Bridge Tour

[Mike07]

52 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

 

 

Now, a comment on the surveys that Viking ask us to fill out at the end of a cruise.  This I fully support you @Mike07

 

I have never on an Ocean ship been persuaded to fill this out at any level of satisfaction, BUT have on a River Cruise been told more than once and on more than one cruise that if we don't give the highest mark possible (forget what that is, but probably exceeds expectations) that the crew will not get a bonus or something.  I personally found that to be deplorable that we were being "instructed" on how to answer and in fact made to feel guilty that there would be consequences for the crew if we did not give the highest rating.

 

 

Thank you thank you thank you.

 

More on this later

[duquephart]

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

 

Now, a comment on the surveys that Viking ask us to fill out at the end of a cruise.  This I fully support you @Mike07

 

I have never on an Ocean ship been persuaded to fill this out at any level of satisfaction, BUT have on a River Cruise been told more than once and on more than one cruise that if we don't give the highest mark possible (forget what that is, but probably exceeds expectations) that the crew will not get a bonus or something.  I personally found that to be deplorable that we were being "instructed" on how to answer and in fact made to feel guilty that there would be consequences for the crew if we did not give the highest rating.

 

The car dealers say anything less than a "10" on their surveys is a fail. First they do everything they can to skin you and then they beg for a perfect score!

[Mike07]

8 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

The car dealers say anything less than a "10" on their surveys is a fail. First they do everything they can to skin you and then they beg for a perfect score!

 

 

That is an excellent analogy. Usually car dealers say that, because the salesman might get a small financial incentive (< $50) for every perfect customer survey received, and it helps with the overall dealer rating and chances the dealer has down the road to pickup allocated units.

 

But yes, I have heard from Viking that anything less than perfect is a fail on their part.

[duquephart]

Why have a numbers system if it's all or nothing?

[Mike07]

17 minutes ago, duquephart said:

Why have a numbers system if it's all or nothing?

 

 

It's a management thing. But yes, most corporations have deduced the entire experience to that score card.

 

Edited May 14 by Mike07

[Mike07]

11 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

 

Now, a comment on the surveys that Viking ask us to fill out at the end of a cruise.  This I fully support you @Mike07

 

I have never on an Ocean ship been persuaded to fill this out at any level of satisfaction, BUT have on a River Cruise been told more than once and on more than one cruise that if we don't give the highest mark possible (forget what that is, but probably exceeds expectations) that the crew will not get a bonus or something.  I personally found that to be deplorable that we were being "instructed" on how to answer and in fact made to feel guilty that there would be consequences for the crew if we did not give the highest rating.

 

 

And yes, and that's where this issue that some aren't acknowledging popped up..... on my first Viking River cruise, I was coached to provide the highest remarks to something on the ship otherwise it would be a failure. Then, a question on the ship's captain came up, and IMHO, the guy was largely an absentee captain. Then on the ocean ships, same experience...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 14 by Mike07

[sharkster77]

Frankly, as soon as I am told that I HAVE to rate someone/something a 10, I absolutely will not do so---if the survey is a sham, then don't insult me by asking me to fill it out!!!

[OneSixtyToOne]

12 minutes ago, sharkster77 said:

Frankly, as soon as I am told that I HAVE to rate someone/something a 10, I absolutely will not do so---if the survey is a sham, then don't insult me by asking me to fill it out!!!

My former employer held an annual employee meeting where part of the presentation was customer survey results. They explained that their methodology was anything under a 7 was grouped together. I questioned this as completely skewing the results since some people will never give a 10 and many consider a 5 as normal. I pointed out that if they were doing this they should use a scale of 1 to 4. That fell on deft ears because the survey was outsourced and was told that is how everyone does it. Since then I refuse to give numerical ratings on any survey.

 

Edited May 14 by OneSixtyToOne

[Mike07]

9 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

My former employer held an annual employee meeting where part of the presentation was customer survey results. They explained that their methodology was anything under a 7 was grouped together. I questioned this as completely skewing the results since some people will never give a 10 and many consider a 5 as normal. I pointed out that if they were doing this they should use a scale of 1 to 4. That fell on deft ears because the survey was outsourced and was told that is how everyone does it. Since then I refuse to give numerical ratings on any survey.

 

 

 

That was what the professional "consulting" class said is the right way. They're SMEs buddy... they know better than you possibly could. 😉

 

[Jim Avery]

Glad I worked tankers and freighters. Can’t imagine how crabby passengers would have rated me.😱🥃

[Mike07]

32 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Glad I worked tankers and freighters. Can’t imagine how crabby passengers would have rated me.😱🥃

 

 

Well, if you want to compare broccoli sales to iPhone sales, go right ahead. I mean, it's still a sales job, right?

[Jim Avery]

Once carried 28,000 cases of Olympia Beer to St Paul in the Pribiloff Islands. The citizens rated me a perfect 10.🍺🍺🍺🍺

[duquephart]

6 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Once carried 28,000 cases of Olympia Beer to St Paul in the Pribiloff Islands. The citizens rated me a perfect 10.🍺🍺🍺🍺

 

Nothing to wash it down with?

[CDNPolar]

Surveys are often built to give falsely positive resutls.

 

As a Learning and Development professional I have taken a number of courses on how to build surveys. Most don't build surveys well, from my perspective and what I have learned about how to build them.

 

On surveys that are 1-10, where 5 may be considered neutral, often any number from 6-10 is grouped together to be a "positive" result.  You may see that "Overwhelmingly our customers have ranked our services positively" but this may include many 6's and 7's which are not high ratings.

 

I am a person that rarely gives a 10 in these ranking scales because something has to go far and above and greatly exceed my expectations to get a 10.  To me a really good score is giving an 8 and many things get a 6 or a 7 and I am still okay with them, but not a raving fan.

 

The above thinking is true for many people responding to surveys making 1-10 scales very subjective.  The 6-10 range will mean something different for everyone.

 

We have seen here on CC how subjective reviews of the food are on Viking Ocean ships.  We love the Chef's Table and others dislike it and for many reasons.  How do you assign a proper number to your experience with the Chef's Table with a range of 10 numbers that are not defined.

 

Most surveys I make if they are on a scale, are done with a 4 scale but have a definition beside each.

 

1 = Does not meet expectations

2 = Somewhat meets expectations

3 = Meets expectations

4 = Exceeds expectations

 

When I am assessing the results, I would give separate reports for 3's and 4's but also group them to see what is the total of positive responses.  3 and 4 are clearly positive, and if your expectations are not met, then you choose 2 and that is easier for someone to choose because it is not a complete slam of the service or product.

 

But back to the survey... I was astounded the first time, and I have heard this several times now, that we should choose the highest rating on the survey.  This is a fail on the side of Viking that if they know their crew are instructing people this way, they should put a stop to it, and if they don't know, they should be informed.

[duquephart]

"Meets expectations" is a good score.

[Frenchberet]

This thread isn’t about bridge tours anymore but I wanted to comment on the survey ratings.  
 

I look at “anything less than a perfect score is a fail” a bit differently.  I think that Viking (and car dealers) are trying to convey their desire to do everything they can to ensure you have a great experience.  I think it’s their hope that you will give them an opportunity to correct whatever you’re unhappy with before you submit negative comments to management.  Speak up before you put pen to paper.

[taiwan_girl]

On 5/15/2024 at 5:09 AM, CDNPolar said:

Most surveys I make if they are on a scale, are done with a 4 scale but have a definition beside each.

 

1 = Does not meet expectations

2 = Somewhat meets expectations

3 = Meets expectations

4 = Exceeds expectations

I think that when I did my six sigma class, any survey you gave was supposed to be on a 1-4-7-10 choice.  The explanation was that they wanted to people be definite in their responses.

[chengkp75]

On 5/14/2024 at 7:30 PM, Jim Avery said:

Once carried 28,000 cases of Olympia Beer to St Paul in the Pribiloff Islands. The citizens rated me a perfect 10.🍺🍺🍺🍺

Couple of times on a barge carrier, we had barges loaded with 1000 tons (about 650,000 quart bottles) of Scotch.

[Jim Avery]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Couple of times on a barge carrier, we had barges loaded with 1000 tons (about 650,000 quart bottles) of Scotch.

That’ll get you top marks.🥃

[millybess]

Very interesting thread which I have just come across after being away for a bit.

 

My question:  Is it possible that Viking would use different management companies for different ships?

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, millybess said:

Very interesting thread which I have just come across after being away for a bit.

 

My question:  Is it possible that Viking would use different management companies for different ships?

 

It is possible, but not really practical.

[Mike07]

14 hours ago, millybess said:

 

 

My question:  Is it possible that Viking would use different management companies for different ships?

 

 

You can guarantee the Chinese ship has a different management company.

[FetaCheese]

Re:  VO end of voyage survey/questionnaire.

 

Having been on 4, I feel that I know what their product is, and how it should be delivered.

 

When properly executed to VO Standard, I always say "Met my Expectations".  In some rare instances, I will say "Above or Exceeded Expectations, or below".

 

Therefore, I do not consider meeting expectations as a fail.

 

Re:  Bridge Tour on Star, December 2023, Captain Magnus was engaging, took ample questions, and was very personable, both on the tour, and around the ship.

 

Took Engine Control Room Tour, same voyage, and Chief Engineer was also engaging, answered many and all questions.  He also told everyone, that if he is around the ship, to ask any other questions.

 

Both tours, I rated "Above/Exceeded Expectations" in comment section.

Edited May 19 by FetaCheese

[Mike07]

2 hours ago, FetaCheese said:

Re:  Bridge Tour on Star, December 2023, Captain Magnus was engaging, took ample questions, and was very personable, both on the tour, and around the ship.

 

Took Engine Control Room Tour, same voyage, and Chief Engineer was also engaging, answered many and all questions.  He also told everyone, that if he is around the ship, to ask any other questions.

 

Both tours, I rated "Above/Exceeded Expectations" in comment section.

 

 

Good to hear this.

[CCWineLover]

We love Viking and thus have high expectations.  Have not been let down.  On the surveys, we also check "Meets Expectations".    We've written every time (18) in the comments section that this survey needs re-doing but obviously we are in the minority who feel this way.  My reason to them is they are not getting a true picture of what people feel.  THere are many like me who treat the words literally.

 

That being said, in all our many cruises River and Ocean, we have NEVER been asked or coached on what to put down.  I even asked one of the Guest Services people - aren't you going to ask me to put a high grade down and she said absolutely not!   That to me makes all the difference.  But they still need to redesign the form or they will not get true results.