Celebrity Cruise Agents not answering their phones

[Arizona Wildcat]

3 hours ago, ORV said:

Yes, I always do my best to remember that it's not the fault of the people answering the phones that I had to wait so long, it's the CEO's fault. 

Not sure.  Is it the CEOs fault for Westjet that they have 4 vacancies for every qualified pilot applicant?  Thus cancelling  thousands of flights. 

 

How about Delta or my local water company.

 

Suggest some of us could agree to be CRS for Celebrity.   They simply cannot get people to apply and then they need to be trained.  Takes MONTHS.  How many here used to complain they could not get answers?

 

Not the CEOs fault.  The fault of free money that says to people they do not need to work.

[ORV]

55 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Not sure.  Is it the CEOs fault for Westjet that they have 4 vacancies for every qualified pilot applicant?  Thus cancelling  thousands of flights. 

 

How about Delta or my local water company.

 

Suggest some of us could agree to be CRS for Celebrity.   They simply cannot get people to apply and then they need to be trained.  Takes MONTHS.  How many here used to complain they could not get answers?

 

Not the CEOs fault.  The fault of free money that says to people they do not need to work.

No, this is something that started much before Covid, companies have been cutting back on CSR's for many years. Started with all the Press # menus, just to increase wait time and stall you, plus making it hard to actually have a prompt to speak with a real person. It's past policies coming home to roost. 

 

To quote a famous Missourian, "The Buck Stops Here". Ultimately the CEO is responsible for what happens with the company they're running.  Being an apologist for these policies only emboldens the behavior. Customer service by major companies is a lost art. It didn't use to be this way. 

 

Just where is that free money coming from these days? I'm pretty sure most of that has been cut. I don't see how people can exist ongoing without an income. Maybe these companies need to pay more for these jobs. 

 

I will agree that the Covid situation is not something that anyone could foresee, especially what it did to the cruise companies. Having to lay off many of their employees certainly has put them behind the 8-ball now. No easy answers.

 

 

[jelayne]

So many of us don’t want to see the higher prices and don’t want to pay more than $__per night and are  unhappy with the lack of customer service.  But when cruise fares were in the $ 125-250 pp pn the average customer service rep earned between $9-12 per hour.  Now, at least around here, anything less than $17 per hour and you won’t have a applicant, at $20 you will get some, not necessarily your ideal applicant but a warm body.  
 

I sure don’t know the answer but I know that employees are hard to find and in order to get and keep good ones you have to pay much more than you did 2-4 years ago and in order to pay more you have to charge more.  
 

 

[Dancing Shoes]

I think some of the reps work from home.  I asked a rep where she was, and she said Jamacia.  Hope I don't get her in trouble.  I thought everyone was in one building in Florida.  The wait time was 1 hour, 20 mins.  

Edited July 8, 2022 by Dancing Shoes

[jelayne]

20 minutes ago, Dancing Shoes said:

I think some of the reps work from home.  I asked a rep where she was, and she said Jamacia.  Hope I don't get her in trouble.  I thought everyone was in one building in Florida.  The wait time was 1 hour, 20 mins.  

They have been working from home since the shut down of cruising and to get staff they have been hiring reps who live outside the US. So no popping around a corner to ask your supervisor or co-worker a question.  If your rep in Jamaica wasn’t sure how to assist you she has to put you on hold and call the supervisor in FL or Kansas and wait on hold until they could answer her call.

[cublet]

Hello,

 

You should look on the bright side.

 

At least by not answering your call, you are not being given incorrect information.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[Turtles06]

31 minutes ago, cublet said:

Hello,

 

You should look on the bright side.

 

At least by not answering your call, you are not being given incorrect information.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

 

Post of the day!!  😂

[Whinenowine]

16 hours ago, sailmeaway said:

Glad I'm not the only one!  I have been waiting on hold for over two hours, and this is the fourth time this week!!  If I hear how important my call is one more time.........  

Thinking we may cancel our back-to-back-to=back cruises this fall, if this is an indication of Celebrity service.  Definitely not impressed!!!!

 

If you were the only one, there wouldn't be a wait!  😇

 

Sorry, I couldn't help myself!  😆

 

[Bo1953]

16 hours ago, sailmeaway said:

Does anyone have a phone number for the CEO??

If the word got out that I posted her private cell number, I Am afraid that we would be banned from X for life!!!

 

LOL

 

bon voyage

[Moonarino]

23 hours ago, cruzeluver said:

I work for a local financial institution and like so many companies we are struggling to get and retain customer service folks. When we can find qualified candidates they leave if someone else will give them five cents more an hour or they get burned out quickly from dealing with the public. Prior to the pandemic we never had wait times of more than 1-5 minutes, now during peak hours waits of 20-30 minutes are not uncommon. 

 

Call during off-peak hours (first thing in the morning or early evening). Wait times should generally be shorter. 

BINGO. Everything is a bigger problem these days.

 

Driving through my favorite Sonic last Saturday about 6:45 pm, I was amazed (not in a nice way) at having to sit at the speaker and wait for a full 5 minutes for the lady to essentially open the store. Crazy.

[the_dylaness]

On 7/7/2022 at 4:46 PM, Buckeye94 said:

After almost 2 hours on hold, I can tell you all about sailing on Celebrity Flora, the first ship designed specifically for the Galapagos Islands destination. You'll enjoy luxury all-suite accommodations...  😩

I'm on hold right now and the Celebrity Flora ad was playing as I read your message.  Great comedic timing 🙂

 

[ScottC4746]

On 7/7/2022 at 8:09 AM, tonylander said:

What is going on with Celebrity.  They are not answering their phone, it seems impossible to try and upgrade or general questions.

I have called 21 times since last Saturday and waited an average of 30 minutes, and still did not get any one.

I hope the on board service is much better

Like so many other customer service industries, they are grossly short staffed.  Like other travel companies they outsource some of the calls and this is not just an American issues, it is worldwide trying to restaff after Covid.

[Arizona Wildcat]

There is another issue in play.  Take a look at the threads on Cruise Critic.  Questions as simple as when do I need to be on board my ship could be answered on the website - yes I know it is not so good - instead of a phone call. 

Same for wanting the Covid card approval from Celebrity or Bermuda.   Bermuda works on island time and Celebrity has no control.  Celebrity is getting all the approvals before cruising.  Yes, often only a few days ahead; but they are getting hundreds of calls a day about this. 

If cruisers would take a bit more time to search out answers before calling X the waiting time would be shorter. 

Last, I organize progressive antique car tours.  I have tried to find people to arrange the motels and then update and confirm that everything is OK.  Flexible hours, only need a phone and offering $20/hr.  Gave up after trying 2 applicants as it takes 1YEAR and a couple hundred hours to train someone.  Cruise reps have an even more difficult job.

[the_dylaness]

I have now been on hold for just under an hour and a half to upgrade a drink package and STILL on hold.  This is insane.

[edgekid]

Well, I called Celebrity twice in the last few months.. both calls were made when I had my bathroom break during sleep time around 3:00 to 4:00 a.m... no problem, less than 2 minute wait.😊

[Host Anne]

I think we are all facing the same frustrations.  It's not just Celebrity; it's not just the airlines; it's not just hotels.....it's everywhere.  While customer service may have not be great prior to the pandemic, the pandemic did cause many businesses to lay people off, offer early retirements, etc.  The fact that many received a lot of money over the past two years when not working allowed many to save and be slow to return to work.  I work in manufacturing.  It's very challenging for companies to find skilled workers, a gap that the pandemic greatly exacerbated.  Even trying to find and train people is next to impossible.  Getting them to stay in the job, next to impossible.  Celebrity is in the same position as many other businesses today.

 

This is certainly not Celebrity's CEO's fault.  I spoke to many crew on the first two Celebrity cruises I took when they started sailing again last year.  They were so appreciative of everything Celebrity management did for them while they were home during the pandemic that it made me happy that we were cruising to support Celebrity.  I believe that all of Celebrity's executive management is aware of the situations we are all frustrated by and want to correct them as much as we want them corrected.  

 

I've been trying to book restaurant reservations on line and on the ap for the last week for our upcoming cruise.  It's simply not working. That's not a good thing and I know why a lot of people are getting frustrated but I've just decided I'll wait until I board.  My experience (especially in the past year) is that onboard staff will work to assist us.  At the very worst, I'll be onboard a Celebrity ship with a drink package, comfortable accommodations, a balcony to watch the world go by, a lot of good food and friendly staff that go out of their way to take care of us.  

 

If you chose to wait on line for hours, remember to thank the person who answers.  At least they are choosing to work!

[ISABELLA]

I wonder what is a respond time to an email sent 10 days ago😉

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, ISABELLA said:

I wonder what is a respond time to an email sent 10 days ago😉

You will find out for sure.... I had a 14 day wait, but I do not sail for another 14 months so it was not an issue for me as my question or needs were not critical at the moment.

 

Were my questions or needs critical, then I would put my TA on notice for the info.

 

bon voyage

[mnocket]

I'm curious why so many feel poor customer service is not the company's fault.  Sure it's hard to find new employees, but if it's something that is truly very important to the business (i.e. "your call is very important to us") - you pay up to attract the number of employees you need.  The issue is rarely that there aren't any job seekers available - the issue is there aren't any job seekers who are willing to work for your company (pay and perks).  If staffing customer service was really a top priority - it would be done.

 

Edited July 18, 2022 by mnocket

[Oceangoer2]

On 7/7/2022 at 11:18 PM, Dancing Shoes said:

I think some of the reps work from home.  I asked a rep where she was, and she said Jamacia.  Hope I don't get her in trouble.  I thought everyone was in one building in Florida.  The wait time was 1 hour, 20 mins.  

You have to know the rep is offshore and most likely in the Caribbean when there's no doubt a rooster is crowing and/or a dog barking in the background.  And from home, yes....when you hear a baby crying and a toddler looking for attention.  No doubt the hourly rate of pay is considerably less offshore.

Edited July 18, 2022 by Oceangoer2

[wrk2cruise]

And training new employees working from home (either domestically or overseas) is probably being done with some very basic computer based training which is why these reps have little to no information.

[ISABELLA]

28 minutes ago, mnocket said:

I'm curious why so many feel poor customer service is not the company's fault.  Sure it's hard to find new employees, but if it's something that is truly very important to the business (i.e. "your call is very important to us") - you pay up to attract the number of employees you need.  The issue is rarely that there aren't any job seekers available - the issue is there aren't any job seekers who are willing to work for your company (pay and perks).  If staffing customer service was really a top priority - it would be done.

 

Celebrity are aiming Millennials for cruising, but none of them have patience to wait on the phone for hours. They will go someplace else. When X start to loose business, something will change. Non-responsive CS will make me think twice to book complete vacation with Celebrity, including flights, hotels, tours. God forbid I need to do some changes to my trip.

[wrk2cruise]

Yea they are staffed for retirees who have all day to spend on the phone.😀   Actually I think it was right before the shutdown they hired some UK consulting firm for around $200k who told them to move their target market from millennials to GenX.

[Lastdance]

On 7/8/2022 at 7:58 AM, Bo1953 said:

If the word got out that I posted her private cell number, I Am afraid that we would be banned from X for life!!!

 

LOL

 

bon voyage

Well, Bo, you just made my day!  No posting from me on CC about that number; my fingers are sealed!

Edited July 18, 2022 by Lastdance

[Lastdance]

4 hours ago, ISABELLA said:

I wonder what is a respond time to an email sent 10 days ago😉

Maybe try Chat, as most likely there will be no response...