Is it Good, Excellent, or Great!?
Return to Guide Index
for good preparation
If your cruise travel agent does a follow-up profile, shortly after you return from your trip, kudos to him or her.
Your agent is on the threshold of providing great customer service.
On the other hand, if your cruise travel agent does nothing, what is the message to you?
Agents, like business people everywhere, are oftentimes too busy taking care of the next customer to do a follow-up profile with someone who has already traveled.
Nowadays, people do not expect excellent customer service. What about you? Do you really expect to receive excellent customer service?
Cruise industry records confirm that cruise lines enjoy a high percentage of repeat customers. Cruise ships are renowned for providing good to excellent customer service.
It is interesting to know that estimates are that less than fifteen percent of the United States population has taken a cruise. This percentage drops to less than ten percent for Europe, and far less for the rest of the world.
Based on the above percentages, indications are that the cruise industry will experience growth for many years to come. Cruise travel agents are looking at this potential growth as a gold mine.
To state the obvious, the cruise line's repeat customers are also the cruise agent’s best future customers.
Cruise ships and the cruise lines do their part when it comes to providing good to excellent customer service. The agent must also do his/her part.
Lifetime, repeat customer - these are golden words. Cruise lines love these types of customers and so should agents.
Does s/he provide you with excellent customer service, on an on-going basis?
The first action of an agent providing "good" service is to ask you lots of questions. In other words, your agent should profile you.
{This web page "A Trip Advisor’s Best Weapon" provides an overview of how and why a good agent should profile you.}
Equally, if not more, important is whether the agent graduates to "excellent" by conducting a post-cruise meeting with you.
The reason for a post-cruise interview is this: if no follow-up, there is no way of knowing about your current actual cruise experience. This is true even if you are an experienced cruiser.
What is important now is your most recent cruise experience. If there is no follow-up there is no way of knowing about your particular future needs as a customer.
The follow-up profile questions used by an agent should connect specific information about your expectations and needs as they relate to your satisfaction barometer.
Even if you are an experienced cruiser, your satisfaction barometer may have undergone changes.
The agent needs to identify, in particular, what will make you a lifetime customer.
Conducting both a pre-profile and post-profile interview is what providing excellent customer service is all about. Through profile questions, you can develop with your agent an understanding of your cruising needs and customer service expectations.
To identify and fulfill your needs is to provide you with excellent customer service.
To exceed your expectations is to provide you with great customer service.
Expect and ask more of your agent. Most likely you will get it.
Back to top - Rate Your Cruise Travel Agent
on Customer Service
Do you have advice, a tip, or information to share about anything travel related?
Share it with this automatic page builder.
Do a quick read. It is very easy to use.
Here is how the process worksYou write your content (short or long) with up to four (4) optional uploaded photos. Pretend your are send friends a long email (Any length is acceptable for your content giving tips and advice. The preferred length for articles is a minimum of 400 words; but, it is not necessary.) After
submission, you will see a Thank You page. You can edit (change)
anything you do not like about your contribution. You can also decide if
you want notification of when your submission has been published. If
you like, you can get notification of when others comment on it. |
Return to Home Page - Cruise Vacation Advisor