In this edition of TCXT, Raj Sivasubramanian, our Vice President of Journey Management & CX Consulting, shares a personal story that highlights the critical importance of live human support in today’s increasingly automated world.
I spent a few days in Las Vegas last week at the Customer Connect Expo, where I gave a presentation, among other things, about the value of live human support and the pitfalls of trying to cut costs by automating all aspects of customer service.
One of the stories I told during my session was about a recent customer support experience with a company I used to work for and still deeply respect, Airbnb. In addition to being a former employee of Airbnb, I am also a customer both as a guest and a host. My wife and I started hosting a few years ago, and we earned Superhost status, which is a designation given to Airbnb’s highest-rated hosts. Additionally, one of our listings is considered a Guest Favorite, which supposedly means it is one of the most loved homes on Airbnb.
Part of this is because I think my wife and I are great hosts that pride ourselves on our hospitality, but some of it is because we are lucky enough to live in one of San Francisco’s most popular neighborhoods, North Beach. Hosting visitors from around the world has been rewarding and I have enjoyed sharing recommendations on the great spots in my neighborhood with my guests. I always felt I could share more than just recommendations so I was excited when Airbnb relaunched their Experiences program last Fall. This is a program that allows people to host unique local tours and experiences.
My neighborhood has many great trails and staircases that lead to amazing views, which are off the beaten path. I also happen to know a little bit about wine and am part of a few wine clubs from local wineries that don’t distribute their wine. So my idea for an Airbnb Experience was to offer up a walking tour of my neighborhood that stops at some great views along the way and then ends with a wine tasting on my private rooftop.
Airbnb has to vet all Experience requests against three pillars: making sure the host has the appropriate expertise, the activity is something unique they couldn’t do on their own, and that it creates meaningful human connections. As a former employee, I was well aware of these requirements and made sure my submission request met each of them.
I submitted in November, and given the strength of my submission and my track record as a host, I assumed it would be quickly approved and that I could start hosting tours over the holidays. Instead, I got a message in late December stating that my submission was put on a waitlist with some vague instructions on what I could do to strengthen my submission. I asked to speak to someone but was told I couldn’t speak to the team reviewing, so I made a few adjustments and resubmitted.
In February, I received another message indicating that I needed to add photos showing guests immersed in the activity. My original submission already had photos like this, so the message confused me, but I went ahead and added a few more. Then a month later, I literally got the exact same message sent back to me. I added more photos, then a few days later, I got the same message back. It was obvious at this point that these were auto-generated messages.
I sent a frustrated message back asking again to speak to someone on the phone. I explained that I was confident I met all the requirements and would appreciate someone getting on the phone with me to explain what the issue was, versus just sending me an auto-generated, scripted response. Well, I didn’t get an auto-generated response back. Instead, I got no response. I followed up often over the next week, and still nothing.
So, at this point, I decide to use a tactic that I know will get a response – the classic “email the CEO” move. So I sent an email to Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, along with a few other senior leaders. I know from my time at Airbnb that a special team reviews Brian’s email and will respond to me on his behalf. And sure enough, within 2 hours, I got a response to my original message apologizing for the delay in response and a commitment to get me an update within 72 hours.
2 days later, I got another message back, yet again asking me to submit another photo! This one, though, did look like it was human-written because it provided a little more guidance on the type of photo needed. I responded back saying that my request was to speak to someone, which I still wanted to do because I had gone back and forth so many times and wanted to make sure there would be no issues with my next photo submission.
This message didn’t get a response, but 3 days later, I got a message stating that my submission request had been approved! What happened? I never submitted another photo and now it was approved. Did they realize my submission request was fine all along? Did I just wear them down? Or was my request to speak to a human being so unfathomable for them to accommodate that they figured it was better to just approve my submission instead?
It’s ironic that creating meaningful human connections is a requirement for hosting an Experience, but I wasn’t able to get any type of human connection in my journey submitting an Experience for approval.
I still love Airbnb, and I am excited to start hosting this Experience. But did it have to be this difficult? Yes, there are costs associated with live human support, but how much time and effort would have been saved if Airbnb had allowed me to speak to someone in November? This issue could have been quickly resolved then, and all those future contacts wouldn’t have happened. Nor would my email to the CEO and all the subsequent resources/actions that were triggered as a result. I was willing to keep going at it for 6 months, given my interest in doing this and my history with Airbnb. But how many other less vested users have had similar experiences and decided the headache wasn’t worth it?
There are certainly efficiencies and cost savings to be gained by automating responses to customer inquiries. But there are always going to be situations where live human support is not only necessary but the more cost-effective longer-term option. Especially in a world where more and more things are automated, the companies that offer human connection when requested will stand out.
Speaking of human connection, if you are in SF and interested in a good walk and some good wine, let me know. I heard there’s a cool new Airbnb Experience that is worth checking out. 😉
We hope you enjoyed today’s edition! Remember, you can check out past editions and discover how even the smallest details can be the key factor that sets your company apart from the competition.
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