My conversation with Captain's Club rep

[Karynanne]

Yesterday, I phoned the Captain's Club. I needed to verify some information, regarding our OBC's for an upcoming cruise.

 

I spoke with a delightful woman, who was extremely helpful and polite. Even though she couldn't access all the information I requested, she gave me the names of those that I could contact on a Mon.-Fri. basis.

 

In the course of our conversation, I asked her why the Celebrity Reps in general aren't as helpful, or as polite. She stated that basically they were in "Sales", NOT "Customer Service". I told her I thought that was interesting. Didn't attitude and courtesy enter into the realm of Sales skills? And what if the 1st time cruiser wasn't a member of Captain's Club. What would their 1st time impression of Celebrity be?

 

Even though she didn't have any influence in how the Sales division is trained, this division is sorely lacking the training that the Captain's Club reps are given.

 

Celebrity excutives need to take notice.

[ginagirl]

As long as their ships keep sailing full, they couldn't care less. In addition, have you compared the increased rates for 2008 to those charged in 2007? Despite the often-reported decrease in satisfaction by many fellow cruisers I have read on many threads, the prices seem to be escalating. :eek:

[oneadam12]

For the many positives about Celebrity, I agree that customer service is not very good. I recently called them to straighten out a minor problem and the Celebrity staff person was, at best, disinterested. From reading these boards, Celebrity certainly has a loyal following. However there have been a lot of complaints about phone service. I would think, with some training, that their on- phone service could improve.

[Jade13]

 

In the course of our conversation, I asked her why the Celebrity Reps in general aren't as helpful, or as polite. She stated that basically they were in "Sales", NOT "Customer Service". .

 

This is so obvious. I called last August to book our cruise and afterwards the Rep left the company and 5 times Celebrity refused to give me a new Personal Vacation Planner. Someone was finally honest and said it was a commission issue. Whenever I call the Sales Reps can't wait to get me off the phone with "is there anything else". They aren't going to make commission off of me and it is so obvious they are looking for their next Sale.

 

I just figured this out today. If you are a past Celebrity cruiser you can call the Captains Club. If it's your first Celebrity cruise there isn't anyone. Just FYI, if cruising on HAL anyone can phone Guest Services (the Reps are great) even if it your first HAL cruise and whether or not you have another TA.

 

So, to Celebrity Execs take notice. You need a Guest Relations department with Professionals that anyone can phone with questions prior to their cruise (those new to Celebrity don't have the Captains Club). If you think this is too much for one department than at least for those booked directly through Celebrity you need a better plan for anyone that has booked and their Vacation Planner has left because your other Sales Reps are just looking for their next commission and are overall unhelpful.

[Karynanne]

This is so obvious. I called last August to book our cruise and afterwards the Rep left the company and 5 times Celebrity refused to give me a new Personal Vacation Planner. Someone was finally honest and said it was a commission issue. Whenever I call the Sales Reps can't wait to get me off the phone with "is there anything else". They aren't going to make commission off of me and it is so obvious they are looking for their next Sale.

 

I just figured this out today. If you are a past Celebrity cruiser you can call the Captains Club. If it's your first Celebrity cruise there isn't anyone. Just FYI, if cruising on HAL anyone can phone Guest Services (the Reps are great) even if it your first HAL cruise and whether or not you have another TA.

 

So, to Celebrity Execs take notice. You need a Guest Relations department with Professionals that anyone can phone with questions prior to their cruise (those new to Celebrity don't have the Captains Club). If you think this is too much for one department than at least for those booked directly through Celebrity you need a better plan for anyone that has booked and their Vacation Planner has left because your other Sales Reps are just looking for their next commission and are overall unhelpful.

 

This was my point exactly. We're long-time Celebrity cruisers, so we usually don't have any pre-cruise questions. But for those people that are experiencing this cruiseline for the first time, the Sales Reps are not the best people for inquiries. It's probably the most prominent department in the company, that Celebrity should be giving it's attention to.

[Jade13]

This was my point exactly. We're long-time Celebrity cruisers, so we usually don't have any pre-cruise questions. But for those people that are experiencing this cruiseline for the first time, the Sales Reps are not the best people for inquiries. It's probably the most prominent department in the company, that Celebrity should be giving it's attention to.

 

Thank you for this thread. It just became clear today. Btw, I am getting my info from CC.

 

I need to call again tomorrow. I am unclear if they are even sending me anything (luggage tags?) or are travel documents and boarding passes just downloaded electronically? I have little to no communication with Celebrity.

[hermang]

Yesterday, I phoned the Captain's Club. I needed to verify some information, regarding our OBC's for an upcoming cruise.

 

I spoke with a delightful woman, who was extremely helpful and polite. Even though she couldn't access all the information I requested, she gave me the names of those that I could contact on a Mon.-Fri. basis.

 

In the course of our conversation, I asked her why the Celebrity Reps in general aren't as helpful, or as polite. She stated that basically they were in "Sales", NOT "Customer Service". I told her I thought that was interesting. Didn't attitude and courtesy enter into the realm of Sales skills? And what if the 1st time cruiser wasn't a member of Captain's Club. What would their 1st time impression of Celebrity be?

 

Even though she didn't have any influence in how the Sales division is trained, this division is sorely lacking the training that the Captain's Club reps are given.

 

Celebrity excutives need to take notice.

 

Most CSR's are not well paid or treated well. I used to work for an HMO - CSR's were placed in little cubicles, measured on how many calls theytook an hour and literally had to raise their hand to go to the bathroom. AT LEAST they spoke english and were based in CT and NJ. Now CSR's are in Bangladesh, Mumbai, Manilla or West Bumblef+++ Iowa where the last ship they saw was Titanic. I'll bet you a drink at the Martini bar 99% have never been on a cruise and worse are po'd because we cruise and they dont.

 

Is it going to change - Nope - because if X or other cruiselines had to hire the cream of the crop they would have to pay more resulting in higher fares and people screaming about how greedy X is - Why cant I have Lobster 12 times a week.

 

We are going on a 6 night cruise on Radiance - Superior Balcony Cabin which for the DW and I after Crown and Anchor discount comes out with port charges to $1127 for the both of us. WHY - its an off week and they wanted to book inventory - The cruise today is 2x what we paid - so is RCCL making money or not - more than if they cancelled thr cruise or sailed empty - But paying a CSR is not going to generate business especially with everyone trying to find the cheapest cruise

[Karynanne]

Most CSR's are not well paid or treated well. I used to work for an HMO - CSR's were placed in little cubicles, measured on how many calls theytook an hour and literally had to raise their hand to go to the bathroom. AT LEAST they spoke english and were based in CT and NJ. Now CSR's are in Bangladesh, Mumbai, Manilla or West Bumblef+++ Iowa where the last ship they saw was Titanic. I'll bet you a drink at the Martini bar 99% have never been on a cruise and worse are po'd because we cruise and they dont.

 

Is it going to change - Nope - because if X or other cruiselines had to hire the cream of the crop they would have to pay more resulting in higher fares and people screaming about how greedy X is - Why cant I have Lobster 12 times a week.

 

We are going on a 6 night cruise on Radiance - Superior Balcony Cabin which for the DW and I after Crown and Anchor discount comes out with port charges to $1127 for the both of us. WHY - its an off week and they wanted to book inventory - The cruise today is 2x what we paid - so is RCCL making money or not - more than if they cancelled thr cruise or sailed empty - But paying a CSR is not going to generate business especially with everyone trying to find the cheapest cruise

 

LOL, you made a great point. I have oftened wondered if the Sales Reps had ever been on a cruise. And many passengers probably do ask endless questions about anything and everything. BUT.....they should be trained to answer those questions....and do it with a smile and politeness. The cruise industry is in the Hospitality and Hotel business.

[becca23]

Hi Karyn.....Good info...So glad my TA does the leg work....I never had to call Celebrity.....

[Karynanne]

Hi Karyn.....Good info...So glad my TA does the leg work....I never had to call Celebrity.....

 

 

My TA is just great, but this was an issue that I knew that the Captain's Club could answer, and I felt it was easier to do it myself, than to waste my TA's time.

[rolloman]

You guys want to keep hammering on the poor call center reps, who only make about 10 bucks an hour and guess what will happen? They will outsource the call center to India for 2 dollars an hour and then you will have something real to complain about. It is what it is, no matter which corporation you utilize these days. If you want someone to hold your hand then get a travel agent.

[lvtotrvl1]

You guys want to keep hammering on the poor call center reps, who only make about 10 bucks an hour and guess what will happen? They will outsource the call center to India for 2 dollars an hour and then you will have something real to complain about. It is what it is, no matter which corporation you utilize these days. If you want someone to hold your hand then get a travel agent.

 

With all your cruises under your belt, I give you kudos!!! Not sure they will ever outsource..but good ta's are a man's best friend....

[Karynanne]

The original point of my 1st post, was not to complain or whine, but to just point out that there are differences between Celebrity's "Sales Reps", and "Captain's Club Reps".

[Jade13]

You guys want to keep hammering on the poor call center reps, who only make about 10 bucks an hour and guess what will happen? They will outsource the call center to India for 2 dollars an hour and then you will have something real to complain about. It is what it is, no matter which corporation you utilize these days. If you want someone to hold your hand then get a travel agent.

 

That is not a bad idea. Many companys, including Amazon and Dell computer, outsourse to India. I usually get someone in India when I have a computer service issue and guess what? The service has usually been excellant. It is a prestigious job in India, the Reps take their job seriously, have a lot of patience, and are usually very helpful. Now with the computer they can remote in and often fix problems anywhere in the World. But if Celebrity is going to have a call center in Kansas and Reps who are not required to even set foot on a cruise ship, I think overall I would get better service from a rep in India. When I had an issue with Celebrity I got someone in Kanas who sounded like he may help. He told me to put it in writing, gave me his full name and e-mail. Well, it's been over a month and this person just wasted my time and has not even "confirmed receipt" of either the letter or e-mail. Just another person that is a very poor representative of Celebrity cruises.

 

India is a bad example. $2.00 per hour is a lot of money in India. I am pretty sure they make less than that, but it is good money in that country.

[Jade13]

You guys want to keep hammering on the poor call center reps, who only make about 10 bucks an hour and guess what will happen? It is what it is, no matter which corporation you utilize these days. If you want someone to hold your hand then get a travel agent.

 

Additionally, if you had read my post, I was given a Celebrity Vacation Planner (their internal Travel Agent - HAL calls them Personal Cruise Consultants and believe me, the ones at HAL are excellant), but that person left the company within weeks of my placing a deposit on my cruise. Celebrity refused to give me another person and just told me to speak to whomever answers the phone (no consistency). Besides the electronic document showing my charges, there is no other contact with Celebrity. If it was your first Celebrity cruise (and especially if you had not found CC to ask questions), I'm sure you would have some questions even if they are as small as whether they even send out boarding passes or luggage tags, whether I am waiting for any documents from Celebrity or whether this is something I am supposed to download...Btw, I am taking someone else's minor child and Celebrity has never even told me that we needed a letter from the girl's parents. They just put two 15 year olds in their own cabin without making any comments. I am just getting a notorized letter on my own in case they ask for anything.

[Patrick IL.]

I have dealt with Captains Club reps several times, they are always very helpful and friendly.

My TA deals directly with X reps, that's why we have her, to cut through all of that.

[denims]

I need to call again tomorrow. I am unclear if they are even sending me anything (luggage tags?) or are travel documents and boarding passes just downloaded electronically? I have little to no communication with Celebrity.

 

We haven't cruise Celebrity since 2003, but on other cruise lines, you download your boarding passes. You should get luggage tags in the mail; but don't worry, you can get them at the dock.

[joelmarj]

That is not a bad idea. Many companys, including Amazon and Dell computer, outsourse to India. I usually get someone in India when I have a computer service issue and guess what? The service has usually been excellant. It is a prestigious job in India, the Reps take their job seriously, have a lot of patience, and are usually very helpful. Now with the computer they can remote in and often fix problems anywhere in the World. But if Celebrity is going to have a call center in Kansas and Reps who are not required to even set foot on a cruise ship, I think overall I would get better service from a rep in India. When I had an issue with Celebrity I got someone in Kanas who sounded like he may help. He told me to put it in writing, gave me his full name and e-mail. Well, it's been over a month and this person just wasted my time and has not even "confirmed receipt" of either the letter or e-mail. Just another person that is a very poor representative of Celebrity cruises.

 

India is a bad example. $2.00 per hour is a lot of money in India. I am pretty sure they make less than that, but it is good money in that country.

 

Sorry, I hate to disagree, but the service is definitely NOT better when handled from India. They do not understand the English language fluently and usually speak from scripts. I have had issues when dealing with them from airline bookings to computer services. If you ask anything outside of their scripts they have no clue. They also speak literal and can rarely interpret or infer something other than literal terms. As an example, I was trying to check in for a flight online and it was not letting me. I was getting a message that said I had to see an agent at the airport. I call CSR in India and it took me 4 tries to get him to understand what I was trying to do. He kept saying "yes, you can book online" even when I tried to say I am trying to check in, not buy a new ticket. He then transferred me to the online help desk (in India as well) and I went through the same thing AGAIN! It was a nightmare. When I got to the airport, the agent was extremely helpful and said "ah, yes - I see the issue. They should have fixed this on the phone for you". He shrugged his shoulders and said this happens all the time with calls to their CSR in India. This is not the only example. It is repeated over and over and over.

 

I also happen to work for a company that has a 1000+ staff of customer service and we have absolutely NO desire to export the service to India specifically because of the language issues. Our clients would never put up with it, and we do not see the benefit over saving a few bucks. Customer service can work, we do it without running a sweatshop environment. We pay incentives based on quality, not speed. Business models can be successful, but need to be managed for quality within the US.

[valandjerry]

joelmarj

I agree with you about the outsourcing. The reason this country is in the condition is because we outsource our jobs to 3rd world countries and wind un downsizing our own companies. An example would be my DH company, we live in a small town where his comapny was the larges employer with over 500 employees my DH retired last year and his company is now in danger of complete shutdown do to the fact of outsourcing and along with it came poor quality workmanship, just look at our toy supply from China as well. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. Treat our domestic workers better and you will get better quality service. I worked in retail for 31 years and believe me customers have not gotten nicer. Sorry about the soapbox.

[Sky Sweet]

I've booked my last three cruises directly through Celebrity, Holland America, and Royal Caribbean. All three cruise lines have provided me with better service than I was getting through a travel agent.

 

With Celebrity, this included adjusting our price after final payment was made because they were offering a 55+ discount that wasn't available when I initially made our reservation, and changing our CC cabin mid ship to CC cabin aft when one became available a few months after I had booked the cruise.

[Jade13]

They do not understand the English language fluently and usually speak from scripts.

 

They also speak literal and can rarely interpret or infer something other than literal terms. This is not the only example. It is repeated over and over and over.

 

we have absolutely NO desire to export the service to India specifically because of the language issues. Our clients would never put up with it, and we do not see the benefit over saving a few bucks.

 

Sorry, but you need to be real careful about making a general statement about India or its people. My brother-in-law, and neice and nephew are Indian, have family there and their English is just fine. I have not dealt with either the airline or call center where you have had this problem but at least the Dell techs are pretty good.

[grandsix]

Unfortunately, The entire cruise industry suffers with a problem of poorly trained phone help working in conjunction with headquarters. We have personally experienced it. One can also read the Cruise Critic comments on all the cruise lines. How many times do we get information over the phone that is contradictory or we know information before they do. It is more to do with training. Maybe the Executives at headquarters will take heed and care for their guests with quality like they do when we are on board. Hopefully, Celebrity will take the lead. This is an important topic that basically affects all of us. Let's have more input on this.

[txsloth]

We haven't cruise Celebrity since 2003, but on other cruise lines, you download your boarding passes. You should get luggage tags in the mail; but don't worry, you can get them at the dock.

If you booked directly through Celebrity and chose to receive eDocs, you won't be receiving anything in the mail--everything you'll need to board the ship will be downloaded including a sample of what your luggage tags will look like--you'll get the actual tags at the dock.

[kyrisong1]

Sorry, but you need to be real careful about making a general statement about India or its people. My brother-in-law, and neice and nephew are Indian, have family there and their English is just fine. I have not dealt with either the airline or call center where you have had this problem but at least the Dell techs are pretty good.

Jade, I have dealt with MANY people from India from companies that have been outsourced from many different institutions, credit card call centers, help desks. I agree most have very good english skills, however I am in agreement with the other people, in that it's NOT always easy to understand them. I have a hearing problem and I do not expect to call a HELP desk and not be able to understand the person. They are there to provide a service,and if I cannot use that service because their english is not clear enough for me to understand it, then thats a problem to me.

I am a nurse in a hospital, and I will tell you that I deal with alot of Indian professionals, they are extremely well educated and do know how to deal with whatever they need to and I have the highest respect for them, but the understanding of their english goes from excellent to poor depending on the person.

Outsourcing for this country may be a good thing for big business in saving money for providing a service, however if you are a US based company then I believe you are doing NO service to this country by saving a buck outsourcing, see unemployment rate.

Just my two cents. Carole

[CruiseParty]

Sorry, but you need to be real careful about making a general statement about India or its people. My brother-in-law, and neice and nephew are Indian, have family there and their English is just fine. I have not dealt with either the airline or call center where you have had this problem but at least the Dell techs are pretty good.

 

Sorry, but I think you need to be "real" careful about making a general statement about Kansas or it's people:D . This is not an issue of trashing India or it's people-just personal experience.

 

I can tell you that I have never ever in 10 calls to Dell service received a solution to ANY problem. I do agree that they get a "10" for how nice they are and a "1" for everything else.

 

Due to the backlash from major companies, Dell has abandoned its India based call centers for major business clients and opted for US based reps. The consumer end unfortunately is still based in India.

 

I do agree though that if you work for a cruise line you should at least be invited on board for "training purposes" I just booked a Cunard cruise and the agent told me they were never on a cruise ship. I hope the Dell reps in India at least have Dell computers!