Crew who solicit for good survey review or Navigator App compliments. How do others feel about that?

[iceman93]

I don't mind something like, "I hope you had a wonderful cruise, and if so we'd really appreciate your positive feedback on the end-of-cruise survey."  But one of the fastest ways to get me to NOT leave a top rating is to harp on it or put any kind of pressure on me to do so.  Like HappyInVan, I give fair and honest assessments which usually do max out many of the ratings (I wouldn't keep sailing HAL if they didn't).  But overt pressure to leave positive ratings is not conducive, in my eyes, to an elegant and upscale experience.

[Haljo1935]

Aligned with @HappyInVan and @iceman93 that I don't mind a reminder to complete the survey (been hearing that for years) and do so fairly, honestly and in depth. However, pressure to leave specific feedback or rating would not be appreciated. 

[rj59]

I'd hope I'd never have to see such things on HAL. I get it all the time on RC and Celebrity, particularly from Indian waiters, and one on an NCL ship even had the gall to offer a review form to me to fill out at dinner, even though I'd never seen him before and he was a poor server. To me, it's the same as an American server asking for a generous tip, instead of doing a good job and relying on the generosity of the patron, because begging for money or a rating isn't his/her job and makes things me feel uncomfortable. Begging for a good rating also breaks down the fantasy that they really care about providing good service and are being friendly because they like me. At the same time, I've felt on cruises lately that dining room staff are just overworked and with low morale and are just slapping down plates, without any personal interaction or real warmth--I noticed that particularly on Koningsdam. I call the HAL dining room staff the Indonesian mafia because they don't seem to have any supervision or accountability, with no competition from other nationalities or even females, sort of like some union or government positions in the US who don't care because they're not going to be fired whether or not they provide good service--sort of like visiting a post office, or my carrier strolling along listening to music, while the UPS guy has his every movement tracked but still is friendlier than the postal carriers. I'd give more leeway when a room steward asks me to fill out a survey, since I see their work and friendliness every day, and they have a more difficult job, with few opportunities to get off the ship or even see sunlight. 

[mame42]

I think it is creepy.  The only time this has happened to me was on the Koningsdam; however, he was also so smarmy and overly familiar, that as a solo traveler, I would not enter the cabin if he were there.  Yes, I did mention him on the survey, but not in a flattering manner!

[erdufylla]

The only time I was asked to leave positive feedback in the survey on my last cruise aboard the Koningsdam was on the last day, when I was talking to one of the floor managers in the Lido deck. I’d flagged her down to ask about how I could best get a tip to a particular waiter in the MDR whose section we ended up in several times, and whose service, attentiveness, and friendliness was over-the-top excellent. She took the card I’d prepared with the tip I wanted to leave for him, saying she’d make sure it was passed on to him, but that naming him specifically and leaving positive feedback in the survey would be extremely helpful, as it could mean he’d get promoted to one of the specialty restaurants. 
 

I had no problem with this request, and unless it felt pushy or demanding, I wouldn’t feel put off about someone else asking me to leave positive feedback. I know it’s just how the service industry operates these days. It’s kind of like tipping in North America — you may not like it, but it’s how things are.

[cruisequeen4ever]

It is unprofessional and inappropriate to ask for praise on a survey.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

It is unprofessional and inappropriate to ask for praise on a survey.

I agree if the person is asking for themself (huge no no), but see no problem with it when it's for someone else who was mentioned as doing a great job. If the SOP is recognition through surveys, that's where the praise needs to be memorialized. And if a peer or supervisor points that out (after being made aware of the praise) and it helps get the comment to the right place, I'm ok with that. Especially when the peer or supervisor have no way to get the praise "upstream" in front of the right people. 

I'd rather someone politely ask me to leave comments on a survey for someone (who deserves it) than have that comments not reported.

Just my opinion...

[2inSETexas]

This has become an unfortunate trend across the industry, I’m afraid. Our last HAL cruise on the Zaandam, two crew members who were already doing a great job reminded us that their contract renewal depended on it. Our last cruise on another line, we were reminded everyday for the last three days how important good reviews were to them for their next contract. I agree that excessive pressure is being placed by management on crew to get good reviews, if not overtly than with sufficient “hints” that crew members feel the need to remind their guests. I will give good reviews where deserved, but would prefer to not be reminded regularly.

[syesmar]

I noticed it more after the Disembarkation Talks became a thing of the past. The Cruise Director used to always remind us to do the survey, leave honest feedback and in a no-pressure way let us know that mentioning an outstanding crew member by name helped them more in their careers than most guests realized.

Perhaps without these reminders on some ships crew have felt pressure to get the message out themselves?

I also agree that it’s off-putting when the requests are excessive, or when I feel after-the-fact that a service might have been done in exchange for a comment. By and large, though, most of the crew I have encountered have gone above and beyond without ever mentioning the survey or feedback.

[tuolumne couple]

Sometimes if you want recognition, you have to promote yourself. It is not a very comfortable thing to ask of anyone, and I can only imagine how awkward it must feel to ask it. I always assure whomever is asking that I will fill out the survey. Kind words are seldom heard in this day and age. Praise is so seldom given. I recall being asked to be sure complete the survey and to mention their performance on the survey. I never felt they were begging for a good review, just a fair one. I try to kill them with kindness, and enjoy all that they do for me. I am not the one being judged for my performance, they are, and I try to remember that. 

[ontheweb]

And boy do you get even greater service after you tell a crew member that you intend to give them a good write up!

 

On a HAL Boston to Montreal cruise, while sitting in the buffet I noticed the same server was always making sure my lemonade cup was never empty. I motioned her over and told her I wanted to write her up as someone who had made my cruise special, but to do that I needed to know her name. I further went on to say that I did not think it was very polite to stare at her chest to be able to read her nametag.

She told me her name, and made sure I knew how to spell it correctly. And after that, not only was my lemonade cup never empty, but as soon as I drank at all, she was there to refill it.

 

And that was July 2018, almost 5 years ago, and I still remember her name, Honeyeyeo. 😊