Viking - above and beyond. Thank you

[Vineyard View]

This was truly a really small issue, so when I received the response from Viking that I did, it quite honestly took me by complete surprise!

 

We were at a holiday event on a rainy day. I took my favorite umbrella - my blue compact indestructible Viking Rivers.  I honestly take it everywhere. It holds up to rain and wind, and fits in my purse or small bag. It has travelled far with me. Well, it was picked up by someone, by mistake I am sure, and I was pretty bummed. I called the venue a couple times to see if it had been returned  No luck. 
I then thought that maybe I could buy one so I sent a note to tellus explaining and asking if I could do so. I received a call from Viking’s Mickey in Customer Service telling me he was having a tough time locating one and that they are only available on the ships. I responded with sincere gratitude at the efforts for such a small thing. He said he would keep trying, and I assured him it wasn’t a big enough deal for that much effort. 
Well, on 12/31, low and behold, I received a package sent from Basel Switzerland. I opened it and there was a blue Viking umbrella inside. Apparently a crew member from a river ship actually took the time to do this for an unknown passenger in California!  I was speechless!

Who does that now days?  
Viking.  Mickey at Viking. And an unknown crew member on a long ship far from where we live. I sincerely thank you. 

[SM77]

Wow, what a very nice gesture from Viking!  It's these thoughtful acts that keeps us coming back as Viking customers.  I have to agree that writing to Tellus@Viking is so worthwhile - they are usually very responsive and I think Viking does listen intently to passenger feedback.  Thanks for sharing!

[lackcreativity]

Thanks for sharing this very nice little story. One more reason I am looking forward to our river cruise in April. We pass through Basel on the trip. I'll be extra nice to the crew members I meet on your behalf!

[KathyA]

Thank you for posting.  Love Viking, and this kind of above and beyond service is a big reason why.

 

[stretchcruz]

That's really nice!!

[ropomo]

Prior to our Viking Homelands cruise last year, I noticed a rather significant error on the Viking website, that might not be noticed by someone that had not actually been on one of the VO ships.  I sent feedback to Tellus with the link to the page with the error and the correct info.  I received a very nice thank you email.... and when we boarded in Bergen for our cruise, there was a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us from the Tellus folks.  BTW, the webpage was corrected within a few hours of my email to them.

[Vineyard View]

I wasn’t sure whether to post such a small thing. I think that it was all the effort for such a small thing that made it significant to me. Viking has always been so personally responsive to me on multiple occasions, (even before Tellus was launched) about questions on  our itineraries that it is seriously impressive. Tellus is a fantastic resource. 
We cannot say enough about our Viking River and Ocean Cruises and never hesitate to recommend them. Time to book again soon! 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Vineyard View

[Vineyard View]

8 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

Thanks for sharing this very nice little story. One more reason I am looking forward to our river cruise in April. We pass through Basel on the trip. I'll be extra nice to the crew members I meet on your behalf!

Thank you ☺️. Have a fantastic trip. Love traveling Europe in April/May  

[philw1776]

Contacted tellus before our Barcelona departure.  I'd noticed that a tour I and others in the Roll Call wanted was somehow not available for our departure.  Yet it was listed and available for the prior sailing.  They got back to us that the tour was now made available.  A buss full of us enjoyed the tour.

[Peregrina651]

On 1/5/2020 at 4:38 PM, ropomo said:

Prior to our Viking Homelands cruise last year, I noticed a rather significant error on the Viking website, that might not be noticed by someone that had not actually been on one of the VO ships.  I sent feedback to Tellus with the link to the page with the error and the correct info.  I received a very nice thank you email.... and when we boarded in Bergen for our cruise, there was a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us from the Tellus folks.  BTW, the webpage was corrected within a few hours of my email to them.

 

Anytime I find an error or discrepancy, I pass it along via TellUs. I tell them I am a member of the proofreading team.  

[philw1776]

In our case for some unexplained reason the Montserrat tour really was not available for that date.  They took a few days and arranged its availability.  Kudos. 
Public Service Notice:  Montserrat does NOT mean Monster Rat in Spanish.  

I was deeply disappointed.  Learned that it does mean serrated (saw toothed) mountain, an apt description.