[alex_canada]

I haven't read the replies, but just posting based on the poll...

Frankly, it's nice that they read the forums at all. It's not as personalized as Progpower, but if you compare this to Wacken, Graspop, Metalcamp, Hellfest, you'll never see any staff on the forums, much less occasionally posting. They're good at talking by phone or by email when they're directly contacted. I would never expect Andy to read every thread where someone might have directed a question towards him. Any legitimate issues (cancellations of band/passengers etc) are dealt with promptly and we're informed.

I enjoy Metalcamp in Slovenia, and just like any festival the lineup is released gradually. You don't see massive threads about panicking, because it's not the mindset like it is here. It's in the hands of capable professionals who have already put this on once (finding capital, bands, organization, partnership with Royal Caribbean, etc). No idea why anyone would suggest there's any problems in the running of it.

[ShoreSlayer]

I don't think anything in the original post or mentioned since even remotely suggested anything about UMC staff reading or responding to anything here but thanks for contributing

[KevinP]

Besides, this is not a "normal concert venue". This is a festival, and a unique one at that. Show me a festival with at least 40 bands on the bill that has all the bands announced six months in advance.

MARYLAND DEATHFEST

They started announcing in July, has over 50 bands and was finished announcing around August/September. And that includes lots of European bands.

They don't bullshit around or write stories. They announce bands in big "chunks"

[WizardBeast]

Besides, this is not a "normal concert venue". This is a festival, and a unique one at that. Show me a festival with at least 40 bands on the bill that has all the bands announced six months in advance.

MARYLAND DEATHFEST

They started announcing in July, has over 50 bands and was finished announcing around August/September. And that includes lots of European bands.

They don't bullshit around or write stories. They announce bands in big "chunks"

certainly makes planning a helluva lot easier.

[STACH100]

Sure and the big out door festival's tickets are much easier to re sell.
Also if you don't book early on the cruise you might not get the cabin you want.
So this cruise does not compare to other festivals.
It is kind of like buying a car with out knowing what options are on it till you get the vehicle.

[Skwizgar]

Good question, and sorry if someone else weighed in on this, but since I have no understanding of the contract between UMC and Royal Caribbean, I have no idea what UMC's or Royal Caribbean's profit margins are. I also don't know what UMC has to spend for putting this together. Either way, customer service sometimes bleeds out due to cash flow issues for small ventures that are trying to re-invent the wheel.

Suddenly: UZBEKS!!!!! I gotta go....

[stoverkill]

UMC & me = no complaints

Best buy & me = complaints
McDonald's & me = complaints
my bank & me = complaints
my job & me = complaints
my cable co & me = complaints
my football team & me = complaints
my apartment maintenance co & me = complaints

Should I go on?

Y'all need to chill on all this "customer service" stuff. UMC is waaaaay down on my list of companies I want to scream at. They are the greatest thing that has ever happened as far as I'm concerned.

Are they perfect? - No.
Has customer service been "bad" ? - No.

When the whole thing blows up, and we all get ripped off.... then I'll be upset. But for now, Allison and Andy have never done me wrong.

Just my opinion.

Thank you, I love you all

[drbrain]

So no online check-in possible anymore?
Poor information and organization...

[STACH100]

Last Cruise was without a doubt the coolest venue I have ever been at and I have been going to metal shows for more than 40 years.
Complaints, OH yeah I have many.
But it will do no good to mention them here, because I will still have the same complaints after this cruise and the next one.
If you want to see a metal band perform there is a certain amount of shit you have to put up with.
It has always been like that, not the way it should be, but that is reality.

[Stained Class]

I don't think anything in the original post or mentioned since even remotely suggested anything about UMC staff reading or responding to anything here but thanks for contributing

He's not saying that but they do do that once in a while. If you've ever had a question for Andy he's probably answered. For example a few days ago he came on and suggested where we all get together before the ship sets sail.

[drbrain]

Last Cruise was without a doubt the coolest venue I have ever been at and I have been going to metal shows for more than 40 years.
Complaints, OH yeah I have many.
But it will do no good to mention them here, because I will still have the same complaints after this cruise and the next one.
If you want to see a metal band perform there is a certain amount of shit you have to put up with.
It has always been like that, not the way it should be, but that is reality.

Are you refering to complaints to see the bands on the cruise or are you talking in general? What shit we have to put up with?
Short sets? Bad visibility? Poor light show??? ...

[STACH100]

No complaints about the bands.
Mostly the ship and how they go about things.

[Disaster Area]

I have mentioned this a couple times already on Facebook, I am on the mailing list for the Monsters of Rock cruise which sails in February and I am considering for next year (being the cheesy 80's rock fan that I am). Let me tell you, they know how to promote, they do Facebook updates and plugs at least 3 times a week, and although they had 1/4 of the number of bands, their full line-up was announced almost 3 full months prior to their sail date. They also email with various updates on an almost weekly basis. I imagine they may have a bigger staff but come on, FB updates and teasers can be posted in 2 mins.

I am just completely dumbfounded how poorly UMC does customer relations.

Edit: by customer relations I don't mean customer SERVICE. They seem to have a good handle on the nuts and bolts of things, but as far as promoting and "generating excitement" notsomuch... And I think stringing the announcements out is just silly.

[Michael D.]

I have mentioned this a couple times already on Facebook, I am on the mailing list for the Monsters of Rock cruise which sails in February and I am considering for next year (being the cheesy 80's rock fan that I am). Let me tell you, they know how to promote, they do Facebook updates and plugs at least 3 times a week, and although they had 1/4 of the number of bands, their full line-up was announced almost 3 full months prior to their sail date. They also email with various updates on an almost weekly basis. I imagine they may have a bigger staff but come on, FB updates and teasers can be posted in 2 mins.

I am just completely dumbfounded how poorly UMC does customer relations.

I agree with you on the Monster of Rock Cruise.
I am considering doing that cruise next year.

[cowboy71]

Also in agreement regarding Monsters of Rock cruise. My only problem with that lineup is the fact that the bands are all past their used by date, so to speak.

A cruise with Tesla, Cinderella, Stryper, Y & T, Nightranger etc in their prime? I would have booked already

[Michael D.]

Also in agreement regarding Monsters of Rock cruise. My only problem with that lineup is the fact that the bands are all past their used by date, so to speak.

A cruise with Tesla, Cinderella, Stryper, Y & T, Nightranger etc in their prime? I would have booked already

This is very true. That is why I chose not to do the Monster of Rock Cruise because I have seen those bands back in the day and at their prime. The 70000 Tons of Metal cruise has so many bands that I have NOT seen and do not tour the USA on a regular basis and when they do tour the USA they are booked at small venues and often get over looked. (Especially in my area of the country).
As for Tesla, Tommy’s voice (not that he had a good one) is like really gone.
His voice (Live) has gotten very scratchy. Think finger nails dragging on a blackboard.
Really sad but musically Tesla and Cinderella are still playing in top form.

[Disaster Area]

I think I subscribed to the "newsletter" last year and this year, don't think I ever got one, so far...

ditto

[mooyagi]

I think I subscribed to the "newsletter" last year and this year, don't think I ever got one, so far...

ditto

Same here

[KDibildeaux]

I did too, but that's okay. At this point I'm so excited that I don't care about anything else

[WizardBeast]

I did too, but that's okay. At this point I'm so excited that I don't care about anything else

Easy target!

*check*

SWEDISH CREEP MACHINE... *check*

[KDibildeaux]

Post count padding *check*

[mooyagi]

Post count padding *check*

No kiddin'! She's got like 50 posts everytime I check in on the forum. I don't even know if I've had a postsplosion like this before

[stoverkill]

I can't hide

Not that I'm very small or anything

LOL! Yeah it's your SIZE that makes you stand out!

[stoverkill]

always

I'm sure you hear this a lot.... but for what it's worth..... EPIC BEARD, DUDE

[Andy]

Personally I think it is not fair to my crew and over all towards my Customer Service Team to complain about Customer Service. Some people mistake their lack of patience regarding band announcements with Customer Service. No one ever, not me nor anyone at UMC ever promised when bands are announced, or how frequently. All we promised was that we have 2,000 Tickets for being 4 Days with 40 Metal Bands on a Cruise Ship for the trip of a lifetime.

Therefore:

When I announce the bands and in what frequency = The Skipper's marketing tactics. Call me an asshole if you want. I will deliver what I promised. If you have a question or concerns or would like to update or change your booking: Give us a call, or send us an eMail and this I have to say about my hard working team:

Answering every customer eMail within reasonable time by a personal eMail, not just some template or link to the faq's = Customer Service at UMC

A hotline that you can call toll free from anywhere in North America and that during office hours is answered by a highly trained live person = Customer Service at UMC

During the night and over the week-end you may leave a message and everyone gets a call back within usually less then 1 business day = Customer Service at UMC

Accommodating many, many special requests (you know who you are) from many of our customers = Customer Service at UMC

Last but not least I have to add that as part of good Customer Service we take complaints seriously and will adjust our services where this is possible. Therefore I will more frequently announce that I have nothing to annouce from now on.

Cheers,

The Skipper

[Eternity]

Personally I think it is not fair to my crew and over all towards my Customer Service Team to complain about Customer Service. Some people mistake their lack of patience regarding band announcements with Customer Service. No one ever, not me nor anyone at UMC ever promised when bands are announced, or how frequently. All we promised was that we have 2,000 Tickets for being 4 Days with 40 Metal Bands on a Cruise Ship for the trip of a lifetime.

Therefore:

When I announce the bands and in what frequency = The Skipper's marketing tactics. Call me an asshole if you want. I will deliver what I promised. If you have a question or concerns or would like to update or change your booking: Give us a call, or send us an eMail and this I have to say about my hard working team:

Answering every customer eMail within reasonable time by a personal eMail, not just some template or link to the faq's = Customer Service at UMC

A hotline that you can call toll free from anywhere in North America and that during office hours is answered by a highly trained live person = Customer Service at UMC

During the night and over the week-end you may leave a message and everyone gets a call back within usually less then 1 business day = Customer Service at UMC

Accommodating many, many special requests (you know who you are) from many of our customers = Customer Service at UMC

Last but not least I have to add that as part of good Customer Service we take complaints seriously and will adjust our services where this is possible. Therefore I will more frequently announce that I have nothing to annouce from now on.

Cheers,

The Skipper

You know, I have even more respect for you than I did before. It's a true captain that looks after his crew like this.

I'll be awaiting (yet not too impatiently) the update. Cheers, Andy!

[KDibildeaux]

Personally I think it is not fair to my crew and over all towards my Customer Service Team to complain about Customer Service. Some people mistake their lack of patience regarding band announcements with Customer Service. No one ever, not me nor anyone at UMC ever promised when bands are announced, or how frequently. All we promised was that we have 2,000 Tickets for being 4 Days with 40 Metal Bands on a Cruise Ship for the trip of a lifetime.

Therefore:

When I announce the bands and in what frequency = The Skipper's marketing tactics. Call me an asshole if you want. I will deliver what I promised. If you have a question or concerns or would like to update or change your booking: Give us a call, or send us an eMail and this I have to say about my hard working team:

Answering every customer eMail within reasonable time by a personal eMail, not just some template or link to the faq's = Customer Service at UMC

A hotline that you can call toll free from anywhere in North America and that during office hours is answered by a highly trained live person = Customer Service at UMC

During the night and over the week-end you may leave a message and everyone gets a call back within usually less then 1 business day = Customer Service at UMC

Accommodating many, many special requests (you know who you are) from many of our customers = Customer Service at UMC

Last but not least I have to add that as part of good Customer Service we take complaints seriously and will adjust our services where this is possible. Therefore I will more frequently announce that I have nothing to annouce from now on.

Cheers,

The Skipper

Fair enough . Anytime I've had a concern it has been resolved very quickly and by very friendly people. A hint here and there to keep us guessing makes it a lot more fun

[Ogre]

Personally I think it is not fair to my crew and over all towards my Customer Service Team to complain about Customer Service. Some people mistake their lack of patience regarding band announcements with Customer Service. No one ever, not me nor anyone at UMC ever promised when bands are announced, or how frequently. All we promised was that we have 2,000 Tickets for being 4 Days with 40 Metal Bands on a Cruise Ship for the trip of a lifetime.

Therefore:

When I announce the bands and in what frequency = The Skipper's marketing tactics. Call me an asshole if you want. I will deliver what I promised. If you have a question or concerns or would like to update or change your booking: Give us a call, or send us an eMail and this I have to say about my hard working team:

Answering every customer eMail within reasonable time by a personal eMail, not just some template or link to the faq's = Customer Service at UMC

A hotline that you can call toll free from anywhere in North America and that during office hours is answered by a highly trained live person = Customer Service at UMC

During the night and over the week-end you may leave a message and everyone gets a call back within usually less then 1 business day = Customer Service at UMC

Accommodating many, many special requests (you know who you are) from many of our customers = Customer Service at UMC

Last but not least I have to add that as part of good Customer Service we take complaints seriously and will adjust our services where this is possible. Therefore I will more frequently announce that I have nothing to annouce from now on.

Cheers,

The Skipper

So is Shoreslayer getting the job or not?

[Malaka]

Personally I think it is not fair to my crew and over all towards my Customer Service Team to complain about Customer Service. Some people mistake their lack of patience regarding band announcements with Customer Service. No one ever, not me nor anyone at UMC ever promised when bands are announced, or how frequently. All we promised was that we have 2,000 Tickets for being 4 Days with 40 Metal Bands on a Cruise Ship for the trip of a lifetime

Duly noted, and good to see you're setting the record straight. I've worked with a promoter here for the last couple years and I know the type of bullshit complaining that others do when they're on the outside looking in. On numerous occasions we've had to defend ourselves over certain issues, and I'm glad you're here to speak up Andy. It's stressful enough to put on a local show, and moreso for a national show, so I can't even possibly imagine the logistics that go behind such a massive event such as 70,000 Tons of Metal.
Also, I am not one of those people who has mistaken customer service for lack of announcements. I just thought last year we got the promo videos and flyers at shows (which was pretty cool) so I thought the same would happen this year. It's not a major complaint, more just a comment that this should happen again next year. Simply for the pre-cruise build up and it's all for the fun + promotion. If it doesn't happen again, oh well. I would just like to help out where I can.

Therefore:

When I announce the bands and in what frequency = The Skipper's marketing tactics. Call me an asshole if you want. I will deliver what I promised. If you have a question or concerns or would like to update or change your booking: Give us a call, or send us an eMail and this I have to say about my hard working team:

Answering every customer eMail within reasonable time by a personal eMail, not just some template or link to the faq's = Customer Service at UMC

A hotline that you can call toll free from anywhere in North America and that during office hours is answered by a highly trained live person = Customer Service at UMC

During the night and over the week-end you may leave a message and everyone gets a call back within usually less then 1 business day = Customer Service at UMC

Accommodating many, many special requests (you know who you are) from many of our customers = Customer Service at UMC

You're the Skipper and it's refreshing to hear that you're calling the shots, sir. Nobody will never hear me complain about the staff at UMC. Allison and Blake have been exceptionally helpful in answering any of my questions and returning my calls and e-mails. Allison is AWESOME, and I can't possibly thank her enough for all she's done!

Last but not least I have to add that as part of good Customer Service we take complaints seriously and will adjust our services where this is possible. Therefore I will more frequently announce that I have nothing to annouce from now on.

Cheers,

The Skipper

That seriously made me

So finally, please don't mistake my suggestions & comments for complaints. After re-reading my original post, it seems like I was bitching about everything, and I feel that may have been lost in translation. It can be challenging to decipher the true intention of text, and I was really just making constructive criticism instead of bitching. Because I was never really mad for any reason. That being said, 70,000 Tons of Metal, The World's Biggest Floating Heavy Metal Festival, is the greatest event in concert history, and I couldn't be happier to be a part of it. So before I sound like I'm kissing your ass all day Andy, allow me to formally say thank you. Thanks to all at UMC, and see you onbroad in 9 days.

[Egokrusher]

Show me a festival with at least 40 bands on the bill that has all the bands announced six months in advance.

http://www.marylanddeathfest.com/

[ShoreSlayer]

Personally I think it is not fair to my crew and over all towards my Customer Service Team to complain about Customer Service. Some people mistake their lack of patience regarding band announcements with Customer Service. No one ever, not me nor anyone at UMC ever promised when bands are announced, or how frequently. All we promised was that we have 2,000 Tickets for being 4 Days with 40 Metal Bands on a Cruise Ship for the trip of a lifetime.

Therefore:

When I announce the bands and in what frequency = The Skipper's marketing tactics. Call me an asshole if you want. I will deliver what I promised. If you have a question or concerns or would like to update or change your booking: Give us a call, or send us an eMail and this I have to say about my hard working team:

Answering every customer eMail within reasonable time by a personal eMail, not just some template or link to the faq's = Customer Service at UMC

A hotline that you can call toll free from anywhere in North America and that during office hours is answered by a highly trained live person = Customer Service at UMC

During the night and over the week-end you may leave a message and everyone gets a call back within usually less then 1 business day = Customer Service at UMC

Accommodating many, many special requests (you know who you are) from many of our customers = Customer Service at UMC

Last but not least I have to add that as part of good Customer Service we take complaints seriously and will adjust our services where this is possible. Therefore I will more frequently announce that I have nothing to annouce from now on.

Cheers,

The Skipper

Ugh

First off, Andy, please accept and pass on my sincerest apologies to the entire team. After reading your post and re-reading my initial post, I can see that I failed quite miserably to connect the miscellaneous, relevant thoughts in my head into the cohesive idea and post and thread that I thought I'd be creating. Of the many glaring mistakes in my post, one that stands out the most to me right now was the use of the term Customer Service as opposed to Customer Relations. As I suggested in the first sentence of the post, I meant this to be about the extras that you/UMC don't do and not about all the things that are done. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a complaint about how Allison, Blake, Aaron or Hillary responded to e-mails, phone calls or requests. They've always been polite, respectful and helpful in every imaginable way and I feel like a total asshole for the fact that it appears my poorly chosen words and less than well thought out post may have given them cause to think otherwise. I really am sorry that I didn't see the possibility of this happening when I originally wrote and hit submit.

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

I should probably stop there as that's really the main thing I wanted to clarify but I'll risk putting my foot in it just a little more by going further in the hopes that it does end up resulting in further clarity about the intent of my original post...

I think if I'd just used the words Customer Relations or, better yet, Information Sharing, and had the awareness and foresight to exclude the existing, excellent customer service from what I was addressing, it might have made more sense and possibly even have been helpful.

- Monthly e-mail newsletters
- Regular (every week or 2) updates on the forum and official site and facebook page about what's going on behind the scenes
- More communication and involvement in and support for various onbroad activities/ideas such as passenger meetups, open mic,
- Just general overall improvement in customer relations in order to be present, open and almost transparent as opposed to mysterious, elusive and almost invisible

[Ogre]

Even to a noob, it's clear there's a lot of love for you around the forum, shoreslayer, and I'm quite skeptical that anyone would think you were maliciously throwing stones at the UMC team, but rather just posing a query. Paying customers have the right to do that. You flat out stated you'd like to work for UMC - even if your means of applying are a bit unconventional - and you wouldn't do that if you thought they were lousy.

It's equally clear that everyone is very grateful to Andy & all of UMC for promoting these events. This is my first cruise, of any sort, and it took some dude putting 40 metal bands on a ship to get my ass in gear. And he's probably promoting my second cruise this fall (see sig, man ).

Don't sweat "drama," shoreslayer. I don't see drama. I see one dude asking some questions via a medium that is easily and frequently misunderstood (text only) and another dude answering them. It's all good.

Chin up, man. The beers are on me.

[Malaka]

Yeah Rob, I don't think he took it as a personal insult. Anyone in a business management position should be able to handle criticism with professionalism, and I think Andy did just that. I think the last statement he made showed that there's no hard feelings there, and he's doing this HIS way... which is fucking metal as fuck in my opinion. I applaud him for standing up for his team and taking time out of his extremely busy schedule to address the issue of the potential of dissatisfied guests. And I applaud you for speaking out and making them aware in a much more constructive manner than saying, "UMC sucks" or something of that nature. That's the type of shit you see on facebook, not here.
And like I said, things can be misconstrued on an open forum while reading text. It's like when your buddy sends you a text and says, "HAHA, the Canucks got their ass kicked!" And you reply with, "Fuck you." And you forget the "LOL" in there.
It's a matter of intent, and if you intended to piss them off, I'm sure they would know it. After all is said and done, some of us are repeat guests. That says right there that they're doing a very fine job. I think we just like to cattle prod 'em a little bit for announcements, that's the way I see it. If anyone was truly pissed off at UMC's customer service, they probably weren't making any effort to ask for assistance. And they probably cancelled anyway, for whatever reason, I just highly doubt it was a "customer service" issue. Their loss!

Also, allow me to reiterate, IF I'm not on the Barge or 70K next year, it's a matter of having other fiscal responsibilities. It has nothing to do with UMC, the bands, or anything like that. I'm planning on buying a house in May/June, so that's gonna set me back a bit. Hopefully I can make it, but it will take a miracle.

[ShoreSlayer]

Thanks guys. Helps to have the benefit of objective viewpoints

[cowboy71]

Very cool of andy to come on here and address the issues in such a succinct, concise fashion.

I for one have never complained about the level of customer service from the staff at UMC. As I've said previously, the fact that they take time out to personally deal with us bitching customers is fantastic.

I just feel that by providing regular updates, it frees them up for dealing with other stuff.

Thanks andy!

[cycosurgeon]

Shore,

Don't sweat it man, take it from someone who works in an industry where every thing you ship is attacked on the net more than it is praised. After awhile everything starts to blur together when it comes to feedback on the web.

And I for one still think timely announcement/information is part of Costumer Service. Good Costumer Service is also proactive.

“Excellent customer service is the process by which your organization delivers its services, information or products in a way that allows the customer to access them in the most efficient, fair, cost effective, and humanly satisfying and pleasurable manner possible.”

Soon....


...all this won't matter.

[TOM CRUISE]

wow

[metal_steve]

Fair enough . Anytime I've had a concern it has been resolved very quickly and by very friendly people. A hint here and there to keep us guessing makes it a lot more fun

[cowboy71]

Well said Steve!!

Have a safe trip!! I've still got a few days of work before I depart :( Damn they are gonna draaaaag

[Michaelage]

like i said earlier... andy and those guys are pulling off one hell of a job... and the distinction between costumer service and costumor relations is very fine indeed... you can't have 1 without the other...

now on to andy's post... it is like i said... no one on these forums can see all the work that goes one daily at the umc headquaters.. all we see is a couple of posts by andy and co and we try to piece together a story... but that is it... if you can't take the heat don't buy a ticket and go to a more 'stable' festival. All year everybody was complaining about the announcements about the lack of info...

if you don't like to wait don't come at all... personally for this year i would have booked without any known bands until i am onbroad because it was a trip of a lifetime it was almost perfect... and i expect nothing less from the guys who pulled it off the first time...

so in conclusion... andy do your thing keep doing it like u do and i probably will be pooring more money in your lap for next year!!!