No more 45 day letters

[zeppekitty]

I have yet to see price drop worth noticing when I search. I have three cruises booked for 2009 and one is a spa suite on the Splendor, so doubt that will go down. The April cruise is down $54, wow, whooppee......The January is no difference at all. I am hoping for the upgrade fairy to visit...

 

I sent a letter in, but a 45 day letter was not my intentions. I really want to know why I still am NOT getting my Currents magazine (since January 2007--not just me, but my mom, brother, his wife, and my niece) after four cruises in under 2 years. I also wanted to commend them on the ship n crew--specially that yummy maitre'd, Alex!

I never received my Currents after multiple cruises in the last 2 years either. When I called about it the woman on the phone at Carnival acted surprised and told me she would take care of it. No Currents has ever arrived.

[dan40]

No more 45 day letter?

 

Carnival cutting costs?

 

How about this?

 

 

 

 

CLOSINGS AND LAYOFFS

Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide A company spokeswoman said the company hasn't revealed which stores will be shuttered. It will let the stores that will close this fiscal year know over the next month.

 

Eddie Bauer to close more stores. Eddie Bauer has already closed 27 shops in the first quarter and plans to close up to two more outlet stores by the end of the year.

 

Cache closing stores. Women's retailer Cache announced that it is closing 20 to 23 stores this year.

 

Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines closing 150 stores nationwide The owner of retailers Lane Bryant , Fashion Bug , Catherines Plus Sizes will close about 150 under performing stores this year. The company hasn't provided a list of specific store closures and can't say when it will offer that info, spokeswoman Brooke Perry said today.

 

Talbots, J. Jill closing stores. About a month ago, Talbots announced that it will be shuttering all 78 of its kids and men's stores. Now the company says it will close another 22 under performing stores. The 22 stores will be a mix of Talbots women's and J. Jill, another chain it owns. The closures will occur this fiscal year, according to a company press release.

 

Gap Inc. closing 85 stores. In addition to its namesake chain, Gap also owns Old Navy and Banana Republic. The company said the closures - all planned for fiscal 2008 - will be weighted toward the Gap brand.

 

Foot Locker to close 140 stores. In the company press release and during its conference call with analysts today, it did not specify where the future store closures - all planned in fiscal 2008 - will be. The company could not be immediately reached for comment.

 

Wickes is going out of business. Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its stores, Wickes, a 37-year-old retailer that targets middle-income customers, filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

 

Levitz / BOMBAY - closed already. The furniture retailer is going out of business. Levitz first announced it was going out of business and closing all 76 of its stores in December. The retailer dates back to 1910 when Richard Levitz opened his first furniture store in Lebanon , PA. In the 1960s, the warehouse/ showroom concept brought Levitz to the forefront of the furniture industry. The local Levitz closures will follow the shutdown of Bombay .

 

Zales & Piercing Pagoda closing stores. The owner of Zales and Piercing Pagoda previously said it plans to close 82 stores by July 31. Today, it announced that it is closing another 23 under performing stores. The company said it's not providing a list of specific store closures. Of the 105 locations planned for closure, 50 are kiosks and 55 are stores.

 

Disney Store owner has the right to close 98 stores The Walt Disney Company announced it acquired about 220 Disney Stores from subsidiaries of The Children's Place Retail Stores. The exact number of stores acquired will depend on negotiations with landlords. Those subsidiaries of Children's Place filed for bankruptcy protection in late March. Walt Disney in the news release said it has also obtained the right to close about 98 Disney Stores in the U.S. The press release didn't list those stores.

 

Home Depot store closings (E. Brunswick, Rt 18 just put up their closing sign) ATLANTA - Nearly 7+ months after its chief executive said there were no plans to cut the number of its core retail stores, The Home Depot Inc. announced Thursday that it is shuttering 15 of them amid a slumping U.S. economy and housing market. The move will affect 1,300 employees. It is the first time the world's largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store for performance reasons. Its shares rose almost 5 percent. The Atlanta-based company said the under performing U.S. stores being closed represent less than 1 percent of its existing stores. They will be shuttered within the next two months.

 

CompUSA (CLOSED) clarifies details on store closings. Any extended warranties purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by a third-party provider, Assurant Solutions. Gift cards, rain checks, and rebates purchased prior to December 12 can be redeemed at any time during the final sale. For those who have a gadget currently in for service with CompUSA, the repair will be completed and the gadget will be returned to owners.

 

Macy's - 9 stores

 

Movie Gallery - 160 stores as part of reorganization plan to exit bankruptcy. The video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental chain closed last fall.

 

Pacific Sunwear - 153 Demo stores

 

Pep Boys - 33 stores

 

Sprint Nextel - 125 retail locations New Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse appears to have inherited a company bleeding subscribers by the thousands, and will now officially be dropping the ax on 4,000 employees and 125 retail locations. Amid the loss of 639,000 postpaid customers in the fourth quarter, Sprint will be cutting a total of 6.7% of its work force (following the 5,000 layoffs last year) and 8% of company-owned brick-and-mortar stores, while remaining mute on other

rumors that it will consolidate its headquarters in Kansas Sprint Nextel shares are down $2.89, or nearly 25%, at the time of this writing.

 

J. C. Penney, Lowe's and Office Depot are scaling back

 

Ethan Allen Interiors: The company announced plans to close 12 of 300+

 

Wilsons the Leather Experts - 158 stores

 

Pacific Sunwear will close its 154 Demo stores after a review of strategic alternatives for the urban-apparel brand. Seventy-four under performing Demo stores closed last May.

 

Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection and announced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing. The retailer will still operate 94 stores to pay off debts, but 90 of these stores have performed poorly and also may close.

 

Bombay Company: The company unveiled plans to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores. The company's online storefront has discontinued operations.

 

KB Toys posted a list of 356 stores that it is closing around the United States as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. To see the list of store closings, go to the KB Toys Information web site, and click on Press Information

 

Dillard's to Close More Stores. Dillard's Inc. said it will continue to focus on closing under performing stores, reducing expenses and improving its merchandise in 2008. At the company's annual shareholder meeting, CEO William Dillard II said the company will close another six under reforming stores this year.

 

 

Dan

[aggieastrosfan]

I'm glad they did away with the letter... Hopefully this will keep those of us that send them valid comments, suggestions, etc sending them, and those that are doing it just to get a $10 gift not just sending fluff.

 

This is what I was thinking. I would be much happier if they would fix our B2B experience so it doesn't happen anymore over getting a free bottle of wine but having to do it all over again.

[pe4all]

I have always written a letter after each of our cruises, and have always received a response from Carnival. Last cruise, we praised 5 cruise members who made our cruise a great one, (especially for my special needs daughter) and I also wrote about our dining experience, as it was one of the first cruises on Freedom that switched to 2 dining times, instead of 4. This was a not so great experience, as the poor d.r. staff was overwhelmed, though they did their best. They were getting much undeserved flack from many passengers due to the wait time for meals, and I wanted management to know it was not the staff's fault. Also, I wrote about the unbearable smoke condition in the piano bar. Got back a very nice letter, which made it clear they DO read and respond to them. Excerpts from the letter:

" We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your kind words. We appreciate you taking the time to tell us we accomplished our goals.

We value our team, and are happy their efforts exceeded your expectations. The staff members, Carlos, Mitchell, Todd W., James and Ron Pass mentioned in your letter will receive proper recognition on your behalf and copies of your letter have been shared with their immediate supervisors.

Your additional comments regarding dining and ventilation onboard have been noted. We have taken the liberty of forwarding your comments to the respective department heads for their research and review. We apologize for any disappointment you experienced."

We did receive this response in the form of a 30 day letter (I guess they were saving the 1/3 already!) but it wasn't expected. They also sent a red soft drink "bottle" for both my daughters, which totally was unexpected. We will continue to sail Carnival as they provide us with the vacation we love. Truthfully, the $10 freebie they offer makes no difference to us - it is the crew that makes or breaks a vacation for us. They will probably save thousands cutting back on the 45 day letters. We will still write to share our cruise experiences - good, or not so good, with them.

[deborahjo]

I have my 45 day letter for my April Cruise if they honor it. I know times are bad everywhere. When we moved from Colorado to South Dakota it was a shock. There are jobs here don't get me wrong. It is just that I took a $6,000 a year paycut. DH has a good job but also took a small pay cut.

 

Things have got to change. The problem is I do not see it happening in the next 4 years. Off my soapbox now..

[KroozLov'r]

How do you figure? If I have to call 45 days or 30 days out to get my bottle of wine or whatever, they still give me the wine, no matter when I call. Maybe I'm missing something?

 

Actually, I guess the math is pretty simple. 45 minus 1/3(15) = 30. So I guess the math part does make sense.

[KroozLov'r]

I don't get what the OP meant???

 

Umm, I think the OP meant that there would be be no more 45 day letters.:confused: