Surprised HAL CSA did not know this:

[HeatherInFlorida]

I believe you're right, Heather. It would be a rare TA who did not charge a fee for airline tix. I used to go through a well-known travel site or two when booking tickets, but now tend to use them only for price comparisons. ................I'd rather just go directly with the airline's site. The majors, at least, don't charge a fee for booking, either.

 

That's exactly what I do, Jim. The booking sites are helpful for comparison, but I'm always more comfortable booking directly with the airline.

 

I remember well when the airlines stopped giving TAs commissions for airline ticketing and there was such an uproar that because of that the TA's started charging. It made sense to me because otherwise they would be essentially working for free which is just wrong.

 

I do remember one trip I booked a few years ago where my TA didn't charge a fee for the air because it was overall a very involved and expensive trip. She said she only charges a fee when people just want to book air and air alone. That makes sense.

[jtl513]

I do remember one trip I booked a few years ago where my TA didn't charge a fee for the air because it was overall a very involved and expensive trip. She said she only charges a fee when people just want to book air and air alone. That makes sense.

If we want air in conjunction with cruises, or with hotels and rental cars in someplace that we don't know, we have a TA do it. A simple plane and hotel to someplace we've been to many times we book directly.

[drpooh]

Ok, I'm just going to go ahead and admit it. I am a highly educated, intelligent person, a doctor, but I did not grow up around boats, I've yet to go on a cruise, and until I joined these boards I had no idea which end of a boat was the bow and which was the stern. If I thought about it, I probably could have figured it out, but I hardly think I'm the only functioning adult with a poor knowledge of boat terminology. I'm still trying to keep port and starboard straight...True, if I worked for a cruiseline I would make the effort to learn, but there you go :p

[sail7seas]

Thanks, drpooh. Your point is, of course, well taken. I have yet to figure out why it matters so much whether a reservation person knows 'the language. ' JMHO...... but as long as she can understand what the customer requires and can make herself understood and enter the proper info in the computer..... Works for me! :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

........................I'm still trying to keep port and starboard straight...True, if I worked for a cruiseline I would make the effort to learn, but there you go :p

 

Port and starboard is a whole other ball of wax (as they say;) )....it took me years to get it right and I still sometimes have to do it the easy way.

 

The word "port" is shorter than "starboard" and the word "left" is shorter than the word "right". So port is left and starboard is right. That's how to remember it. You'll never forget or have a problem again. At least that's how I did it.

 

All my life I have always tried to speak the language of a country I'm visiting (at least to communicate) and learn the terminology and "language" of businesses I work for. I think it's very important. JMO.

[tommytune]

 

...True, if I worked for a cruiseline I would make the effort to learn, but there you go :p

I'm sure you would not only make the effort, but there should be some minimum amount of training so that cruiseline reservation clerks have some basic knowledge about a ship. Fore, aft, bow, stern, port, starboard. C'mon. It's not exactly like they are having to learn how and when to turn on the stabilizers and how the azipods work. :eek:

[CroozeAddict]

It's difficult to believe that someone would be "taken aback" because the CSA didn't know the term "bow". Give me a break.

[BruceMuzz]

I read a survey recently that claimed that 75% of High School Seniors in America were unable to name the body of water situated between Asia and North America. If this is true, how can we expect them to know bow and stern?

These are the same people being recruited for Cruise Line Call Centers.

[peaches from georgia]

I read a survey recently that claimed that 75% of High School Seniors in America were unable to name the body of water situated between Asia and North America. If this is true, how can we expect them to know bow and stern?

These are the same people being recruited for Cruise Line Call Centers.

As a previous poster said, it's called TRAINING- every good company does it before the new employees, whatever their age or education, are put out on the floor (or on the phones). That's how you expect employees to serve the public and the company.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I've frequently read that you cannot defend bad behavior by pointing out someone else's bad behavior.

 

The same may be said about this. The fact that a large number of high school seniors have not been taught geography in our schools does not make lack of training in the workplace okay.

 

These are not navigation terms. No one would expect CSRs to have a vast knowledge of every part of the ship. But I think every cruise line should supply their representatives with a glossary of simple terms that will be used often in the course of their day such as:

 

bow

stern

promenade

deck

starboard

port

 

We see the words "bow" and "stern" right on the website and in HAL's brochures. The deck layout shows number of feet to the bow and to the stern.

[Copper10-8]

I read a survey recently that claimed that 75% of High School Seniors in America were unable to name the body of water situated between Asia and North America. If this is true, how can we expect them to know bow and stern?

These are the same people being recruited for Cruise Line Call Centers.

 

Do the elevators go to the bow or the stern of the ship?

[sail7seas]

:) Is this an up or down staircase? :D

 

[Stock Cop]

Do the elevators go to the bow or the stern of the ship?

 

Now there's an idea. I take the elevator from deck 6 to deck 7, so why not one for fore and aft?

 

Boy, would they have to lift alot of passengers off by crane if they cut out all that walking !!! LOL

 

Rich :cool: :cool:

[jhannah]

Think how neat it would be to have moving sidewalks on the sides of the ship up high.

;)

[Lynne Myrna]

Port and starboard is a whole other ball of wax (as they say;) )....it took me years to get it right and I still sometimes have to do it the easy way.

 

The word "port" is shorter than "starboard" and the word "left" is shorter than the word "right". So port is left and starboard is right. That's how to remember it. You'll never forget or have a problem again. At least that's how I did it.

 

All my life I have always tried to speak the language of a country I'm visiting (at least to communicate) and learn the terminology and "language" of businesses I work for. I think it's very important. JMO.

 

Heather.....that is so cool.....now I will remember....thanks:)

[Copper10-8]

Think how neat it would be to have moving sidewalks on the sides of the ship up high.

;)

 

Now there's an idea. I take the elevator from deck 6 to deck 7, so why not one for fore and aft?

 

 

Hey, another little bit of assistance for those poor untrained HAL telephone CSR's! Moving sidewalks the length of the ship on the port and starboard side with a voice at the end like the one at Schiphol Airport that keeps saying "Mind your step";)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Lynne Myrna, you're very welcome ... can't remember where I heard that, but it was years ago and I would never remember without it:) .

 

I think the comments in defense of HAL CSRs are very insulting to them. While I learned where the bow of a ship is at a very early age, this might not be common in all parts of the country.

 

Our surprised reaction has nothing to do with how much they make or where they went to school, it's a reaction to HAL's training of their people. You don't sit someone down in front of a phone and a computer and say "have at it". Some simple basic training would be nice.