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

[Christine615]

There used to be a survey so you could rate customer service. That seemed to die about the same time as the mass layoffs. Back then you had the name of a CS and could email them directly or call. Lord, I wish for those days again but I suspect Airbnb is now to big.

What I would have done was had the person arrested for trespassing and damage. That would have created a legal trail of paperwork. If the "guest"  could prove Airbnb gave him the phone number and address (something even legit customers don't get right away), then he'd have the right to sue Airbnb or at least there'd be proof they were culpable. And Airbnb would be liable to you outside of Aircover.

Customer service is going to be a liability to Airbnb long-term. They need incentive to fix the broken system so hosts need to stop accepting the "sorry, not sorry" messages.

[Kelly149]

@Christine615  and this is one of the things that is wrong with ABB... if I was a glassbowl (say it outloud if you don't immediately translate) then yes, I'd have had no problem with arresting the "guest", cause believe me, law enforcement was ready to go on that front. But I'm not, and as much of an idiot as that guy was, I didn't want him to have legal issues bc ABB CS is incompetent. And I don't want to create a media frenzy (notice I put this whole thread in Host Circle) and I don't want to sue. But I do want ABB to do the right thing, and they currently seem unwilling or unable to do so without a greater level of prodding. Unfortunate.

[Anonymous]

@Kelly149  You have sound reasons for not wanting to attract social or conventional media attention here. You've dealt with enough hassle already. Unfortunately, that also means you have no leverage. 

It's a shame that your unique listing and great reputation aren't considered assets worthy of protecting. This is the hubris that precedes the inevitable decline. 

[Kelly149]

@Anonymous do any of us need anymore reasons to be looking for the door…

I know where my parachute is. 

[Helen744]

@Kelly149 , There is still a police report which you should have or receive a copy of ,you dont have to have the guy arrested. H

[Kelly149]

@Helen744 Actually, I think the key piece of evidence is the record of the phone call/chat history of the CS and "guest"... Unfortunately, ABB is the holder of that record and they're not interested in sharing.

I have video/stills of the "guest" chatting with the Sheriff in the barn, but him being in the space isn't really the question this all hinges on. How he came to believe that he should have been in the space is the million-dollar question.

[Michael5689]

@Kelly149 I haven't taken an in-depth enough read of the terms we all agree to, but the question would be whether there is a clause in the contract language that speaks to when the corporation is allowed to share our private information.  The right letter from the right professional to AirBNB might shake the trees a bit if that clause is clear that they can't share private information until AFTER a transaction and follow-on implicit (instant book) or explicit (agree to host) action from the host occurs.  Might be worth a careful read of those terms if so inclined...

[Huma0]

@Christine615 

I have actually been asked (and fairly recently) to provide feedback on a CS interaction. What I noticed though is that I only get this feedback request email after a rep has quickly and efficiency dealt with a simple matter.

Where there is any back and forth, passing from one rep to another, delays, lack of resolution, bot repeatedly asking to mark the case as resolved when you are still waiting for some sort of relevant response or any response whatsoever - so basically the typical CS experience these days - they never ask for feedback. I wonder why...

So, I can only assume this is Airbnb's tactic of skewing results in terms of host satisfaction. It's almost as if the feedback requests are programmed to only be sent when an issue is dealt with within an hour or so.

[Suzanne302]

@Kelly149  This is one of those instances where I want someone from Airbnb to "make it make sense."

When I see things that don't make sense, I try to say, okay, I don't know everything about the circumstances, so maybe there is a reason things are done a certain way, because I'm not an expert in that business. Something I'm not thinking of, that, when explained, I say, ah, okay, well, not ideal, but now I understand "why" you do things that way.

So I'd love to hear from Airbnb how this makes sense. Because unless there is another explanation, they have to admit that this is a failure in training, this is a failure in customer service, this is a failure in host/guest safety, and this is a failure in transparency. Make it make sense.

[Kelly149]

@Suzanne302  Yes, in these instances abb reminds me of the guy behind the curtain in oz. He wants to be seen as big & powerful. So he hides behind a booming voice and obscurity.
However, it shows a lack of maturity (&trust) to think you’re above explaining yourself and it gets you the opposite of what you’re hoping for when every elephant in the room can see you goofed up but you’re trying to pitch a fit and act like nothing happened. 

no one is fooled and no one is impressed. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Kelly149 

c/p the answer you received: ”We reiterate that all necessary actions and in accordance with our policies were taken with THE GUEST reported. ....”

And what actions are taken with THE CUSTOMER SERVICE REP ?

[Emilie]

@Kelly149 I really appreciate you sharing updates on how things have progressed so far! Since not everything seems to have been resolved, I've chased the team who was working on this just now so they can follow-up. 

@Branka-and-Silvia0 @Suzanne302 @Anonymous @Louise1073 @all Thank you for your feedback on this situation. Although I can't answer some of your questions as I do not have access to the details of the case, I understand your concerns and have relayed them as well.