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

[KansasK]

Toward the end of the seemingly modified questionnaire I filled out today (just off Navigator) there was this:

 

 

 

Then there's a list of sections of the ship to choose from.

 

Did RCI read this thread?:eek:

 

If this is on all questionnaires, the crew will stop this practice fairly quickly. Maybe management will realize why they felt they had to ask, also.

[Biker19]

If this is on all questionnaires, the crew will stop this practice fairly quickly.

Those two questions were not there two weeks ago when I filled out the feedback form on my Serenade sailing. They were added in the past two weeks.

 

On top of the crew worrying about perfect scores, now they have to worry about the customers snitching on them when they ask for those scores.:rolleyes:

[ducklite]

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 would have written on a survey that it is reprehensible for a company to put so much pressure on it's employees that they are BEGGING for "ALL 5's"--even on things beyond their control, and turned it in.

 

I also wouldn't choose to spend money with a company that pressures it's employees to pressure me. Nope. Too many other choices.

[Mjasp]

I would have written on a survey that it is reprehensible for a company to put so much pressure on it's employees that they are BEGGING for "ALL 5's"--even on things beyond their control, and turned it in.

.

 

AGREE!!! I bet they lose money. I bet they get incentive based on the amount of 5's they get. The less 5's the less %

[Benwah311]

So they will make the Casino smoke free and do something about smoking on ones balcony.

Not sure about all the RC boats but most of them are sectioned off, half smoking and half non-smoking for the casino and all balcony rooms are smoke free even on the balcony or you get fined or are given a harsher penalty. Compared to Carnival which is the only other cruise line I have sailed, RC is way stricter about their smoking policy.

[joandian]

Not sure about all the RC boats but most of them are sectioned off, half smoking and half non-smoking for the casino and all balcony rooms are smoke free even on the balcony or you get fined or are given a harsher penalty. Compared to Carnival which is the only other cruise line I have sailed, RC is way stricter about their smoking policy.

 

As I see it, there is absolutely no point having non-smoking sections in the casino. The smoke fills the non-smoking part and it is just as bad as the rest of the casino. Granted, you are not sitting next to a smoker but for people like me where even smell of the smoke causes health issues, it's a useless concept. As much as I love playing the slots, I just stay out of the casino if it is not all Non-Smoking.

Edited January 7, 2017 by joandian

[Biker19]

As I see it, there is absolutely no point having non-smoking sections in the casino. The smoke fills the non-smoking part and it is just as bad as the rest of the casino. Granted, you are not sitting next to a smoker but for people like me where even smell of the smoke causes health issues, it's a useless concept. As much as I love playing the slots, I just stay out of the casino if it is not all Non-Smoking.

RCI is slowly getting there; on Serenade two weeks ago formal nights were smoke free in the casino.

[troykahack]

I would have written on a survey that it is reprehensible for a company to put so much pressure on it's employees that they are BEGGING for "ALL 5's"--even on things beyond their control, and turned it in.

 

 

 

I also wouldn't choose to spend money with a company that pressures it's employees to pressure me. Nope. Too many other choices.

 

 

You folks must be special as I am still looking for a survey with 1-5 scoring. All of mine have been 1-10. What am I doing wrong??

 

 

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[troykahack]

AGREE!!! I bet they lose money. I bet they get incentive based on the amount of 5's they get. The less 5's the less %

 

 

On what ship RC did you sail on to get a 1-5 survey?? I feel left out, mine are 1-10.

 

 

 

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[cleophus12]

We did have a waiter explain to us years ago (when it was easier to give 5's) that it was his responsibility to give us a 5 experience in the dining room, and if we didn't have a 5 experience he would be held accountable. He stressed that he wanted to do whatever it took to give us a 5 experience. And he was fabulous. Not so much these days sometimes.

[ducklite]

You folks must be special as I am still looking for a survey with 1-5 scoring. All of mine have been 1-10. What am I doing wrong??

 

 

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I think it was 1-5 when I sailed with them. Point being the same though. When staff is reduced to begging, their system is broken and any data collected must be considered faulty.

 

 

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[rusty nut]

Upon first being asked to mark all 5's on the survey, I would respond:

"We understand the importance of the survey. Please don't worry about it. If you take care of us, we'll be sure to take care of you. Please don't bring up the survey again".

[moski]

If I am on vacation and spending lots of money for this vacation I do not need to hear this speech. I feel that as consumers we should all not respond and tear up the survey cards. It's only because people fill them out that we have to listen to the spiel. If no one responds they will get tired of wasting paper! Just my opinion.

[Don Pedro]

I have also experienced begging by various ship's staff for the top survey marks. I rarely, if ever, complete surveys. RCCL's or others. Many are worded to solicit the desired responses rather than to gather any useful information.

 

Holding waiters or cabin attendants responsible for Miami simultaneously cutting staff and increasing workload is at best bizarre. After reading about and experiencing first hand RCCL's diminished product I keep looking for Miami to do something positive. Just a few years ago anyone posting derogatory RCCL comments on cruise critic was immediately chastised by the Royal Loyal gang. Not so much anymore. Many of us who are Royal Caribbean fans acknowledge that there are problems.

 

Yet Miami seems to turn a blind eye to the situation. Perhaps they are too consumed trying to figure what more they can cut in order to pay for the massive debt they have taking on with all the new ships.

[davekathy]

If I am on vacation and spending lots of money for this vacation I do not need to hear this speech. I feel that as consumers we should all not respond and tear up the survey cards. It's only because people fill them out that we have to listen to the spiel. If no one responds they will get tired of wasting paper! Just my opinion.

 

It's not a card/paper it's an emailed survey. If you don't won't to be bothered with it just hit delete.

[troykahack]

I think it was 1-5 when I sailed with them. Point being the same though. When staff is reduced to begging, their system is broken and any data collected must be considered faulty.

 

 

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But what year??? OP said he was pressured recently to give all 5's. We haven't had a 1-5 survey in YEARS. Just want to know when OP was complaining about. I think this thread may be a...... be nice Troy

 

 

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[heatherb1958]

Toward the end of the seemingly modified questionnaire I filled out today (just off Navigator) there was this:

 

 

Quote:

Were you asked by any of the crew members on board this voyage to provide positive ratings/reviews on this survey:

 

Yes

No

 

If you were asked to provide positive review/ratings on this survey, please identify the crew members(s) that asked you:

 

 

 

 

Then there's a list of sections of the ship to choose from.

 

Did RCI read this thread?:eek:

 

I had that too for our 23rd December Serenade cruise.

It listed every department going I think !!

For once our MDR wait staff and room attendant did not ask for top markings. Maybe they all received a memo:D

Edited January 7, 2017 by heatherb1958

[Biker19]

For once our MDR wait staff and room attendant did not ask for top markings. Maybe they all received a memo:D

 

Both on Serenade two weeks ago and Navigator this week I was asked to simply fill it out - no begging for high marks.

[4cats4me]

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.

 

 

 

No way would I give 5's when the food is a 3. And I have given lower scores to food on another line a few years ago when their cuisine took a nose dive. They ultimately have improved and we've gone back and are happy again.

Service I give great marks but not for food. How would the food quality affect him personally since he is not the chef?

 

 

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[OSUZorba]

In many organizations, the top performers get a larger percentage of the bonus/tip pool.

 

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I saw the waiter team ranking list on a galley tour once, that included the average scores from the previous cruise and the average of the last handful of cruises. The teams were ordered by their ranking. The same sheet had the sections on it. I asked my main waiter about it that night, he couldn't believe they hadn't covered it up and was a little upset that I saw it.

 

Anyways, he told me they use it to assign the waiter's sections, the best waiters get the bigger sections and get cruisers that are more likely to tip extra. The worse waiters get MTD and once in MTD it is hard to get out because their ratings tend to be much lower. That was the best crew I've ever had, and their average score was a 3.5. The best crew on the list only had a little over a 4 average.

 

I think this is the reason was MDR pushes so hard for top scores, it directly relates to how much they get in tips. While it really has little direct affect on the other departments, since they don't reassign other crew based on ratings.

[Host Jacquelyn]

Service I give great marks but not for food. How would the food quality affect him personally since he is not the chef?

 

 

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That was my dilemma. It sounds like Royal Caribbean penalizes the servers if the guests don't enjoy their meal. I assume the thought process is that a good server will continue to offer meals, which does not make for a pleasant dining experience, IMHO.

 

What he said really got to me, because truly it is his life. Just because I don't enjoy my dinner does not need to cost this guy his livelihood. Presumably he has family counting on his pay cheque. I realize the quality of the food is going downhill, that we are spending good money on this vacation, and that nothing will change at RCCL if we don't speak up. However, I couldn't live with myself knowing that this waiter got demoted because I didn't find the food 5/5 (or 10/10). Again, I told him I would give his service top marks, but he insisted that a negative score on the food would personally affect him :(

[LMaxwell]

However, I couldn't live with myself knowing that this waiter got demoted because I didn't find the food 5/5 (or 10/10).

 

What would a waiter be demoted to? They aren't going to be fired, I would not think, because one of the biggest costs to a business is in training new hires. I find it hard to believe that wait staff are constantly in a revolving door situation. Many of the wait staff have numerous years of service across multiple ships.

 

Again, RCI is just looking for how much staff can they reduce, and how much quality can they cut down. And they trot out the hardest working staff to lay a guilt trip about it.

[Biker19]

I saw the waiter team ranking list on a galley tour once, that included the average scores from the previous cruise and the average of the last handful of cruises.

 

How long ago was this?

[LMaxwell]

How long ago was this?

 

I've seen the same rankings. It is posted for all wait staff teams to see. It is broken down to a 100 point scale and rated out to either tenths or hundredths. I saw it on Legend of the Seas in 2014 during a galley tour. They showed us it and explained the importance.

[Biker19]

It is broken down to a 100 point scale and rated out to either tenths or hundredths. I saw it on Legend of the Seas in 2014 during a galley tour.

 

I wasn't questioning its existence, but simply the vintage. As you noted, the scale you saw was different. One would assume that anything recent (since the intro of the electronic survey) would be some 10 point scale, but maybe several MDR related answers are combined and then it's some different scale.