A Warning About Laundry Service on NCL

[phrogpilot73]

And even odder, it seems only to happen -- and this is going to sound cray cray -- to the FRONT of shirts, never the backs!

I think you shouldn't be such a messy eater... :D

 

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[Starry Eyes]

I am sorry that your clothes were stained. It would be frustrating to learn that you'd only get a $50 OBC and the suggestion to contact customer service. It is sad that you spent hours arguing instead of enjoying the last night of the cruise. it is sad that you did not spend the OBC before charges were stopped (I think that timing is in the disembarkation info distributed on each cruise).

 

Rather than assume the worst, why not contact customer service and see what they do? Maybe they will satisfy you...or maybe not. They are the one's who may have the power to set things right; those on the ships are just authorized to give OBC and the customer service number, as you learned.

 

I have had laundry done on multiple cruises without incident. I do not send valuable or delicate items as I expect high heat and vigorous agitation. to aid in washing and sorting, I believe many of the items are transferred to mesh bags in the laundry room and labels are pressed onto the mesh bags and onto some items for identification.

[destaw7182]

I am sorry for the experience that you had. Did the NLC representatives even attempt to provide an explanation as to what may have caused the stains (not that it would've helped much)?

[garycarla]

I am sorry for the experience that you had. Did the NLC representatives even attempt to provide an explanation as to what may have caused the stains (not that it would've helped much)?

 

As if they would have a clue what happened. And, it would then open up another can of worms (as they say).

 

Proper response was to be concerned, apologize and offer OBC if that is the policy.

 

(I wonder how many people scam NCL saying their well worn clothes "suddenly" showed stains)

[maja651]

 

I have to disagree. They got the same answer from ALL the people they spoke with at every level. They were given a consistent and factual answer. Just because the answer you get isn't the answer you want doesn't mean the customer service was bad...or even "HORRIBLE". Sometimes the answer is "no".

 

Lying to the OP telling the there is no supervisor, and then later getting one from the door right behind them? That's not bad customer service? :confused:

[david_sobe]

Sorry to hear about the situation about the laundry on NCL. We have always had good results with them although last year we came home with someone else's pants. We did not realize this until we got home.

 

There can be so many claims about laundry that I don't think they would ever pay to replace someone's clothes that were not lost or stolen and don't have receipts. But one issue that is not mentioned is why did the OP not ask them to try to get out the oily stains? Did you refuse to allow them to try to get the stains out? I would have told them to clean the clothes again.

[allison0523]

Is it only the dark clothes that have the stains? If we put a dryer sheet in our front load dryer and put it on high, the dryer sheet causes stains on the dark clothes. But, if we wash them and dry them on a lower setting or don't put fabric softner in, the stains come out.

In any event, if NCL knows there's a lot of problems with the laundry, they should either stop offering it or figure out what's causing the problems and address it.

[che5904]

Sorry this happened OP, that really sucks.

 

As some people have stated, I also have no intention of ever using mass laundry service on the ship. My clothes take too much care for me to do at home, let alone expect any mass produced to have them not ruined (mine shrink in high heats). Ruined with stains though is a totally different issue than why I wouldn't send mine.

 

But it does sound like you were given the standard OBC from the ship for this problem, since everyone gave you the same response. So I don't consider this bad customer service as far as the front desk is concerned. As someone earlier said "not being told what you want to hear" IMO is not bad customer service. But I would take photographs of your ruined items and if you have any snap shops while you were wearing them without the stains, I would use those as well. I would send an email/letter complete with the proof photos to Guest relations (address is on NCL site). Explaining that because of the amount of clothes ruined (financially speaking), that you are not satisfied with the outcome you received. I've also found in request/complaint letters that I have sent to appropriate departments, that if you know what will make you satisfied that you let them know that as well.

 

I don't think if this many clothes were ruined that $150 is over inflated by any means, but maybe no one on the ship had the authority to offer that.

Edited January 20, 2014 by che5904

[jakeT]

i am sorry you had to go throught that on your vacaton. I never had that problem with them

[NMLady]

I am sorry you had that problem and spent so much frustrating time as a result.

The desk clerk should have explained that only their headquarters could do more and should have verified the damage for you on the claim form. I would have asked for the verification.

 

I have used NCL's bag special many times on several ships and never had that stain problem. Besides using it once a cruise on shorter cruises on NCL I used it 5 times on our b2b2b 33 day cruise on the Sun. Most recently I used it three times this past October on our b2b 26 day cruise on the Star. Our most recent experience had no problems at all.

 

One time on another cruise we had a missing shirt but when I described it to our cabin steward he found it the next day. Another time (different ship:Sun) I had a missing sock but when I put its mate with a note to cabin steward I had the missing sock in just a few hours. I wouldn't hesitate to use NCL's bag special again.

Edited January 20, 2014 by NMLady

[monteman]

OP, I'm sorry that happened to you. I would have been upset too. I have used the laundry service a couple of times. The second time, two of my dark tee shirts had bleach stains on them. I was bummed. I didn't do anything about it. But if a bunch of my clothes had been ruined, like yours, I would have too. I think you handled it the right way, except I would have spoken with the hotel director after customer service did not satisfy. If he/she didn't help me then I would have dropped it and written a letter. That's about all you can do.

 

My husband loves the laundry service, but he also washes all his darks and whites together and is not bothered by the results! I would use them again for things like underwear, sox, etc, but I won't give them anything I don't want ruined.

[che5904]

Another time (different ship:Sun) I had a missing sock but when I put its mate with a note to cabin steward I had the missing sock in just a few hours. I wouldn't hesitate to use NCL's bag special again.

 

Sorry this just struck a comical spot in me. I wonder if I set a sock with a note on it at home, if it's mate would miraculously appear. I'm always ending up with a missing sock ;) :D

[che5904]

except I would have spoken with the hotel director after customer service did not satisfy. .

 

I probably would have did that too, except the OP appeared to have spent an awful lot of time dealing with this on their last night at sea and probably wouldn't have wanted to wait around to speak to him or have him hunt them down.

 

It's a little different if something that required higher management was at the beginning of the cruise, you may be able to find a few free moments during your cruise to deal with it.

[Vyhanek]

I remember the good old days when NCL had laundry facilities on the ships and you just went and did your own.

[aimathy]

Thank you to all of you who have replied, especially those with tips on how to get the stains. I think it is probably too late, but at least I have some ideas for other times!

 

I want to just clarify a few things. They did offer to rewash the clothing, and I did allow them to do so. This was before all of what happened in my original post. When the woman first looked at the stains, she agreed that they all looked to be of the same nature and that it "definitely looked like it happened in the laundry room, since they are all the same type of stain". She asked me to come back later in the night after they were rewashed. I came back, the stains were still there, and that's when the conversation happened that I wrote about originally.

 

I have also had laundry done on other cruise lines, and have had no problems. I know this is a fluke....but when it's this many items, and they were not stained by us, then I would think there should be a better response available.

 

I never "demanded cash" as one person wrote. I was very reasonable overall and a number of other solutions were offered, as I wrote previously. I understand they may not just dole out cash for every problem. But to offer so little, for something that was clearly their fault and cost ME money, was NOT good customer service in my opinion.

 

The desk attendant first said they could give me the $50 OBC. When I said that was unfair, we started discussing how much the items were worth. She wanted to know where I got them, how much each one was worth and gave a very strong impression that they were trying to remedy the situation. She asked me how much it was all worth and said "Let me ask my SUPERVISOR about that" and went in the back room. She came out and said that they could not give me the $150.

 

Then she asked "what would be an amount that you would feel was fair, that would make you happy?" after we had been discussing this for awhile. I said that I thought it was fair to get the two Life Is Good tees replaced and the 2 Disney tees replaced. I said that $75 seemed fair. (Don't forget, there were many other pieces ruined too that I didn't even ask anything for...) Why would she ask me this if they can't do anything?!? She said "Would 70 be ok?" (Like it was "Let's Make a Deal"!) I said yes. And she again, said that she had to go check.

 

Why in the world did they play these games if they were going to just say it was $50 OBC or nothing? She came back out and said that her SUPERVISOR said that she wouldn't do that. So I think that asking to see a supervisor after an hour and a half of this back and forth, cat and mouse game was not disrespectful at all. I didn't even know about speaking to the hotel manager or whomever else I could speak to...but thank you to the person that suggested that. I'll know now for the future.

 

The supervisor wanted me to sign a "Customer Discrepancy" form, which obviously means that what they're claiming, is different than what I'm claiming. That's why I knew that signing that and taking the credit will mean that I most likely will get nowhere with "corporate". She refused to write anything on there about how they agreed that the stains were caused by the ship's laundry. (They're no fools.) So this useless piece of paper states that I put clothes in to get laundered and that when I got them back they had stains. We all know that when I call, they will say there's no way for them or me to prove that the stains happened when they had the clothing. I will still try, but it was very, very obvious that she knew not to write down anything at all that would actually help me out. THAT is also not great customer service. They knew this happened in their laundry room and they knew they could do something to help my case when I went to someone higher up (since they said they could only do so much on board....I understand that). They basically just washed their hands of it and said too bad.

 

Finally, when I went to charge the picture in the morning on my sea card, everyone's cards were still activated. It was before 9 AM and everyone around me was using their cards to purchase pictures as well. So the cards were not cut off yet. So was it another "fluke" that mine was mysteriously deactivated before it should have been? I guess that's up to debate but to me it seemed like a pretty passive aggressive move.

 

I'm not someone that yells the customer is always right. I'm reasonable and I know that things happen. I understand this doesn't always happen. These were not delicate items, or dry cleaning items. They were t-shirts, overups, cotton pants and socks! (I didn't even put in our bathing suits because I was worried!) For those of you that always use it and haven't had problems, that's great. I never did either. I just wanted people to know that if they DO wind up having problems.....don't count on getting more than $50 credit. So before you put in clothes, if their value is more than that, I'd say don't do it.

 

electricron - Do you know where in the cruise contract it states that if they damage your clothing in the laundry, they are not responsible? I couldn't find that. Thanks!

Edited January 20, 2014 by aimathy

[SeaShark]

They basically just washed their hands of it and said too bad.

 

 

 

Does that mean that they ended up with spots all over their hands?

 

 

 

Sorry...I just HAD to say it! ;)

[SissasMomE]

I heard some where before when they take your bag of Landry is washed in the bag? Is that true could it of been because you had some much in the bag. Most like ya problem with there machine or chemicals they use. Sorry it happened to you

 

Would love to know how they wash laundry in a paper bag :rolleyes:

Edited January 20, 2014 by SissasMomE

[aimathy]

Lol, SeaShark. Now that you mention it...they did look kinda oily. :)

[SissasMomE]

The ruined laundry is not the issue here. Problems occur. The issue is the HORRIBLE customer service to try and resolve the problem. I would be documenting everything and sending the complaint via registered mail to sheehan or his rep. Absolutely unacceptable.

 

Agreed. The way the OP was treated was unacceptable. I would be livid.

[RJ2002]

Would love to know how they wash laundry in a paper bag :rolleyes:

 

Just trying to read between the lines here, but I think they may have meant that all your clothes are washed in "a" bag, like a mesh-type bag. I think I recall that was discussed on a thread here awhile back.

[SissasMomE]

Just trying to read between the lines here, but I think they may have meant that all your clothes are washed in "a" bag, like a mesh-type bag. I think I recall that was discussed on a thread here awhile back.

 

Ah ok. I've used the laundry service on this ship before w/out a problem, but I'm not sure I would send delicates, or anything of value.

[Barb Nahoumi]

The ruined laundry is not the issue here. Problems occur. The issue is the HORRIBLE customer service to try and resolve the problem. I would be documenting everything and sending the complaint via registered mail to sheehan or his rep. Absolutely unacceptable.

 

I would say that they're BOTH the issue.

[garycarla]

Let's look at the big picture here.

 

NCL does laundry for people. Sometimes things happen. They made a decision based on incidents fleetwide and a policy to provide a $50 OBC if something happens.

 

That is their policy.

 

Now, the customer decides they do not like that policy. They continue to argue with the staff wanting something different than the policy. The customer continues to argue this at the front desk for over an hour and tries to negotiate,etc. The policy is the policy.

 

Who was treated badly here?

 

 

(I am sorry the OP had their clothes damaged - that sucks)

Edited January 20, 2014 by garycarla

[SMerritt]

aimathy you have way more patience than I do, and I usually never "blow". Two hours on the last night dealing with Customer Service should not have happened. I would pursue it with NCL more.

 

Now......I will get a little "Off Topic"

 

I am a fan of a hand cleaner called GOOP - ONLY GOOP, sold at Walmart etc. usually the automotive department

 

Our family has been using it for over 20 years, this mild "cream./cleaner" is magic. Removing old stains, paint stains, and even baby formula on some baby clothes that were stored for 10+ years. And yes, I even had a sweater with a peach stain that I had dry cleaned, hand washed, etc., after all that, figured the stain was really "set", I gave in, smeared with Goop - dam stain gone!

 

I know it sounds crazy, but worth a try, just smear with Goop (only goop, I have tried others), let sit 24 hours, then wash.

 

Great for cleaning woodwork, walls, paint grass stains.....this commercial was brought to you by......the crazy lady that doesn't ever run out of Magical Goop

[Barb Nahoumi]

aimathy you have way more patience than I do, and I usually never "blow". Two hours on the last night dealing with Customer Service should not have happened. I would pursue it with NCL more.

 

Now......I will get a little "Off Topic"

 

I am a fan of a hand cleaner called GOOP - ONLY GOOP, sold at Walmart etc. usually the automotive department

 

Our family has been using it for over 20 years, this mild "cream./cleaner" is magic. Removing old stains, paint stains, and even baby formula on some baby clothes that were stored for 10+ years. And yes, I even had a sweater with a peach stain that I had dry cleaned, hand washed, etc., after all that, figured the stain was really "set", I gave in, smeared with Goop - dam stain gone!

 

I know it sounds crazy, but worth a try, just smear with Goop (only goop, I have tried others), let sit 24 hours, then wash.

 

Great for cleaning woodwork, walls, paint grass stains.....this commercial was brought to you by......the crazy lady that doesn't ever run out of Magical Goop

 

I can attest to this. Someone suggested Goop to me when I needed to clean an adhesive stain. It worked very well.