Turning Tragic into Magic

January 20, 2012 – Turning Tragic Into Magic

I really appreciate the lessons I learned from the people at Disney. They prepared me well for the Guest Encounters that are a part of my job. As a ship’s officer it is my responsibility on most evenings to spend at least 30 minutes strolling the public areas, greeting guests and engaging them in conversations. It is part of the experience that distinguishes Celebrity in the eyes of our guests. Guests enjoy the chance to speak with ship’s officers in a relaxed and generally friendly exchange.

My first ‘guest encounter’ was definitely unplanned, and certainly did not start as friendly. On the afternoon of my first full day, I decided to head up to the Ocean View Café on Deck 14 to grab a quick cup of coffee. (In a later posting I will need to describe the value of climbing 12 flights of stairs to get guest coffee instead of crew coffee . . . but I digress.) I poured a cup and headed out to the aft deck behind the restaurant to sip my coffee for five minutes and watch the ocean flow past. As I turned to reenter the restaurant, I noticed two ladies setting up their dominoes on a table near the restaurant’s entrance. As I passed I intended to greet them, but before I could say a word, one of the ladies spotted me and addressed me in the following way.

“Why is your ice machine not working?” These may have been the first words a guest had addressed to me beyond a passing ‘good afternoon.’ And both the words and the tone will be forever memorable. I paused at the table ready to address this customer service crisis. Before I could say a word, she continued, “ . . . and I’m not talking about that one,” hooking a thumb over her shoulder to the beverage station just inside the door. “I know that is only open during meals, I’m talking about the main one in the center of the café that is supposed to be open ALL the time. It’s not working and someone needs to fix it.”

This is where the instincts of so many years visiting Disney and working with some of their team came into play. I apologized for the inconvenience and thanked her for bringing it to our attention. I told her I’d immediately look into it and would bring her some ice. “Tell a waiter to bring me some ice,” she responded, returning full attention to her dominoes. Feeling summarily dismissed, I proceeded to the beverage station to check out the ice maker . . . which was working perfectly. Ah, but here’s where the Disney training really paid off. I simply filled two glasses with ice, one for my newest acquaintance and one for her friend, and personally delivered them to her table. That’s when the tragic turned to magic. She was caught totally by surprise that a ship’s officer should fetch her ice. Instinctively, I had delivered on the Celebrity STAR promise:  Smile and Greet, Take Ownership, Attention to Detail, and Reach Higher. (You each have now passed your STAR service course and I should probably enter you all in our training database!)

Then there was Steve and Penny. The following night I performed my first official Guest Encounter. Dressed in my evening uniform I strolled slowly through the Ensemble Lounge sharing brief greetings and conversations about how their days had been. Just as I was completing my rounds, eager to return to my office to learn more of my job, the last couple I greeted in passing decided to offer a challenge. The husband, Steve, began our conversation with the following, “There is one question that I’ve asked on every cruise ship I’ve been on, and no one has ever been able to ask it. If you are the training manager, you should know this. How much fuel does this ship burn in an hour?” Second day on the ship and I’m supposed to know its technical specifications? But when you apply our service standards, there is no guest inquiry that we don’t ‘own.’ After agreeing with him on certain parameters: full ship, 20 knots/hour, calm seas; I promised to get him his answer. He was skeptical, repeating that no one on any ship he had been on, and he had cruised a lot, had ever answered that question. I asked him for his stateroom number and promised him an answer by tomorrow. Returning to my office I sent an email to the Staff Chief Engineer of the ship and asked for his help. One hour later he not only responded with the answer by email, but then called me to ensure I received the information and added an offer to meet personally with the guest to discuss more information if he so desired. The next morning I called Steve and his wife Penny and conveyed the long sought after answer.

In case you are interested, it is 1892 gallons/hour.

This is the way we ‘roll’ at CCL. Our guests obviously enjoy the experience as our repeat business is amazing. When I attended a Captain’s Elite Club reception I talked with many of our return guests. For one couple with whom I spoke it was their 65^th cruise with Celebrity! One of the hostesses told me she was heading to another ship next month where they are planning a reception for a couple who will be celebrating their 100^th cruise. Please understand that we’ve only been in business 22 years! You do the math and answer the following question for me. When do these people have time to work to make the money to cruise this often?

Inquiring minds want to know . . .

And the adventure continues . . .