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Post cruise survey question regarding request for positive ratings


Peter D

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I just completed my Oasis of the Seas survey.  Overall, we had a great time, and my survey responses reflect it.  However, I always hesitate on one question.

'Has any cruise member requested a positive rating, and if so... who?"  I never really know how I should answer this question.  My experience over the years is that we always have at least one crew member does in fact says something like 'remember, you will be getting a survey and it is very important that you provide your feedback, but my manager considers anything less than 10, a failure".   

I never answer the survey question 'yes', because I don't really want to throw anyone under the bus... but should I? 

Do the crew members know that this question is on the survey?  If so, why do they still request a 10?

Am I doing a disservice to all, by not 'reporting' the crew member?  Anecdotally, it is almost always dining room waiters/asst waiters that even mention the surveys and comment on it.

 

What are some other thoughts on this? 

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I seem to remember (it's been 3 months, good thing we're leaving again in 13 days now) that if you answer Yes, it only asks for the position not the name of the crew person.

I also believe, but could be wrong, that RCCL does not want the crew asking for positive reviews, especially asking you to give 10's.  I have formed that opinion from discussions with some of the officers I speak with.   Now there is also a big difference from asking for 10's and just commenting that after your cruise you will get a survey, please fill it out.

Mostly I have received that survey 10's sepal in the dinning room, personally if they start I quickly stop them by saying that i will answer the survey as I see fit.

BTW not only do i answer YES if it has happened, but I also fill in my rating as I perceive them, along with a specific comment saying what was rated low, if any were, and the reason why.  I think they want honest answers and customers opinions, but that just me.

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I  ~almost~ feel like that question is test question because I/we have been reminded each time, only in the MDR, that their service ratings are very important to them and that a 10 is their goal, etc. The script was almost exactly the same each time, so it seems like they must know the high rating is being suggested/requested?

Anyway, the first 2 times I said no, thinking that it might go against them, but this past cruise answered that yes, they had. It did then ask who/where. 

I start a note in my phone at the beginning of each cruise to jot down those I want to remember to bring up in my survey. It's a really big deal for them - I have heard that they print out many of these and post them in the crew areas. 

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Been asked a few times. One time I joked to the waiter “So you wanted me to give you an 8, right?”  I though he was going to have a nervous breakdown right there. 
 

I heard a few times that sub 10’s can cause them not to be renewed at the end of their contract. In the end I’ve always had great service and never had any complaints (maybe I’m lucky)

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I agree, the MDR staff always let us know how important 10s are and on our last cruise was event mentioned that if they get all 10s they get an extra day off.  It’s really uncomfortable for us since they’ve already earned a 10  with the amazing service.  I know they really want everyone to complete the survey and Royal needs to find a better way to incentivize passengers to complete the survey, so the staff aren’t “begging” for scores. It’s a small thing, but t leaves us with a bad taste right at the end of the trip.

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19 hours ago, Peter D said:

'Has any cruise member requested a positive rating, and if so... who?"  I never really know how I should answer this question.  My experience over the years is that we always have at least one crew member does in fact says something like 'remember, you will be getting a survey and it is very important that you provide your feedback, but my manager considers anything less than 10, a failure".   

 

I think your conscience can be clear.  What you are describing is not a crew member requesting a positive rating.  It is a crew member reminding you that you will get a survey and letting you know the line where managers define failure.  He/she isn't saying give me a 10.  They are alerting you that while on your scale, 9 might be super good, they are working pass/fail.

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18 hours ago, FloatyBoaty said:

I  ~almost~ feel like that question is test question because I/we have been reminded each time, only in the MDR, that their service ratings are very important to them and that a 10 is their goal, etc. The script was almost exactly the same each time, so it seems like they must know the high rating is being suggested/requested?

 

I've thought the exact same thing....it seems scripted.

 

There is little I hate more than being asked to give favorable reviews. I get why they ask but there needs to be a better way to review without feeling like someone's job depends on it. 

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To my opinion this is an issue created by RCL.

I regular survey people tend to give 8 and 9 as good score an 10 for exceptional. If RCL consider a  9 or 8 to be a problematic score there should explain it in the beginning of the survey or in the CC otherwise they almost force the crew members to explain it ...

 

 

 

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16 minutes ago, Traveler said:

To my opinion this is an issue created by RCL.

I regular survey people tend to give 8 and 9 as good score an 10 for exceptional. If RCL consider a  9 or 8 to be a problematic score there should explain it in the beginning of the survey or in the CC otherwise they almost force the crew members to explain it ...

 

 

 

This is what I hate...an 8 or 9 is excellent to me. A 10 means you anticipated my needs and I rarely/never had to ask for a thing. Not that a 10 isn't possible but most really amazing people work at an 8 or a 9 to me but it seems like I should give a 10 because someone might be reprimanded for not reading my thoughts for exactly what I want. Hell, I don't know exactly what I want.

It's subjective, clearly, and any one of you can tell me I'm 100% wrong and this is why...and you're not wrong either. 

 

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1 hour ago, Traveler said:

To my opinion this is an issue created by RCL.

I regular survey people tend to give 8 and 9 as good score an 10 for exceptional. If RCL consider a  9 or 8 to be a problematic score there should explain it in the beginning of the survey or in the CC otherwise they almost force the crew members to explain it ...

 

 

 

Totally agree.  If it is a pass/fail situation, tell the customer.  It's natural to think a 9 is a really great score.  Any person giving someone a 9 would not expect that their experience would result in the target being in trouble.  They would be better off using Net Promoter Score where essentially you take your % of 9's and 10's and subtract from that your % of 0-6 (ignore 7's and 8's).  Then consumers could complete the survey without worry and the staff wouldn't feel like they need to inform us that they are in trouble for anything less than a 10.

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I think this question generally skews all the responses I make for for all of the services, not just dining.  I'm incline to give a 10 for a bar service, for example, even if I had one bartender not meet expectations at all.  It's probably warranted to lower it to an 8 or 9 due to one interaction, but is that fair given the apparent weight of a 10?

Maybe on all my future surveys, I will add a comment on the question specifically, and see if it helps lead to a clarification or omission of it all together.  

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1 hour ago, Traveler said:

To my opinion this is an issue created by RCL.

I regular survey people tend to give 8 and 9 as good score an 10 for exceptional. If RCL consider a  9 or 8 to be a problematic score there should explain it in the beginning of the survey or in the CC otherwise they almost force the crew members to explain it ...

RC may be happy if crew get an 8 or a 9, the pressure for a 10 could be the extra day off for crew as is mentioned by a previous poster 

15 hours ago, Reigert2008 said:

I agree, the MDR staff always let us know how important 10s are and on our last cruise was event mentioned that if they get all 10s they get an extra day off.

 

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One of our former waiters told us if they do not get 10s, they are required to attend more “training” sessions which results in less free/leave time. They are also rated against other wait staff. I actually got to see it posted during a galley tour. It can also lead to no promotion or no contract renewal.

From personal experience with these 10 point surveys, anything below a 10 counts against you (unfair I know). These type of surveys are used in retail, healthcare, and dining corporate businesses on the mainland.

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2 hours ago, Austin said:

 

From personal experience with these 10 point surveys, anything below a 10 counts against you (unfair I know). 

I wouldn't say it was unfair!

If you don't get the service you expect or isn't up to the standard of others is it right to award a 10 just because they have informed you that anything less than a 10 could result in them not having a day off, having to retrain or possibly miss out on a promotion. 

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3 hours ago, Ray said:

I wouldn't say it was unfair!

If you don't get the service you expect or isn't up to the standard of others is it right to award a 10 just because they have informed you that anything less than a 10 could result in them not having a day off, having to retrain or possibly miss out on a promotion. 

I think the point of all of this is to give feedback to wait staff during the cruise; be honest when the food is cold or improperly cooked.  It doesn't do anyone any good to save up complaints for the evaluation.  I think the wait staff want an opportunity to fix anything that doesn't meet customer expectations.  But I agree, don't give a 10 if you don't feel you had great service.  One thing I noticed is that MDR staff clean the crumbs off the tablecloth, but this was never done in our specialty restaurant visits. I wonder why not?

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We always take great care in remembering great service and naming those that positively add to our cruise experience. HOWEVER, we have soured on the survey itself as being meaningful to us, the paying customers. We had a horrible cruise in December, thankfully our only bad one, on Allure. Changed our port from Cozumel to Nassau and CoCo. Just a 4 day trip but Covid was given as the reason but that was bogus given RCL ships were docking in Cozumel. Sat in the ocean, that not cruising, for a whole day before slipping back in port. Food wasn't good...issues were numerous. NOTHING back and even when I spent the time to call and ask why...nada.

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At our first dinner this cruise, the head waiter told us that they strive for 10 out of 10 and asked us to immediately let him know if anything didn’t meet that standard so it could be corrected on the spot. 
 

it will be interesting to see if/how the post cruise survey is brought up on our last night. 

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54 minutes ago, teddy said:

At our first dinner this cruise, the head waiter told us that they strive for 10 out of 10 and asked us to immediately let him know if anything didn’t meet that standard so it could be corrected on the spot. 
 

it will be interesting to see if/how the post cruise survey is brought up on our last night. 

I haven’t seen the head waiter in any of my last 4 cruises. Was thinking they got rid of them

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On our last cruise, our MDR waiters were relentless about bringing up the survey… from night 1 all the way to night 7… to the point where my family was like… this is so uncomfortable… part is on us, we should have asked them not to keep bringing it up like other people did… but I felt bad and was honestly a little bit shocked… it was about 2-3 minutes at the beginning of the meal, then again with the entrees, and again after dessert with the same line….. “please remember when you get the survey, the lowest is a 10 and the highest is a 10” and then just stand there while we all nod our heads in understanding. My young daughter was even like, it’s only the first night of the cruise…. so to hear this statement three times a night for 7 nights was definitely too much. I debated what to do at the end and gave them the same good additional tip I would normally give, but I didn’t answer the survey at all… following the adage of if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all…. 😓

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On 8/29/2022 at 10:53 AM, Xaa said:

I think your conscience can be clear.  What you are describing is not a crew member requesting a positive rating.  It is a crew member reminding you that you will get a survey and letting you know the line where managers define failure.  He/she isn't saying give me a 10.  They are alerting you that while on your scale, 9 might be super good, they are working pass/fail.

I was on Wonder and had many of the servers specifically asked us to rate them 10.  We were asked so many times that I did mention it in the survey.  I don't mind being asked to do the survey but constantly being asked is a bit much.  I always mention the ones who I have had a great service from in the survey, and tip them extra as well.   

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On 8/29/2022 at 1:05 PM, Traveler said:

To my opinion this is an issue created by RCL.

I regular survey people tend to give 8 and 9 as good score an 10 for exceptional. If RCL consider a  9 or 8 to be a problematic score there should explain it in the beginning of the survey or in the CC otherwise they almost force the crew members to explain it ...

 

 

 

It seems they have gone the way of the car dealerships.  After you get your car serviced they ask that you give them 10's across the board, anything less and they do not get considered for awards for their dealership.

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What is particularly interesting is it seems that only wait staff does this.  I do not ever remember a room steward ever mention it.  Of course, bar staff never says much of anything.  Maybe there is something to the whole script thoughts and wait staff (dining rooms) was selected to be the messenger.  Honestly, as I think of it, it is probably the cruise director that should give a 'survey is important' spiel.

Maybe we need our own passenger pre-emptive spiel.  " I know the end of cruise survey is important and if your service is worth a 10, then I will give a 10, but do not ask for it."  (of course, this approach is only partially in jest) 😜

Sadly, I will have to wait until May2023 before I get another survey.😢

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On 8/30/2022 at 11:09 PM, Cruiser4Life said:

On our last cruise, our MDR waiters were relentless about bringing up the survey… from night 1 all the way to night 7… to the point where my family was like… this is so uncomfortable… part is on us, we should have asked them not to keep bringing it up like other people did… but I felt bad and was honestly a little bit shocked… it was about 2-3 minutes at the beginning of the meal, then again with the entrees, and again after dessert with the same line….. “please remember when you get the survey, the lowest is a 10 and the highest is a 10” and then just stand there while we all nod our heads in understanding. My young daughter was even like, it’s only the first night of the cruise…. so to hear this statement three times a night for 7 nights was definitely too much. I debated what to do at the end and gave them the same good additional tip I would normally give, but I didn’t answer the survey at all… following the adage of if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all…. 😓

I do sympathize with the dilemma you faced.  I hate to be made to feel uncomfortable when I am the customer.  Under the circumstances you describe, I would rather not tip (extra envelopes) at the end of the cruise.  Out of about 16 cruises I think I can remember two when we weren't thrilled about the MDR service, but the survey spiel was usually just one and done.  Hope your next experience is better. 

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1 hour ago, Peter D said:

What is particularly interesting is it seems that only wait staff does this.  I do not ever remember a room steward ever mention it.  Of course, bar staff never says much of anything.  Maybe there is something to the whole script thoughts and wait staff (dining rooms) was selected to be the messenger.  Honestly, as I think of it, it is probably the cruise director that should give a 'survey is important' spiel.

Maybe we need our own passenger pre-emptive spiel.  " I know the end of cruise survey is important and if your service is worth a 10, then I will give a 10, but do not ask for it."  (of course, this approach is only partially in jest) 😜

Sadly, I will have to wait until May2023 before I get another survey.😢

Actually, I think your "pre-emptive spiel" is a good idea.

I remember years ago it became a problem with wait staff requesting high marks for service, so much so we almost dreaded dinner  because we knew what was coming. It was constant, at every meal. Like high-pressure sales. And then it abruptly stopped. Possibly one reminder and that was it.  It was so pleasant. I always assumed it was because passengers complained, either in person or on the surveys.

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Being a regular in the WJ for breakfast, I have experienced this towards the end of a cruise.  Also specialty restaurants made the request each night that I visited a particular restaurant.  Ironically, it is that very request that ruins the service for me.  Normally I receive amazing service, but as soon as they start with the survey nonsense, it's like they have tarnished, what was up to that moment, a wonderful meal.

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20 hours ago, ChessE4 said:

I think the point of all of this is to give feedback to wait staff during the cruise; be honest when the food is cold or improperly cooked. 

I get what you mean but to me if the food came out cold or not cooked properly i wouldn't blame the servers as thats the chefs area and its their job to ensure everything is edible, if this situation arose i would get it sorted while there! 

For me Its the servers in MDR asking for a 10 not the chefs so its the servers im judging! All of the others behind the scenes are irrelevant to me. 

Like others have mentioned i take names of those who deserve a special mention but i don't BS!  im not going to say something was great when i didn't think it was. 

If someone needs extra training so they get a 10 without begging for it is that a bad thing? 

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8 hours ago, Peter D said:

Maybe we need our own passenger pre-emptive spiel.  " I know the end of cruise survey is important and if your service is worth a 10, then I will give a 10, but do not ask for it."  (of course, this approach is only partially in jest) 😜

Your approach is not in jest at all for myself. 

I use a statement similar to yours, the very first time the start the spiel, I may even cut the off (I know that's rude, but so is the spiel in my opinion)

I rarely, if ever hear it mentioned again on that cruise.  Which was my goal.

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Here are a few of my questions:

When you rate a service, be it MDR/MTD, windjammer, bar, guest services - How does Royal know which staff member to reward/warn if you don't give a name attached to said rating.

Maybe MDR is not a good example because you get same servers every night, but MTD/windjammer - what I always choose, may give you same servers and may not. This assuming of course that each survey has a unique link that identifies survey to guest. And I have had multiple MTD/Windjammer staff "remind me" of the survey.

Another question I have: If you rate the food quality less than 10 but service 10 - do they still get reprimanded? Maybe just the manger or perhaps this goes to the chef/cooks or staff responsible for procurement? I've had wonderful interactions with managers at dining venues where food was less than expected but I did not attribute this to the staff I interacted with. More of food quality/selection issues. I'm always hesitant to give poor ratings which would hopefully have RCCL strive to improve because I don't want the wonderful crew to miss out on otherwise well earned opportunities.

If anyone has any good information on this please share. I always fill out the survey and make sure I mention everyone's names who I had positive interaction with. I feel they deserve it and it's the least I could do (other than tip a little extra at the end).

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