Social media blackmail
The other day, I was talking to an hotelier about the power of social media. The World Wide Web, by giving us worldwide accessibility to the internet, has reshaped the world as we knew it. It has also given birth to social media. In the small amount of time it has been around, social media has taken the world by storm. Coming in many forms, including blogs and social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat and so on. There’s truly something for everyone of every age, and that’s part of the appeal.
The power of social networks is such that as per ‘Statista’ - the statistics portal, the number of worldwide users is expected to reach over 3 billion monthly active social media users by 2021, around a third of Earth’s entire population. It also goes on to add that as of January 2019, the most popular social network worldwide was Facebook.
As we marveled at the explosive growth of social media, my conversation with Dinesh, who manages a 199 roomed 5-star hotel in the South of Sri Lanka, soon veered towards the ugly side of it. Dinesh related the case of a British couple who complained about their room and threatened to post bad comments on Facebook unless the hotel provided them two bottles of wine as compensation. He went on to add that, this new found electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) clout has spawned an ugly new breed of traveller who outright demand huge concessions, even for minor mis-steps.
Since of late, the industry is experiencing guests who are misusing the growing power of social media. This misuse takes the form of extortion, with guests threatening to post negative comments on Facebook or write a poor review on TripAdvisor unless they are given a freebie or concession of another kind. This kind of customer behaviour is labeled social media blackmailing.
Dealing with irate guests is a part of every hotel manager’s job and is nothing new to the hospitality industry, nor is occasionally buying a guest’s silence. Social media however, has raised the stakes. Guest complaints can often be looked at as a way to improve a hotel’s service if taken in the right spirit. But how do you deal with a guest complaint given for all the wrong reasons?
If something in the hotel room didn’t work, you called the receptionist and reported it. If nothing is done about it within a reasonable time, you marched up to the front desk and made a fuss. If by then, your patience has been exhausted, you might then put the hotel staff on notice of your intention to write of your experience on TripAdvisor – all done to hasten a solution to your problem. So, why is it that, some guests, upon encountering an issue, log on to Facebook and bring it to the attention of their circle of friends instead of addressing it with the one person who can fix the problem - the hotel manager? Does this type of guest find seeking sympathy from friends, more gratifying than seeking a solution from the hotel? When the hotel is the last to hear about it, that clearly is an ambush via social media.
How does one mitigate the actions of such guests? The manager of a restaurant in Houston, USA threw a diner out in mid-meal after she tweeted disparaging comments about the bartender. In Blackpool, England, a hotel manager, suspicious that a couple had posted a negative review on TripAdvisor burst into their room and demanded they leave. Hoteliers may be tempted to take this road. However, most will avoid doing this as it violates the spirit of hospitality; apart from the ensuring bad publicity such actions can mobilize.
For starters, hotels would be best served by patrolling customer conversations on the web. Customers can either initiate dialog on social media while still on the property or after leaving the establishment. Monitoring as many media as possible will ensure that many bases are covered and no complaint goes unnoticed. Responding to complaints as quickly as possible indicates a degree of care. It also enables you to try and take negative posts offline. Facebook wall posts can be deleted. Sometimes it may require you to ignore abusive and repetitive comments.
When handling complaints: Avoid overcompensation. Guests can jump at the opportunity to demand inappropriate freebies – especially when asked “what do you want from us to put matters right?’ One of the key phrases, which many people fail to recognise is “what would you think would be fair?” The word ‘fair’ conveys the message “ok, let’s be reasonable”.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, ‘Hospitality Sri Lanka’, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier.
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