HAL General Phone Number observation

[Live4cruises]

Hello,

After my unsatisfactory phone experience with HAL yesterday and today, I am wondering if they have chosen to outsource/offshore this service.  My hold time both days was greater than 40 minutes, and the agents seem to have no knowledge of their products.  Yesterday (Sunday), I put the wait time down to a busy weekend, but today - even early in the morning when I gave up - was similarly slow.

One of my questions was about disembarkation time. My confirmation itinerary shows arrival at 1:00 a.m. in Whittier.  I suggested that surely this was an arrival time and not actual disembarkation, but she assured me that she asked her local supervisor and that was indeed what the itinerary showed.  I pushed back (politely, I promise!) again, and was told that I would need to contact Guest Services directly. The local supervisor and a secondary contact were both red flags for me.  

I also inquired about what facilities were available on a long bus ride, particularly rest room facilities. As she read my list of questions back to me, she asked if I wanted to know what facilities the bus had for resting.  I clarified that I meant toilets.  

If HAL has outsourced their phone services, it does not make me at all happy.  For whatever that's worth!

[ShipWalker]

Whenever I contact any business help line I always causally ask where they are located.

 

The farthest offshore location for HAL I have found so far is Arizona.

[YourWorldWithBill]

I've found that in the same week the hold time can depend on the day and time. Some days are generally busier, but sometimes it's just random. One day I was on hold for 30 minutes, and the next day my call was answered immediately.

In addition to Weekends, Mondays seem to be very busy days.

[Live4cruises]

Thanks, both of you. I hope I was just having a bad day, and I can get back to the friendly voices I'm used to. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

They may not all be offshore, but there's a lot of outsourcing and too little training. In my attempts to get information about a cruise, I got no help at all in two different calls. One transferred me to "guest services" but that just took me to the same press1, press 2 menu that I started with. I tried chat, and that agent couldn't answer my question, gave me links I had already found on the website, and then gave me information I knew to be wrong. 

Edited April 4, 2023 by 3rdGenCunarder

[TiogaCruiser]

On 4/3/2023 at 2:38 PM, ShipWalker said:

Whenever I contact any business help line I always causally ask where they are located.

 

The farthest offshore location for HAL I have found so far is Arizona.

And of course Arizona is the home for many cruise ports….

 

 

Ive looked up the open jobs list for HAL, thinking I MIGHT consider part time work from home. I only found options for those living in Florida. Maybe I’ll look again.

[Dallas Glenn]

You don't have to disembark until after breakfast 7 or 8 o'clock or so.  There is a restroom on the bus,  

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, Dallas Glenn said:

You don't have to disembark until after breakfast 7 or 8 o'clock or so.  There is a restroom on the bus,  

Since you actually know the answers to the OP's questions, you are obviously NOT a HAL phone representative. 🤣

[albingirl]

I usually listen to their horrible wait time music and then, usually get cut off or transferred to someone who can't help me. After a very long wait. They need more people to answer the phones.

[YourWorldWithBill]

7 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Since you actually know the answers to the OP's questions, you are obviously NOT a HAL phone representative. 🤣

😁