A proposed fix for frustrating CS interaction

[Sarah977]

@Airbnb   Here's a suggestion that would make claims, cancellations, review issues, and everything else easier and more efficient for hosts, guests, and Airbnb itself.

Instead of having your front line CS personnel trying to handle all manner of issues, have CS depts. that are specific to each issue. The front line CS receives the initial message, phone call, etc, and then immediately forwards to the appropriate CS team. Review issues, cancellations, claims, tech problems, confusion on the part of new hosts or guests who don't understand how to work the platform, etc, etc, immediately shunted to the appropriate CS Dept, rather than many back and forths with the initial CS rep trying to sort things out or even get them to understand why you are contacting them.

In other words, they don't have to be knowledgable about anything Airbnb, just know what dept to hand it to and have good customer service skills.

Each team then only has the need to be thoroughly informed about Airbnb TOS on one specific topic and can better help both guests and hosts to sort things out. This would streamline the process of dealing with all issues, be easier on CS reps, and users would be dealing with someone who is fully cognizant of all the policies pertaining to the issue at hand.

As is stands now, many CS reps seem very poorly informed of actual Airbnb policy, often fail to understand what the issue really is or what the user is asking CS to do, have to be led by the hand by hosts or guests to the appropriate policy, and often get CS reps who close a case because, I suspect, they feel overwhelmed, or, for all I know, they are downgraded by Airbnb for not resolving cases quickly, so simply close them before a user has indicated that they feel their concerns were addressed.

I think it's a lot for Airbnb to expect all their CS staff to be able to be fully up-to-date and cognizant of all policy, and it's obvious that many of them aren't. And I doubt if most have ever been hosts, although they might have been guests, so often, understandably, don't fully appreciate host and guest issues or frustrations. And many seem quite young- they don't have enough life experience to know how to handle all the different personalities and approaches they are bombarded with all day.

A change like this in CS could be a win-win for all.

[Lisa723]

Yes! I could not agree more. Airbnb, your customer support has become more like customer repellant when it comes to hosting.

[Taylor179]

AGREED! 

[Inna22]

@Sarah977 this brilliant idea is very simple and spot on! 

[Cathie19]

Okay @Sarah977, may I suggest that you just might have the golden ticket to customer service.

If we are unwell, we go to a General Practitioner. Yes a Dr, but not a specialist. If that Dr knows a more specific and specialised investigation, care and response is required, they refer us on to that area specialist! 

Insurance companies are inclined to do the same. You get to speak to someone who can open up your personal details and establish an exact conversation, be it an enquiry, a claim etc. Here in the Top End, after last year’s Cyclone Marcus, there was a specific area you were sent to, just relating to that epic storm. Separate from any other storms or weather. Now that’s smart!

So the pattern here is: have your well-versed customer service front of counter; then have them refer guests and host needs to the specific areas that Airbnb staff are versed in. Payments, resolutions, calendars, reviews etc etc etc.

In this day an age of Internet usage, this should actually make it easier to perform absolutely above benchmark quality customer service. No excuses anywhere, anytime.

Simple! So simple in fact, that the K.I.S.S. method should be implemented.

KEEP IT SPECIFICALLY SIMPLE.  

[Ben551]

@Cathie19  hehe... you know, in programming it's called something else (Keep It Simple Stupid)

[Cathie19]

@Ben551 , I know that, but I was wanting them on @Sarah977 ‘s side, so I wasn’t  about to insult the powers that be... and it is about speciality CS areas, after all! Lol...

[Sarah977]

Another advantage to a system like this would be that each team would be able to quickly identify which issues keep cropping up over and over again and report this to upper management.

Hosting platform team: "Fielded 75 calls from experienced hosts today who couldn't figure out how to email a guest with the new format. Recommendation: tech team posts clear instructions when making changes to hosting page formats."

Review team: "100 complaints today about guests who were reported to Airbnb over consistently ignoring house rules leaving revenge reviews. Policy change needed for this issue?"

Each team would also, I think, end up being more responsive and more understanding to their users,as they wouldn't be madly trying to deal with 50 unrelated issues in the course of a day, some of which they may have no experience with.

And I can see fewer cases having to be "escalated".

Thanks to all who have chimed in here.

[Robin4]

@Sarah977 @Clara116 @Jessica-and-Henry0 @Laura_C @Ben @Cathie 

In actual fact a considerable section of the company does operate that way Sarah!

I hope I am not treading on toes here but, when I left support I was told not to discuss the operations of that group, so I hope I am not exposing myself to some issue here!

Different support personnel have expetise in different areas, just the same as we do here on the forum. 

With phone inquiries you simply get the first available CX person ...and in the case of Superhosts that can be anywhere in the world because the object is to give a quick response! You may get someone familiar with the complexities of your issue, you may not!

Where the beauty of an email enquiry is, the pool of personal get to see users questions as they scroll down the screen and elect to either answer or by-pass a question based on their personal knowledge. All questions get attended to promptly because they are answered by someone who is competent in that particular issue. This is bought out by the fact that this pool of personnel have an average case closure rate of between 92 and 96%!

If I didn't know the answer to a question I would not get involved with it and leave it for someone else. Once one of these personnel grabs a question they are on a strict time limit to let the customer know somebody was on the case. They could then either research or elaborate on an answer...Sarah...it works!

So what you are saying Sarah does to a limited degree already operate and to extend that into the phone pool would be a decided advantage!

Cheers.....Rob

[Sarah977]

@Robin4  Yes, I've in fact always communicated with CS by email, not phone. (and you can't call their toll free number from Mexico BTW) But I'd say I've gotten on-point answers no more than 50% of the time. The rest of the time, I get cut and paste responses that have zero to do with my question and it takes several more back and forths to get the CS rep to understand what I'm asking. Then, if I pose an issue that contains 2 questions, they only eventually answer one, I have to prompt them again to answer the second one. 

So this MAY be the way CS is supposed to work, but it doesn't seem like most of the first line people are passing it along to someone who might get it, but going ahead and dealing with it themselves, even though they don't know what they're talking about and don't even bother to fully read the email they were sent.

[Cathie19]

Gosh @Sarah977. 

Contemplating teams undergoing KPIs and reviewing their workload; followed by identified areas where most of their time is uitilised, (eg: Pareto Principle). Then add a consultative process to this methodology and you would have a genuine process to assist with important and systemic changes; and that would make for continuous improvement, that EVERYONE actually wants!

Reduction in stressed CS workers. Reduction in stress and hostility from hosts and guests.

Smooth.....

Yay!

[Sarah977]

"Jessica, you have a lovely speaking voice. You're now on phone reception. All you have to do is say "Yes, ma'am, I'll put you right through to the Cancellation team. Or Sir, could you please clarify, because you mentioned several issues and I need to know which dept to start with.""

"Joe, Shawna, Lila, Omar, go read everything in Airbnb policy on Refunds. Read it twice. Three times. Ask questions if any of it is unclear to you. They'll be a pop quiz tomorrow. You don't need to know about anything else, but you need to know this Refund stuff inside out."

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

good thinking @Sarah977 especially the part with reports for improvements. I like it.

[Ben551]

@Sarah977  I love the idea and absolutely, this is how any call centre should work.  All front line staff should be trained merely to deal with simplex issues only, else have clear established pathways to pass folk on to the correct team with it's specialisation. 

What it would take to set this up is a formalised and structured project to redesign the operating model for the Airbnb Customer Support team.  It would require looking at all the layers; people, processes, policy and systems that support it.  This is effectively a horizontal organisational change or redesign. 

To be honest, I'd say this needs to be extended across the entire business (not just the customer support team) but why not start at the front line, customer facing side.  I think this is as good a place to start as any.  If they fix the CS, get some runs on the board with org change, it should inject some much needed momentum in their business improvement strategy...

PS:  I quite possibly ate a systems analysis and design book for breakfast this morning.

[Cathie19]

@Ben551 , a good frontline management system is the start to a good customer service based improvement, for any business. The current expectation that every  CS staffer is everything to everyone, just isn’t working, and especially from the number of hosts here, who then choose to outsource their STR to other rental platforms.

A business that is a community - people oriented, can’t survive without it.....