Unbelievable Complaints

[Cruise Arizona]

Why do you think it is that we notice the complainer so much more?

 

Is it the close quarters and the likelihood to come across the same people over and over again?

 

Or is it that we are having such a good time that the complainers stand out more?

 

I always wondered about that?

[Denny01]

Why do you think it is that we notice the complainer so much more?

 

Is it the close quarters and the likelihood to come across the same people over and over again?

 

Or is it that we are having such a good time that the complainers stand out more?

 

I always wondered about that?

 

I think it's more just human nature. Have you ever heard the phrase, "it takes 10 Atta-Boys to overcome one Ahh 'Darn'" (to keep it clean). And if you read a lot of the threads where someone is worried about how good shape a ship is, or if that ship is doing a better job after reading one or two bad reviews and you look and see in the last 20 or so reviews, the huge majority are excellent. People are swayed by one negative and ignore the many positives.

 

Den

[gyanhumara]

Have you ever heard the phrase, "it takes 10 Atta-Boys to overcome one Ahh 'Darn'" (to keep it clean).

 

In the Air Force I've always seen it expressed the other way around: "A thousand attaboys are wiped out by one 'aw-chit!'"

 

And I've seen it on posts, here, too: Dozens of posters rave about this, that or the other thing in response to the original question in a thread, but what does the OP latch onto? The one post that expresses a negative opinion.

 

Why? Because each person is bombarded with, on average, twenty thousand negative thoughts/words/actions each day, effectively programming us to respond to negatives more readily than positives. I learned this in 2006, on my Carnival cruise as part of the "Authors At Sea" group, wherein one of the featured speakers was a top editor for the "Chicken Soup" books. Fascinating lecture -- and physical demonstration -- about how we respond to negative as well as positive messages.

 

We have many choices regarding how to respond to the negativity we encounter in our lives, and on our cruise vacations. Humor works for me, as does simply walking away if I'm not in a mood to banter. I've even been known to send subtle "positive vibes" in the direction of the negative person, which can work wonders.

 

May all your cruises be complaint-free! :)

[Denny01]

On my first cruise on a Carnival ship, I jumped (well, stepped actually) into a hot tub and exclaimed how wonderful the cruise was...the older gentleman (using that term Very loosely) proceded to tell me all that was wrong and how the only reason he was there was because his wife forced him to go. Half way through his second description of the terrors of that cruise, I said, 'excuse me, I just saw some people I need to join' and hopped out and into the next hot tub. There, I waited for a few seconds to see the 'tenor' of those I'd joined and after feeling they were in as good a mood as I was, I exclaimed, 'boy, what a wonderful cruise'....and they all agreed and we had a great time trying to outdo each other on what was so great about the cruise and cruising.

 

Moral of the story - pick your mates around you, and be ready to Not allow someone dampen your enthusiasm.

 

Den

[babyher]

I think it's more just human nature. Have you ever heard the phrase, "it takes 10 Atta-Boys to overcome one Ahh 'Darn'" (to keep it clean). And if you read a lot of the threads where someone is worried about how good shape a ship is, or if that ship is doing a better job after reading one or two bad reviews and you look and see in the last 20 or so reviews, the huge majority are excellent. People are swayed by one negative and ignore the many positives.

 

Den

 

 

Very true.

 

Also sometimes the really negative reviewers can get so much more graphic and dramatic than the positive ones that they just stick in your mind.

 

How many positive reviews will go "Such and such a ship is really nice, so clean and well cared for. The staff was wonderful and the food was delicious ."

 

Nice to hear but very benign .

 

 

Then you get a negative one like . "The ship was a dump, the smell of sewage was everywhere , dirty dishes piled everywhere . The food was so bad we thought they were feeding us garbage . Our cabin steward was rude and swore at us when we asked for more towels "

 

 

Many people will embellish the bad more than the good

[kitty allen]

After 25 years in a service industry I can tell you that there are plenty of people out there who just LIVE to be hostile to service personnel. They generally target those who appear weakest, youngest or most junior, and decline offers to get the manager to solve the problem. They just want to yell at an underling. They think we are easy prey who cannot defend ourdelves or object to their behavior because it is our "job", they "pay our salary" and we are menial laborers. I have been called every nasty name in the book, threatened with bodily harm and had to call security on too many occassions to count. What do I do for a living? I'm a librarian!

[Denny01]

After 25 years in a service industry I can tell you that there are plenty of people out there who just LIVE to be hostile to service personnel. They generally target those who appear weakest, youngest or most junior, and decline offers to get the manager to solve the problem. They just want to yell at an underling. They think we are easy prey who cannot defend ourdelves or object to their behavior because it is our "job", they "pay our salary" and we are menial laborers. I have been called every nasty name in the book, threatened with bodily harm and had to call security on too many occassions to count. What do I do for a living? I'm a librarian!

I told my daughters when they were dating to watch how their date treated the service personnel. If they were demeaning in any way, walk away immediately. That is an indication of someone who had a major inferiority complex (I know, I know nothing about psychology!), and treated service people terribly because they could get away with it. they may be nice to those they saw as 'equals' and certainly superiors, but anyone they felt was not their equal, they could dump on and mistreat.

 

Very telling.

 

Den

[CathyCruises]

Very true.

[FrankinPA]

I told my daughters when they were dating to watch how their date treated the service personnel. If they were demeaning in any way, walk away immediately. That is an indication of someone who had a major inferiority complex (I know, I know nothing about psychology!), and treated service people terribly because they could get away with it. they may be nice to those they saw as 'equals' and certainly superiors, but anyone they felt was not their equal, they could dump on and mistreat.

 

Very telling.

 

Den

 

This is great advice in the business world also. I had dinner one evening with a potential business partner. Up to this point, our meetings had been in an office environment, either his or mine. But we met for dinner in a very nice restaurant.

 

Surprisingly, he treated the waiters like dirt all night. Nothing was satisfactory. I thought the food and service was fantastic but it was clear that he was trying to demonstrate to me how tough he was. A side of him I had not seen before.

 

Before we went our separate ways that night, I told him that I was no longer interested in doing a deal and that I did not think I could live up to his standards. He knew exactly why I said that but it was too late. It was a great decision as his business failed a few months later. Sometimes a person's true character shows when he is interacting with "the help".

[gyanhumara]

Sometimes a person's true character shows when he is interacting with "the help".

 

Or, to paraphrase a sentiment from "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" ...

Nobility is not defined by title, but by one's actions.

 

I loved the "two Mrs Smiths" story, BTW!!! I could so hear my own son reacting in a similar fashion. :D

 

It is in fact the people least entitled to preferential/deferential treatment who feel most entitled to it, to the extent that they have to rub everyone's noses in it. In reality, they just don't get it, on many levels.

 

(Speaking as third-generation Russian nobility, whose grandmother was childhood friends with the doomed Princess Anastasia, so I do know a thing or two about the topic... I may not have the title, but I try to remember how to act!)

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Has it struck anyone else that it's a bit ironic that we're sitting here complaining about people who complain? :rolleyes:

 

What, are you complaining? I hate it when people complain about people complaining about complainers.:rolleyes:

[bestmom1]

I think this may be the greatest CC thread ever. It has been helping me adjust my attitude each morning. Yesterday while waiting for a meeting to start, we were in a conference room that was being used to stage gifts for our company's Christmas Angels program. Local families that are disadvantaged get requests from children for what they want for Christmas, and employees take one and provide gifts.

 

The one right next to me read:

A heated blanket.

An air bed because I don't have a bed to sleep on.

"name"

 

Talk about an attitude adjustment! Especially ironic as I had a complaint about the bedding on our Constellation TA. (which was corrected with an egg crate and a pillow stuffed under the mattress in the low spot).

I, Liz, promise never, never to complain again on any cruise anytime, anywhere for any reason!

 

Liz:o

[TexCruise371]

Moral of the story - pick your mates around you, and be ready to Not allow someone dampen your enthusiasm.

 

Den

 

Great advice in all walks of life! ;):D

[shorebilly]

*LOL*

 

Love people like that .

 

 

While my son was in high school he worked at a little gourmet grocery store /deli in a pretty ritzy little town.

 

 

One of those places where a little jar of jelly is $15 and a loaf of Artisan bread is $8, and they had cheeses that went for $30 a pound. He dealt with plenty of High Falutin "Do you know who I am ?" types.

 

Two of his frequent customers were "The Two Mrs Smith's". The middle aged ex wife of a big shot CEO who everytime she came in managed to beyotch and moan about something wrong with something and of course managed to throw in a couple "Do you know who I am's?"

 

AND the current much , much, much younger "Mrs Smith " who was very very nice and was known to tip the kids there $20 just to carry one little bag out to her car parked 10 feet away from the front door.

 

My son had only dealt with the current one and didn't know there was a former one until she came in one day . She lit into him about an order that was delivered to her house and it was wrong and how stupid are the people here . (My DS had nothing to do with delivery orders and knew nothing about the mistake so he offered to get a manager who could help) But no she just wanted to lay into my son.

 

Finally she throws out that she is "Mrs" Smith.

 

My DS looks at her confused and says "No you aren't"

 

She says "I certainly am , I am here all the time , what is wrong with you ?"

 

Well between being pissed off at this woman , a little embaressed at being talked to like this in front of a store full of people , and a touch of teenaged smartassness . He shoots back

 

"NO you aren't ....."Mrs Smith is HOT and really nice "

 

*LOL* Thats my boy :)

Too funny!!!!!

[Darubian]

After 25 years in a service industry I can tell you that there are plenty of people out there who just LIVE to be hostile to service personnel. They generally target those who appear weakest, youngest or most junior, and decline offers to get the manager to solve the problem. They just want to yell at an underling. They think we are easy prey who cannot defend ourdelves or object to their behavior because it is our "job", they "pay our salary" and we are menial laborers. I have been called every nasty name in the book, threatened with bodily harm and had to call security on too many occassions to count. What do I do for a living? I'm a librarian!

 

I feel very sorry for those people who are in their "junior" and in the service industry. Several years ago i operated a chain store that was very popular for icecream. I was very young and i had been in the industry for many years and made quite the name for myself. It was a great opportunity when i received the offer to manage the store on my own at such a young age and it certainly helped a lot while i was going to school. I think i was only twenty or so at the time.

 

I recall a specific evening where we were extremely busy. The store was located next door to a public school and a basketball team was in to celebrate the win. I myself am more of a behind the scenes person who had full confidence in my staff to keep things going, however there were a lot of people in on that evening and so i was up front manning the front with my troops. A guest asked for four ice cream cones dipped in chocolate, i scooped the cones and placed them in a holder. I turned around and realized there was no chocolate to dip them in. Not to worry, quick run to the back to grab a bag and i return with the bag open and pour it into the appropriate container.

 

So in the 30 seconds it took me to grab this bag of chocolate the cones were sitting in a nice little holder awaiting their delicious chocolate bath. As soon as i grab a cone the guest says to me, "You need to remake those.". I am a bit confused at this point so i respond with "Is something wrong?", thinking maybe something had happened while i was in the back that i did not see. He responded with "Yes, those cones have been sitting there melting while you went to get the chocolate."

 

Really? You have nothing in life to complain about but the 30 second HORRIFIC ICE-CREAM MELTDOWN of the century.... I really wish my life could be that pleasant. At this point i advised the guest that i would not be remaking the cones as there was nothing wrong with them. When he asked to speak to my manager i said he was speaking with the manager. It took 15 minutes of arguing because he could not believe that i was left in charge of a store. Oh heavens no, a young adult given responsibility, who would be foolish enough to leave a twenty year old to handle staff, ice cream and money? Several employees even came to my defense stating i was the "boss" he was looking for, and i finally gave up and told him he could leave, that i have other customers to serve and if he did not like it he could email my superiors.

 

So just because us young guys might look young, dont ever doubt we didnt work hard to get to the position we may be in. I put enough blood and sweat into that industry, thank god i never have to go back. One last thing, tip those service people, and stop and think how important your little tub of ranch is before you have a fit.

[sarafinadh]

What, are you complaining? I hate it when people complain about people complaining about complainers.:rolleyes:

We ain't complaining... We's just laffin our asses off at the lameness and ironic nature of the complaints...

 

; -D

[floridajen2000]

I have a lot of Canadian friends and do visit regularly and this lady was "definitely" American. I know of course it doesn't relate to all Americans as we met the most wonderful and fantastic Amercian cruising companions on Connie this year who had very good manners and would never have behaved like this lady. I just felt so sorry for the very nice guy she was screaming at.

 

ROFLMAO

 

Seriously? Damn those Americans! Such idiots! Don't even get me started on the drunk Irish with that ridiculous accent!

 

Gotta love all the complainers about all the complainers.

[IMNiles]

This thread is a riot. I must admit that I love lingering around guest relations and hearing some of the things people complain about. I really feel sorry for the staff when it's something they clearly did not cause and cannot help, like luggage missing from a flight. No doubt it really sucks for the passenger, but that's no reason to take it out on the poor guy behind the desk. I worked in customer service (retail) for years and I thought I'd heard it all, but there is something about a vacation that brings out the worst in some people.

 

On our last cruise aboard eclipse, we overheard someone complaining about how the portions in QSine were so small and how it was all about the presentation and how it took over two hours to eat. Um, yes? Sounds like it was exactly as advertised! We were glad he was warning all his friends away so we could be surrounded by people who wanted to be there.

[kathisu]

Just off the Millie where the comedian said this - "Some people travel a thousand miles to have a new place to complain." My attitude is "I'm on vacation - let's have fun!" I tend to laugh at the complainers who don't look around and realized how blessed they are. This thread had me laughing out loud - especially the lady who wanted the captain to make the whales come closer! Priceless!

[Karynanne]

Just off the Millie where the comedian said this - "Some people travel a thousand miles to have a new place to complain." My attitude is "I'm on vacation - let's have fun!" I tend to laugh at the complainers who don't look around and realized how blessed they are. This thread had me laughing out loud - especially the lady who wanted the captain to make the whales come closer! Priceless!

 

Imagine that....no trained whales! Definitely an acceptable reason for compensation.

[AlibearNS]

from time to time when DW and I don't see eye to eye -- one of us will request a "complaint form" (you can't do this very often ;) )

 

Love this thread, and love the above!

 

Ali

[Mrs_Tiki]

While waiting in line at Guest Relations on St. Maarten day, I overheard a woman expressing her concern over the whereabouts of her roommate, who had fallen in their cabin the evening before. The staff member asked all of the appropriate questions to try to determine where the woman might be on the ship, then checked the computer and saw that she had left the ship after it docked.

 

The woman became increasingly irate that the ship's personnel needed to "do something," because she was so worried about her friend. The more the staff person tried to explain that there was not much they could do, since the "missing" person had left the ship, the woman became more and more irate. We never heard the end of this story and wondered for the rest of the week...

 

Sadly, on the last night of the cruise, the Captain announced that there would be an emergency medical evacuation, which was undertaken by the US Coast Guard. A couple of things that I could NOT BELIEVE I overheard:

 

"This better not make me miss my flight tomorrow"

 

"I hope that my tax dollars are not paying for this."

 

Wow, all I could think that someone was watching their seriously ill loved one being hoisted aboard a helicopter and being spirited away from them, and this was what other folks were thinking?!

[Bailey & Sophie]

Imagine that....no trained whales! Definitely an acceptable reason for compensation.

What about ME??? I haven't seen a single whale YET. That should be worth double compensation!

[boogs]

I can top this! A well-fit looking man in his early 40s in gym clothes with water bottle in hand getting in the elevator on deck 11 and getting OFF on deck 12 to go to the gym!!! All of us couldn't believe it! I sooo wanted to say something to him! :D

Monica

 

Years ago I worked with a big, macho-man Vietnam war vet who had handicap tags on his jacked up 4-wheel drive pickup truck. Every morning he would park in the closest handicapped space he could find. Almost every afternoon he and my boss would go to the local gym and play a round of racquetball during lunch. I never found out what his disability actually was.

[boogs]

This is awesome. I imagine that the STREET SIGNS are also all in spanish. I would have liked to see her trying to navigate the city with an "english" map.

 

How right you are! Twenty or so years ago my wife and I toured through Egypt. On the first day, a 'free' day, we decided to walk around Cairo. We grabbed our map and set off on our adventure. After wandering around a bit, we soon needed the map. Upon opening it up, we realized that all the streets were named in English on our map. Unfortunately, they were all in Arabic on the signs. No help at all!!! It took a friendly cab driver to rescue us!! :o