Feedback... Please

[bEwAbG]

What is unclear to me is whether or not you ultimately got what you paid for.  I see things weren't delivered to the suite but after these trips to Guest Relations (should have gone to the Neptune Lounge concierges, for future reference), did they give you what you were due?  If that's the case, then I think they're probably looking at it as you venting for the initial missteps.  You should focus on tangible things that went wrong & were missed out on, like the excursion (which I presume they refunded?).  I'm having a hard time understanding some of your specific complaints, so I'd suggest letting a friend read whatever it is you're going to send to HAL so that it's clearer.

[Santeeruss]

31 minutes ago, iceman93 said:

Any business can make a mistake.  What sets ones that care about their customers from those that only care about their profits is their service recovery.  IMO, that is where HAL has completely failed the OP here.  There is no way they should have had to deal with guest services so many times while on board, and still be getting the runaround even now.

 

Personally I've had some great service recovery from HAL, but that doesn't mean they don't badly mess it up from time to time.  I agree with the suggestion to write a polite, factual letter (not phone call, not e-mail) to Seattle with specific requests for compensation.  Don't be greedy, but without specifying what would make you happy, you leave the folks there thinking that maybe the standard "Sorry about that, hope you'll give us another try" letter will be sufficient.  They also don't know whether to offer you OBC on a future cruise, a complimentary upgrade next time, or whatever else.  Some things make some people very happy while come across as empty or not commensurate to the customer service failures to others.

That is the perfect feedback that I was hoping for!!  Thank you!!  I’ll write the letter and reference my case number. Would you include copies of the past correspondence or list all the unreturned phone calls and the names of people you spoke to?  I tend to keep pretty comprehensive records. At this point I’d like a discount or OBC for a future cruise. 

[bEwAbG]

No, do not send lists and a bunch of stuff.  I think this is the crux of your problem.  They're tuning you out because you're including extraneous info that signals hurt feelings instead of focusing on the actual problems & the preferred solution.  Did you read the info at the Elliott website?  Follow their directions.

[VMax1700]

16 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

(should have gone to the Neptune Lounge concierges

incorrect information.  OP was in a Signature Suite (see post #17).  

They have telephone concierge but do not have access to Neptune Suite Concierges.

[bEwAbG]

16 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

incorrect information.  OP was in a Signature Suite (see post #17).  

They have telephone concierge but do not have access to Neptune Suite Concierges.

 

You are right...missed that bit of info

[Santeeruss]

I tried calling Guest Services a few times (one of the preprogrammed phone buttons) but it was not answered.  

My missing items were eventually credited to my shipboard account and the tour operator got us on a later bus, but it was basically the aggravation of dealing with this every day at Guest Services that annoyed me. I’m not sure how they celebrate anniversaries as they missed ours, so I may not have missed anything . I can’t remember so many problems in my 10 previous cruises or having so many return visits to GS.  BTW, they still haven’t returned my phone call from yesterday so I’m ready to just wash my hands of this. 

[Santeeruss]

Just read that terrific thread on the Elliott page. Boy, did I go about this wrong. Thanks for all the helpful responses and I’m just going to chalk this one up to experience and not repeat the same mistakes in the future. I appreciate the time you took to help me. 

[Santeeruss]

On 7/8/2019 at 5:36 AM, DaveOKC said:

To OP - your situation is unusual, as we have taken upsells many times and never an issue.  Regardless,  it sounds likr HAL should have done a better job addressing the issues with you.  If you upgraded to a Neptune Suite, the concierge in the Lounge should have been able to fix things for you.

 

We book with HAL directly, so we get a written confirmation with all the included "perks" clearly sated on it.  Regular TAs should also be providing this.  Either way, we always double check these things right after we do the paid upgrade.

As did I. 

[kevingastreich]

If it was ultimately just inconvenience, I think you should just let it go.

[Santeeruss]

That’s what I did. After HAL stopped replying to my emails and wouldn’t return my phone calls, I wrote them a letter thanking them for looking the matter and mailed it off. I’m probably blacklisted in their files now anyway. 

[rucrazy]

1 hour ago, Santeeruss said:

That’s what I did. After HAL stopped replying to my emails and wouldn’t return my phone calls, I wrote them a letter thanking them for looking the matter and mailed it off. I’m probably blacklisted in their files now anyway. 

They do keep all correspondence, I know this for a fact I recently was shown a copy of a letter I sent in the early 2000's