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"This might be YOUR vacation, but it's MY life"


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Reading another thread, I was reminded by what the assistant waiter said on my last cruise.

 

We did not find the food in the MDR on our last cruise to be all that great, and frequently left over. The crew would ask if they could bring us something else, and I just said no, we would grab a slice of pizza or something from the cafe.

 

One night, the assistant waiter came by and confirmed with us that we would be giving all 5s on the Guest Satisfaction survey - for service, food, etc. I told him of course we would give 5s for service, but we did not find the food to be "5" caliber. He said it didn't matter, we should give 5 for everything, and then write what we did not like in the comments. I told him that would not be my honest opinion, and he stressed that I needed to give 5s for everything, even the food. He then said, "This might be YOUR vacation, but it's MY life". It was really chilling, and I felt quite uncomfortable.

 

What do you make of this, and what would you have done? I am embarrassed to say that I did not complete the survey because of his words. I could not give all 5s for food that I found to be sub-par, but I did not want to affect this guy's livelihood.

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I absolutely hate the way these surveys work. On Anthem, we had dynamic dining and would get the same speech every night from that restaurants waiters and it really ended every meal on a bad note. Even when we said we knew the speech, they just went on and on. I wish this practice would end as I am not going to be coerced into a score I do not believe in.

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I am always quite uncomfortable with the hard sell I get from the dining room staff on the surveys. From what I've heard their livelihood does depend on getting those 5's. That being said, especially if the service/food has been sub par, I try to be non-committal, and then "grade" fairly on the survey. In your case, I'm not sure how he's affected by low scores on the quality of the food? Unless, maybe, they're expected to keep bringing you food until you find something you like?

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Interesting. I personally cannot stand when I am asked to give all 5's on a survey. My thought is always give great service and let the survey be what it is. In fact, on one of my survey's I added the comments that I cannot stand when constantly asked to give all 5's.

 

I do wonder about the pressure they must be under to push so hard like that. If RCI is putting their livelihood on the line based on survey results - shame on them. I can see if everyone gives all 1's or 2's. But RCI must realize that each person is different in what they like and don't like. And lets face it, reading these boards you know there are some high maintenance people out there! My hope is the pressure is perceived more than it is a reality.

 

What would I have done in your shoes? I probably would have avoided the question to begin with! Just smile and change the subject. There is no value in letting them know you won't be giving all 5's. As for the survey itself - I think you should still fill it out and be honest with your feedback.

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This happened to us recently on the Anthem. Our server in American Icon was good but definitely overworked. Food was so-so. There were some great dishes and I enjoyed our meals in AI but some of the dishes left me wondering why I ordered them. I guess my problem I miss he "old days" of dining -- can't wait to hear how the new dining options work out on RCCL.

 

And I did the survey and did not give a 5 on the food just the service.

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Reading another thread, I was reminded by what the assistant waiter said on my last cruise.

 

We did not find the food in the MDR on our last cruise to be all that great, and frequently left over. The crew would ask if they could bring us something else, and I just said no, we would grab a slice of pizza or something from the cafe.

 

One night, the assistant waiter came by and confirmed with us that we would be giving all 5s on the Guest Satisfaction survey - for service, food, etc. I told him of course we would give 5s for service, but we did not find the food to be "5" caliber. He said it didn't matter, we should give 5 for everything, and then write what we did not like in the comments. I told him that would not be my honest opinion, and he stressed that I needed to give 5s for everything, even the food. He then said, "This might be YOUR vacation, but it's MY life". It was really chilling, and I felt quite uncomfortable.

 

What do you make of this, and what would you have done? I am embarrassed to say that I did not complete the survey because of his words. I could not give all 5s for food that I found to be sub-par, but I did not want to affect this guy's livelihood.

 

WOW that was terribly bold of him to tell you. It also shows how much under pressure they are, so I understand his desperation for a 5 star rating. We have also noticed this hard push for a 5 star rating (actually only) on Royal Caribbean. They must come down very hard on their staff for a not so perfect rating.

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I, too, wish for an end to this practice. I do my best - whenever such a speech begins - to say that I am well aware of the system and I will take care of whomever is giving the speech. If the person has taken good care of me (and this is generally the case), I do exactly what I have promised. I do fully understand that good ratings are important to their careers.

 

As for the other categories, I do give them ratings as befits my perceived level.

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That comment would certainly put a cloud over the whole vacation. Surveys in general are a pet peeve of mine. It seems you cannot do or buy anything any more without being hounded to fill out a survey. Without even getting in to what can, is or could be done with that information, they are just a pain in the neck.

 

It has seemed over the last several years the cruise industry has taken the survey to the next, bad level. More and more we are pressed by crew members all over the ship to fill out the survey and fill it out with only top marks. So, what good is it. The cruise lines surely are aware of the pressure the crew is putting on the guest. So, the question becomes why are the crew (I use crew because it is easier than naming each category of the ship employees) constantly asking guest to fill out the survey. It has to come from those higher up the chain. Who knows where it goes or how high.

 

So we know RCCL monitors this site, if you are reading this you need to understand this is a problem!

 

It may be your vacation, but, it is my life! Chilling to say the least. How sad that a hard working crew member is put in that position. Sadder and even frightening that a paying guest is subjected to those comments. This needs to be fixed.

 

I would have done the same as you. Don't want to get the crew member in trouble. But also, not filling out the form falsely.

 

Hope someone follows up on this.

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I feel that Royal Caribbean is putting too much emphasis on these surveys. Anyone can say anything they want and others suffer the consequences. My husband and I both work in jobs where people can call or write in complaints that may be pure fabrication. It is up to us to prove they are untrue.

We just came of the Anthem and loved the food, we were also given stellar service. It was mentioned to us not to forget to do the survey as it was important. The staff just said, we hope we made your trip memorable in a good way. We assured them they did and to not worry about the survey. We gave great marks to everything because it was true. I feel for the crew, they work so hard, they shouldn't have to worry about these surveys.

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I would handle it the following way. I would ask for the waiter's full name and let him know that I would be writing to the corporate office and let them know that I felt that the Service was worth a '5' but the food was not, and that the rating of the food should not be held against the waiter. I would make sure that the waiter's name was mentioned and that he should be commended for his excellent service and rewarded appropriately. I would also attempt to reach out to the head of food services on the ship or higher and make sure that this is know as well.

 

I would not hesitate to let the corporate office know that it is not only inappropriate to make the staff ask for a '5' on the ratings in every category, but by doing so, it places the customer in an uncomfortable position where they should never be.

 

Personally, if they are so concerned that there will not be a '5' in every category, then maybe they need to return to the days when a '5' in every category would not be a request but instead a pleasure to give.

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We politely listen to the spiel one time. We have heard it all! The next time I change the subject by saying excuse me and ask for more water or something else. If we receive poor service from the wait staff or cabin steward (we've only experienced that two times) we will bring it to their attention immediately but only once. If the bad services continues (which it did on one occasion) we fill out the Post Cruise Survey accordingly.

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Reading another thread, I was reminded by what the assistant waiter said on my last cruise.

 

We did not find the food in the MDR on our last cruise to be all that great, and frequently left over. The crew would ask if they could bring us something else, and I just said no, we would grab a slice of pizza or something from the cafe.

 

One night, the assistant waiter came by and confirmed with us that we would be giving all 5s on the Guest Satisfaction survey - for service, food, etc. I told him of course we would give 5s for service, but we did not find the food to be "5" caliber. He said it didn't matter, we should give 5 for everything, and then write what we did not like in the comments. I told him that would not be my honest opinion, and he stressed that I needed to give 5s for everything, even the food. He then said, "This might be YOUR vacation, but it's MY life". It was really chilling, and I felt quite uncomfortable.

 

What do you make of this, and what would you have done? I am embarrassed to say that I did not complete the survey because of his words. I could not give all 5s for food that I found to be sub-par, but I did not want to affect this guy's livelihood.

 

I'd include that in my survey. Or speak to the head of hotel.

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My waiter and cabin steward both mentioned this to me on my last cruise. I responded that they had nothing to worry about, they had done a great job. They were both very polite and soft handed in the manner of their request.

 

I understand this method of these customer service ratings. My own employer uses the same process. A four on a five scale is the same as a zero. The point is to provide excellent service that warrants a top score.

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I've only heard the spiel in the MDR.

 

 

You know what Bob, my recent cruise i tried Grande once, service was prompt and friendly but the beef was too salty, no one said anything so come the survey, that one time(meal quality)took a flagrant hit. I do hope i didn't cost anybody their job.

 

 

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I would handle it the following way. I would ask for the waiter's full name and let him know that I would be writing to the corporate office and let them know that I felt that the Service was worth a '5' but the food was not, and that the rating of the food should not be held against the waiter. I would make sure that the waiter's name was mentioned and that he should be commended for his excellent service and rewarded appropriately. I would also attempt to reach out to the head of food services on the ship or higher and make sure that this is know as well.

 

I would not hesitate to let the corporate office know that it is not only inappropriate to make the staff ask for a '5' on the ratings in every category, but by doing so, it places the customer in an uncomfortable position where they should never be.

 

Personally, if they are so concerned that there will not be a '5' in every category, then maybe they need to return to the days when a '5' in every category would not be a request but instead a pleasure to give.

 

Great post! I totally agree, especially with the last paragraph!

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Over the years we've experienced more and more pressure from the dining room waitstaff to return our surveys with only the highest marks. Some of the waitstaff have been much more aggressive than others. Frankly, we find it distasteful for the waitstaff to mention anything about the survey. They certainly shouldn't tell us what scores we should give nor what the consequences to them will be if they do not get a specific score.

 

In my opinion, most companies use and interpret surveys inappropriately. A goal of receiving nothing but the highest ranking and considering anything less as a "failing grade" is unrealistic. Surveys should be a tool to identify strengths and weaknesses for planning and improvement purposes rather than a basis for individual reward and punishment.

 

When employees are so fearful of the consequences of getting anything less than the highest marks, they resort to attempting to guilt or bribe customers into giving inaccurate feedback. That just backfires on the company because many customers then choose to either 1) refrain from completing the survey because they refuse to give unwarranted good scores but also don't want to negatively impact individual crew members or 2) give false high scores in an effort to help the crew. Either way, the company doesn't receive needed feedback which makes the surveys themselves a colossal waste of company resources.

 

I usually return the surveys, but I will only give scores that accurately reflect my experience. We're pretty low-maintenance and easy to please so they usually get very good scores from us, but I will not hesitate to address something that wasn't up to par or to our taste.

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Over the years we've experienced more and more pressure from the dining room waitstaff to return our surveys with only the highest marks. Some of the waitstaff have been much more aggressive than others. Frankly, we find it distasteful for the waitstaff to mention anything about the survey. They certainly shouldn't tell us what scores we should give nor what the consequences to them will be if they do not get a specific score.

 

In my opinion, most companies use and interpret surveys inappropriately. A goal of receiving nothing but the highest ranking and considering anything less as a "failing grade" is unrealistic. Surveys should be a tool to identify strengths and weaknesses for planning and improvement purposes rather than a basis for individual reward and punishment.

 

When employees are so fearful of the consequences of getting anything less than the highest marks, they resort to attempting to guilt or bribe customers into giving inaccurate feedback. That just backfires on the company because many customers then choose to either 1) refrain from completing the survey because they refuse to give unwarranted good scores but also don't want to negatively impact individual crew members or 2) give false high scores in an effort to help the crew. Either way, the company doesn't receive needed feedback which makes the surveys themselves a colossal waste of company resources.

 

I usually return the surveys, but I will only give scores that accurately reflect my experience. We're pretty low-maintenance and easy to please so they usually get very good scores from us, but I will not hesitate to address something that wasn't up to par or to our taste.

 

Very well stated!

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I would truly have gone down and had my MDR gratuities removed at guest relations and told them why. That is unacceptable.

 

Perhaps it also shows that they know that the service isn't upto scratch, or why need to beg.

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It's not just RCCL. Disney did the same thing when I was on the Wonder in April. Maybe it's something new to the industry.

 

Our servers were excellent but the head waiter kept mentioning the need for an exceptional rating to the point that he was the only one that we felt didn't deserve it. He wasn't as pleasant as the others. I appreciate all of their hard work and reward accordingly but I don't like to be constantly asked about it.

 

 

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