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

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bluebeard39

bluebeard39

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Posted

On My last cruise I had booked 6 nights of specialty restaurants and on the 7th night we went to my time dining and of course it was the worst meal all week but they were sure to ask me about the gratuities and the ratings for all the waiters that I had seen. Next cruise I wont miss a night in the Specialties at least you don't keep getting asked about the ratings.

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TheMillenniumRider

TheMillenniumRider

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Posted (edited)

Having worked in various capacities at my company who uses NPS surveys similar to RCI, I can vouch for not getting a perfect survey = the person getting crucified by their superior.

 

With that in mind I would imagine that food quality ratings do not affect the server, however through poor communication on RCI's end that the server believes it does. You would be amazed how many technicians at my location think there need to score perfect across the board, however out of a handful of questions only 1 is directly affecting the tech.

 

On my last cruise we did get to talking about surveys and such with the head waiter and the staff's survey rankings determine placement across the ships, shifts, promotions, raises, bonuses, and also to maintain employment. The individual surveys are pooled and rolled up at each level for the management team as well.

 

There is a ton riding on that survey and the cruise guest selecting 5. If you select 4, you could just as well have selected 1. No difference. It is the name of the game, and it is nothing new or unique to RCI.

 

Ensure that you only give a rating under 5 if the staff truly deserved less then 5. If they are not performing well, talk to them and allow them to rectify the situation, don't just blast them on a survey, they will likely not know why they earned the low score and the cycle continues.

 

Remember, many different variables can affect a persons performance, and on a cruise we can also add cross cultural differences to that list. Some crew members simply don't understand the nuances of everyone they encounter. 5 star service means different things to different countries.

 

EDIT:

 

Also for those that say why skew the ratings, why coach the guest, why not be honest, etc. These surveys can be used to rank one company against another. The company frankly isn't looking for honest feedback 100%, they are looking to maintain a higher average NPS against their competition, and frequently these NPS scores also result is various recognition and awards for the corporation. Fear of potential repercussion isn't just what the employee thinks, it is what actually happens. If you take a less than perfect survey, you better believe someone will be talking to you. If it happens again, expect discipline. It only goes downhill from there.

Edited by TheMillenniumRider
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GrooveInWhichWeMove

GrooveInWhichWeMove

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Posted
Having worked in various capacities at my company who uses NPS surveys similar to RCI, I can vouch for not getting a perfect survey = the person getting crucified by their superior.

 

At least NPS (if correctly implemented) goes from zero to ten, and both nines and tens are part of the "good" rating!

 

If I had a time machine I would prevent the original book about NPS from ever being published...

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TheMillenniumRider

TheMillenniumRider

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At least NPS (if correctly implemented) goes from zero to ten, and both nines and tens are part of the "good" rating!

 

If I had a time machine I would prevent the original book about NPS from ever being published...

 

This is correct, 9-10 is a promoter, 7-8 is neutral, and 1-6 is a detractor. This is the system we use. When I was in the field I always gave the best service I could, but I always coached at the end otherwise you end up with the crowd who thinks they are doing you a favor with a 7 or 8.

 

I thought RCI used 1-10 on their surveys too, but the OP said 5 so I ran with it.

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CCC3

CCC3

Posted
Posted (edited)
Is this a common thing in the MDR? [note my first RCI is next week, will see if I get this]

 

 

Yes. We've even discussed NOT eating in the MDR the last night to avoid the server's song & dance, and the spiel about the survey.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited by CCC3
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CCC3

CCC3

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We would never let a server intimidate us that way.

 

 

We dislike the server's singing & dancing as much as the spiel. I don't see it as intimidation, but avoidance of something we dislike. It's okay...we don't have to agree.

 

 

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Enforcer

Enforcer

Posted
Posted
Having worked in various capacities at my company who uses NPS surveys similar to RCI, I can vouch for not getting a perfect survey = the person getting crucified by their superior.

 

With that in mind I would imagine that food quality ratings do not affect the server, however through poor communication on RCI's end that the server believes it does. You would be amazed how many technicians at my location think there need to score perfect across the board, however out of a handful of questions only 1 is directly affecting the tech.

 

On my last cruise we did get to talking about surveys and such with the head waiter and the staff's survey rankings determine placement across the ships, shifts, promotions, raises, bonuses, and also to maintain employment. The individual surveys are pooled and rolled up at each level for the management team as well.

 

There is a ton riding on that survey and the cruise guest selecting 5. If you select 4, you could just as well have selected 1. No difference. It is the name of the game, and it is nothing new or unique to RCI.

 

Ensure that you only give a rating under 5 if the staff truly deserved less then 5. If they are not performing well, talk to them and allow them to rectify the situation, don't just blast them on a survey, they will likely not know why they earned the low score and the cycle continues.

 

Remember, many different variables can affect a persons performance, and on a cruise we can also add cross cultural differences to that list. Some crew members simply don't understand the nuances of everyone they encounter. 5 star service means different things to different countries.

 

EDIT:

 

Also for those that say why skew the ratings, why coach the guest, why not be honest, etc. These surveys can be used to rank one company against another. The company frankly isn't looking for honest feedback 100%, they are looking to maintain a higher average NPS against their competition, and frequently these NPS scores also result is various recognition and awards for the corporation. Fear of potential repercussion isn't just what the employee thinks, it is what actually happens. If you take a less than perfect survey, you better believe someone will be talking to you. If it happens again, expect discipline. It only goes downhill from there.

 

Hi MR,

 

My take on your post is that unless employees get top marks in the survey they get some form of penalty but the more import part of your post is that RCI need top marks to compete with their competitors.

 

So, if customers complete the survey honestly, marking down where the product fails this could loose RCI a chance of some industry award. Surely if customers filled in surveys honestly and RCI didn't receive any awards then RCI would have to improve the quality of its product.

 

Pete

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Peachy59

Peachy59

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They use these surveys to justify reducing services and food quality. As long as people are still giving 5's they can say "see, everyone is still happy after we made XYZ change/cut". That's because it is a sympathy 5, not an honest 5.

 

If enough people rated honestly they'd stop putting the poor workers on the chopping block for it and examine the real causes and correct them. If they were actually interested in that.

 

I could not agree more. I always fill out the surveys honestly.

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critterchick

critterchick

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Posted
I've only heard the spiel in the MDR.

 

I heard it in several venues on Oasis and we never set foot in the MDR.

 

This is correct, 9-10 is a promoter, 7-8 is neutral, and 1-6 is a detractor. This is the system we use. When I was in the field I always gave the best service I could, but I always coached at the end otherwise you end up with the crowd who thinks they are doing you a favor with a 7 or 8.

 

I thought RCI used 1-10 on their surveys too, but the OP said 5 so I ran with it.

 

They do, at least my surveys have been 1-10. But 9 is a failure, too. Only 10s will do as far as the staff are concerned. My surveys have also had separate questions for food quality and service, so I don't see how criticizing the food would hurt the person bringing it.

 

I don't want to jeopardize anybody's livelihood, so I can rationalize a 10 rating for a server if, by my observation, there's another reason for slow service, such as not enough workers. We experienced that on Explorer, where we had an excellent waitstaff that was overwhelmed by demands from other tables, mainly for drinks. Whoever did the staffing is to blame for that, not the individuals. So I gave them high marks and wrote extensive comments about why we still didn't think the MDR was all that great an experience overall.

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kerrycoco1

kerrycoco1

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Posted
Hi MR,

 

My take on your post is that unless employees get top marks in the survey they get some form of penalty but the more import part of your post is that RCI need top marks to compete with their competitors.

 

So, if customers complete the survey honestly, marking down where the product fails this could loose RCI a chance of some industry award. Surely if customers filled in surveys honestly and RCI didn't receive any awards then RCI would have to improve the quality of its product.

 

Pete

[emoji106]

 

Sent from my Vodafone Smart ultra 6 using Forums mobile app

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

Posted
Posted
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 give the score I believe is deserved. I am not going to give someone or something a top score if it is not deserved.

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davekathy

davekathy

Posted
Posted (edited)
We dislike the server's singing & dancing as much as the spiel. I don't see it as intimidation, but avoidance of something we dislike. It's okay...we don't have to agree.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I was commenting to your post about how we don't let the server intimidate us concerning the PCS spiel. Never said anything about you. We aren't fans of the servers dancing and singing either. We tolerate though. We could leave as no one is forcing us to stay.

Edited by davekathy
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tomko2

tomko2

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Posted

We take three cruises each winter and the subject of the importance of the survey ratings for the dining room staff invariably comes up. Generally I am more than happy with the service and glad to rate our table attendants accordingly however this is not necessarily the case with the food as there are definite hits and misses. We take the time to fill out the survey and provide as much feedback - good and/or bad that we can squeeze on the form.

 

This thread disturbs me as I did not realize that by giving a lower score to the food, I would hence be penalizing the wait staff.

 

On occasion I have written to RCL post-cruise and commended certain members of the staff by name hoping they would receive recognition.

 

RCL seriously needs to look into a better method.:mad:

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The_Big_M

The_Big_M

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Also for those that say why skew the ratings, why coach the guest, why not be honest, etc. These surveys can be used to rank one company against another. The company frankly isn't looking for honest feedback 100%, they are looking to maintain a higher average NPS against their competition, and frequently these NPS scores also result is various recognition and awards for the corporation. Fear of potential repercussion isn't just what the employee thinks, it is what actually happens. If you take a less than perfect survey, you better believe someone will be talking to you. If it happens again, expect discipline. It only goes downhill from there.

 

Great points. I just wish they'd switch to yes/no (binary) responses since that's the way they're using them.

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wilmingtech Great Review Rare

wilmingtech

Posted
Posted
Maybe we should interrupt them on the first night and say they currently have all 5's, please try and keep it that way. ;)

 

Thats great.... Maybe bring something like this and put it on the table on the first night...

6EDE03B1.jpg

 

They can get real time feedback

 

-Sean

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