I've Never Been Treated So Poorly By Customer Service

[surfjock27]

We are currently booked on the Breeze November 8, 2014.

There are 3 of us in a 4H category.

 

This morning I noticed the rate fell for me from $1,457 to $1,337 for my category.

This is a screen shot of what I saw this morning..

 

 

I tried submitting a claim for the $120 price reduction but the form would not submit online.

I called into Carnival and spoke with a young man who told me that I was actually entitled to a $140 reduction because there is a free upgrade from 4F to 4H so I was getting the rate of $1,317. Score!

 

I got the email a few minutes after hanging up and saw that I was only given the $120 ($1,337) so I called back in thinking there was a mistake.

The hold time was extremely long so I decided to wait later into the evening.

 

I called back tonight around 9pm and spoke with a woman who was completely rude to me.

I explained my situation and she told me the rates had since risen back up so I emailed her (while on the phone) my screen shot.

She was all around telling me that I was in category 4B (which I've never been) then telling me that I was wasting her time over $20.

After we got on the same page about me being in 4H she tried telling me that I couldn't get the 4F price with free upgrade cause she'd have to move me to a 4F then back to a 4H.

I didn't understand and further asked her to explain.

She then retreated to telling me I was in a 4B and trying to scam Carnival.

I asked her to pull up my cabin number and she'd see I was in 4H and never in 4B.

She asked me to hold for a manager because (her words) "her shift was about over and the computers automatically log her out".

I was flabbergasted.

 

A few minutes on hold she comes back and says that all the managers are home for the night and she'd put me on with someone in "Guest Solutions".

15 more minutes on hold and a lady answers.

 

She introduces herself and I can hardly hear her. I relay that to her and her reply is "Yeah you're on speaker phone because I'm training someone". Ok.

I explain to her the situation and she replies with "there's nothing I can do for you at this point".

I asked her for the name of the gentleman I spoke with this morning in hopes of maybe calling tomorrow and him resolving the issue.

She tells me that she doesn't know his name and I should have written it down.

Jaw drops.

I ask if she can check the notes from this morning..

She then proceeds to start yelling at me saying "young man you won't talk to me the way you talked to the representative before me".

My jaw hit the floor again.

At that point I was very polite, although frustrated.

At this point however, I was very upset.

I offered to email her the screen shot and she said "I'm not giving you my email address".

Again, jaw on the floor.

She told me that she'd adjust the pricing but would charge me a higher rate because now the rates were up again and the screen shot holds no relevance.

I explained to her that one of the first things a PVP tells you is to screen shot incase the price rises.

Her reply "I've been with carnival for over 10 years and that's not the case".

 

At this point I was disgusted and upset.

I asked for her rep ID number and her reply was total silence.

I said "ok so now we are going to play this game" and still silence.

Finally I hear her in the background and again ask why she's silent and her reply..

"I put you on mute because there is nothing I can do.."

 

Done.

I hung up. Pissed.

 

Sorry to vent but has anyone experienced this before?

Not from one, but from TWO representatives.

 

Disgusted.

Edited July 8, 2014 by surfjock27

[Disconnections]

I'm sorry you are upset for the lack with the lack of customer service you had received.

 

If you wish to escalate it, I would like to suggest reaching out to one of these two associates:

 

Gerry Cahill, CEO

gcahill@carnival.com

 

Vicky Rey, VP of Guest Services

vrey@carnival.com

 

If you choose to go this route, make sure to include the image in the email. If you would also like to make sure they know who you had sent the screenshot to earlier and you had encountered the issue with, it wouldn't be a bad thing to CC it to the same email you sent the screenshot to. Although, that associate may get very worried.

 

I hope your situation gets resolved.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Disconnections

[JimAOk1945]

That is really very poor customer service. I hope you can get some resolution on this matter. You should not have been treated so rudely!

[surfjock27]

I was just totally flabbergasted by the entire situation.

I had a moment of "is this real life?"

 

I plan on sending an email tomorrow morning in hopes of at least an apology.

At this point the $20 is minimal compared to the principal.

 

My rant of here isn't to bash Carnival.

I love Carnival and will continue to cruise solely with Carnival.

It's just sad.

[Badfinger]

My guess is so far for you this isn't worth $20. At least she was right about that.

[surfjock27]

My guess is so far for you this isn't worth $20. At least she was right about that.

 

Initially it was about the $20.

$20 is hard to come by for some people.

 

At the point I just am disgusted.

[ccruisequeen]

Last week I got an email saying I owed $24.95 for a cruise video. I thought it was a spam email since i didn't recognize the address. When I got my bill, I was positive that it had gone through at the time I cashed out at guest services (a cash account ). I called them and after two days of investigating, turns out they were right. I paid by credit card today. But at least the two guys I worked with were polite about it. Just goes to show, don't cash out til you check out!

 

 

Edited July 8, 2014 by ccruisequeen
spelling

[cruizinisthebest]

That is completely unacceptable, unprofessional behavior. The person in guest solutions was just as bad as the rep you initially spoke to. You want your pricing issue resolved NOW. There will be no quick solutions contacting Cahill and Rey. Do that definitely but in the meantime I would call back tomorrow morning and immediately ask for a sr. supervisor. They're telling you about the fuss over $20. The same goes for them!

Edited July 8, 2014 by cruizinisthebest

[Dayenu]

The 2nd person was training someone? What sort of training they provide? :mad:

[bluemoon12]

You are a better person then I would have been! Shame on carnival and their representatives for treating you so rude! "Better person" means continue to be a customer of theirs. Too much competition in the market for anyone to get treated in a rude fashion. I sure hope their phone calls are recorded. Good luck and let us know how it works out.

[dolphin2012]

Last year we had a mixup on our precruise hotel arranged thru carnival. When they added the airfare they dropped our room.. After talking to many reps we never got it corrected. Then we had to fly in the same day to barcelona. I really really enjoyed this cruise but we were lucky it all worked out.. we never could make the reps understand i HAD a room on the confirmation but then it disappeared! We sent emails screen shots .The hotel name and confirmation were all on the email.. NOthing.. by the time they realized we were right the hotel was full.. just not meant to be sometimes... good luck and i would ask for more than the 20 bucks after having to go thru all this...

[MsTabbyKats]

Maybe the first rep was wrong and you were really only entitled to the $120 reduction....and the next two seemed rude only because your insistence frustrated them.

[GnRTravel]

I have a feeling the 1st rep was incorrect. This however gives no valid reason for any rep to treat you poorly.

[cruizinisthebest]

There is no excuse in telling a customer your shift is about to end and the computers are cutting off. All that foolishness. If he initially was given the extra $20 credit just let it be at that. Carnival makes their own problems with the convoluted way they do their pricing. Surely there must be an easier way so that the reps and the customer isn't confused to the nth degree half the time. And when you get on the line as a supervisor you most certainly should act better than the rep who transferred you.

 

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[Isa65]

OP and all others - next time just hang up the phone and call back.

 

Whenever someone wastes my time (or starts to become rude), I just thank them for their time and call back. Especially with Carnival it's the luck of the draw if the answering rep can help you out or not.

[NCTribeFan]

Yet another reason to have a good PVP.

 

Am I the only person who ALWAYS gets the name of whomever I'm speaking with when I call ANYONE about ANYTHING? That mistake is on you, OP, not Carnival.

 

The few times I've actually called someone at Carnival other than my PVP, I've had great customer service. Well, just once I got someone who didn't know what she was talking about (because I called on a Sunday, not wanting to call my PVP on his cell on a weekend). I simply emailed him after I got off the phone with her and asked that he take care of it Monday morning. He did.

 

I'm sure it was frustrating, but I also think I would've just tried someone else (and you probably don't get the best-trained people at night or on weekends; don't know but that seems to often be the case).

[luv2trvlnow]

First I believe the first representative was incorrect. The $1337 would be the price of the 4F if there was not a free upgrade. The 4F price on your screen shot is the price of a 4D if there was no free upgrade, so you can't have that price since it is normal price of a 4D not a 4F. Using the first representative's reasoning you would end up going down to the price of a $1217.

 

But the service from the following people was terrible. They didn't even take the time to realize and then explain why is was $1337. They made up the lie that the prices went back up and then attacked you. There is no excuse for that type of behavior. I would definitely be contacting somebody higher up about this.

 

Their people don't even understand their rates and then blame the customer. All of this could have been avoided by making sure their representatives understood their rates and were able to explain them to the customer. Instead they make up lies and then get defensive because they can't defend those lies.

 

Sharon

[Lovefuninthesun]

Wow, sorry for your negative experience!

 

I have been fortunate and always had very pleasant interactions. I always get the name of the person and write it down in case there is an issue later with their follow-through, but never any problems so far.

 

I have noticed a wide variety in their expertise, however; some are very sharp and super-informative, others seem to know less than I do.

 

If it still bothers you, I would keep calling back until somebody at least acts as if they have heard you. Good luck!:)

[DisneyNutMary]

I have no patience for bad customer service...OP keep on this until you get a resolution. The question of whether the $20 is worth the hassle is moot, one could ask whether Carnival finds it worth the hassle to save $20, and I'm sure the answer is no. I work in retail, and our rule of thumb is that the money does not come out of our own pay checks- if the difference is under a certain amount, don't waste the customer's time with an argument, just give it to him. Future business is always based on present happiness, so make the customer happy, $20 is nothing to the corporation, and bad reviews can cost way more.

I hope Carnival credits you the $20, and throws in something for your inconvenience...dinner at the steakhouse, or a soda card, or bottle of wine, something to show you that a happy customer is important to them.

 

 

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[fuddrules]

If you've dealt with Carnival for some time, you come to learn there are bad reps amongst the many. No excuse but it's reality. I've been hung up on before. I just keep calling until I find someone with a brain.

 

I just hope your jaw isn't fractured :D

[Lovefuninthesun]

I just hope your jaw isn't fractured :D

 

Hahaha!:D

[bigdawg_cb]

So... I went through the same thing yesterday but with polite people. I thought it was a price difference of 140 but ended up getting 119.74. Just crunching the listed number it was 140 but the taxes port fee went up 10.13pp. I actually figured it out on my own looking at my confirmation e-mail. I am assuming that's what happened to you too, but poor customer service is never acceptable.

[cruzinlisa]

There is no excuse for being poorly. I would talk to customer resolutions or supervisor and ask them to review it. I am not sure if all of their calls are recorded or not. I work with a business that does business for a call center and I know that they have audio on those calls and pull the calls if they need to. So that may or may not be a possibility. But in the end, you have to decide whether it is worth it or not.

[nydney1]

There is no reason for poor customer service. I am a frequent traveler and have learned several things in my years of traveling and with basic customer service.

 

Always right down who you spoke to and when you spoke to them. If they don't offer their name ask for it. Use their name in the conversation, it makes the call more personal. Always be polite and professionally, regardless of the service that you are receiving.

 

Remember that most calls are recorded (for quality). If you get a snide comment like, "it's the end of my shift so I can't help you" continue to be polite but repat the comment back. Say just so that I am sure I understand you, it is time for you to go so you won't help me.

 

Keep in mind this sets a clear tone that you are not happy, then ask for a Supervisor or Manager. If one is not available ask when one will be, you may need to call back. Continue to document the conversations.

 

When you call back ask them to review your previous call. No company wants to hear an employee being rude to a customer on the phone. You being polite and confirming the statement puts a another nail in the coffin

[fanda120608]

The conversation that you had with them sounds so much like the one we had with Carnival's 'guest solutions' department a few weeks ago. They were incredibly rude to us and even threatened at one point to cancel our booking altogether without our consent. Sheila I think it was, wanted to do nothing more with us than argue. Even went as far as to claim that any screenshot I sent would be manipulated by me anyway...:rolleyes: I also hung up disgusted at the treatment we received. We've pretty much decided to take a break from Carnival after our upcoming trip. So far we don't feel like they appreciate our business and there is only one way to fix that on my end :cool: