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Resturants and future travel

Catherine_Ringler

Should you find yourself on the Rhine do book a reservation at Wein and Stein in Bern-an intimate and exceptional Michelin star restaurant!.

This was our 6th and last trip with Tauck. The family owned caring and kindness we have grown accustomed too has seemingly been replaced by corporate indifference.

The definition of irony is reaching out to customer relations, receiving a less that appropriate response, elevating the issue to the CEO who promptly redirected it to the SAME customer relations "specialist" !

Comments

British

So never had problems before? What happened this trip?

gladysorlando984

What went wrong on this trip?

Catherine_Ringler

A server accidently spilled an entire hot Irish coffee on my bare chest. Fortunately, there will be no lasting injury but Tauck's response was totally inadequate in my view-unless of course you feel that submitting a dry cleaning bill for compensation is adequate!

OurTravels34

I have no words. It was, as you said, an accident. It could happen to any of us.

Wan

Catherine, what sort of response would you have expected?

British

Fortunately Irish coffee is not boiling hot. Did they immediately do the correct first aid and apply cold compresses as that would be easier than plunging your chest in cold water. Did you take it up with the people on the boat? Were you seeing a monetary compensation? So I guess you could try suing but as you said, no lasting injury, so you may not get far. Do you sue Tauck or the person who had the accident. Bare chest, yikes, unfortunate attire.

Catherine_Ringler

Interesting you should ask-they informed my husband there was no doctor available and offered ice and an unspecified ointment/oil. While well meaning, both of those are contraindicated in a scald type injury (I have been an RN for over fifty years)
I will no longer recommend them as we have so glowingly in the past. Clearly, despite their marketing, I did not feel like a "cherished" guest.
Fortunately we have the ability to travel with other companies and will do so. Just booked a lovely Christmas/New Year cruise as repeat guests of Crystal.

Catherine_Ringler

PS The outfit was stunning LOL

Catherine_Ringler

When asked if they had any MORAL or legal obligation to compensate me customer representative said NO-although she refused my request to put that in writing. At the very least I would have expected that Tauck would have proactively sent me a check for my dry cleaning as a kind gesture without me having to send them a $40 invoice (which I refuse to do on principle). A simple gesture would have gone a very long way

British

You have to send an invoice for any insurance claim, never mind anything like this. Wow, $40 for dry cleaning. We pay $3 per garment at our dry cleaners. I do think that when you call Tauck you have to have a certain pleasant attitude or you will get the same attitudes back that you present them..

OurTravels34

We pay almost 10.00 per item for dry cleaning! I know, Highway robbery. That’s California for you!

MikeHenderson

When I've submitted clothes for dry cleaning, the cost depends on what the item is. I expect a woman's fancy dress would be expensive.

British

Not where I go, all garments are $3. That’s their thing

Claudia Sails

This is about as clear as mud. I assume you were on a Rhine cruise and a member of the wait staff (Scylla employee not Tauck) accidently spilled a hot drink on you. Certainly that would be a painful and unhappy event but the reality is accidents happen.

It sounds like the staff on board offered assistance. What exactly were they supposed to do that they didn't? Was the ship underway or docked? I don't believe any river cruise ships carry medical staff on board unlike the big ocean liners. Certainly Tauck/Scylla doesn't. At best there might be someone with first aid training. If you are an experienced RN, what did you ask them to do differently than what they offered?

Was the cruise director or any of the tour directors aware of what happened? If so, what did they offer to do?

You mention dry cleaning bills but no medical bills? Did you not seek care once on shore again?

Not exactly sure of the reason for your post other than to complain. Nothing anyone here can do to make you feel cherished.

British

Catherine, I missed one of your posts. Knowing they were giving you the incorrect treatment, did you do anything to correct them, or just sit there and let them treat you? I’ve only taken one river cruise with Tauck, but there surely has to be people on the staff who have first aid training, especially with so many elderly people on the tours such as yourself. May that have been one of the tour directors too. Did you or anybody inform any of the tour directors, did they suggest being checked out by a doctor at the next stop? Whenever I see anything on a tour like someone falling, if the tour directors do not see it, I always tell them because incident reports have to be written. I tripped and fell with such a clatter once on a tour and was so apologetic to the TD because I knew it would involve paperwork even though I was ok.
I do sympathize but it sounds as if people really did their best under the circumstances. I’m sure Crystal cruises have doctors so you should feel reassured.

Catherine_Ringler

To British, I appreciate your concern. In the past we have witnessed extreme caring on behalf of the Tauck staff, but unfortunately that was not our experience. The incident was, as you can imagine extremely uncomfortable, but clearly not catostrophic. Maya Angelou has a lovely quote about people forgetting what you said but remembering how you were made to feel. My comment on "cherished" refers to a pre trip e-mail from the CEO describing Tauck guests as not only expected but cherished.

To Claudia, Although the cruise director was aware, she apparently did not share that information with at least one of the directors. As for "cherished" pls see above. The reason I took the time to post was to alert others of the seeming overall shift in what was Tauck's attention to detail as a family owned business and what we personally experienced as the current corporate climate. After years of recommending Tauck and it's outstanding service, I thought others might be interested in this comment.

To all of you have commented on the price of dry cleaning, unfortuately a silk jumpsuit and a pair of men's linen slacks does cost $40 in a metropolitan area.

We will, with God's grace continue to seek out new travel experiences. However, for us and several of our friends that will not include a previously planned Tauck trip to Egypt.

I wish you all safe and pleasant journies.

bucketlist

Didn't the ship offer to clean the clothes for you? That would certainly be expected since their staff damaged your outfit, not Tauck. I am not sure what Tauck could have done to make you feel cherished? I have taken only one river cruise and found the TDs to be merely monitors, different from those on Tauck's other types of trips.

British

I’m sorry Christine, I just can’t relate to you. Aside from the coffee incident, you were just on a river cruise. A silk jumpsuit, what the heck!

Claudia Sails

We just finished a river cruise and a 2 week land tour with Tauck. The service and care was excellent on both. In fact, on the land tour my brother started having sinus issues and needed medication. This happened when we were in an area of Norway where medical care and even pharmacies were few and far between. The TD had even warned us in Oslo to get anything we'd need there. When he started feeling bad she arranged with the coach driver to take him to the nearest town with a pharmacy. Thankfully it wasn't needed as I always pack a mini pharmacy having caught colds on other tours. She checked with him and me regularly to see how he was doing, whether he was going with us that day, etc.

I'm sorry if someone else has a bad experience but it doesn't necessarily mean a wholesale lack of care by the company.

I'm with you on the wardrobe British. Not sure I packed anything on our recent trip that cost more than $40 if for no other reason than worry that the airline will loose my luggage.

SandyFeet

My rule of thumb: Never pack anything you can’t afford to lose.

OurTravels34

Christine, What would you have done if the same type of “accident” occurred on Crystal, or on a trip with A&K or on safari with Micato which like Tauck, are all very high end (one can say even higher) tour companies. I’m sure it has occurred in one form or another with those companies but I don’t have a crystal ball, and I’m sure the staff, members of the crew, tour directors, etc apologized to you perhaps more than once.
Personally, I know that I am “cherished” by Tauck. I am treated as though I am very special. I would never have forewarned anyone from taking a trip with Tauck or any company after an uncomfortable accident like you experienced. I don’t blame you for having a moment when this occurred but we’re all human beings. You had an incident while traveling, and I’m sure we all have in one shape or form. I can personally name a couple of issues, but in the entire scheme of things, it’s how these instances are handled in the end.

On another note, I also had a medical issue that happened on a Sunday where most of the pharmacies were closed. I do have to say that our tour director found a pharmacy for me that was open on a Sunday and on a holiday so I could get an essential cortisone eyedrop that would remedy a painful eye infection. I now travel with that, if I need it and I am cherished.

Claudia Sails

In the category of "yes, accidents happen and humans aren't perfect":

https://viewfromthewing.com/cathay-pacific-gave-wine-to-a-3-year-old-in-business-class-now-his-parents-say-refunds-and-upgrades-arent-enough/comment-page-1/

It's a story about a 3 year old in business class with their parents accidently being served white wine instead of water. He took one sip which was enough to realize something wasn't right. Crew immediately replaced it, apologized, got advice from medline and consulted a doctor on board. Of course, being French he didn't see it as a big deal. Airline has offered lots of compensation and the parents still aren't satisfied. This happened a few months ago on Cathay Pacific.

kfnknfzk

There are always two sides to a “story.” I always wonder about the motivation of people who rush here with their perceived injustices. Another incident occurred recently and the rhetoric is always the same. Poor me, Tauck is awful. Poor me.

Is it just their nature to complain, are they looking for attention or is it something more nefarious in order to develop their plan to pursue litigation? I don’t know, nor do I care. I just feel sorry that Tauck has to deal with such nonsense.

What I do know is that no “story” is going to change my mind about my cherished experiences with Tauck. I would not travel with them if I thought otherwise.

MS78

I’ve taken several Tauck journeys since 2012 and honestly I’ve never expected to be “cherished”. I think they do a marvelous job with tremendous attention to detail and do their best to make sure travelers are well cared for and enjoy their journey. But sometimes things happen. It’s unfortunate that Caroline was the on the receiving end of an accident by a waiter. I’m sorry she feels that the response by Tauck wasn’t up to her expectations, but where does the comment about Wein and Stein fit in? Was she dining there when the accident happened ? Or just a restaurant recommendation for anyone in the area? If it was at that restaurant, I don’t understand the anger with Tauck? Confusing. Sometimes perfection is an impossible standard. And things do change , on the Facebook page every day I see someone posting about how they are taking their first journey with Tauck. It sounds like their business has exploded and there’s always growing pains when companies need to ramp up.

kfnknfzk

I thought the same thing, MS78, about the thread starting with a restaurant review and then taking an about turn. It doesn’t matter at this point, however. I hope Crystal cherishes her.

British

Yes, nothing adds up, Catherine can also afford to lose the insurance deposit for a tour, gosh and her friends can too.

OurTravels34

I’m trying not to be snarky. As mentioned, and as I’m sitting here munching on potato chips, the exact same type of accident can happen on Seaborne or even on Jeff Bezo’s yacht! Just saying.

Wan

Unfortunately I have also experienced what I thought was a rather cold response from Tauck when a few years ago, a third of our group developed food poisoning after the final dinner. By the time symptoms came on, the TD had gone on to their next assignment. One lady passed out on the way to the airport, and others were extremely uncomfortable during their flights home. My husband and I were not affected but I completely sympathized with the guests involved. Especially when I had also been ignored when I had tried previously to suggest to Tauck that they needed better communication about group travel health. (I still strongly believe this.)

Another time we were ill while travelling and Tauck encouraged us to use our Aon Travel insurance for advice which we did. I would describe the attitude as sympathetic, but eager to hand off.

However, in this case, I would have submitted the cleaning bill (thank goodness you were able to get your outfit clean) and any other documentation/photos and resolved never to pack a favorite or expensive item again. I would have possibly mentioned it on the comment card at the end of the trip and discussed with the Tour Director privately, especially if you felt that you had any concerns about injury.

Like MS78, I was also going to say that "cherish" is a very strong word that you use for family members. I know Tauck wants us to feel like we are part of their family but there are limits. It is after all a business/client relationship.

If this is the worst thing that has ever happened to you while traveling then you should consider yourself very fortunate indeed. I hope you otherwise had a good time. Cheers.

Catherine_Ringler

Wan, I appreciate your thoughtful response and the time you gave to actually reading the word "cherished" as one chosen by the CEO and not by me. I did not mention any particular incident in my first post, just a fabulous restaurant and my opinion that Tauck's service had changed. When asked, I foolishly supplied information that led others to comment negatively on dry cleaning bills, or my choice of vacation wardrobe.This is my first experience with any posting and like all new endevors it was an eye opener.
I will leave everyone with one final note: Today we recieved a form letter from the CEO saying she hoped our last trip was a lovely as the ones before and that from out Hope and Trust card it sounded like we had a wonderful experience-perfect note to end this on!!!