Response from HAL to "constructive criticism" on comment cards?

[sailsalot]

Hi HAL cruisers,

 

Just wondering if anyone ever got a response from the company after writing on the comment card a problem or constructive criticism of a certain crew staff or situation. In my case, I had one of the cruise director's staff make a rude and vulgar comment against me, and in my opinion, and I'm sure others, it was highly inappropriate for someone in his position as cruise staff, who are supposed to be there to entertain the passengers and be spirited and enthusiastic at activities, not throw insulting and obscene remarks toward them. Maybe he thought I'd laugh at the comment since I'm young (mid-30s), but I didn't, and I've never had someone say such a thing to me. He was in his first week on the staff, so hopefully he'll learn to refrain from trash talk.

 

We also wrote about another of the cruise director's staff, a guy in his 2d week on the job, who talked bad about the other cruise staff behind their backs to passengers, and who actually criticized the captain's personality to me and other passengers, making negative comments about him. It seems inappropriate for cruise staff to vent their problems and criticisms, especially of the captain, to passengers.

 

We loved our cruise and spoke highly on our comment cards of all the positive aspects and people who made it a great trip, but we also wanted to point out these problem people, in the hopes that something was done to correct the problems. I don't expect to hear back from the ship or company, but I was curious if they actually did respond to comments made on the card.

[kakalina]

Sailsalot,

I can state without equivacation that HAL does respond to such complaints, if they receive them. On a cruise we had the same type of problem with an activity staff member. We told the cruise director about it and also filled out a comment card and turned it in to the front desk. I was concerned enough to make a copy of the card.

We heard nothing further and several weeks after we returned home I called HAL to inquire about this complaint. They knew nothing about it. So I faxed them a copy of it. I was called back very quickly and not only was there disiplinary action against the original complaint but the person or persons who didn't send in the bad comment card were also found out.

We have found their response (once they were aware of the problem) was quick, fair and understanding.

This is one of the many reasons we now sail exclusively on HAL. Hope this helps.

[Host Walt]

Sailsalot,

I can state without equivacation that HAL does respond to such complaints, if they receive them. On a cruise we had the same type of problem with an activity staff member. We told the cruise director about it and also filled out a comment card and turned it in to the front desk. I was concerned enough to make a copy of the card.

We heard nothing further and several weeks after we returned home I called HAL to inquire about this complaint. They knew nothing about it. So I faxed them a copy of it. I was called back very quickly and not only was there disiplinary action against the original complaint but the person or persons who didn't send in the bad comment card were also found out.

We have found their response (once they were aware of the problem) was quick, fair and understanding.

This is one of the many reasons we now sail exclusively on HAL. Hope this helps.

My approach is similar. I complete the comment card and include a few comments. I draft up a more comprehensive commentary on my laptop with cross references from the comment card for later use.

 

Then I photo copy the card.

 

When I get home I write a letter to HAL's Customer Service (or if the beef or praise is significant, to the President) with full details (booking number, stateroom, table number, CD's name, etc. that pertain to the comments) along with the photocopy of the comment card.

 

I always get a response, sometimes boilerplate, but usually personalized thanking me for my input, but I've never received any feedback about any actions taken. However, I never encountered the kind of bad behavior by the CD or his staff that sailsalot and kakalina encountered either.

[kryos]

They knew nothing about it. So I faxed them a copy of it. I was called back very quickly and not only was there disiplinary action against the original complaint but the person or persons who didn't send in the bad comment card were also found out.

We have found their response (once they were aware of the problem) was quick, fair and understanding.

This is one of the many reasons we now sail exclusively on HAL. Hope this helps.

Wow! This is a story you definitely have to tell me about in January. Thank God I've yet to experience a problem on any cruise ... but I guess there are definitely some bad apples out there. :(

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[formercruisestaff]

We read the comment cards every week (I used to look forward to seeing people's view of me) - the Hotel Manager reads them first and they are passed down to us through the cruise director. Trust me that the comment cards are taken very seriously at HAL, and that's why it's so important to fill them out completely and accurately

[Randyk47]

I'm actually wondering outloud how HAL handles the comment cards. On Celebrity they apparently, at least according to the staff, empty the comment card box directly into a cardboard box that is sealed right on the spot and mailed (shipped?) to Celebrity headquarters. Supposedly nobody on the ship reviews them. Part of me finds that a bit hard to believe/accept as it would seem that some comments warrant immediate action, be it praise or correction of behavior, and shipping the cards off to the headquarters without shipboard review would delay that process to the point of being useless. I know when we were on the Oosterdam we got exceptional service from the Crow's Nest staff and mentioned a number of them by name. It just happened that the last night on the ship the head of the department stopped by and chatted with us about our cruise and the service. We mentioned we'd singled out folks by name for praise and he said that would be very well received as they keep track of comments by person and it has a bearing on pay and promotions. That would seem to indicate to me that there is ship review before the comments are sent to HAL. I will say we also made some negative comments on our Oosterdam cruise and, though we didn't expect any answer, never heard another thing about it.

[sailsalot]

Thanks for your replies. I didn't think to copy the comment card before it was turned in. Hopefully they get it, as alot of thought went into it, for both the positive and not-so-positive comments. I guess I'll just have to wait and see if I get a response.

 

I definitely think the problems were very isolated to 2 people who I believe are not cut out for the job of activity staff. The rest of the crew and staff were wonderful!!

[formercruisestaff]

Thanks for your replies. I didn't think to copy the comment card before it was turned in. Hopefully they get it, as alot of thought went into it, for both the positive and not-so-positive comments. I guess I'll just have to wait and see if I get a response.

 

I definitely think the problems were very isolated to 2 people who I believe are not cut out for the job of activity staff. The rest of the crew and staff were wonderful!!

 

If you feel your comment warrents an update/direct response to you (which in this case seems probable), you should probably contact head office directly. I'm sure that the situation has been dealt with, but I don't think (though I'm not sure) that HAL necessarily updates the passenger of their response to the comment cards most of the time.

[kakalina]

I forgot to mention that on almost every HAL cruise I've been on I have received a note from the Guest Relations Manager thanking me for my comments (mostly all good ones). From what I've been told by those who know, the front office turns the cards over to the Guest Relations manager, who in turn hands them to the HM, who reads them, acts when necessary and in turn sends them to the individual department heads to share with those commented upon. This was the only time I had a serious complaint and the only time HAL contacted me personally regarding it. From much personal experience, in my humble opinion the comment cards work very well. IMHO it is worth it for all to take the time to fill them out.

[wgeddings]

I always spend time filling out the comment cards, for me and my DW. I hope someone actually reads them but from the comments above about making a copy, I wonder how you get a copy on board the ship? Will the front desk make one for you and, if so, do they charge for that?

 

One of my problems with comment cards on any ship or at any place is that now most people want you to put down "exceeds expectations" or "excellent". On a Disney cruise, the waiter even asked that if we could not put down "exceeds expectations" (or the highest), to please leave it blank since anything less is a notch against him. He was nice about it but the point was somehow, good is no longer good enough. If I am excepting great service (as I do), and I get it, why is it not okay to say it met my expectations? If I was expecting great, and got it, how could it have exceeded? On a question of how was the service/food/whatever, why do I have to say it was excellent or superior when good is good enough?

 

I guess it goes to my problem with the way some people seem to think that everyone should be in the top 10%. Well, then who is in the other 90%? The goal of a test or comment card should not be to get the highest possible ratings, it should be to get honest feedback so good can be rewarded and complimented and bad can be corrected. I think that is lost sometimes.

[smoosh21]

I agree 100% with this comment. I recently had a survey where I was asked to be sure I could respond excellent (5 on a scale of 1-5) for everything. I was told that anything else was a black mark.

 

Whats the point of even asking these questions anyway if that is the attitude? Sure, you want everything to be excellent, but its obvious that you can never be excellent 100% of the time. One above average should not be considered a negative.

 

If everyone is excellent, doesn't excellent become the new average? Maybe that is the evil corporate goal. Make everyone think that average service is excellent service so they can charge more for what was once mearly average.

[kryos]

I agree 100% with this comment. I recently had a survey where I was asked to be sure I could respond excellent (5 on a scale of 1-5) for everything. I was told that anything else was a black mark.

Other than one cabin steward who requested I give him a high rating ... he told me that he needed them in order to have any chance for advancement ... I was never told what to put down on my comment cards. During one pre-disembarkation talk on one of my Princess cruises, the cruise director only requested that we not allow one specific negative experience to impact our overall rating of a specific department or service on the ship, but rather rate the department according to our overall satisfaction, and then use the comments section at the bottom to give mention to any specific negative experiences we may have had. He said that if service, say in the dining room, was great ... but you had an isolated unpleasant encounter one evening with a member of the staff, it wouldn't be fair to rate the service as poor, and thus penalize your waitstaff, all because of that one negative experience.

 

Made sense to me and I followed his advice.

 

As for the one cabin steward on the Zuiderdam who requested a high rating, I just told him I would see what I could do. I ended up rating him high anyway because his service had been excellent over the two weeks I was aboard.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[wgeddings]

If everyone is excellent, doesn't excellent become the new average? Maybe that is the evil corporate goal. Make everyone think that average service is excellent service so they can charge more for what was once mearly average.

 

Thanks smoosh21, that is the phrase I was looking for! Everyone cannot be the best.

 

Kryos, you have been fortunate if that was the only time someone has mentioned it. I got that from wait staff on Disney, HAL, some staff on Carnival, and routinely get it from staff at resorts and hotels when attending conventions and on business trips. I don't really blame the worker for asking (I may too) but I blame the management who pressure them to get nothing but "perfect". I too agree that someone should not let a single mistake mar what was otherwise very good service though.

[I Luv Crusin]

On principle I never give the highest grade UNLESS it is the absolutely best I have ever experienced. I you always score "EXCELLENT" how can there be improvement???

[obriendan]

This "rating inflation" is rampant in our society today. Similar trends have been going on for the last twenty year in our high schools and colleges. When 4.0 is the highest possible GPA, representing all A’s, it is now possible to have a GPA well above 4.0. In the 1960's and ‘70's, a grade of C meant the student was "average". Today giving a college student such grade is tantamount to failure!

[Krazy Kruizers]

We always fill out our comment cards.

But if we have anything we think should be addressed in a big manner while we are on a cruise, then we see the guest relations manger (and this happened to us last winter). If things are resolved (and they were on that cruise), then we write a letter to Seattle when we got home.

[kakalina]

I always spend time filling out the comment cards, for me and my DW. I hope someone actually reads them but from the comments above about making a copy, I wonder how you get a copy on board the ship? Will the front desk make one for you and, if so, do they charge for that?

 

Tommy, The front desk made the copy for me at no charge and with no questions asked.

Trisha

[sail7seas]

HAL absolutely reads every comment sheet and averages all of the scores. Each ship hopes to achieve a certain percentage of -9-'s to attain a high average for each cruise.

 

The GRM, Hotel Manager and others read the sheets on the ship. Department heads get copies (memos) about things they need to hear....be it praise or constructive comments.

 

The comment sheets are then sent to Seattle where they are reviewed again.

 

They are very important to the crew who has worked hard to please. If a dining steward or cabin steward of bar or whoever has done a great job taking care of you, to mention their name on the comment sheet means a great deal to them. Contract renewals, assignments, promotions are dependent upon positive comments.

 

[PRINSENDAM]

On principle I never give the highest grade UNLESS it is the absolutely best I have ever experienced. I you always score "EXCELLENT" how can there be improvement???

 

 

 

 

I understand what you are saying completely but there is a flaw.

 

Say, for example, you have sailed on one of the small super luxury ships where the service was impeccable. That might be the best that you have experienced. Then you sail on a HAL ship which, let's be real fair, is not in the super luxury category. Would you then rate something on a HAL comment card as 4, 5 or 6 out of 9 if what you experienced on HAL was the NORMAL standard which HAL might want their ships to achieve, but not up to what you experienced on a luxury vessel?

 

I always give something a 9 if the experience is at the level that HAL wants it to be. If it doesn't come up to HAL standard then I start taking off marks.

 

Far better to make comments that, on ABC Cruise Line, they do certain things to a higher standard which you might like to see adopted on HAL ships. Constructive criticism goes a long way too!

 

Stephen

[stanford's girl]

Other than one cabin steward who requested I give him a high rating ... he told me that he needed them in order to have any chance for advancement ...

Here's a strange idea.:rolleyes:

Why not just do a great job and then people would give high marks? Most people get promoted for doing a good job and not requesting the guests to give it to them.

[stanford's girl]

During one pre-disembarkation talk on one of my Princess cruises, the cruise director only requested that we not allow one specific negative experience to impact our overall rating of a specific department or service on the ship, but rather rate the department according to our overall satisfaction, and then use the comments section at the bottom to give mention to any specific negative experiences we may have had. He said that if service, say in the dining room, was great ... but you had an isolated unpleasant encounter one evening with a member of the staff, it wouldn't be fair to rate the service as poor, and thus penalize your waitstaff, all because of that one negative experience.

The cruise director on the 10/22 Oosterdam went over the exact same thing. But he also emphasized how important the high marks are. :(

I think if HAL keeps putting this much pressure on their employees about high marks, then the comment cards become worthless. How will they know if the high marks are actually deserved or just someone who was given a guilt trip?

[mechcc]

First - if anyone ever asks me to rate them high, then the rating just went down regardless of level of service. Haven't had that happen on a cruise ship, but did have a car salesman do it. His manager was told. I don't ask my customers or my boss for excellent ratings. I work hard and earn them.

 

Second - ratings should be based on the level of expected service for that establishment or in this case cruiseline. One hamburger place close to my work opens the door if they are close to it when I arrive and when I leave, have even offered to walk me to my car with an umbrella in the rain, and always thanks me and bids me a good day when I leave. That's excellent service for a hamburger joint but for a 4-star resturant it would be what is expected.

[richwmn]

I just want to add that I was in the Hotel Managers office recently the evening before disembarkation. The comment cards were neatly stacked on a table in piles to be distributed to different managers. In addition, he showed me the interim report showing the averages of the different sections of the comment cards. He said that as the cards came in they were scanned for the report, then handed to him to read the comments and distribute them.

 

Rich

[Tricia724]

I'm actually wondering outloud how HAL handles the comment cards. On Celebrity they apparently, at least according to the staff, empty the comment card box directly into a cardboard box that is sealed right on the spot and mailed (shipped?) to Celebrity headquarters. Supposedly nobody on the ship reviews them. Part of me finds that a bit hard to believe/accept as it would seem that some comments warrant immediate action, be it praise or correction of behavior, and shipping the cards off to the headquarters without shipboard review would delay that process to the point of being useless.

 

Here's something interesting from our last Celebrity cruise: We were dismayed when our waiter repeatedly requested that we write his name and his assistant's name on our comment cards for excellent service. He told us that the rating itself didn't mean anything....that it was necessary for us to praise them by name and table number on the comment card. To insure that we remembered it correctly, he wrote our table number, his name, and his assistant's name on a piece of paper and gave it to all three couples at our table.

 

Furthermore.....and I don't have a clue whether this is true.....he said that at the end of the cruise when the comment cards come in, the waiters and assistants are called in to review their ratings....and then the ratings and comments are posted on a bulletin board where everyone could read them. He also said that table assignments are determined by the positive feedback....the waiter with the best ratings gets his choice of locations in the dining room. He also told us that time off is influenced by the ratings....a comment also made to us by a bartender. The bartender also told us that when their contracts are up, the comment cards influence whether they are offered a new contract.

 

Our waiter was an excellent server, and the fact that he was reduced to groveling really upset me. I can understand that a business whose primary business is customer service would want to motivate employees to do a good job, but it seems that sometimes it is more intimidation than motivation. I don't like that, and I don't like to be coerced into saying something or someone is "excellent" or "exceeds expectations" or is a 9 out of 9. I also don't like the thought that if I say something is "good", "very good", or is merely an 8 out of 9 that their jobs are threatened.

 

It sounds like the cruiselines more and more are using the employees as scapegoats....if a passenger is unhappy, it must be because an employee didn't do his job right. Tell us who that employee is and we'll get rid of him/her, and then everything will be fine. It couldn't possibly be because of poor management decisions such as understaffing, lack of proper training, changes in policy, failure to deliver that which was promised, etc. And some of the best employees are shaking in their shoes trying to hold on to jobs which they really need. What is wrong with this picture?

[RSGS315]

I have to agree with Tricia 724 on this subject.

We had a similar situation on a Royal Caribbean ship a few years ago. We were seated at the doctor's table at a table for 8.

The waiter made an attempt, on several occasions, to request only EXCELLENT comments about his team etc. He was in the middle of his speach one evening when the doctor showed up for dinner unexpectedly. He quickly changed the subject, stood behind the doctor's chair, put his forefinger over his mouth to warn us about discussing the subject. He later explained to us that the ship's officers aren't to know about his plea for a good rating, but he had to do it in order to keep his job.

We haven't run into this lately. I was hoping that they no longer coerce passengers in this manner, as it disturbes us.

Ginnie