CS sends message at 03:24am and demands a response within an hour

[Eileen0]

What is going on with Customer Services!

This morning I woke up to find several messages from Customer Services regarding a refund for a cancelled booking.  The first message said that my guest had cancelled the reservation for today, and "We want to hear back from you within the hour. If we don't get a response from you, we will go ahead and process the refund".

It was 03:24am on a Sunday evening. Of course I was asleep.

And of course they have issued the refund to the guest (35 minutes after first message).

I  replied at 05:30am this morning  but no reponse yet (13 hours later).

Honestly, what is going on?  

[Huma0]

@Louise0 

I've just received another support message:

"Hi Huma,

We've responded to your request and we hope this message finds you well.
Please let me know if there's anything else I can do to support you. If we don't receive it by then, we'll need to close this case for the time being."

Note, that she has said 'we've responded to your request', rather than 'we've fixed the issue', as if responding alone is a sufficient resolution. Also, "If we don't receive it by then..." By when? When is then?!!

[Kelly149]

I’ve had CS tell me that they can’t call outside of certain hours, even though that’s when I was available and asking questions. Also, CS always takes ages to answer back anything but expects host responses in moments. I’ve had entire CS interactions where every other message is explaining to me the rep’s leave schedule “so keep in mind I won’t be available these xyz days”.  The 24 hour clock is standard for our listings but somehow doesn’t apply to CS. It’s all a bungled mess. 

[Mark116]

@Huma0 @Kelly149  The double standard is the really annoying part.  Not only do CS communicate like defective robots, but this 'if we don't hear from you in an hour' we will do XZY, when they are all the time telling hosts and guests 'i'll be out of the office for the next 4 days' or simply fail, again and again, to communicate when they say they will is very, very annoying.  These guys make Comcast look like super stars, and that is saying something.

[Kelly149]

@Mark116 @Louise0 @Huma0 

Infuriating is a good descriptive. And yes, business & goodwill seem to be lost on every CS interaction

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Mark116  yeah, and the best is- we are paying Airbnb and Airbnb is paying the outsourced CS company :))) 

[Huma0]

@Eileen0 @Kelly149 @Mark116 @Louise0 @Richard531 

Has anyone ever been asked to submit feedback after a CS interaction? I have occasionally, but what I noticed was that it was only when it was a simple thing that was solved quickly and effectively and where I had already communicated to the rep that I was very happy with the way they had handled it.

Strange that I've never been asked to feedback on the numerous crappy interactions...

So, even the way that Airbnb collects feedback on CS is dubious.

[Fred13]

Do you have to have your phone on to get one of these annoying middle-of-the-night calls? 😉

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Fred13  Good question, I’ve been thinking of putting my phone to the “night mode” and setting an automated message something like: “Dear caller, It’s the middle of the night in Europe, please call during the day or leave a message”

[Sybe]

@Fred13 @Branka-and-Silvia0 I use the scheduled "Do Not Disturb" function to have my phone switch to silent mode at night. I have an Android phone (Samsung) so not sure if iPhone has similar functionality. Also not sure if the automated message is possible... Would be useful though!

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Sybe  Yes, that’s what I ment, but please try to find out if Airbnb CS would respect it or it would treat it like  unresponsiveness and just decide in gust’s favor? For example refund the gust despite host’s cancellation policy 

BTW,  it is unbelievable we are even talking about such nonsense! 

[Sybe]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 In this case, as @Eileen0 posted in her update in this thread, CS later got back in touch and rectified & apologised. I've forwarded this case to the team as well to serve as feedback.

[Fred13]

Well that is a great idea.

[Pat271]

I’m going to start referencing this post whenever Airbnb’s abysmal customer service is mentioned. It’s a very interesting read - really opened my eyes as to how it all works:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-Circle/Who-are-our-CS-agents-and-what-do-they-have-to-do/m-...

The bottom line is that if this is the way CS is set up at Airbnb (and I have no doubt it is), then changing anything would involve a complete overhaul of the entire CS structure, and a return to the traditional model in which experts at different levels who are actually employees of Airbnb handle the calls.

[Fred13]

   Perhaps over time the Airbnb policies have become way too numerous and complicated to the point that today they do indeed need a cheap customer service service to handle the sheer volume.

   Their model  wasn't that simple to begin with, even back in 2008; in fact it is surprising it even took off.  Perhaps their first hosts were a lot different then, as in less expectant; or their guests were more palatable.

   Before even attempting to bring back customer service in house, they may do themselves a favor by simplifying their model and drop a lot of the nonsense they have wasted so much time on in the last few years.

[Huma0]

---

@Fred13 wrote:

they may do themselves a favor by simplifying their model and drop a lot of the nonsense they have wasted so much time on in the last few years.

---

Quite. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Why does Airbnb keep insisting on messing with what already works? They have the market share as it is. Still, they want more, more, more. Okay, I get that. It's just business. But please, do it in a sensible way.

Maybe it is sensible. They probably know something we do not. We are just cannon fodder anyway.