Upsell call - So angry!

[pwc115]

DH and I are sailing on the Triumph, May 7th. We got a call from Carnival yesterday. They were offering us a "bargain" to upgrade from our aft balcony cabin to an Ocean Suite for $770. When I told them, no thanks, he told me if I did it right then and there, he would "knock it down to $670". I told him that wasn't something that I thought we wanted to do because 1. we really wanted the aft balcony this time and 2. the price was ridiculous. I told him to call back if the price went down and we'd see. That's when he got even more pushy and said he would call back in 5 minutes to give me time to call a friend or family member to borrow the money! Seriously? Obviously, we did not upgrade and I guess I really have no question for the board here, but for some reason, this has really bothered me. Has anyone else ever experienced this with Carnival?

[Parkay]

Give you time to "borrow the money"? Yes, that would completely pi$$ me off. I love aft balconies too! Stick to your guns. That price is not worth the upgrade from a aft balcony

[JLC@SD]

Some people are not cut out to be salespersons......;)

 

I had a guy try to sell me a newspaper subscription.....I told him I took two newspapers already, and didn't have time to read a third.........and he told me.."I didn't ask you to read it, I just asked you to subscribe to it".....:D

[pattimelt]

Oh, I would have asked to speak to his supervisor and told whoever it was what that idiot just said to me, and have them listen to the recording. That is SO unprofessional, it makes people that actually LIKE what we do on the phones look bad(I handle incoming calls for Disneyland).

[jessemon]

Derned salesman....They're all scum...LOL....

I would like proof this was said to you...

Call Carn-evil and ask them to pull the tape and review the conversation you had with this person....

[k2excursion]

They weren't pushy, but we did get a really terrible offer too a couple years ago. They tried to upgrade us from a spa balcony to an ocean suite for more money than it would have cost us to upgrade on our own. Many offers have been pretty terrible these days, similar to ours. Carnival might be training these upsellers to be pushy, in order to get people to take the terrible offers. They have definitely been making more than their fair share of mistakes lately. That'll happen when you have too many supervisors and managers. You lose your edge.

[pwc115]

patti, didn't even occur to me to call back- at the time, I was so surprised at the direction the conversation had gone. After the "borrow the money" comment, I was so taken aback that I just told him "no thank you" and got off the phone;

I think I will try to call in the morning and get a supervisor to look up the call.

jessemon- didn't mean to imply that all salespeople are evil; up until this call, all of my interactions with Carnival have been great- never had a problem; I think that's why this one caught me so off guard. First, he suggested a put the $ on 2 credit cards- Then, when I told him that wasn't the issue, that's when he suggested I borrow it. Certainly don't think it makes him evil....just not a great salesperson.

[Essiesmom]

It makes you wonder if the PVP doesn't have someone behind him offering him a cut if he can get them the cabin you occupy...EM

[Cruise Cat]

I had to scream to high heaven within Carnival to get the damn PVP I never asked for to stop emailing and calling me. I was very close to calling the FTC.:mad:

[GottaLuvCruising]

I would seriously have to complain about that guy!

[KirkNC]

Yea, that is over the top, "borrow the money" comment would have sent my off big time.

 

Kirk

[mrpayroll]

Have been called twice about upgrading on two different cruises. Took one and declined the other. The carnival rep. was very polite when i declined the one offer. Told me to enjoy my upcoming cruise and thanked me for sailing Carnival.

[okwriter]

While it's bizarre, I don't think it would have bugged me. On the contrary, it's kinda funny when you think about it! :D I'd have probably engaged him in meaningless conversation for as long as possible (telemarketers hate that). In this case, I'd ramble on about about how...

 

"I have no friends because of the voices in my head ever since I was in this car accident---one of them is my great aunt Marie who lived with gypsies and I only ever met her once. But anyway, I had an accident in this older car that my husband bought me and---well, he isn't my husband any more because he ran off with the babysitter. Not really a babysitter for our kids but for our cats when we used to travel. We did have 5 cats until two got ran over. But anyway, I don't have any friends because I've been hearing those voices, but I am getting treatment once a week and I feel better most of the time if the voices don't all talk at once and---HEY, since I have no friends, how about YOU loan me the money?"

[Sailor2Cruiser]

While it's bizarre, I don't think it would have bugged me. On the contrary, it's kinda funny when you think about it! :D I'd have probably engaged him in meaningless conversation for as long as possible (telemarketers hate that). In this case, I'd ramble on about about how...

 

"I have no friends because of the voices in my head ever since I was in this car accident---one of them is my great aunt Marie who lived with gypsies and I only ever met her once. But anyway, I had an accident in this older car that my husband bought me and---well, he isn't my husband any more because he ran off with the babysitter. Not really a babysitter for our kids but for our cats when we used to travel. We did have 5 cats until two got ran over. But anyway, I don't have any friends because I've been hearing those voices, but I am getting treatment once a week and I feel better most of the time if the voices don't all talk at once and---HEY, since I have no friends, how about YOU loan me the money?"

 

I'm sure glad I wasn't drinking when I read this. I hate monitor maintenance first thing in the morning.

 

I cancelled my Sirius subscription in January. I received several calls to "come back." Finally I told them to stop calling. A couple of days ago I got home from work and saw their number on my called ID. Later they called again. I wasn't too impolite, but I hope I wasn't unclear.

 

The pressure to sell must be tremendous in this economy.

[AdGuyMG]

It makes you wonder if the PVP doesn't have someone behind him offering him a cut if he can get them the cabin you occupy...EM

 

These calls do not come from PVPs. They come from the upsell dept

[stewpapa]

Maybe if you can get them to review the tape, they will give you an OBC as an apology. That is very bad customer service and something I would think they would want to sweep under the rug.

[mcwebber]

patti, didn't even occur to me to call back- at the time, I was so surprised at the direction the conversation had gone. After the "borrow the money" comment, I was so taken aback that I just told him "no thank you" and got off the phone;

I think I will try to call in the morning and get a supervisor to look up the call.

 

Unless there's a beeper on the line or they tell you it's being recorded, as they do when you call them, it's unlikely the call is recorded. If it is, it's done illegally in Florida.

[Fun, Fun 44]

The call was unacceptable!! I wouldn't be beyond reporting it....depending on my mood at the moment. Yet I find it comical, ya just can't get good help these days!

On a brighter note. Other than location, I wasn't overly impressed with the ocean suits. They ARE nice, but not as nice as the price difference is in my pocket! I encourage you to enjoy the aft if you were to get another call.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

Kat

[mcwebber]

I'm sure glad I wasn't drinking when I read this. I hate monitor maintenance first thing in the morning.

 

I cancelled my Sirius subscription in January. I received several calls to "come back." Finally I told them to stop calling. A couple of days ago I got home from work and saw their number on my called ID. Later they called again. I wasn't too impolite, but I hope I wasn't unclear.

 

The pressure to sell must be tremendous in this economy.

 

If you told them to put you on their Do Not Call list and the called you again you can file a complaint with donotcall.gov.

[mcwebber]

That's when he got even more pushy and said he would call back in 5 minutes to give me time to call a friend or family member to borrow the money!

 

Ask him if you can friend him on Facebook. If he says yes, ask your new friend if you can borrow the money.

[hoop4321]

its funny.....when you call a business, you spend more time talking to a machine or pressing numbers than you do the agent. Now you have to put up with rude and pushy people on line. For a company that sells fun and relaxation, it is an awful way to start packing for a cruise.

[richstowe]

I guess I'm in the minority but think such over the top sales techniques are funny.

I probably would have asked him to repeat the line about borrowing money from friends.

Call a super and ask for the tape and make a big fuss, nah. Life is too short.

Of course if they call when you are sitting down for supper, well thats another thing.:D

[mzloolue]

 

The pressure to sell must be tremendous in this economy.

 

We had a pvp who we really liked and after five years she was mysteriously just gone...

And after talking to a couple we found another who we liked and after two cruises he was mysteriously gone too.

 

On both of them I called and their extensions just don't work anymore...

 

I miss them and worry about what may have happended to them.

Both of them had gone above and beyond for us.

 

I have asked my current new pvp about what may have happened.

She said something about when people are gone they are usually gone that day to protect customer information.

 

And that pvps who have difficulty with goals may be moved.

I'm thinking maybe moved out the door.

 

DH did get a sales call out of the blue from wonderful pvp #1, before she disappeared, and he said that she sounded upset.

 

To me, it sounds like there is a lot of pressure on them.

[elcuchio24]

Ha! Sounds like he learned his sales skills at the School for Hard Knocks. Not a pitch you should be using in a professional setting.

[happy cruzer]

Life is a lot easier if you just laugh at this type of stuff and thank your lucky stars you don't have to do that job. Humor and the looking for the silver lining will help you live longer.