P&O Cruises to withhold passengers' tips unless crew hit performance targets

[Mooloo]

Just read an article in the Observer today that some of the ship staff threatened by this are a paid basic salary of 75p an hour. Does this mean that P&O will be returning tips if they don't go to the staff?

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/apr/29/cruise-firm-performance-bonuses-tips

 

Crew on British cruise holidays who are paid a basic salary of as little as 75p an hour face having extra tips from passengers withheld unless they hit performance targets.

 

The boss of P&O Cruises said the move was part of a package to "make crew more responsive" and offer protection as tips dry up in the economic downturn.

 

Bonuses will be held back in part if customers' feedback ratings do not exceed targets, some of which stand at 96%. Cabin stewards whose attitude was ranked below 92% by customers will forfeit an entire bonus payment worth approximately 15% of their basic salary.

[kevinyork]

Very interesting. At first I thought this may be to try and maintain service levels in thr MDR now tips are automatically added but it seems to apply to other staff too.

 

The example re cabin stewards attitude hits a nerve after we had a very smarmy one at New Year who tried his best to avoid doing anything above the basics.

[bazzaw]

Very interesting. At first I thought this may be to try and maintain service levels in thr MDR now tips are automatically added but it seems to apply to other staff too.

 

The example re cabin stewards attitude hits a nerve after we had a very smarmy one at New Year who tried his best to avoid doing anything above the basics.

 

We don't need or want our cabin stewards to do anything "above the basics" - but I guess it all depends on what people consider the basics to be. What sort of things do you want/expect your cabin steward to do for you (above the basics) ???

 

Barry

[tartanexile81]

Not sure what above the basics could be but if we assume basics is just cleaning the room thoroughly every day and doing the turn-down at night, we didn't think the steward on our recent cruise even did that! One day we know she spent less than 5 minutes in te cabin and I felt I had to wipe down all the surfaces when we arrived We always leave our cabin very tidy but nothing was ever moved to wipe down the desk for example; we wondered if they were told not to touch any personal possessions??

 

If we asked for anything (extra sugar, ice, replacement for faulty hair-dryer amongst numerous things) it just never arrived and I overheard conversations in the corridor suggesting we were not alone in having that problem. Maybe this could be called "above the basics", but on every other cruise we've been on we've always had a very good relationship with the the steward who has been almost ghost-like and nothing has ever been too much trouble. I think in almost every case these hard-working members of the crew deserve their tips..... and much more...... but in our recent example, I really don't think she was up to the job and this was reflected in our feedback - which nevertheless we felt very bad about. :(

[Bobbyjean]

I am going to ask them to remove these "automatic tips" as soon as we get on board. I will be taking cash and some envelopes and give them to these poor members of staff myself - tips are between the server/room steward and the customer ... surely P&O should have nothing to do with it.

 

If they were protecting their staff with the automatic tips it would be a different matter - but they just see it as a way of cutting wages and getting customers to top it up - and also as a way of forcing staff to work hard for (potentially impossible) targets.

 

No wonder people say the staff look miserable.

 

I just wonder - will withdrawing the automatic tips look bad for the staff affected?

[tyrole]

Can you have the automatic tips removed? I would much rather tip in person.

[Bobbyjean]

I think you can do so at Reception.

 

If there is a feedback form I will make a note of giving them a good score and noting I paid tips personally, to avoid them getting into trouble. (unless they are awful of course!) :D

[jeanlyon]

that's exactly what we are going to do. I don't agree with these auto-tips at all.

[tyrole]

I think you can do so at Reception.

 

If there is a feedback form I will make a note of giving them a good score and noting I paid tips personally, to avoid them getting into trouble. (unless they are awful of course!) :D

 

Thank you

 

that's exactly what we are going to do. I don't agree with these auto-tips at all.

 

Ditto

[OldJerseycruiser]

I am going to ask them to remove these "automatic tips" as soon as we get on board. I will be taking cash and some envelopes and give them to these poor members of staff myself - tips are between the server/room steward and the customer ... surely P&O should have nothing to do with it.

 

If they were protecting their staff with the automatic tips it would be a different matter - but they just see it as a way of cutting wages and getting customers to top it up - and also as a way of forcing staff to work hard for (potentially impossible) targets.

 

No wonder people say the staff look miserable.

 

I just wonder - will withdrawing the automatic tips look bad for the staff affected?

 

Unfortunately, removing the tips and paying them to individuals does not work. If any staff receive tips from cruisers who have removed the automatic tips, they are obliged to hand them in to go into the general pot anyway.

[Aloonie]

Hi All

 

I see pro's and cons in it.

Automatic tips are good for staff as there are some people who don't tip enough.

Automatic tips can be bad as staff may not get all their money/ or not perform well enough if they know they have already got your tip.

 

Why not instead of opting out of automatic tips you could let reception know if a member of staff was not providing the service you expect. At least then reception could decide if it was just a fussy passenger or genuine complaint.

[kevinyork]

We don't need or want our cabin stewards to do anything "above the basics" - but I guess it all depends on what people consider the basics to be. What sort of things do you want/expect your cabin steward to do for you (above the basics) ???

 

Barry

 

Ashtray not emptied, previous occupants dirty towels on balcony when we boarded, we asked if we could have ice each day but had to remind him every second day, would not move towel trolley out of the way to let my mum pass in her wheelchair and instead asked if she could get up and walk pass the trolley......little things like that.

[C at Sea]

When I think about when we first started cruising in the 1990s on Canberra - that sort of shoddy service would not have been tolerated! How things have changed and standards slipped!

[jeanlyon]

Why do people think that the staff would have to hand in their tips. If I tip my cabin steward in my cabin, would anyone know he had been tipped? We usually do it the evening before we disembark.

[OldJerseycruiser]

The way it was explained to us by a Hotel Manager onboard when the system was initiated was that tips provided directly to the individual are turned in pending accounting close. Then if autotips (Hotel Charge) have been left on the individual gratuity is returned to the person who received it. If autotips were off then the monies went into the pool. We have heard this confirmed by several stewards.

 

 

This is the way it works on other cruiselines with auto tips, so I would expect it to be the same with P & O.

[bazzaw]

This is the way it works on other cruiselines with auto tips, so I would expect it to be the same with P & O.

 

I have heard this before - but don't know the veracity of it .

 

The strange thing to me is the differences between the various Carnival cruiselines. eg Cunard have automatic tipping, P&O UK used to have a recommended level for passengers to tip , but have now gone to automatic tipping??? -- P&O AUS and Princess AUS used to have automatic tipping, but have now removed all tipping from their ships (except that passengers may tip staff as they please - tipping in Australia is not a cultural norm, although it has reared it's ugly head here as part of the overall Americanisation of the country )

 

Barry

[brfan]

Why do people think that the staff would have to hand in their tips. If I tip my cabin steward in my cabin, would anyone know he had been tipped? We usually do it the evening before we disembark.

 

If you removed the autotips the supervisor would know and would ask the steward if he received a tip. If he lied and said no, wouldn't that be a sign to the supervisor that his service wasn't very good? Too many times doing that would likely mean the steward would be looking for other work back home. Also wouldn't the steward's room mate(s) notice if he had extra money?

[bazzaw]

All conjecture of course - but during our 6 week long cruises on Oriana and Arcadia, I got a distinct impression that our cabin stewards seemed to have little interest in tips - but did seem to show great interest in receiving good writeups on the little cards in the cabin.

 

Barry

[Mooloo]

I'm just unimpressed - if I was sure that P&O would be using this system to improve customer care as opposed to their bottom line, I would go for it.

 

At the end of the day, I think their staff are the ones who would be shafted.

[Eddie Egl]

So if the cabin staff/restaurant staff/bar staff fail to reach the designated 96% customer satisfaction rating then they do not get their 'bonus' (share of the gratuity/tips). Which begs the question WHO DOES GET THE auto gratuity MONEY?

 

Answers on a post card: Is it a) It is returned to the customer, b) Carnival Corporate and they declare it as UK earnings and pay their fair share of UK tax, or is it c) Carnival Corporate and they declare it off-shore earnings and don't pay any tax.

 

Disgusting.

 

Who cares that the staff forget things, I'm sure I would towards the end of an eleven hour shift. I for one will be handing the guy/girl who cleans my bathroom, hoovers my room and makes my bed daily cold hard cash - they deserve it.

 

 

Oh and what's the betting the CC remove posts from this thread as they could upset one of their sponsors!

[marylizcat]

So if the cabin staff/restaurant staff/bar staff fail to reach the designated 96% customer satisfaction rating then they do not get their 'bonus' (share of the gratuity/tips). Which begs the question WHO DOES GET THE auto gratuity MONEY?

 

Answers on a post card: Is it a) It is returned to the customer, b) Carnival Corporate and they declare it as UK earnings and pay their fair share of UK tax, or is it c) Carnival Corporate and they declare it off-shore earnings and don't pay any tax.

 

Disgusting.

 

Who cares that the staff forget things, I'm sure I would towards the end of an eleven hour shift. I for one will be handing the guy/girl who cleans my bathroom, hoovers my room and makes my bed daily cold hard cash - they deserve it.

 

 

Oh and what's the betting the CC remove posts from this thread as they could upset one of their sponsors!

Yes, that was my thought exactly. Where does my money go if not to the stewards? If I leave the auto-gratuity on, then obviously I was satisfied and I want them to get their tip money. It should not be up to P & O to with-hold it.

[tom_uk]

The other issue I can see arising with this is one that I may have alluded to in a post on another thread: the waiters, etc, will be encouraging passengers to give them high scores. I recall on several Celebrity cruises that on the last few nights the senior waiter for our table would make sure we all knew how important it was to them that we gave them a high score. I reckon we can expect this from the P&O waiters from now on.

[alan44]

Passengers will be pressured by staff to give high marks to get Bonuses,P&O will then say how high their ratings are.;)

[dorsetlad]

Precisely how will staff pressurise customers? I guess the questionnaire will be filled in whilst in the privacy of your cabin. How will they know what rating you give?

 

Brian

[marylizcat]

I have found the waiters on American lines can be a pain in the neck, with their constant comments about how they aim to provide an 'excellent' service. They obviously feel that if they use the word 'excellent' enough, it will penetrate our sub-conscious and we will give them that rating! To be honest, I can do without all that!