Problem Resolution - Culture Responsibility-Richard Fain & Michael Bayley

[Milwaukee Eight]

Familiar with some of Demmings ideas.  the company I was with brought in Demming in the early 80’s and after a couple of years they filled bankruptcy.  We couldn’t get a product out the door because of Quality Control. We could never make it perfect. 

Edited March 29, 2019 by Milwaukee Eight

[Nanarrow]

Is this still about the 10$ tip at Chops? If I send you 10$ will you please stop the ranting?

[HBE4]

9 hours ago, ShillyShally said:

9 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

I find it fascinating how we champion some OP's and their wild stories, and vilify others. 

I think it's often related to what we wouldn't sweat if it happened to us and some that would make us think twice or follow through on.  

 

Exactly.  I give my opinion on how I would act in a certain situation.  Sometimes I agree with the gripe of an OP and other times I don't.

[GUT2407]

Wow, $10 for chops, where do I sign up?

[nelblu]

20 hours ago, TTraub1250 said:

The big picture here is the stock price... currently hovering $113 to $114 and it was up over $130 at this level of the DJIA. 

Multiple the delta ( $130 - $114) times the number of shares held, and $10 isn't even noise.  Before someone tries to educate me that there are many factors that make up the stock price, one that possible we as stockholders can effect is "Quality of Service" ! 

 

CHINA effect.

[birdie16]

20 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

How's Motorola doing these days.🤔

Haha!  Great question...after over 30 years of devotion to Motorola my husband was royally scr*wed by them.  I am reading this thread because I am trying to figure out what exactly the OP was trying to say.  I am amazed that some people can write a whole book and not say anything.  What I gather from this thread is the OP is angry that $10 was added to his bill and he wrote a letter to management that was so confusing RCCL offered him a free meal at Chops in the hopes that would satisfy him?

 

I think the OP needs to get a hobby,

Edited March 30, 2019 by birdie16

[skiiergirl]

On 3/29/2019 at 8:39 AM, TTraub1250 said:

As we read the posts by the cruisers, we read about many problems that can occur in this industry and then some problems that should not occur.  Problems occur because of Standard Operating & Safety procedures that are well thought out with high standards ( critical thinking applied ) and with employees not following the established SO&SP !  Companies that have a culture of properly training & empowering employees to deal with problems with an independent quality system in place to ensure employees are following SO&SP !  Independent means the operations people are audited to the standards set.  Parents encourage their kids to sign up for the "Disney Career Start Program" due to the training, discipline and strict rules kids must follow. This Disney program is the gold standard and yes a certain number of kids wash out, but even the wash outs learn this high standard. 

 

It is the responsibility of Richard Fain & Michael Bayley to establish that culture with high standards and to ensure it  is maintained, is continuously improved and people are held accountable.  This higher level of culture & training does cost a little more ( investment ), yet the payback is almost immediate with the ROI at 5X-10X the investment $. Most world class companies will have a written marketing strategy.  Does RCCL have a Quality Strategy which includes customer service ? I have read their quality statement, but that is not a full blown strategy.   RCCL has what they call the " Royal Way" which employees are trained in, yet in the day to day operations on board ships we experience poor customer problem resolution.  Not only is the problem poorly resolved, the communications to the customer are very lacking on several levels. The communications on problems back to the customer are reported to be lacking in details of what is being done (comfort level to the customer) and in a number of these reports, a lack of empathy on what the customer went through.   I understand working with the public there are those that try to "game" the system and get free benefits, reduced rates, and can scream " the sky is falling" when it isn't.  

 

As long time cruisers we understand that RCCL reads these posts and the more we report these "true problems"  and "poor quality service", then the company will take action, because these incident / problem posts directly affect the bookings on a cruise line.  As stockholders we know there is competition and our investment view is long term.  Just comparing yourself against other cruise company competition is not enough.   Richard Fain & Michael Bayley also are aware that failure in the execution of the various strategies including culture, can result in them being asked to step down.  We have seen a number of CEOs that did not pay attention or did not have the " Chief Quality Officer" reporting to them, so they did not really know what was going on at the operations level.  

 

I called the corporate offices also to see what was being done about a serious problem I experienced,  and reported several ways. The young lady apologized, offered my a free meal at Chops, and did not want to investigate or return my call after the problem was thoroughly investigated. At the ship level they did not really want to admit to problem or to ensure there is not a systemic problem.   I did not take the free meal, because that was not what I was after, and she still did not understand, it seemed her job was to just "cover it up / make it go away".  Not the culture you want for the long term for continuous improvement ! 

What?????  What specifically is your onboard complaint?  Obviously I am not reading this correctly because I do not see where you identify what specifically happened that needs correcting.  Now if the post was about the website or the off-shore call centers I wouldn't need any further explanation!  Both of those suck and need totally revamped but onboard service is always impeccable with only an occasional hiccup here and there which is expected in any industry dealing with humans! 

[gatour]

On 3/29/2019 at 9:39 AM, TTraub1250 said:

Most world class companies will have a written marketing strategy.  Does RCCL have a Quality Strategy which includes customer service ?

 

As stockholders we know there is competition and our investment view is long term. 

 

I called the corporate offices also to see what was being done about a serious problem I experienced,  and reported several ways. The young lady apologized, offered my a free meal at Chops, and did not want to investigate or return my call after the problem was thoroughly investigated. At the ship level they did not really want to admit to problem or to ensure there is not a systemic problem.   I did not take the free meal, because that was not what I was after, and she still did not understand, it seemed her job was to just "cover it up / make it go away".  Not the culture you want for the long term for continuous improvement ! 

Until last year, I worked for a world class company and I never saw a written marketing strategy, the closest was a mission statement.

 

In regards to being a and our investment view is long term.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, almost all senior executive compensation packages are based on short term results and not long term results.  Is this right for a company methodology for the long term health of a company, probably not.  However, most institutional investors and activist investors want short term ROI.

 

On 3/29/2019 at 10:50 AM, TTraub1250 said:

The big picture here is the stock price... currently hovering $113 to $114 and it was up over $130 at this level of the DJIA. 

Multiple the delta ( $130 - $114) times the number of shares held, and $10 isn't even noise.  Before someone tries to educate me that there are many factors that make up the stock price, one that possible we as stockholders can effect is "Quality of Service" ! 

As you said there are many factors that can effect stock prices, quality of service is just one them.

 

Since you like to mention Disney. There is a bar at the Contemporary, whenever I needed a break from the Magic Kingdom I would head to it for a drink.  It had a bartender that you would have to wave down to order another drink, even when they were not busy this went on for years.  It was annoying but it was the only bar at a hotel on the "beam" that had a bar open in the early afternoon.  A few months after 9/11, I went down actually stayed at the hotel.  Stopped by the bar, the bartender was very conscious in taking care of me.  It was all of the Disney customer service training that you like laud, it was because the amount of people visiting WDW had gone way down.  I was actually was able to secure the hotel reservation the evening of my drive down.  It was an impromptu trip after I had a bad week at work.  Normally the rooms would be booked months in advance

 

On 3/29/2019 at 11:29 AM, orville99 said:

I often chuckle at posters who throw six sigma terms around expecting that there is some mystical superiority that is achieved by companies that chase the six sigma mantra. The reality is that continuous improvement is a myth, and the majority of companies that pursue six sigma at the expense of fiscal practicality end up in bankruptcy court seeking protection from their creditors. Six sigma (invented by GE, and evangelized by Jack Welch) isn't really working out all that well for them lately; GM went bankrupt  after achieving their certification. Kodak disappeared after earning theirs. As Warren Buffett stated yesterday in an interview on CNBC, corporations that need to do everything right fail far more often than companies that make mistakes.

 

BTW, I bought RCL stock when it was at $5/share, and sold it when it hit $100/share - all the while they were making "mistakes" in spades.

 

On 3/29/2019 at 11:50 AM, TTraub1250 said:

Orville99:  Six Sigma was invented at Motorola in the 1980's. This statistical tool builds on Dr. Deming's work in statistical quality control.  Continuous improvement is part of the Toyota quality systems of the 60's & 70's.  So please do not spread fake news.  And like the companies you mentioned, they lost sight of the customer and market right and made mistakes in spades?  

 

TicketsUnlimited:  Although I did not buy at $5, like orville claims,  I did buy at $66 and like all stocks,  looking for continuous up over the long term.  Looking forward improved customer service & comfort level of customers will ensure a greater market share, which will help mitigate with the possible over capacity in the next few years.  

 

 

Our company went through the six sigma phase, and before that when I worked for the Air Force and went through the TQM phase.  The base ideas are good and should try to be followed, they normally fall by the wayside.

 

In regards to  Kodak and GE.  For them, either the market and the demand shifted on them or they may bad bad acquisition decisions and not poor customer service.  For Kodak (who pretty much invented the first digital camera's), they didn't realize the impact it would eventually have on their film business.  For GE, an example is that they went into the nuclear power business, which at the time seemed to be a good decision.  However, at the time they did not and pretty much everyone else didn't see the fracking of shale which would make natural gas so cheap.  Nothing to do with customer service. 

[whitshel]

Wow, that's 15 minutes of my life I will never get back 😞

 

I think if this whole post is really about a $10 tip issue, 99% of the population would be fine with the offer Rccl  made.  It's that 1% who try n make more out of something than it really is.  There aren't any companies who try to please everyone,  they know its just not possible, there will be issues, there will be hiccups but you will have those customers who are feel they are entitled because of a mistake.  

 

I work in a customer service business and people just amaze me!

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Unfortunately this is just the latest in a long but undistinguished list of complaints and unrealistic demands for restitution on "the little things".

 

I recall another poster months ago (in another thread on another similar topic) said it best:

 

"If someone is seeking perfection on a cruise, they may ant to seek another form of vacation."

 

Perfection doesn't exist in the travel industry, and sweating profusely over such a minor thing as in the original thread most means someone needs a much stronger deodorant (a metaphor of course).

[HBE4]

1 hour ago, nelblu said:

 

Try $50 on Anthem.

 

Yikes! 

[HBE4]

4 hours ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Unfortunately this is just the latest in a long but undistinguished list of complaints and unrealistic demands for restitution on "the little things".

 

I recall another poster months ago (in another thread on another similar topic) said it best:

 

"If someone is seeking perfection on a cruise, they may ant to seek another form of vacation."

 

Perfection doesn't exist in the travel industry, and sweating profusely over such a minor thing as in the original thread most means someone needs a much stronger deodorant (a metaphor of course).

 

True. Things will go wrong and you'll need to take it with a grain of salt and roll with it.  Honesty, this seems like a honest mistake and refunding the $10 and an apology is enough. A free Chops meal (which apparently is an up to $50 value 😲 ) is generous.

[bonsai3s]

If, this was all about a $10 tip...

 

Agree, it could have been a mistake.

But what if it wasn't?

 

I don't mind giving a nice tip, but if it was taken or stolen from me...that wouldn't be nice.

How many times has this crew member done this?

To how many unknowing passengers?

For how long?

How many other crew members do it?

 

Any other passengers out there ever remember getting overcharged?

If so, what did you do?

 

The OP was correct to complain.  (Disclosure: OP, I didn't know what you're complain was about based on your first comments.....not until someone mentioned the $10 tip issue.)

 

Edited March 31, 2019 by bonsai3s
typo

[spookwife]

Nobody is suggesting otherwise.  But to to come on here and spout jargon and accuse the lines of being complacent or worse based on one instance of one waiter trying(maybe, we never sa that side of the story) is overkill.  

 

Adddress it on board and have it taken care of.  No need to go any further