Being in the service industry we all know how important your paying guests are to your business. Barefoot also recognizes that our clients are much more than Property Managers in fact we recognize that our clients are Vacation Managers. With that distinction of being a Vacation Manager a lot of responsibility comes with helping to provide an amazing experience and create long lasting memories for families and friends. In most cases people that stay in a vacation home have planned and saved for that very special trip for a very long time. Expectations are very high and that is why it is important for all Vacation Managers to have a plan in place to handle social media complaints.
- First, make sure that you take a screen shot of the complaint. This will ensure that you will be able to share this feedback internally if appropriate.
- Read the message. This seems obvious, but it is important to remember that you are looking beyond the message itself. What is the guest trying to tell you.
- Don’t engage in a public battle if a guest issues a complaint. Make sure staff is trained to take a deep breath, slow down, and bite their tongue before issuing anything that will bring more negative light to your business.
- Try to reach out directly to online complaints. Even if it is an outrageous or untrue message, do what you can to get a private conversation going to resolve the issue.
- You must respond quickly. I know that I just said you have to slow down, bite your tongue, take a deep breath before responding, but the key is to respond in a professional manner quickly. Delays can cause a lot of negative steam to build. Nipping it in the bud is the best policy.
- Social media responsiveness is customer service. Whoever is handling your social media responses needs the same training as any other customer service reps that you have.
- Try to prevent most on-line complaints. Research has shown that customers are less likely to complain on-line if they know they can use email, phone, or a feedback form…if they feel that their problem will be resolved right away. Try to build your reputation on how responsive you are throughout a guests experience good or bad.
There is a lot to consider when providing amazing experiences for your customers and being able to respond to adversity quickly and professionally will help to keep building your brand.
The infographic used in this blog was produced by www.bedigitalgiants.com.
