P&O Customer Services - shocking!

[crosby99]

You are absolutely right but for some reason the atmosphere on Ventura ways seems different to that on the other P&O ships.

 

I agree that any problems should be dealt with on board but I was less than impressed with the reception on Ventura but again this may have been a one-off as I have never had reason to complain before. Writing to P&O did bring an apology and an assurance that the ship would be informed of our concerns along with some suggestions of changes that should be made on board. They may or may not have contacted the ship but I felt better that they were prepared to address the problem rather than feeling that we were fobbed off on the ship.

 

Do people think it is bad officers on board?

The cruise director certainly seemed quite poor & the captain came across as a bit arrogant.

I felt the reception had swallowed a customer service quote book rather than thinking about how to solve simple problems. He must have said "I can appreciate that must have been awful for you" about 10 times but no suggestion of how to resolve the issues.

Perhaps 1 day we will be brave and try Britannia?

[Florry]

I wouldn't rush back to Ventura but I'd board Britannia in a heartbeat. I agree with what has been said about the service and atmosphere, for me there is no comparison. I think that because the ships run independently they each have their own onboard culture, I guess this evolves over time being handed down from crew to crew. This isn't something unique to P&O, large companies with multiple offices will have the same fundamental policies, processes and procedures yet the staff in one office, can be more engaged/disengaged than staff in another. I do believe that much of this is a result of the approach of the management team and whether they drive people in such a way which engages and motivates, or they drive people in the opposite direction. The problem is that when you do have an established culture it takes a specific effort or change intervention to turn things around - which means that in the case of P&O they would need to recognise any issues and be concerned enough to take action.

[pete14]

To get back to the original thread, I rang them 3 times yesterday to change a booking. Each time, I got through Straightaway. On the first two calls, they were unable to do anything because their systems were down but the ladies I spoke to were polite and very apologetic - apparently the fact their systems were down was nothing to do with P&O. The third call was made when the systems had been restored and I have nothing but praise for the way my booking change was handled. Three different people within two hours in one day and each one a credit to P&O.

[Florry]

To get back to the original thread, I rang them 3 times yesterday to change a booking. Each time, I got through Straightaway. On the first two calls, they were unable to do anything because their systems were down but the ladies I spoke to were polite and very apologetic - apparently the fact their systems were down was nothing to do with P&O. The third call was made when the systems had been restored and I have nothing but praise for the way my booking change was handled. Three different people within two hours in one day and each one a credit to P&O.

 

 

Sounds like they've sorted out the staffing issues at long last [emoji4]

[bee-ess]

Do people think it is bad officers on board?

The cruise director certainly seemed quite poor & the captain came across as a bit arrogant.

I felt the reception had swallowed a customer service quote book rather than thinking about how to solve simple problems. He must have said "I can appreciate that must have been awful for you" about 10 times but no suggestion of how to resolve the issues.

Perhaps 1 day we will be brave and try Britannia?

 

We had a less than good cruise on Ventura in 2013 in Caribbean and haven't been back since. It was the CD that spoilt it for us, Theatre packed every night way before the shows and the 2nd sitting had no chance of a seat as it was full of 1st sitting for the 2nd sitting show. The other lounges had very poor entertainment. There were many arguments between passengers and Entertainment staff, the CD was paged but would not face the passengers - not a good atmosphere. I don't want to name names but the CD and the captain were like a double act that no-one found funny. At that time the upper deck had a big crack in it and in the cabins underneath it (which we had) we could hear creaking all the time. Don't think we will ever go back on Ventura.

Edited August 13, 2016 by bee-ess

[happy v]

I telephoned P&O this morning and got straight through, without even listening to music!

 

The girl I spoke to said she'd only been working with them for 3 weeks.

 

Perhaps all is well again.

[ann141]

I too phoned this afternoon(on the freephone number) and was put through straight away.Hopefully it means they have taken on more staff and improved staff training!:)

[daiB]

I wouldn't rush back to Ventura but I'd board Britannia in a heartbeat. I agree with what has been said about the service and atmosphere, for me there is no comparison. I think that because the ships run independently they each have their own onboard culture, I guess this evolves over time being handed down from crew to crew. This isn't something unique to P&O, large companies with multiple offices will have the same fundamental policies, processes and procedures yet the staff in one office, can be more engaged/disengaged than staff in another. I do believe that much of this is a result of the approach of the management team and whether they drive people in such a way which engages and motivates, or they drive people in the opposite direction. The problem is that when you do have an established culture it takes a specific effort or change intervention to turn things around - which means that in the case of P&O they would need to recognise any issues and be concerned enough to take action.

 

 

But Florry this is why staff are changed from ship to ship. So that problems are ironed out.

 

 

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[Florry]

But Florry this is why staff are changed from ship to ship. So that problems are ironed out.

 

 

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Interesting point, I can only assume that the percentage moving between ships isn't big enough to to make a difference. I suppose there are lots of factors to consider, perhaps Britannia bring so new, probably with great crew facilities creates a positive buzz, perhaps family friendly ships are harder work than adult only. I will ask!

[daiB]

As you know we cruise a fair few times and I have met many staff and non of them stay with any one ship for more than a couple of years the odd one may get 3 years and that is from senior staff down to waiters. Captains also change ships on a regular basis and move to and fro between P&O and Cunard.

 

 

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[Florry]

As you know we cruise a fair few times and I have met many staff and non of them stay with any one ship for more than a couple of years the odd one may get 3 years and that is from senior staff down to waiters. Captains also change ships on a regular basis and move to and fro between P&O and Cunard.

 

 

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I meant the percentage moving into the new environment at any one time, as opposed to the percentage who move in their career. I completely agree with the fact they move, sometimes by choice, sometimes not.

[Josy1953]

I meant the percentage moving into the new environment at any one time, as opposed to the percentage who move in their career. I completely agree with the fact they move, sometimes by choice, sometimes not.

 

I think that you may be right Florry. Obviously there is a constant turn around of staff but as you say it is probably only a small percentage and so there is a good chance that the newcomers arriving are too few to make a difference and are more likely to adapt to the way of working on the ship that they are moving to rather than "rock the boat" and possibly make their own life on board difficult by upsetting the established staff.

[daiB]

I think that you may be right Florry. Obviously there is a constant turn around of staff but as you say it is probably only a small percentage and so there is a good chance that the newcomers arriving are too few to make a difference and are more likely to adapt to the way of working on the ship that they are moving to rather than "rock the boat" and possibly make their own life on board difficult by upsetting the established staff.

 

 

No 50% to 80% of a ships company can change in a 6 month period.

 

 

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[davenew]

On board is without doubt significantly better than dealing with customer services. Hopefully you'll get your problem sorted out and be happier by the time you go on your cruise.

 

Each to their own experiences I suppose, but I found the on board desk just as bad as the customer services at Southampton.

[dgs1956]

Each to their own experiences I suppose, but I found the on board desk just as bad as the customer services at Southampton.

 

I was responding to the OP who asked if onboard the ship would be better than her experience of dealing with Customer Services to which I said that it was considerably better.

As regards the on board Reception, I've found them to be polite and efficient. I couldn't say they were over friendly but personally I think any CS job would be a nightmare.

[Nikkipink]

I am just back from my third cruise on Britannia having cruised 20 times on Ventura and up until recently Ventura was my favourite P&O ship. I have had nothing but brilliant cruises on Ventura but I have loved my Britannia cruises as it feels different and familiar at the same time on board. I do like the entertainment on Britannia very much and thought the theatre shows were excellent but if I end up travelling on Britannia as much as I have on Ventura then the shows will become very familiar but that is my fault for being a regular passenger.