Poor customer service or pax expecting too much?

[CelebrityMan]

I agree 100%. The refund should also have been accompanied by an immediate move to a more acceptable cabin and dramatic efforts to clean and dry all of their belongings. Based on the story I'd find it hard to believe there is another side as it seems to me a burst pipe and wet floor is a burst pipe and wet floor; but who knows.

 

I have to agree with Lsimon and others. Taking the Tribune article at face value, Celebrity dropped the ball, big time!!

 

The account in this article is certainly not the on-board customer service experience we've had — but we've never had anything anywhere near this catastrophic happen, either. We have had a number of maintenance issues, but they have always been addressed professionally, swiftly, and to our satisfaction.

 

If the ship truly were at capacity, and no other comparable staterooms were available, one would hope to have seen Celebrity bending over backwards to do everything possible toward passenger comfort, cleaning and/or replacement of damaged goods, AND an immediate offer of a free future/replacement cruise in a comparable or better stateroom.

 

 

CM

[kasowell2]

I'm afraid that a lot of companies have taken the policy of offering as little as possible to see if you will take it. If you take the least that's good but if you escalate it then they offer more.

[NewSalt]

Except for my suit and a few of my wife's dresses there is nothing else that is ruined by water and those items are hung in the closet. Everything else is in drawers or on the shelves. We don't throw or leave anything on the floor. Luggage is water proof so no damage there.

 

Other than a wet carpet and so called odors it was a accident that could have been worse. Don't really know the whole story but many tend to exaggerate when they think that they are in a position to get more.

 

I have read many times about some bride whose honeymoon was a total disaster because the crew didn't bow down kiss her A as she expected everyone should do. They forget that there are few thousand other passengers that also paid for a cruise and have the same privileges and service and are also celebrating

 

.

 

Where do you leave your shoes? On a shelf? I'm not like some people who take ten pairs of shoes on vacation, but for DH and me, just having water damage to our shoes would be quite expensive.

 

Also, I have a couple of those uber-popular quilted totes, and I often take one of their overnights or duffle bags on vacation as well. My computer bag is also quilted fabric, and I often keep my computer in it to free up surface space. None of those bags are waterproof (not to mention my computer or Kindle that might also be in my tote) and would be severely damaged.

 

Those things alone would be worth more than the amount that they finally settled on.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Sounds like Celebrity dropped the ball on this one, but then again, we don't know the nature of the problem. It may have been a leaky pipe that resulted in some moisture on the floor, and it's being exaggerated. Sure wish we had both sides.

 

I don't think an offer of a credit on a future cruise has any value at all. If my experience with a cruise line was this bad, I would never sail with them again, under any circumstances, at any price.

 

If a customer says they'll never sail with Celebrity again, refunding the money will be a dead loss. If they get a future cruise credit, the customer has to book another cruise to use it, giving X a chance to show that the bad experience was an aberration. If Celebrity was at fault and the problem was as it was described, then fair's fair-- if you didn't get what you paid for, you get your money back. If Celebrity thinks the customer is making a mountain out of a molehill and they truly addressed the problem adequately, they should offer a future cruise credit. Otherwise, the only thing they avoid by giving money back to a customer who swears they won't be back is the hope that they'll say to their friends, "Well, at least they refunded us some money, so maybe they're not all bad," instead of, "They wouldn't even refund us part of what we paid." Or going to the Chicago Tribune with it.

[Project_gal]

I'm afraid that a lot of companies have taken the policy of offering as little as possible to see if you will take it. If you take the least that's good but if you escalate it then they offer more.

 

It may be true of many companies but, from our personal experience, it is not true of Celebrity.

 

Sue

[gskimmel]

I can't believe how horrible Celebrity responded to this. While accidents do happen, it should not be at the expense of the customer. If Celebrity were smart, they should offer a free cruise to these people. It would get these people back on board and a chance for Celebrity to prove themselves to this couple. It could also generate revenue from this couple if/when they buy on board.

 

I currently have 3 cruises planned with Celebrity and their response to this incident is making me wonder if I should try a different line.

[jacketwatch]

It may be true of many companies but, from our personal experience, it is not true of Celebrity.

 

Sue

 

From my personal experience it was true of them. I had an issue and was offered nothing and told that as for compensation " we don't do that." After escalating the issue up I finally got a CS rep who was astounded I was told that and told me they have a lot of "wiggle room" and offered a very fair settlement in terms of future OBC.

[bc6152]

I can't believe how horrible Celebrity responded to this. While accidents do happen, it should not be at the expense of the customer. If Celebrity were smart, they should offer a free cruise to these people. It would get these people back on board and a chance for Celebrity to prove themselves to this couple. It could also generate revenue from this couple if/when they buy on board.

 

I currently have 3 cruises planned with Celebrity and their response to this incident is making me wonder if I should try a different line.

 

After reading the criticisms and "there must be another side to this story", I'm really apalled. Here is a man and his wife only wanting to have a nice celebration of their wedding anniversary on a large cruise line. Yes, accidents happen; yes, sometimes trips are interrupted. The answer here is that Celebrity should have fixed the problem and not contributed to it. IMO thy should have cleaned their clothes, gave them coupons for pay restaurants, upgraded them to a better room, then give them passes for a new cruise in the future or a refund. Just look at the number of people on this thread that agree that Celebrity screwed up. As far as "the other side of the story" I think that Celebrity WOULD NOT have agreed to the $512. if there was "another side". Shame on Celebrity and I'll stick with RCI.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

As far as "the other side of the story" I think that Celebrity WOULD NOT have agreed to the $512. if there was "another side".

 

Once it gets in the consumer watchdog section of the papers, Celebrity would come off looking really bad if they did nothing more, even if they feel they handled things correctly. They're paying to avoid bad press, or at least minimize the damage.

 

I don't want to automatically defend Celebrity and say, "No, not them. They can do no wrong. Must be something fishy with the story." I have no reason to doubt that things happened as the newspaper article says they did. But I don't believe this to be the typical response to such a problem. Everyone has their off days, maybe X has having one of theirs. How many times does X come through with outstanding customer service, and we never hear of it?

[loubetti]

This is very upsetting to hear, and I will figure the article and the couple's account of what occurred is accurate. Sadly, Celebrity is owned by RCI, which these days might just as just well be Carnival. It's all about profits.

 

Hopefully this was a one-off, as I always enjoyed great service on Celebrity.

[Boatdrill]

I don't think it's asking too much for the cruise line to provide a functional, clean cabin.

 

Celebrity did offer them another room (the inside room). But they choose not to stay there after one night, and returned to their wet room. Of course the carpets weren't going to dry in time....it was only a 4 day cruise.

 

The leak was fixed, so no problem there.

 

The ship's initial offer was low, and I'm glad that Celebrity HQ upped the compensation so the pax are happy.

 

Poor customer service ? Not seeing it. Frustrating situation ? Yes.

[Boatdrill]

If Celebrity were smart, they should offer a free cruise to these people.

 

For a broken water pipe ???? :rolleyes:

[preciouspup]

For a broken water pipe ???? :rolleyes:

 

Really? Why don't you try sloshing around in their shoes first. Sheesh

[FL1stLady]

I have a 14 day Asia cruise booked for next year on the Millie. My hope is that during refurb, scheduled for later this year, I think, they will discover and repair some of these potential issues. I am appalled at their "customer service". Certainly not my experience on Celebrity.

[Cruising89143]

"If" things happened as stated in the article then Celebrity did not handle this correctly. The initial offer was a slap in the face.

[Cindy]

I've cruised enought to realize that things like this can happen...after all, ships are mechanical, and mechanical things can break. I think you can evaluate a company not on how they respond when things go perfectly, but on how they respond when there is a problem.

I would have been extremely unhappy with the response from the ship's personnel. I would have been politely insistent that it be escalated up the chain while I was still on board. I will also add that I wouldn't sleep in a wet, stinky cabin, so they might have found me curled up on a sofa in a lounge!:eek: Maybe that would have gotten their attention!:rolleyes:

[Christine Frances]

I've cruised enought to realize that things like this can happen...after all, ships are mechanical, and mechanical things can break. I think you can evaluate a company not on how they respond when things go perfectly, but on how they respond when there is a problem.

 

I would have been extremely unhappy with the response from the ship's personnel. I would have been politely insistent that it be escalated up the chain while I was still on board. I will also add that I wouldn't sleep in a wet, stinky cabin, so they might have found me curled up on a sofa in a lounge!:eek: Maybe that would have gotten their attention!:rolleyes:

 

They gave them another cabin but they went back to the wet one:confused: I glanced at the pricing for a balcony for a 4 day and they are running around $500-$600 so they got 1/2 their cruise fare back.

[MicCanberra]

I think Celebrity should have handled this matter better. In the end, the refund is the best option rather than credits on another cruise. It is a shame but in situations like this everyone loses especially when mishandled.