Just got off the phone with support and my god I can’t cope.
I haven’t called them in years but today I had to as a guest wrote me yesterday after me asking about their arrival details that they would arrive between 11 and 12 pm. They land little over 10pm so before they get here from the airport it’ll be close to midnight IF their plane is on time that is.
I don’t want to wait well into the night, so I’ve set the check in window between 15.00 and 20.00 hrs to avoid this. And yes, many know how dreadful it is to wait hours for guests whose flight are delayed. You can really feel the will for life being sucked right out of you while the long minutes turn into hours all the while your precious life is being wasted So, of course, this should be avoided by all means and that window me likes a lot which helps matching hosts and guests expectations. Mostly.
I wrote the guest saying that this late arrival would be a problem since neither myself, partner, neighbour, cleaner or sister would be able to be there that day next week (this is the holiday season where a lot of Danes are off work for the summer and are either away or on festivals, so that limits my options for help) Either way, my options are next to none, so I had to call the support, which I told him.
“Welcome Superhost… please hold…” the voice response said in an excessively enthusiastic and eager tone. Well, being super was of course not worst thing to be called, so after a little while, I got through still being super-optimistic.
Now, was I talking to robot or an actual person quickly came to mind. It sounded that she went through a script instead of engaging in a normal conversation. Mon dieu!
“As a host you will get penalties if you cancel…”… “Your superhost status will change.…” I_f you cancel more than 3 times, Airbnb can suspend your account_…" MY GOD - Listen to me and help and tell me how I would be the one to be penalized when I’m not the one not following what the listing says?
When I asked what options there were, she didn’t really give any but began reciting rules for when a guest cancels on a strict cancellation policy. Yes, yes I get it, but where’s your resolution s’il vous plait?
It didn’t come and that’s when I got a bit pushy and told her to get in touch with the guest and find him another spot where check in late might be possible. It was only when I got agitated she went into somewhat troubleshooting-mode but I clearly felt her resistance. I could literally hear her eyes roll
I’m not gonna cancel that fore sure. I’ll await the robot’s response and see what kind of bad deal they’ll propose to me. I bet they’ll side with the guest and give a full refund but I’ll have to wait and see. Can’t wait!
What really pushed me over the edge, was her scripted get-the-f-away-from-me-but-corporate-says-this-is-great-customer-service-question b: “Is there anything else I can do for you today?” -she said in a lighter tone after she agreed to contact the guest and get back to me. I dumbfoundedly just uttered a loud WHAT? and lo and behold she simply repeated that exact same sentence in the exact same manner with her fake-interest in that obviously I-really-dont-give-a-shite -tone. Sacre bleu!
The morale of story? Don’t be afraid of the rise of the robots anytime soon!
Oh, and that guests are entitled and expect hosts to accommodate them in any way possible.
After writing messages back and forth the guest simply wrote: “It would be hugely appreciated if you could make it work”. I get that. But what would be hugely appreciated too were if you weren’t an entitled twat who would actually read before booking.
Have a great day y’all