Dilemma on Answering the Survey

[boltnut55]

Before we left, our servers reminded us to complete the online survey once we get it as they are rewarded based on the survey results. One thing they mentioned was that they were hoping for a "10" rating for the Café and Main Dining because even what we say about the Café affects them. Of course, they probably shouldn't be prepping us, and we don't necessarily need to take their comments to heart but just answer the survey.

 

My dilemma is that there were several things about the dining room that were very annoying that may not have anything to do with our 2 servers, but I see it more having to do with management. We were poured water but not asked what we wanted to drink; while that might be a reflection of our assistant water, this was true for breakfast and lunch with all other assistant waiters. Table clothes were not changed in between guests, so several times I saw the multiple spots/crumbs from the last diners... in which my utensils were placed on. The wait staff also looked more frenzied (stressed), perhaps because they have to serve a larger number of guests/tables. There are other things as well.

 

Their management should know about these things, but I don't want my feedback to reflect on my wait staff (based on what they told me) because I honestly don't think it's them. I feel like it's because they are told they need to serve drinks only if the guests asks to cut down on cost, save time/laundry and don't change the table cloth if they don't see a need (they are looking down at standing level, but I'm sitting down, so I have a closer look).

 

Thoughts?

[Mr. Click]

There should be a comments section near the end of the survey. That is the place to explain your problem with the way the dining room was being managed.

[wwcruisers]

If you are going to fill out the survey at all, answer the questions honestly. You can clarify things in the "comments" section. If X doesn't know about the problems, they can't fix them.

[GUT2407]

Be honest.

 

Say the wait staff were great, If they were.

 

But that some items were sub par.

 

In all honesty if the table had crumbs on t then the asst waiter wasn't dong his/her job.

[chemmo]

What a shame your dining experience was not so good. Why didn't you speak to the M'D after the first couple of days?

 

Dirty table clothes and lack of drinks service are simply not acceptable. We had some service issues on a cruise a couple of years ago. Our table for three was next to a group of eight who were very demanding. Part way through the starters being served one or the other would decide to also have a shrimp cocktail or another would suggest getting a couple of cheese plates to share....they were all on mixed drinks and there were frequent requests for 'another G and T'......all this ordering mid course must have driven our waiters nuts and you can imagine what it did to our service. First night we had dined speciality, second night we suffered this chaos aware it was not the waiters fault. On the way out we asked the M'D for a quiet word, made it very clear it was not the waiters fault and simply asked him to observe the next day. He did observe, arranged another assistant waiter to part service the larger table and he had a very, very polite word with the guests on the other table about trying to order everything together....made it very clear that they could order what they liked....we also noticed a few days later that as the first person ordered a second drink the assistant waiter would say, very politely but assertively 'would anyone else like another drink during this service?' And then take full orders.

 

We were very impressed with how this was all handled. An extra pair of hands gave instant pressure relief but then extra training of the assistant waiter had obviously taken place. The M'D had also taken on board the fact that the guests obviously we're not aware of the problems they were causing and had also addressed that.

[sparky-elpaso]

What a shame your dining experience was not so good. Why didn't you speak to the M'D after the first couple of days?

 

Dirty table clothes and lack of drinks service are simply not acceptable. We had some service issues on a cruise a couple of years ago. Our table for three was next to a group of eight who were very demanding. Part way through the starters being served one or the other would decide to also have a shrimp cocktail or another would suggest getting a couple of cheese plates to share....they were all on mixed drinks and there were frequent requests for 'another G and T'......all this ordering mid course must have driven our waiters nuts and you can imagine what it did to our service. First night we had dined speciality, second night we suffered this chaos aware it was not the waiters fault. On the way out we asked the M'D for a quiet word, made it very clear it was not the waiters fault and simply asked him to observe the next day. He did observe, arranged another assistant waiter to part service the larger table and he had a very, very polite word with the guests on the other table about trying to order everything together....made it very clear that they could order what they liked....we also noticed a few days later that as the first person ordered a second drink the assistant waiter would say, very politely but assertively 'would anyone else like another drink during this service?' And then take full orders.

 

We were very impressed with how this was all handled. An extra pair of hands gave instant pressure relief but then extra training of the assistant waiter had obviously taken place. The M'D had also taken on board the fact that the guests obviously we're not aware of the problems they were causing and had also addressed that.

 

This should be a "sticky" somewhere. :) For all those folks who want to remove tips or whatever because service wasn't up to par. The staff can't fix what they don't know about.

[Queen of Oakville]

This is very interesting - the fact that you were coached.

 

This is what made X a standout for me. I didn't experience this whatsoever.

 

On ANY other line I have sailed, the CD is constantly preaching the need for a perfect rating and that any other rating is unfair ... staff works so hard ... perfect rating is needed for them and that anything less than perfect counts against them. I see no point in having a survey at all, if guests are coerced into a perfect rating.

 

 

I did not know hear a single request with respect to the survey other than to complete it. There was no coercion from the CD or the wait staff.

 

 

 

 

As to your dilemma OP - I say be honest, and use the comments section to clarify . To be honest, I'm not sure anyone EVER reads the comments, I think the surveys are just tabulated and they look at high level results.

[long time lurker]

"This should be a "sticky" somewhere. For all those folks who want to remove tips or whatever because service wasn't up to par. The staff can't fix what they don't know about."

 

Not sure where this comment came from. The OP never mentioned adjusting gratuities, merely how to respond to the survey. There have been some very good responses as to how to handle this onboard without resorting to adjusting grats.

[cle-guy]

Most of your concerns e DIrECTLY related to the dining staff. THEY pour water, THEY change table cloths.

 

Some surmise they are being overworked these days.

 

I analyzed RCL financials labor costs over last few years, and onboard labor costs have remained relatively steady over time, no reductions, and actually a very slight increase in payroll dollars (I adjusted for added capacity of the new RCL ships).

 

Further, if they reduced staff, they would most certainly look to add a few of the staff cabins into general inventory, while most are on lower decks, some are mixed in in upper deck areas. I calculated that changing over 5 staff cabins can equate to an extra million a year in revenue. They are not going to just let those cabins that were occupied by staff no longer here sail empty. So they would spend whatever it took to make these cabins sellable, and not leave them empty. They added cabins in the old Acupuncture clinic area on M class, they added cabins in the conference area, heck they added an entire deck on M-Class to add cabins, so they can easily pull out the half-size staff cabins to make them full sized guest cabins even if they have to make modifications to hallways and such,

 

So thinking "poor overworked staff, I blame management" isn't the right approach here. Staff have the responsibility to tell management they can't handle their jobs, and they should NEVER leave dirty linens behind no matter the reason.

[cruisead]

This is very interesting - the fact that you were coached.

 

This is what made X a standout for me. I didn't experience this whatsoever.

 

On ANY other line I have sailed, the CD is constantly preaching the need for a perfect rating and that any other rating is unfair ... staff works so hard ... perfect rating is needed for them and that anything less than perfect counts against them. I see no point in having a survey at all, if guests are coerced into a perfect rating.

 

 

I did not know hear a single request with respect to the survey other than to complete it. There was no coercion from the CD or the wait staff.

 

We've been asked many times on our Celebrity cruises to rate them a 10, ranging from the Butler to the wait staff.

[keesar]

If you see an issue that bothers you, you should say something while on the ship and it will usually be taken care of. For instance, the other evening we were out at nice restaurant and we noted pieces of bread on the floor under our table. We were surprised. I let the hostess know and it was taken care of immediately. Should we have been seated, no. But it was taken care of.

 

As for Celebrity, we were constantly encouraged to complete the survey online. There was no encouragement to complete them in a certain matter. However during the cruise, we were given a comments card. The issue we noted was taken care of immediately once they were aware of it.

 

Considering the number of passengers, staff is doing an amazing job.

[boltnut55]

Thanks for all the replies. I did end up answering honestly in the rating and making both positive and negative comments at the end. For those wondering, we didn't do anything to their gratuities except add a little more in an envelope with a thank you note on the last day. I know they all work hard, but our servers (and steward) were better than most.

 

To clarify, the table cloths with crumbs and spots leftover were not seen during dinner but during lunch and breakfast in the MDR. That happened almost every time; of course, there's more light so perhaps more noticeable, but they should be able to see too. Regarding this and the drink service, I should have mentioned to the M'D but didn't as I really don't like face-to-face difficult conversations; sometimes no matter how nice and tactful I present it, it's not well-received.

[Suzez]

Thanks for all the replies. I did end up answering honestly in the rating and making both positive and negative comments at the end. For those wondering, we didn't do anything to their gratuities except add a little more in an envelope with a thank you note on the last day. I know they all work hard, but our servers (and steward) were better than most.

 

To clarify, the table cloths with crumbs and spots leftover were not seen during dinner but during lunch and breakfast in the MDR. That happened almost every time; of course, there's more light so perhaps more noticeable, but they should be able to see too. Regarding this and the drink service, I should have mentioned to the M'D but didn't as I really don't like face-to-face difficult conversations; sometimes no matter how nice and tactful I present it, it's not well-received.

 

It's always best to deal with these things honestly and without confrontations and embarrassment. I have seen the tablecloth flipped on another cruise line. I must admit, I wasn't impressed as this could be carrying germs. These things should be pointed out, either via the questionnaire or email/letter. If the cruise line don't know, they can't correct it. Glad you kept the auto tip on. But that's another subject .

[artlovr]

This is very interesting - the fact that you were coached.

 

This is what made X a standout for me. I didn't experience this whatsoever.

 

On ANY other line I have sailed, the CD is constantly preaching the need for a perfect rating and that any other rating is unfair ... staff works so hard ... perfect rating is needed for them and that anything less than perfect counts against them. I see no point in having a survey at all, if guests are coerced into a perfect rating.

 

 

I did not know hear a single request with respect to the survey other than to complete it. There was no coercion from the CD or the wait staff.

 

 

 

 

As to your dilemma OP - I say be honest, and use the comments section to clarify . To be honest, I'm not sure anyone EVER reads the comments, I think the surveys are just tabulated and they look at high level results.

 

There is survey software that analyzes both quantitative and qualitative data. The survey data is most probably processed together with a random selection of individual surveys to view more closely. I would comment on what I thought was important.

[marco]

Not so sure about the above poster stating they wondered if anyone actually read the surveys. Awhile back I wrote an extensive very complimentary critique on one particular staff member. I got a written reply thanking me for my comments and a $50 OBC for the next time I sailed on that line. (However...it was not Celebrity) But back to the original post.....be honest and thorough and more "generic" type issues should be addressed in the "comments" section of the survey when the issue is pertinent to the overall operation rather then pertaining to a specific staff member.

Edited July 28, 2015 by marco