Just had my Rudest Carnival Staff Member Ever!

[iluvdoxies]

My daughter is also a dancer and she didn't take a cruise line position because she had friends who HATED the other jobs they had to do and after looking at the contract it was stated that they would have other duties which were outlined in the contract they work lots of hours! I am just tired of the "I'm having a bad day excuse" this girl could have sucked it up for an hour, I'm sorry if this seems harsh but we have to stop giving ourselves excuses.

 

I agree 100%

[stewpapa]

As the Mom of a Carnival Dancer, (no , not one on the ship referred to here), may I just say my heart goes out to the girl. Yes, these girls are payed to entertain you ON THE STAGE. They can be in rehearsal from 3 to 8 hours each day. Something the passengers never see. In addition they do Port duties, immigration, library duties, safety drills daily (many are trained as lifeboat captains). They assist with bingo, art auctions, photography, first aid, medical emergencies, dance classes for passengers, fitness sessions for staff, ping pong competitions, lead deck parties and so the list goes on. They are all away from their families, many having left loved ones and even their children at home. That lap top maybe her only link with her family, I know it was my daughters only link with her young child as she worked to try to secure a future for them both.

It saddens me that you did not see this young ladies name. Carnival empleyees always wear their name badges clearly displayed. The fact you noted she was a "dancer" indicates you read the badge but did not see the name which is in letters 3 times ther size of "dancer" which also by the way if you take the time to look shows the country they are from. I think you saw dancer, and thought now entertain me. Take a moment and see the person, please. Don't always wait to be greeted and bowed to, take the time to be the first to say hello, and maybe, if you think they are not doing their job, "why are you here today". You might be surprised by the response.

Also on a final note, did any of you know the dancers are NOT part of any tip pool and can be fired for accepting tips from passengers. Yes they do all demanded of them and fill in all the gaps on the wage they sign up on to perform for you.

 

I only knew she was a dancer because they are the only ones who wear Enertainment Staff uniforms besides the Cruise Directors staff and they are pretty east to spot. I could not see her name tag clearly. During the show, I heard them introduce her at the end, and I think I know her name, but will not post it here nor did I put it on my comment survey. She seemed to enjoy performing. She was probably just having a bad day. That's is why we didn't react at all, just noticed the unusual attitude coming from a Carnival staff member. I see MANY RUDE GUESTSs on EVERY cruise and am surprised at how calm and courteous most of the staff and crew handle it. It is unusual to see a rude staff member.

 

Also, all of the crew and staff left their family behind and are in the same "boat" she is in and they are all perfectly nice to be around 99% of the time. I'm sure some of them are pretty miserable, but it isn't obvious. I assumed she was having a bad day and that is why we went about our business without complaining on board. Yes, I DO know they do not get tips, maybe if she did, she would have been nicer.

 

If she is being required to do duties outside of her contract, then she should be the one complaining, but she should still be courteous to guests that she is required to serve or interact with and I bet that being courteous to guests IS somewhere in her contract. If not, I guess all the other 1500 crew members put their personal lives behind to be courteous to guests just because they want to and she is the exception.

[maruba]

My daughter is also a dancer and she didn't take a cruise line position because she had friends who HATED the other jobs they had to do and after looking at the contract it was stated that they would have other duties which were outlined in the contract they work lots of hours! I am just tired of the "I'm having a bad day excuse" this girl could have sucked it up for an hour, I'm sorry if this seems harsh but we have to stop giving ourselves excuses.

Wondering with whom this contract was with. My daughters was through her agent in Australia. I think you make my point, "have to work lots of hours" not stated in contract. Then you go on to say others should do it and suck it up hummm, me see a double a standard here. "Too good for me and mine but others should do it!"

Unless you walk in their shoes do not judge them.

[iluvdoxies]

we had a veery RUDE guy at he pursors desk on the Fascination

 

I ah a problem with some OBC, it wasnt showing up. He told me to take care of it when I got home

 

Needless to say, I wrote a letter about him when I returned home

[maruba]

OK this thread just proved to me what a waste of time CC is for information or trying to gather informed opinonins.

What a self centered bunch of ......(sorry speechless)

Do you people not realise that even though you THINK you are lowering yourselves to sail on Carnival that the people who serve you are, PEOPLE JUST LIKE YOU. Thank you very much for the insulting comments I recieved for trying to point this out.

[TerReuv]

OMG people read my whole post PLEASE. See past your selfcenterdness, self entitelment. NO dancers ARE NOT part of the general entertainment staff. They do NOT sign on for the job to be at your beck and call 24 hours a day. I have my daughters original contract, they sign on to DANCE for you and to do X amount of shows a week for X amount of dollars.

I think it speaks for itself that you skipped over the part where I asked you to see the person.

 

No one acted entitled or even sounded that way. If your daughter's contract stated she was only to be a dancer and she was doing other things then that is between her & Carnival. But, if she is doing other things (like the Library) then she is to be freindly and nice and helpful. Not cranky or have an attitude. Even if I saw the person if she did not have a smiling face or a kind word then she is not doing her job! As someone else said, she is the face of Carnival and as such needs to project that no matter what kind of day she is having or how early she was drug out of bed!

 

No one expected the worker in the Library to be at their beck and call. They expected a pleasant person and that is not what they got. As for tips - hate to tell you but Carnival has added "entertainment staff" as where part of your tips are going now.

 

I personally would not care what area you worked in. If you have a Carnival badge on, then I would expect you to be helpful, friendly, have a smile on your face and go out of your way to be pleasant. If not, then you need to get another job where you are not in the public.

[sum1savage]

OK this thread just proved to me what a waste of time CC is for information or trying to gather informed opinonins.

What a self centered bunch of ......(sorry speechless)

Do you people not realise that even though you THINK you are lowering yourselves to sail on Carnival that the people who serve you are, PEOPLE JUST LIKE YOU. Thank you very much for the insulting comments I recieved for trying to point this out.

You do realize you're making insulting comments directly prior to sarcastically thanking others for making insulting comments, don't you?

What information or informed opinions did you wish to gather? I get the impression that you only want to hear sentiments identical to yours. It's obvious that you're in the minority here, and it may be wise to reconsider your opinion prior to bashing the 99% that feel this employee was out of line.

[maruba]

I personally would not care what area you worked in. If you have a Carnival badge on, then I would expect you to be helpful, friendly, have a smile on your face and go out of your way to be pleasant. If not, then you need to get another job where you are not in the public.

__________________

Tell me what other industry, company or what ever where you may wear your work work shirt that has your log displayed on it would expect you to perform 24 hours a day. Carnival emplyees are required to displayed their name tags 24 hours a day for security reasons. Custom

ers ASSUME it is to serve them.

[HMH G]

Wouldn't it have been easy to ask "what's the issue and who do you report to?" I would have confronted the situation and not avoided so others wouldn't be similarly subjected.

 

Not everyone is that confrontational. I wouldn't have said anything to her, but depending on how bad it was I may have told the guest services or something.

[sum1savage]

I personally would not care what area you worked in. If you have a Carnival badge on, then I would expect you to be helpful, friendly, have a smile on your face and go out of your way to be pleasant. If not, then you need to get another job where you are not in the public.

__________________

Tell me what other industry, company or what ever where you may wear your work work shirt that has your log displayed on it would expect you to perform 24 hours a day. Carnival emplyees are required to displayed their name tags 24 hours a day for security reasons. Custom

ers ASSUME it is to serve them.

A few years ago I let go of an employee for getting into a verbal altercation with someone at a fast food restaurant after he had left work. The employee was still in company uniform, thus it was decided that he was still expected to uphold the values of our company.

So, in answer to your question, my company is one.

[maruba]

Just a subnote, the added tip for "entertainment staff" is only applied to the CD an his direct staff, the "performance staff" which includes all dances, singers, comedians, and individual performers, such as casino singers, etc. is not included.

[pmang]

You're "tired of the "I'm having a bad day excuse""?... wow.... What exactly is the major crime here? She didn't say anything! She just had a "look" on her face that wasn't cheerful and didn't greet people in the freakin' library!!! She was there to A - check out books if people wanted them during the posted hours and B - Shut the door when people leave. She did that... You didn't like her demeanor at 10am and that deserves a public thread about being the "rudest staff member ever thread"? I could see if she told your child there was no Santa Claus.... These are humans who have emotions. They live where they work... Think about a bad day you had at work now imagine living there. Yes, this is what they signed on for but show the slightest amount of empathy for HUMAN EMOTIONS.

[maruba]

You're "tired of the "I'm having a bad day excuse""?... wow.... What exactly is the major crime here? She didn't say anything! She just had a "look" on her face that wasn't cheerful and didn't greet people in the freakin' library!!! She was there to A - check out books if people wanted them during the posted hours and B - Shut the door when people leave. She did that... You didn't like her demeanor at 10am and that deserves a public thread about being the "rudest staff member ever thread"? I could see if she told your child there was no Santa Claus.... These are humans who have emotions. They live where they work... Think about a bad day you had at work now imagine living there. Yes, this is what they signed on for but show the slightest amount of empathy for HUMAN EMOTIONS.

Thank you so much for this post. Everyone previously missed my point in looking at the subject as PERSON. I got bashed for tryiing simple point out this peron lives , has feelings, is a human entitiy, but no, she is a CARNIVAL employee simply there to SERVE.

[TerReuv]

You're "tired of the "I'm having a bad day excuse""?... wow.... What exactly is the major crime here? She didn't say anything! She just had a "look" on her face that wasn't cheerful and didn't greet people in the freakin' library!!! She was there to A - check out books if people wanted them during the posted hours and B - Shut the door when people leave. She did that... You didn't like her demeanor at 10am and that deserves a public thread about being the "rudest staff member ever thread"? I could see if she told your child there was no Santa Claus.... These are humans who have emotions. They live where they work... Think about a bad day you had at work now imagine living there. Yes, this is what they signed on for but show the slightest amount of empathy for HUMAN EMOTIONS.

 

They took the job with eyes wide open. You work in the service industry then you have to put aside any emotions other than friendliness! I do care about people and I am sure they have some really bad days sometimes, who doesn't. But, when you take this kind of job, you have to put your personal feelings and emotions aside and do your job with a pleasant attitude or you need to get out of that job. The girl was an employee of Carnival and she should not have acted that way.

 

Everyone on this thread has said they understood but when you are in a position where you deal with the public, you put on the happy face no matter what!

 

Thank you so much for this post. Everyone previously missed my point in looking at the subject as PERSON. I got bashed for tryiing simple point out this peron lives , has feelings, is a human entitiy, but no, she is a CARNIVAL employee simply there to SERVE.

 

No one has missed your point that the employee is a person, what you have missed is the point that while she is a person, when she is on the clock she is first and foremost a Carnival employee! While on the clock the EMPLOYEE has to put on the happy face, when they are off the clock the PERSON is welcome to be however they want. Once they have that uniform and company badge on, they are a representative of the company and as so needs to be "on stage". Just as if they were hurting and still performing with a smile. Nothing is different just because she is in the Library instead of on the stage. If they cannot do that then they have no business working with the public.

 

Also, the paying/tipping public has no idea who is being tipped on the "entertainment staff" and a dancer is still an entertainer! We have no idea who all that entails. As I said before - if they are working hours that are not in their contract and they are working places that are not in their contract then they need to take that up with Carnival. I seriously doubt Carnival would sign a contract to not work someone anywhere else and then do it. That would cause all sorts of legal problems.

 

One more thing - I have worked and somewhat still do with the public and I can guarantee you that not one person could tell or can tell when I am having a bad day. That is what you do!

[NEWORLEANSCRUISER1]

OMG people read my whole post PLEASE. See past your selfcenterdness, self entitelment. NO dancers ARE NOT part of the general entertainment staff. They do NOT sign on for the job to be at your beck and call 24 hours a day. I have my daughters original contract, they sign on to DANCE for you and to do X amount of shows a week for X amount of dollars.

I think it speaks for itself that you skipped over the part where I asked you to see the person.

 

If she can not smile and make paying customers feel welcome, then she should be fired!!

[coxter]

I have to agree with most of the other posters, I have never had bad or poor service on any ship. The best service I ever got was in the MDR at our first night. The server came to our table and asked for our drink order, when it was my turn I asked for a cup of coffee. He informed me that they serve coffee after the main meal. I said ok I will have water. When he came back with our drinks he gave my a great cup of coffee. I told him how much I enjoy coffee with my meals. Every night when we showed up for are evening meal at my table was a hot cup coffee. I think he went out of his way to make sure we were happy and taken care of. Yes I did leave a good tip on the last night for him.:rolleyes:

[HarpHarp]

Thank you so much for this post. Everyone previously missed my point in looking at the subject as PERSON. I got bashed for tryiing simple point out this peron lives , has feelings, is a human entitiy, but no, she is a CARNIVAL employee simply there to SERVE.

I'm a librarian & always talk to the people who are staffing the desk. Never have I found one who is comfortable in that position. They are young, english may not be their native language, and they either have not had the opportunity for much book learning or that is not their nature (dancer!) On one cruise the poor guy who was handing out towels at the pool the previous day actually cringed when I walked up to him in the library, for fear I was going to ask him a question. He was a few minutes late, because he was just told to go to the library since it was cold & raining & was relieved when I thanked him for opening the shelves because there was a book I wanted to see. The library is an afterthought in the minds of most CD's, and certainly nobody would expect a bartender etc to fill in for the dancer.

I'm betting a "I really enjoyed your dancing last night. How did you end up in the library this morning?" would have brought a complete attitude change to that young lady.

I am looking forward to the library on the Breeze. If my library had a wine bar, I may not have retired.:D

[Rocknsoul]

My understanding of this situation is that the young lady, who apparently was not in her best moment, made the guests feel uncomfortable to use the library--which is a place where guests should feel welcome to relax.

 

They likely would have remained in the library and resumed their activities had she just quietly entered the room, put her stuff down, unlocked the books, and closed the door without acknowledging anyone or saying anything. That would have been acceptable, if not up to par with the expectations of friendly service.

 

What it sounds like, however, is that her actions made the guests uncomfortable enough to feel like they had to leave the library. It is a room on a "fun ship", to be used by guests. If they feel they shouldn't be there, something's wrong. (Not that this situation is the same at all, but for some reason the scene from "Tombstone" with Billy Bob Thornton running the faro table in the bar just popped into my head. Talk about wrong!)

 

Because I counsel women in my job, my natural response would have been to ask her if everything was okay. She might have responded by venting, or come to her senses that her emotions were obvious, or she might have responded rudely, which I would then address with someone in a supervisory role. But not everyone is comfortable exposing themselves to a potential conflict like that, nor should they have to, and I don't blame the guests at all for acting the way they did.

 

OP, IMO it was kind of you not to report her, in case this really was a one-off situation. I find it impressive that you have been treated so well as a Carnival guest. I can't recall a rude Carnival employee from any of our cruises with them, and I can definitely recall some exceptionally pleasant experiences with staff who went above and beyond the call of duty, but I've read enough stories to know that I've been fortunate in that.

 

To the dancer's mom: the extra duties aside, does she enjoy her position overall? If not, I hope your daughter's current gig helps her develop enough experience to be able to move on to a gig where she can do just what she loves. May we all be so blessed. :)

[pmang]

They took the job with eyes wide open. You work in the service industry then you have to put aside any emotions other than friendliness! I do care about people and I am sure they have some really bad days sometimes, who doesn't. But, when you take this kind of job, you have to put your personal feelings and emotions aside and do your job with a pleasant attitude or you need to get out of that job. The girl was an employee of Carnival and she should not have acted that way.

 

Everyone on this thread has said they understood but when you are in a position where you deal with the public, you put on the happy face no matter what!

 

 

 

No one has missed your point that the employee is a person, what you have missed is the point that while she is a person, when she is on the clock she is first and foremost a Carnival employee! While on the clock the EMPLOYEE has to put on the happy face, when they are off the clock the PERSON is welcome to be however they want. Once they have that uniform and company badge on, they are a representative of the company and as so needs to be "on stage". Just as if they were hurting and still performing with a smile. Nothing is different just because she is in the Library instead of on the stage. If they cannot do that then they have no business working with the public.

 

Also, the paying/tipping public has no idea who is being tipped on the "entertainment staff" and a dancer is still an entertainer! We have no idea who all that entails. As I said before - if they are working hours that are not in their contract and they are working places that are not in their contract then they need to take that up with Carnival. I seriously doubt Carnival would sign a contract to not work someone anywhere else and then do it. That would cause all sorts of legal problems.

 

One more thing - I have worked and somewhat still do with the public and I can guarantee you that not one person could tell or can tell when I am having a bad day. That is what you do!

 

 

I totally get what you're saying... I work in a very public way as well (on stage). I've had to do shows when I found out family members passed away and other personal things that I had to put aside while at work. It's not easy but what you have to do.... We all get that.

 

I'm just taken aback by the black and white attitude by many of the posters here. Saying she should be fired if she doesn't smile all the time? "If she doesn't like the job, leave". Really? Let's look at the bigger picture..... She's most likely a 19-23 year old working her first job away from home. She's been training as a dancer since she was a small girl. She takes a job performing on a beautiful stage in front of thousands of guest every week.... Now, going along with this, she has many side jobs that she has to do.... Knowing what I know about ship life, she was probably up very late the night before acting like most young people in college do. On her way to her morning side job, she was probably stopped a few times and asked questions like "Where da food at", and "What time to we get to Cozumel"?.... (just examples!). All she wants to do is get through her hour of library duty without being bothered (most of the time, no one shows up) as she is having a bad day (fight with boyfriend, extra rehearsal, family issues at home, etc).... She lets her tired emotions show... doesn't say anything wrong to anyone, just not in a happy mood.

 

I'm just making this up as an example... What is she? A slightly immature 20 something who's doing the worst part of her job. Do your college age kids sometimes roll their eyes at their part time jobs?... I know, I know... you're all going to say if she doesn't like it she can leave. It's your hard earned vacation and you don't want to be bothered with others problems (she didn't say anything to anyone!)... Most of you aren't employed as an artist. She can't just go anywhere and be a dancer. Not an easy thing to do. She's putting up with these things so she can live her dream (and life's training) as a dancer.

 

Should be be smiling and friendly at all times?.... yes. No one is arguing that... but try not to be so black and white while judging her here... ie- "SHE SHOULD BE FIRED"!! These are young people living in fantasy land away from home. You don't have to agree with me and that's fine but how many of you have every aspect of your job discussed on message boards? I do respect the OP for not putting her name here in the public forum.

 

Just think of the infamous picture of McKayla Maroney looking "not impressed" at the Olympics..... She wasn't "on" at the moment. Should she be let go from the Olympic team for not representing her country (employer) with a smile at all times?

[NEWORLEANSCRUISER1]

I totally get what you're saying... I work in a very public way as well (on stage). I've had to do shows when I found out family members passed away and other personal things that I had to put aside while at work. It's not easy but what you have to do.... We all get that.

 

I'm just taken aback by the black and white attitude by many of the posters here. Saying she should be fired if she doesn't smile all the time? "If she doesn't like the job, leave". Really? Let's look at the bigger picture..... She's most likely a 19-23 year old working her first job away from home. She's been training as a dancer since she was a small girl. She takes a job performing on a beautiful stage in front of thousands of guest every week.... Now, going along with this, she has many side jobs that she has to do.... Knowing what I know about ship life, she was probably up very late the night before acting like most young people in college do. On her way to her morning side job, she was probably stopped a few times and asked questions like "Where da food at", and "What time to we get to Cozumel"?.... (just examples!). All she wants to do is get through her hour of library duty without being bothered (most of the time, no one shows up) as she is having a bad day (fight with boyfriend, extra rehearsal, family issues at home, etc).... She lets her tired emotions show... doesn't say anything wrong to anyone, just not in a happy mood.

 

I'm just making this up as an example... What is she? A slightly immature 20 something who's doing the worst part of her job. Do your college age kids sometimes roll their eyes at their part time jobs?... I know, I know... you're all going to say if she doesn't like it she can leave. It's your hard earned vacation and you don't want to be bothered with others problems (she didn't say anything to anyone!)... Most of you aren't employed as an artist. She can't just go anywhere and be a dancer. Not an easy thing to do. She's putting up with these things so she can live her dream (and life's training) as a dancer.

 

Should be be smiling and friendly at all times?.... yes. No one is arguing that... but try not to be so black and white while judging her here... ie- "SHE SHOULD BE FIRED"!! These are young people living in fantasy land away from home. You don't have to agree with me and that's fine but how many of you have every aspect of your job discussed on message boards? I do respect the OP for not putting her name here in the public forum.

 

Just think of the infamous picture of McKayla Maroney looking "not impressed" at the Olympics..... She wasn't "on" at the moment. Should she be let go from the Olympic team for not representing her country (employer) with a smile at all times?

Maybe being fired is a little harsh. She should be warned to not let this happen again. I hope she is on your hard earned vacation and not mine;)

[TerReuv]

I'm just taken aback by the black and white attitude by many of the posters here. Saying she should be fired if she doesn't smile all the time? "If she doesn't like the job, leave".

 

Nothing is ever black & white. I do not remember seeing that anyone said she should be fired and if they did then I totally agree with you. But, if she does not like having to do the "other duties'" then yes, she should leave and find another job. Or, if she does not want to have to hide her real feelings or not put on a happy face no matter what then yes she needs to find aother job.

 

She lets her tired emotions show... doesn't say anything wrong to anyone, just not in a happy mood.

 

But, from the OP's original post she was not just in a unhappy mood. She actually made people feel uncomfortable in the library where they were not bothering her at all or expecting anything from her. That is totally unacceptable to me. Her attitude should not make others uncomfortable enough to leave where they are if she is a Carnival employee. Also, slamming things down on a table clearly shows that you are annoyed to be somewhere. I seriously doubt that all those people would have left if all the girl had done was have a "look" on her face.

[pmang]

If she can not smile and make paying customers feel welcome, then she should be fired!!

 

Here ya go..... This poster did come back to say maybe that was a little harsh... but it was said...

[NEWORLEANSCRUISER1]

Here ya go..... This poster did come back to say maybe that was a little harsh... but it was said...

 

Yes I said she should be fired if her actions continue. I was too harsh to have said fire her for this one offence. But again the job is called Customer Service thus Service to the CUSTOMER. Some folks can handle this type of job others can not. Happy cruising to all!!

[missdebi]

Wondering with whom this contract was with. My daughters was through her agent in Australia. I think you make my point, "have to work lots of hours" not stated in contract. Then you go on to say others should do it and suck it up hummm, me see a double a standard here. "Too good for me and mine but others should do it!"

Unless you walk in their shoes do not judge them.

 

No mine is not to good ~I said mine did not take a contract because she only wanted to dance, she talked with other dancers before taking a contract that is why she choose not to~I said if you take the job then you have to suck it up~my daughter is a middle school teacher and she has to suck it up everyday!

[CourtneyLovesCruising]

I'm not getting your point in this post.. are you bragging that in twelve years you've never experienced rude staff until now or are so shocked and aghast at this one women's behavour that you felt it was worthy of a post to 'warn' us. Her actions seem so benign I'm not sure I would have even remembered them the next day let alone devote time to a whole thread about it..??