Customer Disservice?

[myfuzzy]

The Globes comment about "Would you want to sail with a company like that" was overboard (no pun intended). The port was simply following the instructions. Come to think of it, Yes! I do want to sail with a company that follows safety procedures. In fact, the Globe is NOT the type of newspaper I would want to read come to think of it!

 

This article PO'd me so much, I did write an email to the author, telling him of the wrong information he implied, noting nothing from the cruise lines side and did include a "paste" of number 11 of the passenger cruise contract about the lack of ID for boarding.

[KeithJenner]

I worked retail for 40 years, and I have seen about every scam in the book, a customer sees that chance, and YES, they will take advantage of it, even to the media to complain about anything because they have been "wronged" in some way. Show the elderly or small children, see the sad faces of the people who didn't get what they wanted....Companies will give them anything, just to make them go away....EX. years ago, I worked for a large retailer, a man brought back a worn leather jacket for a refund. No receipt. It wasn't a brand this store sold, so he was told as such, he DID NOT like that answer, now we have to get a department manager, again was told this wasn't sold there, now we get an ASSISTANT store manager involved, again, now we get the OPS manager....this guy was screaming....FINALLY...the store gave him $250 to get rid of him and threw the jacket away....

 

There is a massive difference between your example and what people are talking about here.

 

In your example, the guy with the jacket was taking no risk. The worst thing that would have happened is that he had to walk out of the shop with the exact same jacket he walked in with.

 

What people seem to be seriously suggesting here is that someone is going to book a cruise, travel to the port without their passport and no hope of being able to join the cruise, in the hope that they get refunded and another cruise being given.

 

If it doesn't work out for them, and the cruise line decides to just follow their rules then we are talking about a significant financial loss. The newspapers aren't going to help out on too many of these.

 

Maybe there are some people willing to take the risk. I wouldn't count on there being many though.

[BostonGal35]

the kicker here is the guy realized he didnt have the passports when he was in line. instead of going back to the porters in the hopes that the bags would still be there, he thought "oh, no big deal, they'll let us on". that was where the error was made. these two have cruised before, they knew what they needed and thought it would be overlooked and they could get it to whoever later.

[myfuzzy]

There is a massive difference between your example and what people are talking about here.

 

In your example, the guy with the jacket was taking no risk. The worst thing that would have happened is that he had to walk out of the shop with the exact same jacket he walked in with.

 

What people seem to be seriously suggesting here is that someone is going to book a cruise, travel to the port without their passport and no hope of being able to join the cruise, in the hope that they get refunded and another cruise being given.

 

If it doesn't work out for them, and the cruise line decides to just follow their rules then we are talking about a significant financial loss. The newspapers aren't going to help out on too many of these.

 

Maybe there are some people willing to take the risk. I wouldn't count on there being many though.

 

I guess somewhere hidden in my "example" is that companies will go above and way beyond to keep the "wrong" hidden from public view. IF this customer in my example was not "compensated" by the store, what was to keep him from going to the media to tell them how he was "wronged". BTW, did you read that the "coat" was not sold by this store.

 

Please enlighten me, because I honestly don't see how that particular reporter got involved with this couple in the first place. If the situation was kept between the people and cruise line...NONE of this conversation would be taking place.

[KeithJenner]

I guess somewhere hidden in my "example" is that companies will go above and way beyond to keep the "wrong" hidden from public view. IF this customer in my example was not "compensated" by the store, what was to keep him from going to the media to tell them how he was "wronged". BTW, did you read that the "coat" was not sold by this store.

 

Please enlighten me, because I honestly don't see how that particular reporter got involved with this couple in the first place. If the situation was kept between the people and cruise line...NONE of this conversation would be taking place.

 

 

I completely understood what you were saying and I agree with you completely. I absolutely read that the "coat" was not sold in the store, but that point is completely irrelevant to what I was saying.

 

Unfortunately, it seems that you totally missed my point. I'll try again.

 

I agree totally that companies do often go above and beyond to deal with these situations. What you report in your story doesn't surprise me at all. My point is that it can only happen if the customer creates the situation.

 

In your example, the cost of entry for the customer is basically zero. They are risking nothing, as the worst case is that they walk back out of the shop with the coat they walked in with. That is why people often try it on in situations like you described.

 

In the situation being discussed in this thread, the cost of entry for the customer is signifiant. To try this scam they need to book a cruise that they do not intend to actually go on. The worst case is that they lose the price they paid for the cruise.

 

That is a massive difference, and one that I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb to say will mean that this doesn't become a major issue for NCL in the future.

[Macaron]

the kicker here is the guy realized he didnt have the passports when he was in line. instead of going back to the porters in the hopes that the bags would still be there, he thought "oh, no big deal, they'll let us on". that was where the error was made. these two have cruised before, they knew what they needed and thought it would be overlooked and they could get it to whoever later.

I think they knew what they needed when they set out, but momentarily forgot in the confusion of the terminal. Unfortunately, those few moments were all it took to create a bad situation.

 

These are older people & they mentioned health concerns - I do wonder why their granddaughter or another family member didn't stay to help them with the boarding process, or at least make sure the passports were tucked into a purse or other bag that the couple would keep with them. Paperwork can be very confusing for elderly people. I would have been there to see my grandparents off & make sure they got onto the ship.

 

Of course, there was no way they could have been allowed to board without proper ID/documentation, but it makes me sad to think of them sitting alone in the terminal, watching the ship sail away. Even though the error was theirs, I understand why they felt abandoned. I'm glad they had family nearby & I have no problem with them receiving a free cruise. It may well be the last trip they can ever take together. However, I don't think NCL deserves 100% of the blame, as the article implies, and it was irresponsible to report that a driver's license will suffice in place of a passport.

[myfuzzy]

The article did nothing but blame NCL for the couples problem

[myfuzzy]

And make matters seem worse than they were by printing numerous false claims.

 

 

I did email that guy, I hope others did too. I hope the editor gets wind of the "falsehoods" and makes the writer do a retraction on that article, this time with facts.

Edited January 31, 2018 by myfuzzy

[Shawnino]

I did email that guy, I hope others did too. I hope the editor gets wind of the "falsehoods" and makes the writer do a retraction on that article, this time with facts.

 

Hmmmm, that gives me an idea !!

 

I e-mailed him too.

Both to thank him for helping the couple to get a resolution and to warn him that he'd get bogus e-mails from writers claiming to be "concerned citizens" who just happened to taking NCL's side.

[phoenix1181]

I e-mailed him too.

Both to thank him for helping the couple to get a resolution and to warn him that he'd get bogus e-mails from writers claiming to be "concerned citizens" who just happened to taking NCL's side.

 

Did you bother to mention the inaccuracies?

[hawkeyetlse]

Please enlighten me, because I honestly don't see how that particular reporter got involved with this couple in the first place. If the situation was kept between the people and cruise line...NONE of this conversation would be taking place.

The man got impatient after waiting a couple of weeks for an answer from NCL and wrote to the paper for help. The columnist decided (based on who knows what criteria) that it would make a good story and ran with it.

 

This column probably receives lots of of letters every day, and they don't follow up on every one. So when NCL gets an e-mail saying "I'm so and so from such and such major newspaper", it's no longer just between them and the customers. It's going to become everyone's business on the entire Internet, and NCL needs to come up with better procedures for reacting to that more effectively.

[myfuzzy]

The man got impatient after waiting a couple of weeks for an answer from NCL and wrote to the paper for help. The columnist decided (based on who knows what criteria) that it would make a good story and ran with it.

 

This column probably receives lots of of letters every day, and they don't follow up on every one. So when NCL gets an e-mail saying "I'm so and so from such and such major newspaper", it's no longer just between them and the customers. It's going to become everyone's business on the entire Internet, and NCL needs to come up with better procedures for reacting to that more effectively.

 

Oh, so the man brought this to the media attention.......Thanks, I didn't come across that part anywhere...So the media took the guys whole story and printed it without a counter story from NCL......O.K. then

[richstowe]

I e-mailed him too.

Both to thank him for helping the couple to get a resolution and to warn him that he'd get bogus e-mails from writers claiming to be "concerned citizens" who just happened to taking NCL's side.

I disagree with your point of view but respect that it is your honest opinion . So why do you say those taking the opposing view are bogus ?

[KeithJenner]

Does anyone actually think that the reporter or his editor is actually going to care?

 

Yes it’s a fairly one sided article which includes some inaccuracies. That puts it level with about 95% of all newspaper journalism. I really don’t see anything that makes this one stand out as particularly bad.

 

If anything emailing them to complain will just show that the article has been read. I’d imagine the reported will get congratulated for a job well done if anything.

[myfuzzy]

Does anyone actually think that the reporter or his editor is actually going to care?

 

Yes it’s a fairly one sided article which includes some inaccuracies. That puts it level with about 95% of all newspaper journalism. I really don’t see anything that makes this one stand out as particularly bad.

 

If anything emailing them to complain will just show that the article has been read. I’d imagine the reported will get congratulated for a job well done if anything.

 

Yeah, they are all probably doing "high-fives" in the office.......With the guy getting all his money back AND a free cruise, maybe they should pay for and take the reporter with them

[adam_s_allen]

These are older people & they mentioned health concerns - I do wonder why their granddaughter or another family member didn't stay to help them with the boarding process, or at least make sure the passports were tucked into a purse or other bag that the couple would keep with them. Paperwork can be very confusing for elderly people. I would have been there to see my grandparents off & make sure they got onto the ship.

 

.

 

That would require the family member to also have a boarding pass to be let into the terminal.

[FitchburgWIFamily]

You know what kills me? That they checked their medicine in, too. Even if they planned on grabbing the passports out of the side pocket of the suitcase...what were they going to do without their medicine? Luggage does't arrive in the state room for hours after your board. Sometimes, luggage gets lost. Sometimes, luggage doesn't make it on the ship. Sometimes, entire pallets of luggage get dropped in the ocean.

 

We assume they had their travel documents (although that is not clear) but I wonder if they packed their medicine, and they packed their passports, if they didn't pack their travel documents, too. They did check in three bags, it's almost like they checked in their whole carry on with everything they needed to board the boat.

 

And three hours before the boat left? Security states you have to be on board 2 hours before departure. I wonder how much of what the couple quotes the representatives as saying was really what was said, as I find it hard to imagine that the staff checking in passengers would say "The ship doesn’t sail for three hours. It shouldn’t be a problem." when they would be fully aware all aboard is at 2:00 for a 4:00 sailing. I wonder if they representative said: "We'll call to have them search for your bag, maybe they can find it in time" and the couple thought they had 3 hours before sailing...instead of the single hour they had before all aboard.

 

I just don't know that I believe the version of the story that is being told by the couple.

[newmexicoNita]

I e-mailed him too.

Both to thank him for helping the couple to get a resolution and to warn him that he'd get bogus e-mails from writers claiming to be "concerned citizens" who just happened to taking NCL's side.

and you are just as wrong as the reporter. You are saying everyone who sent him an email was taking NCLs side. The truth is simply: reporter your information was wrong. You need to correct it to be fair to everyone. That is the point of all this. printing wrong information is never OK.