise director to have a program that will meet the needs of the customers

I would think that is purpose of the survey. Not to get anyone in trouble directly. But if they get enough complaints about the same areas they will try to improve it. That's so funny because i feel the same way. I would never want to get anyone in trouble either. i realize that everyone has good and bad days. My complaints would be about the the food, the lack of entertainment, If applicable. If i see the service slipping i may give a general score of less than 8. I really think that a general score can't hurt anyone personally but can alert the cruise that something needs to change. If you feel the food is mediocre or not enough choice or selection you should say so otherwise they won't know that is a problem. For instance i like the shows but i feel they should be updated and not have the same revue all the time. The costumes are getting worn out and the shows are outdated on some ships. If you never say anything they will continue to provide the same type of shows.

I feel less bars and more entertainment. I like the old movie theater where they would play first run movies. Not on the pool deck but in a dedicated theater. Our last cruise they stopped the horse races that was a fun day on the deck. I know it's hokey but it was fun. In the pizza place they advertise different types of pizza that are usually not available when you want to order them. This disturbs me. All valid problems that should be addressed not to get people in trouble but to bring change.

[the mistral wind]

I hate taking those surveys because I know anything other than the perfect score is thrown out and considered to be a negative. I don't want someone to be fired because of some survey.

What would be the point if they throw them out? I am sure they read them :confused:

[darkbeholder]

If you just got back from Radiance, weren't the survey marks based on a scale of 1-10? All this reference to 5's is driving me crazy

 

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Yes it was 1-10 but going with the thread it used to be 1-5 and they would ask for 5s so now it would be asking for 10s... the change in numbers doesn't change the fact they asked if crew were asking for top marks

[awhfy]

We just got off Liberty & we were only reminded to fill out the survey, no requests for numbers. This is a marked difference from last year's Liberty. I felt much better about this survey

 

 

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[bucky0926]

I was on Anthem last month and no one asked me to give them 5's. Not the MDR staff nor my steward. Could it be that people with MTD who often sit with different staff are not approached for this? We did sit in the same section with the same captain but had 3 different crews for our 7 night cruise.

[John&LaLa]

Sometimes I think that it's not productive to put down too much in the comments, especially if you have both positives and negatives to mention. We (wife and I) typically choose one of us to do positives and the other to do negatives.

Pretty sure the comments from my Serenade cruise is what got LaLa (Laura) the upgrade to a GS on Rhapsody. Which by the way was something she didn't want. [emoji33]

 

 

 

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[John&LaLa]

Yes it was 1-10 but going with the thread it used to be 1-5 and they would ask for 5s so now it would be asking for 10s... the change in numbers doesn't change the fact they asked if crew were asking for top marks

I understand your point, but it doesn't change the fact that the scores are 1-10, not 1-5. [emoji2]

 

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[JimAOk1945]

How can we know for certain whether corporate actually tells the crew to remind guests to fill out the post cruise surveys? I have my doubts. Inquiring minds . . . :confused:

[bUU]

The marked change in crew member behavior regarding the surveys from year to year may indicate a clear change in policy predicated by substantial, normalized feedback.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

[travelplus]

Reading another thread, I was reminded by what the assistant waiter said on my last cruise.

 

We did not find the food in the MDR on our last cruise to be all that great, and frequently left over. The crew would ask if they could bring us something else, and I just said no, we would grab a slice of pizza or something from the cafe.

 

One night, the assistant waiter came by and confirmed with us that we would be giving all 5s on the Guest Satisfaction survey - for service, food, etc. I told him of course we would give 5s for service, but we did not find the food to be "5" caliber. He said it didn't matter, we should give 5 for everything, and then write what we did not like in the comments. I told him that would not be my honest opinion, and he stressed that I needed to give 5s for everything, even the food. He then said, "This might be YOUR vacation, but it's MY life". It was really chilling, and I felt quite uncomfortable.

 

What do you make of this, and what would you have done? I am embarrassed to say that I did not complete the survey because of his words. I could not give all 5s for food that I found to be sub-par, but I did not want to affect this guy's livelihood.

 

I am sorry but no one in their right mind can tell me what to put on a survey. I paid good money for a cruise and if the food is not up to par but the service is then there must be some disconnect between the Front Of The House and Back Of The House team.

 

For this person to tell you how to rate him would give me all the more reason to give a bad rating and explain that I am to rate him how he wants to be rated.

 

I am sorry but if you want to get good tips and good ratings you need to work for the service. A restaurant will not tell me to give them perfect ratings on Yelp if the service was bad or the food was served cold.

 

I would have written down the name of the assistant waiter and told the head waiter that I do not feel comfortable being told how to rate the waiter. Yes they do want 5 stars but it has to be earned just like AAA 5 star hotels.

 

Just like in Politics no one will ever tell me how to vote no matter how strongly they feel about the candidate. I respect others who decide to vote one way but as soon as you tell me how to vote then I will leave the room.

 

The same goes for the ship assistant waiter I would have politely excused myself and left.

 

If the service was below then rate it as such.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

BTW Royal Caribbean needs to hear about this as part of your feedback.

Edited May 16, 2017 by travelplus

[Crusingdiva62]

What would be the point if they throw them out? I am sure they read them :confused:

 

The idea is to score for service provided. So companies will review those and all the 5 are used to rate the employee. The others 1,2,3 &4 are like getting a Zero. so they bring your average down alot. So you would need to get for example so many more perfect scores to get the average back up to the company standard. so many months of lees than 100% average has gotten people fired in certain companies.

 

This is used alot in the service industry. I have called my cable company and have reps say I hope I provided with service worthy of a 10. They are basically begging for you to take that survey and give the only score that counts,

[JimAOk1945]

I appreciate excellent service as much as the next person. But, whenever I get smiling, "anything else I can do for you", bending-over-backwards-to-please-you type of service, and then get the survey reminder, I feel like all that service was nothing more than a bribe. It kind of takes away from that fine, fuzzy, warm feeling I developed over the course of the cruise. I'm not saying I will leave with a bad memory of that cruise. I'm just saying it kind of takes away from the entire experience. Just my opinion.

[JustLoveToGetAway]

Do you ever encounter poorer service or anything else from the crew by stopping your autograuities?.

Maybe it's possible that Guest Services could clue in my room steward or whomever once I have automatic gratuities removed - but I really doubt it. I'm on the Liberty of the Seas now & have been so pleased with 90% of the service here. I have my cash with me & am all ready to tip when the time comes.

 

P.S: I was NOT hit up in the dining room for perfect scores or even told about a questionnaire ... so far. Will update if that changes!

 

5/14/17: Royal Caribbean, Liberty of the Seas

9/25/17: Norwegian Jade, Path of the Vikings

[bucky0926]

RCI should be more concerned with the automatic 12.36 charge on Anthem for the mini bar which we never touched. I did get a credit but it seems to be a matter of fact that half the cruisers get charged and they hope that either they don't notice or won't bother to call. Plus the web site on firefox doesn't work. Fix those glitches and then worry why a particuar waiter got a couple of 4's instead of all fives.

[Super-Luke88]

When do you receive these surveys? just one at the end of the cruise? Because i'm doing a back to back cruise on the Harmony. So i dont want to hear the speech at the end of the first cruise, tell them the truth (if i was unimpressed) and then on the second cruise have them be all salty with us :/

[grapau27]

RCI should be more concerned with the automatic 12.36 charge on Anthem for the mini bar which we never touched. I did get a credit but it seems to be a matter of fact that half the cruisers get charged and they hope that either they don't notice or won't bother to call. Plus the web site on firefox doesn't work. Fix those glitches and then worry why a particuar waiter got a couple of 4's instead of all fives.

I agree it has happened several times to us but to call from the UK on a 0844 number costs on average $5 per call so either way we are out of pocket.