Random questions

[sadiwest]

Just home from our 7 night on Oasis and I'm curious.    It was clear that the staff were trying very hard to please all passengers,  and some mentioned the survey RCCL sends, asking for perfect 10 ratings.

 

One of the questions on the survey actually was "were you asked by any crew to give a 10" or similar.   I'm wondering if they would see this as a good thing or a bad thing; that there are crew members who mention/ask for perfect 10s.  Would they prefer the score be organic or do they not care?

 

Personally I don't feel there's anything wrong with it.  The worst kind of customer is the one who has an issue but doesn't speak up. It's wise to invite discussion while there's a chance to fix it.  

 

One more random question...if you do a B2B, is there anything better/different about that experience compared to just doing a longer single itinerary?  I imagine it would really only be different if your b2b itineraries are different ones. 

[SilkySal]

Not sure about other's experiences but ours is that the cruise staff always mentions the importance of taking the time to complete the surveys and that 10 is a perfect score; however, they do not ask us to score them a 10, just that it's the perfect score. They also ask if there is anything at all they can do to improve our experience. If cruisers do not feel they can score staffers a "10", they should let them know (not rudely of course) what needs to be improved upon. If they don't know it's broke, they can't fix it!

 

As far as B2B's, we enjoy them usually for the different itineraries but sometimes just like staying on board our favorite ships longer than the typical 7 nights. I just wish all of the ships would allow the B2B'ers to stay on board (I know it's probably a mariner law to get off and back on). The hardest part for me is the trek down and back up that d*** ramp!🥴 I usually have to wave others to go around me while I huff and puff up the ramp.

 

Cheers!

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by SilkySal
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[HicksRA]

Whenever I see this question, my response is always that a survey is only as accurate as it’s truthful answers. 

[sadiwest]

43 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

Whenever I see this question, my response is always that a survey is only as accurate as it’s truthful answers. 

It was 100% truth, I'm just asking if RCCL wants their folks mentioning the survey and/or asking if their guests would are satisfied enough to give a 10 (or not mentioning it). 

[OCSC Mike]

 

14 minutes ago, sadiwest said:

It was 100% truth, I'm just asking if RCCL wants their folks mentioning the survey and/or asking if their guests would are satisfied enough to give a 10 (or not mentioning it). 

 

My impression was always that RC is perfectly fine with crew members asking you to fill out the survey and let RC know if you had a good experience... but they do not want them to essentially beg you for 10's. We've had some staff get "creative" with this but not in an obnoxious way.

 

Hope you had a great cruise btw!

 

Ours was enjoyable as always. Suite perks on Oasis class are pretty amazing.

 

That said, still looking forward to our cheapo cruise next month, perhaps even moreso now b/c it will be so different (just the two of us, doing things differently than we do as a family, different class of ship we haven't been on in a long time, etc.).

Edited June 5, 2022 by OCSC Mike

[sadiwest]

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

 

My impression was always that RC is perfectly fine with crew members asking you to fill out the survey and let RC know if you had a good experience... but they do not want them to essentially beg you for 10's. We've had some staff get "creative" with this but not in an obnoxious way.

 

Hope you had a great cruise btw!

 

Ours was enjoyable as always. Suite perks on Oasis class are pretty amazing.

 

That said, still looking forward to our cheapo cruise next month, perhaps even moreso now b/c it will be so different (just the two of us, doing things differently than we do as a family, different class of ship we haven't been on in a long time, etc.).

No one was overbearing.  I did feel as though there was a sense of need to get good scores; maybe only because I'd been reading so many negative reviews.  But in all honesty,  everyone was amazing. 

 

Our only issue was supply chain related and we're not any worse off for it. Actually that's not true....I'll never understand why they arrive in Port Canaveral at 1pm since most places one can visit there close relatively early (allowing 2.5 or so hours at Kennedy Space Center).  Again staff were awesome. 

 

I don't know that we took full advantage of suite benefits,  other than Coastal Kitchen,  but that's also on us. I just wondered if saying "yes they asked for good scores or at least to understand how to earn one" was hurtful to them. 

 

Thank you...I hope you enjoy your next trip, too. 

 

 

 

 

[SunSandSea]

On 6/5/2022 at 3:18 PM, SilkySal said:

Not sure about other's experiences but ours is that the cruise staff always mentions the importance of taking the time to complete the surveys and that 10 is a perfect score; however, they do not ask us to score them a 10, just that it's the perfect score. They also ask if there is anything at all they can do to improve our experience. If cruisers do not feel they can score staffers a "10", they should let them know (not rudely of course) what needs to be improved upon. If they don't know it's broke, they can't fix it!

 

As far as B2B's, we enjoy them usually for the different itineraries but sometimes just like staying on board our favorite ships longer than the typical 7 nights. I just wish all of the ships would allow the B2B'ers to stay on board (I know it's probably a mariner law to get off and back on). The hardest part for me is the trek down and back up that d*** ramp!🥴 I usually have to wave others to go around me while I huff and puff up the ramp.

 

Cheers!

 

I see no reason that you can’t ask for boarding assist…..they will wheel you off and on just fine……. (That is unless you are under 30 and healthy looking!)

[jcc1025]

On 6/5/2022 at 11:45 AM, sadiwest said:

Just home from our 7 night on Oasis and I'm curious.    It was clear that the staff were trying very hard to please all passengers,  and some mentioned the survey RCCL sends, asking for perfect 10 ratings.

 

One of the questions on the survey actually was "were you asked by any crew to give a 10" or similar.   I'm wondering if they would see this as a good thing or a bad thing; that there are crew members who mention/ask for perfect 10s.  Would they prefer the score be organic or do they not care?

 

Personally I don't feel there's anything wrong with it.  The worst kind of customer is the one who has an issue but doesn't speak up. It's wise to invite discussion while there's a chance to fix it.  

 

One more random question...if you do a B2B, is there anything better/different about that experience compared to just doing a longer single itinerary?  I imagine it would really only be different if your b2b itineraries are different ones. 

 

[jcc1025]

We have had members mention this as well. Like all companies they use these to mesure customer satisfation and in some cases the responses are tied to some kind of reward for the associate or group. One thing that we have learned from talking to crewmembers over the years and from being on the management receiving end of these types of surveys is, if you had a specific crewmember who did a great job, get their name and call them out on the survey. They ger recognized and in some cases rewarded, but it also goes a long way toward them being sure of getting a renewl on their contracts. 

[sadiwest]

2 minutes ago, jcc1025 said:

We have had members mention this as well. Like all companies they use these to mesure customer satisfation and in some cases the responses are tied to some kind of reward for the associate or group. One thing that we have learned from talking to crewmembers over the years and from being on the management receiving end of these types of surveys is, if you had a specific crewmember who did a great job, get their name and call them out on the survey. They ger recognized and in some cases rewarded, but it also goes a long way toward them being sure of getting a renewl on their contracts. 

One of a few companies I worked for did not want us specifically asking for perfect scores. That's why I asked.   No one minds mentioning the survey,  but will they get in trouble for asking for a good score?

[PhillyFan33579]

5 hours ago, sadiwest said:

One of a few companies I worked for did not want us specifically asking for perfect scores. That's why I asked.   No one minds mentioning the survey,  but will they get in trouble for asking for a good score?

Answering yes to this question is a huge negative. I have been told that countless times by crew members to include ship officers. 

[sadiwest]

12 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Answering yes to this question is a huge negative. I have been told that countless times by crew members to include ship officers. 

I'm not sure I understand what you mean.  

[rudeney]

I think what @PhillyFan33579 meant was this if you answer YES to the survey question, "Were you asked by any crew member to rate their service a 10 on this survey?" then that will negatively affect the crew's survey score.  IOW, you are letting corporate know that the crew is pandering for perfect scores, which is prohibited.  I believe he is saying he has heard this from various crew members, including ship's officers. 

[SilkySal]

I agree! If they specifically ask you to score them a 10, then, yes, that will be a negative impact for that crew member. However, if they are just asking you to fill out the survey and stating that a score of 10 would be perfect, that's ok, as long as they are not specifically asking you to score them a 10. It's all in the wording, and can sound confusing to some guests.

[rudeney]

I once worked in a car dealership as a consultant to the manufacturer.  Both sales and service would tell customers they were going to get a survey from the manufacturer and if they could not give them all 10s, please talk to the manager.  They even hired a call center to contact customers and ask the survey questions as if they were the manufacturer.  At the end of the call, if the customer gave them all 10s, they would tell them that wasn't the real survey, but please answer the same way when the manufacturer called.  If they did not rate all 10s, they transferred the call to the dealership where a customer service rep would talk to them to try to entice them to change their scores.  Of course when the manufacturer found out, head rolled.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

2 hours ago, rudeney said:

I once worked in a car dealership as a consultant to the manufacturer.  Both sales and service would tell customers they were going to get a survey from the manufacturer and if they could not give them all 10s, please talk to the manager.  They even hired a call center to contact customers and ask the survey questions as if they were the manufacturer.  At the end of the call, if the customer gave them all 10s, they would tell them that wasn't the real survey, but please answer the same way when the manufacturer called.  If they did not rate all 10s, they transferred the call to the dealership where a customer service rep would talk to them to try to entice them to change their scores.  Of course when the manufacturer found out, head rolled.

You must have worked for a MBZ dealer as did my spouse and they did the same.  

[rudeney]

44 minutes ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

You must have worked for a MBZ dealer as did my spouse and they did the same.  

 

Yes.  I was a consultant for the MBZ factory here and did some work at the local dealership.  Seeing behind the curtain was even worse than what I thought!  😮

[sadiwest]

4 hours ago, SilkySal said:

I agree! If they specifically ask you to score them a 10, then, yes, that will be a negative impact for that crew member. However, if they are just asking you to fill out the survey and stating that a score of 10 would be perfect, that's ok, as long as they are not specifically asking you to score them a 10. It's all in the wording, and can sound confusing to some guests.

Hmmm....i don't believe that is how it was phrased to me by the crew, but I'm also not sure if my survey answer implied otherwise.  I'll have to be more careful next time. 

 

They mentioned the survey,  and 10 is a perfect score,  but did they ask for a 10? I don't think so.   Would I put money on it either way? No. 

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

2 hours ago, rudeney said:

 

Yes.  I was a consultant for the MBZ factory here and did some work at the local dealership.  Seeing behind the curtain was even worse than what I thought!  😮

We got some great trips while she was working there.  I miss those, but not the hours she put in.  We still joke about people wanting to do a European deliver for an ML.  

Edited June 8, 2022 by ATSEAMYLIFE

[CAT GIRL]

 Asking for a 10 is a big no no. I was having a meal with an officer and I observed this happening. The officer took the employee aside privately and had a chat with him. 

      The company that I worked for previously relied very heavily on these surveys and if someone said that they were asked to give a high score, it invalidated the survey.

[rudeney]

1 minute ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

We got some great trips while she was working there.  I miss those, but not the hours she put in.  We still joke about people wanting to do a European deliver for an ML.  

 

🤣

 

I worked there because of the ML.  I bought one of the early ones - did a factory delivery in Tuscaloosa.  The car was in the shop and the dealer usually broke more things than they fixed.  The president of MBUI (the US factory) lived in my neighborhood and I bent his ear one day at an HOA event.  He invited me to a customer focus group that lasted a few weeks and that turned into a 9-month contract to drill into quality issues.  it was a good fit with my background in technology, a degree in statistics, and automotive repair/restoration as a hobby,. 

 

We found that perceptions of low quality were amplified by poor dealer interactions, so I ended up at the local store for about 4 months.  I discovered that every single aspect of a car dealership is designed to extract more money from the customer.  Even so, it was a lot of fun to do different jobs (even mechanic) and learn the operation. And I did some other fun things, visiting Germany and was part of a team that hosted a few track events (I had also done some racing in my younger years).  I've been an MBZ fan all my life and owned a bunch of them - sometimes 3 or 4 at a time between the wife and kids.  I'm down to one now.  Kids bought their own cars (Hyundai's) and my wife now has a BMW (traitor!).

[jcc1025]

On 6/6/2022 at 3:43 PM, sadiwest said:

One of a few companies I worked for did not want us specifically asking for perfect scores. That's why I asked.   No one minds mentioning the survey,  but will they get in trouble for asking for a good score?

Mind also told associates not to request a specific rating. Then they put so much pressure on the results that associates did not always follow the directions. 

[screwsmcernst]

On 6/5/2022 at 2:45 PM, sadiwest said:

 

One more random question...if you do a B2B, is there anything better/different about that experience compared to just doing a longer single itinerary?  I imagine it would really only be different if your b2b itineraries are different ones. 

Our last cruise was a B2B.  While it was fine and the ports were all different, life on the ship was very much like being in the movie "Groundhog Day."  Same menus, same shows, same jokes and introductions from the cruise director.  We decided on that trip, that we would only do longer cruises from now on.  You may enjoy it though.  😃