Thank you very much for your update Trevor. I have often used the Contact Us page since becoming a host 1.5yrs ago and it has always been great - until the last 2 times when my issue was routed to a Community Expert. I know how to use the Community and research things that I might be able to resolve on the own. When I use the Contact Us page, I do so because there is a glitch which I need company assistance with. Community Experts are not helpful in these instances, as they cannot access my account or resolve anything - they just tell me what I may have done wrong that could be adding to my problem. Neither time had I done anything wrong, so the interactions were totally a waste of my time. Added to that, each time the Community Expert sent me a note encouraging me to give them a good review. After I have done the research and know that the issue is on airbnb's end, and I reach out for help, why would I leave a positive review for a middle man who does nothing but tell me to try to fix it on my own by doing things I've already determined not to be of use? The first time this happened, the Community Expert asked my permission to forward my issue to the company so someone who could actually access my account could help me. I gave permission but also noted that I couldn't believe he was actually asking if it was alright for him to do the very thing I was trying to do in the first place. Talk about a waste of time! So, I left a red face as a review because I was so frustrated and the Community Expert (who identified himself as a volunteer), came back to "explain" that my review was supposed to be for him and our interaction, not airbnb, and not the issue I was experiencing - and he further asked me to change it! I told him that I did realize what the review was for and as he did not help me but merely told me to try things that I'd already done and told him I'd done (and some other things that couldn't be affective as they weren't related at all), I would leave my review as the red face. At that he came back at me very aggressively to say that if I had followed his well-meaning advice (which I clearly stated that I HAD done, even before he contacted me), everything would have been fine. Well, no actually, it wouldn't. I waited a few days for someone from airbnb to contact me and when no one did I emailed a Customer Service rep who I'd spoken to about something unrelated, who had said "if there is anything else I can do to help, please let me know". When I reached out to her, I discovered that the so-called expert DID NOT forward my issue at all!
The second Community Expert promptly forwarded my issue to the company so I did leave him a positive review stating "thank you for forwarding my issue to the company" but had |I known he was getting paid, I would not have. He didn't help me in the least - except to do what used to happen automatically. What I would really like to know is why did these middle men suddenly start getting involved? When I KNOW I need the company's assistance, what is the best way to reach them? They say phone calls should be left for urgent matters (neither matter was urgent), and I don't use twitter. The Contact Us page was great for me until now. How can I avoid having a Community Expert become involved and contact the company directly for important but non urgent issues?
Thanks in advance if anyone has an answer!
