Live4cruises Posted April 3, 2023 #1 Share Posted April 3, 2023 Hello, After my unsatisfactory phone experience with HAL yesterday and today, I am wondering if they have chosen to outsource/offshore this service. My hold time both days was greater than 40 minutes, and the agents seem to have no knowledge of their products. Yesterday (Sunday), I put the wait time down to a busy weekend, but today - even early in the morning when I gave up - was similarly slow. One of my questions was about disembarkation time. My confirmation itinerary shows arrival at 1:00 a.m. in Whittier. I suggested that surely this was an arrival time and not actual disembarkation, but she assured me that she asked her local supervisor and that was indeed what the itinerary showed. I pushed back (politely, I promise!) again, and was told that I would need to contact Guest Services directly. The local supervisor and a secondary contact were both red flags for me. I also inquired about what facilities were available on a long bus ride, particularly rest room facilities. As she read my list of questions back to me, she asked if I wanted to know what facilities the bus had for resting. I clarified that I meant toilets. If HAL has outsourced their phone services, it does not make me at all happy. For whatever that's worth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShipWalker Posted April 3, 2023 #2 Share Posted April 3, 2023 Whenever I contact any business help line I always causally ask where they are located. The farthest offshore location for HAL I have found so far is Arizona. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YourWorldWithBill Posted April 4, 2023 #3 Share Posted April 4, 2023 I've found that in the same week the hold time can depend on the day and time. Some days are generally busier, but sometimes it's just random. One day I was on hold for 30 minutes, and the next day my call was answered immediately. In addition to Weekends, Mondays seem to be very busy days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live4cruises Posted April 4, 2023 Author #4 Share Posted April 4, 2023 Thanks, both of you. I hope I was just having a bad day, and I can get back to the friendly voices I'm used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted April 4, 2023 #5 Share Posted April 4, 2023 (edited) They may not all be offshore, but there's a lot of outsourcing and too little training. In my attempts to get information about a cruise, I got no help at all in two different calls. One transferred me to "guest services" but that just took me to the same press1, press 2 menu that I started with. I tried chat, and that agent couldn't answer my question, gave me links I had already found on the website, and then gave me information I knew to be wrong. Edited April 4, 2023 by 3rdGenCunarder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TiogaCruiser Posted April 4, 2023 #6 Share Posted April 4, 2023 On 4/3/2023 at 2:38 PM, ShipWalker said: Whenever I contact any business help line I always causally ask where they are located. The farthest offshore location for HAL I have found so far is Arizona. And of course Arizona is the home for many cruise ports…. Ive looked up the open jobs list for HAL, thinking I MIGHT consider part time work from home. I only found options for those living in Florida. Maybe I’ll look again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallas Glenn Posted April 4, 2023 #7 Share Posted April 4, 2023 You don't have to disembark until after breakfast 7 or 8 o'clock or so. There is a restroom on the bus, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ontheweb Posted April 5, 2023 #8 Share Posted April 5, 2023 12 hours ago, Dallas Glenn said: You don't have to disembark until after breakfast 7 or 8 o'clock or so. There is a restroom on the bus, Since you actually know the answers to the OP's questions, you are obviously NOT a HAL phone representative. 🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare albingirl Posted April 5, 2023 #9 Share Posted April 5, 2023 I usually listen to their horrible wait time music and then, usually get cut off or transferred to someone who can't help me. After a very long wait. They need more people to answer the phones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YourWorldWithBill Posted April 5, 2023 #10 Share Posted April 5, 2023 7 hours ago, ontheweb said: Since you actually know the answers to the OP's questions, you are obviously NOT a HAL phone representative. 🤣 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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