ABB CS is not just bad but Dangerous

[Kelly149]

Last night at 1015-ish, a guest made a request to book for that same evening. (We are request only, so I don't have 'last-minute booking' barriers, bc I have to approve all stays anyway)

I was already asleep in bed, but the House Rules were sent over in the chat (the guest had a terrible review in his profile, did not answer the pre-booking questions, and at the time of his request was already outside of our stated arrival times).

At 1215 he messaged in the chat "hey, I need the address, I can't find the place". 

So, then he calls ABB CS. This is where the dangerous part comes into play.

ABB CS talks to this "guest", gives him my address and my phone number and tells him that they'll reach out to me to help. This guest DOES NOT HAVE A VALID RESERVATION. In no way shape or form should he have access to any of my information. 

So, with the new information he's been given this guest locates the barn (not hard to find a big red barn in the city even at 2 in the morning.) Funny though, since he doesn't actually have a reservation, he also does not have a door code. But he is undeterred and pushes thru a locked gate and enters the barn thru one of the doors on the back porch. 

At 7am when we get up we see this thread from the guest and the CS message I received "Hey, Kelly, please help this guest access your place" and I say "how weird that CS didn't tell this guy he doesn't have a reservation when they had the chance" and then we go to check the security cameras to find out about the tresspassing and entry.

So, this "guest" got woken up by the Sherrif's office telling him that he was trespassing and needed to vacate. Well guess what, he's really confused bc ABB CS told him our address and phone number and encouraged him to carry on as if he had a reservation when he didn't.

Bad look ABB. This is not how CS should work. This could have ended quite badly. Knowing if a guest does or does not have a reservation should be CS 101.

I dare anyone in corporate to look into the chats and try to explain to me what happened and what kind of training regimen they'll undertake to better educate CS.

@catherinepowell @Lizzie @Quincy @stefanie @Brian @nate

[Enri1804]

@Kelly149  Wow that is scary. At minimum it seems CS isn’t trained or know what they are doing and there seem to be too many tech glitches for a large platform. I expect better from a company that promotes itself so heavily on so many fronts, but yet can’t seem to stick to fostering the basic premise of partnering with hosts to house short term renters safely. I hope your sheriff was able to take care of things.

[Kelly149]

@Enri1804 Yes, the guest considered arguing but the clear lack proof of a reservation & the sheriff’s equipment was convincing. 

ABB CS should be helping guests/hosts, not causing problems. 

[Ann72]

Wow, that's really scary @Kelly149.  The rep who gave out your information should be fired immediately, for one, and a training session should be organized right away. 

Is Tara Bunch still in charge of support?  I can't find her tag, but here is her Twitter page, https://twitter.com/tarabunch1 and here is her contact info:

Tara Bunch
Head of Global Operations
tara.bunch@airbnb.com

[Kelly149]

@Ann72 seriously, what if that had been a homeshare situation or if he'd been spotted creeping around the building... there are 1000x ways that could have gone very very badly.

I'm waiting to hear who/how ABB intends to take responsibility, but my phone hasn't pinged yet

[Emilia42]

@Kelly149 Wow, I am speechless. This is really serious. You can't just go tramping through someone's backyard unexpectedly trying to gain access to the place. Airbnb should have been looking out for the safety of the guest as well. 

[Kelly149]

yes, @Emilia42 no one wants to wake up how he did this morning. He made a series of poor choices, but ABB should have been looking out for him better than he got

[Mark116]

@Kelly149  My god.  I could see CS calling you and waking you up and bombarding you with messages to get you to approve the request, but giving out the host address when there is NO RESERVATION at all is truly a new low.

@Catherine-Powell   This is why hosts simply don't have faith in customer service anymore.  If CS can't navigate things that are completely straightforward, there is no reason to think that they could 'investigate' anything or properly and fairly review and weigh various facts.  

Giving out a host address to a person who doesn't have a reservation represents so many breaches of trust and TOS, I don't even know where to begin

[Kelly149]

@Mark116 to be sure CS did initiate a call/message at 2am, but I slept thru that as a normal person would.

The whole thing is a mess top to bottom... but how about this... This guest is still on the platform and I won't be reviewing him to say that he illegally entered our space (Since he didn't have a reservation!!!), so some future host will "get to" enjoy this fellow.

Still waiting on my T/S follow up call...

[Mark116]

@Kelly149  I'm not sure who is more to blame here, the guest or the CS rep who apparently encouraged him to break in. 

Of course, I'm not a highly trained Airbnb CS safety specialist/investigator/analyst.... but wouldn't the thing to do have been to say 'It looks like the host has not approved your request, so since you don't have a reservation, let me assist you in finding a place you can Instant Book'

[Kelly149]

@Mark116  funny, not funny, at one point this morning the "guest" was saying to the sheriff "these people didn't even make the bed for me and that vacuum was just in the middle of the room!"

not sure if the lightbulb went all the way on when someone said "didn't that and the locked door and all the lights being off kind of register that maybe you had made a mistake?"

to which the "guest" says... "well, when you say it that way..."

And, yes, I think determining if a guest has a reservation or NOT should be Step 1 in any CS call.

[Mark116]

@Kelly149  Yes, it moves into tragi-comedy when we can see the dude who broke into your property was poised to give you a bad review--poor communication, bad check in, no lights, un made bed, no key code, vacuum in the middle of the floor.  1-3 stars for sure. That is hilarious in the worst way.  

[Huma0]

@Kelly149 @Mark116 

On the one hand, I am shocked by this story (especially how far things went and how much worse they could have gotten) but, on the other hand, I am not shocked at all.

1. Would a CS rep do something so clueless? Absolutely. In the past couple of years, I have had enough dealings with reps whose lack of training and common sense is quite astounding, to the point that it's better to end the conversation as they might end up doing something really stupid and potentially damaging rather than help you.  So, even this extremely stupid action on CS's part doesn't surprise me as much as it should.

2. Would a guest do something so clueless. Again, absolutely. Perhaps most would not go as far as to break into a listing in the middle of the night, but I often encounter a lack of understanding from guests as to how booking on this platform is supposed to work.

I've had so many guests send a request to book and then not respond to any questions. They think they have made their booking and that's it. Why would the host need to approve it, let alone ask a question? I've also had several guests wanting my full address and other details I am not willing to give out prior to making a booking. In their heads, they have 'chosen' my listing and want to start making plans, e.g. have parcels sent, sort out visa applications, set up bank accounts/credit cards. I'm not talking about the scammers here. I'm talking about the clueless. They have no comprehension that they do not have any ownership of my address and no entitlement to use it, especially when they have not even made a booking! 

@Kelly149  Sorry this happened to you. It sounds like you handled it very calmly. I probably would have freaked out.

[Kelly149]

@Huma0  Maybe abb needs to hide our addresses and phone numbers from CS like they do from guests. I hope these folks don’t have our payment details too. 

and I think you’re right, since switching to Request Only, I’ve had many many guests who think they’ve already booked. ABB needs to make it much more clear that they’re ASKING, not Booking. 

[Huma0]

@Kelly149 

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@Kelly149 wrote:

since switching to Request Only, I’ve had many many guests who think they’ve already booked. ABB needs to make it much more clear that they’re ASKING, not Booking. 

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Yes, me too. Conversely, I've had guests who IBed and didn't realise they booked, e.g. told me to please decline as they'd changed their minds... Or that they would pay later, but could I answer some questions first?