Paid gratuities twice...bad customer service

[BTfan]

:mad: :mad:

 

I went to the purser asked to have the prepaid gratuities removed and received envelopes to pay with cash, as I had extra and didn't want it to go my card.. I actually did this twice..once the day before the last and again after my statement still showed it. Supposedly taken care of

 

I get my CC statement..and they didn't take it off.

 

Called Carnival and they are basically saying that I was supposed to fill out and sign a paper to have them removed. That's NEVER happened before..and they are telling me they won't be able to take it off because of that..even though it is an optional charge.

 

Has anyone else supposedly had to fill out a form to have prepaid's adjusted or removed?????

 

I really enjoy Carnival, but it's really giving me a sour taste.

 

I won't even get into my issues with the airline losing bags, long lines, bad attitudes..oops...I just did :)

 

Customer service in general for everyone seems to really be going downhill...but that's another thread..

[pppiglet]

Customer service in general for everyone seems to really be going downhill...but that's another thread..

 

You are right...it's everywhere and not just Carnival. No one seems to care about anything these days. So I won't base picking my cruise line on this. Sorry you had a problem with them and I can see why you'd have a sour taste.

[momofzeke]

BTfan, are you referring to prepaid gratuities or automatic gratuities? They are two different things.

 

Prepaid gratuities are paid by you before you ever get on the ship. It is my understanding that these cannot be removed or reversed.

 

The automatic gratuities that are added to your S&S card the first day of your cruise can be removed by going to the purser's desk.

[newmexicoNita]

It really sounds like automatic, but that is an interesting point. As for customer service let me say two things: 1-mistakes happen for heavens sake, but you should not have to pay twice. Let your CC company know what happened. 2-customer service has gone to the dogs and there isn't much to indicate it will come back soon. NMNita

[NRWO]

To have auto gratuities removed you do have to fill out a paper, that much I know of. As for removing pre-paid grats, I do not know although I'm sure there must be some sort of protocol. Sounds like the purser may have goofed. Call Guest Relations dept.

[habby]

Automatic gratuities may be removed from the S&S card.

 

Pre-paid gratuities may not be removed.

 

I honestly didn't know about prepaid gratuities until I found this site. Neither our TA in 2004 or PVP in 2005 mentioned them as an option.

[BTfan]

It was the automatic gratuities.

 

Since I'm hearing both you need a form or you don't, I can see why this is being a problem.

 

I wonder if this is a new policy and they forgot to tell the pursers about it..

 

But from the way the rep was talking, even if it is on there they can't take it off...which I think is ridiculous...

 

I'm not sure what department I ended up talking to..they didn't even transfer me. I had to call another number.

[habby]

I'm hoping that you can remember some of the names of people you talked to on the ship regarding this. That would be a huge help I think in the event you are planning to write a letter to someone. Details are important.

 

I hope this can be settled to your satisfaction. Please keep us updated.

[mrdood]

Not sure why this was a problem, but the fact that it never got removed while you were on board would have been a sure sign to me that it was not removed.

 

I would not have gotten off the ship without it being removed and confirmed.

 

Just my opinion, but more as a notice to future cruisers, that is the time for it to happen not after you get home.

[Kaki321]

sorry, but what's the diff between prepaid and automatic? :confused:

 

think we still had envelopes last time I cruised in 2003, but I don't remember

[NRWO]

Well.. pre-paid is what it sounds like. You can pre-pay your grats at booking or if you are outside of penalty, they just tally them onto your final payment balance. Automatic tips mean, if you take your cruise and don't say anything, they will include them automatically on your S&S card. If you don't want it that way, you go to the purser and tell them and then you can do the old-fashioned envelope deal, but you have to fill out a paper to do so. Why does CCL do this? Because by and large customer feedback says this is much preferred and easier..

[picklebongo]

Why can't you simply contact your credit card company and have the charges removed?

[wigginout66]

I had the automatic gratuties removed from my account last time I sailed and did not have to fill out a form. The purser's desk said no problem, did some typing and voila, the charges now showed as a credit on my account.

 

I did tip all the appropriate people in cash with more than the standard amount. I hadn't spent as much as anticipated so I thought the green in hand might be nicer for all the top notch service.

[big_duck]

All I can suggest is you keep escalating the problem until you talk to someone who either can think outside the policy manual or has the authority to act outside the policy manual.

 

This problem is not unique to Carnival, now a days with large Corporations you are very rarely dealing with someone who has the authority to act on his own, even when it is in the best interest of his company.

[tef43]

Forget trying to resolve this through CCL Guest Services if you've been unsuccessful so far.

 

Dispute the charge with your credit card company. *THAT* will force CCL into action.

[VentureMan_2000]

First... let me say 'Bummer'. I hope you get it resolved. I would follow Tef's advice.

 

But I also wanted to point out what a hassle and aggrivation to try to tip cash instead of the S&S card. How many trips did you make to the purser's to get it right? Is the hassle really warrented?

 

Honestly, I just don't understand the need to tip in cash... in person. Reminds me of a Seinfield episode where George trys taking back his tip out of the tip jar because he did not get recognition for dropping it in the tip jar, in the first place... like handing a tip in person is for the TIPr's ego more than it is for the recipiant.

 

And the stats show that 60% of the folks who insist on removing the tips from the S&S card so they can tip in cash... never do... they skip town without tipping a penny.

[LHP]

Ditto on going the Credit Card company route. They are an unbiased 3rd party that have experience in settling these kinds of disputes! However, I would call Customer Service one more time to let them know the charges ( if not removed) will be contested.

 

Rule number one in conflict resolution: document, document, document

Name, Date , Time and promised action.

EVERY TIME~!!!~

[ASHJAYT]

I understand the upfront gratuities. But what is the other gratuties? Those for each time you order a drink etc.? I am confused.....

[VentureMan_2000]

Up front, you pay $10 per person, per day. This gets added to your Sail and Sign card.

 

When you purchase a cocktail or beer or wine, a 15% tax is automatically added to the price. If a drink is priced at $5.00, then 75 cents (15% of $5) is added to the price for a total of $5.75. This amount is billed to your S&S card.

 

So, in short, you do not have to tip anybody additional, with the exception of $1 for room service.

 

But some people are tipping fools and tip until the cows come home... but this is not necessary.

 

If you do not order room service, you need not even think about tipping a single person while on your cruise. All the tipping is automatically added to your S&S card.

 

Kind of nice. Get your cocktail and don't look back.

[Wennfred]

:mad: :mad:

 

I went to the purser asked to have the prepaid gratuities removed and received envelopes to pay with cash, as I had extra and didn't want it to go my card.. ..

 

BTfan, I know that you have the right to do what ever you want to do because its your money, I find that its so easy to just to deal with the S&S card on my Credit card and deal with it later and then if I want to tip more I do that with cash.

 

By going over to get thing changed like that just causes problems.

[VentureMan_2000]

:mad: :mad:

 

I went to the purser asked to have the prepaid gratuities removed and received envelopes to pay with cash, as I had extra and didn't want it to go my card..

 

Another solution would have been to give the Purser your cash and have it applied to your S&S account. Would have been same-same. smaller S&S bill at the end of your cruise... and I'm guessing that is what you were interested in.

 

Or go to Bank after the cruise, deposit it into your checking, and write a check to your Credit Card company right away.

 

I love the ease of the S&S card myself... :)

[donnavb5]

On the Carnival Website it states that prepaid gratuties cannot be taken off.

Now if you booked thru that WEBSITE you have no reason to complain, however if you booked thru a TA and they didn't tell you that and you prepaid thru them, I might take it up with the TA.

[mrdood]

I did tip all the appropriate people in cash with more than the standard amount. I hadn't spent as much as anticipated so I thought the green in hand might be nicer for all the top notch service.

 

Much argument on this, but I would find it difficult to do, did you tip the two helpers that worked for your cabin steward? How did you divide the money among those three? Did you tip the buffet staff that prepare your meals and bus the tables? How did you hand money to the chef in the back of the buffet that you never saw? How did you decide how much each one got? How did you actually hand them money?

 

I may not agree with how Carnival does it, but I do know that the automatic tips are distributed to all the deserving people. When you pay cash, you may even pay more, but you are cutting out people, or are depending upon some to distribute fairly to others - too much hassle!!!

[VentureMan_2000]

Well, there is a pecking order. I think you tip the Steward and Head Waiter... and not worry about it. They are the ones who take the heat when things go wrong... not their helpers. They will divide if they wish.

 

I really think folks put way too much thought into tipping.

[momofzeke]

On the Carnival Website it states that prepaid gratuties cannot be taken off.

Now if you booked thru that WEBSITE you have no reason to complain, however if you booked thru a TA and they didn't tell you that and you prepaid thru them, I might take it up with the TA.

 

Whether he booked through the website or not doesn't matter. There are two ways to handle the $10 per person per day gratuities. One is to PREPAY them before you ever step foot on the ship. I did this for my upcoming Miracle cruise. I called Carnival and told them I wanted to PREPAY the gratuities. Gave them my credit card info and voila ~ gratuities are already paid once I get onboard. They will not show up on my S&S account. Those tips CANNOT be taken off. They are prepaid.

 

The other, more common way is that the gratuities are automatically added to your S&S account the first day of your cruise. These are NOT prepaid gratuities. They are automatic gratuities. They CAN be removed by going to the purser's desk and asking to have them taken off. I believe these are what the OP tried to get removed from his S&S. He has a legitimate complaint because he was told they were removed, and chose to pay the tips in cash but they still showed up on his final bill. (OP, did I interpret that right?)

 

Kind of confusing, I know. :)