When an angry guest leaves your place of business, what do you do? If you don’t have an action plan, you must read this post.
Seth Godin writes that angry people are different. In tourism, as described on a previous post “10 ways I raved about my Halifax Java“, it is easy for any guest (including angry guests) to share with the world their feedback on their tourism / travel experience. When negative feedback about your tourism business, community appears on social networking sites like TripAdvisor, Frommers, or private blogs it is your fault. Tourism businesses must be pro-active in taking the necessary steps so that this potentially devastating action isn’t taken by an angry traveller. This post is all about defusing an Angry Guest Bomb before it impacts your business.
There are only two solutions to dealing with angry people:
- avoid them
- listen to them and acknowledge their anger
While the first option is perhaps the best way for tourism businesses to deal with angry customers, it may be difficult to know you are recruiting an angry customer…. but think about this for a minute.
Can you do things to avoid getting angry guests? I have a few suggestions:
- Focus on a clear vision of who your ideal guest is. Write a description, name them, think about their interests and motivations for choosing a vacation.
- Market to the needs and motivations of your ideal guest.
- Focus on a clear vision of who isn’t your ideal guest (aka – an angry guest and others that don’t fit your ideal guest profile). Ask yourself the same questions. What is the motivation of this traveler?
- Stop marketing with language that appeals to this person’s interests and motivations!
Please Comment: How do you keep angry guests from arriving on your porch?
Sometimes, for reasons you may not be able to control, you will get the wrong guest…. perhaps even, an angry guest. We tend to get one or two of these each year. So what are a few ideas on steps you can take that can lessen the impact that an angry person could have on your business
- we use a liability waiver / cancellation policy for each and every guest at our retreat. One of the statements guest agree to is: “Northern Edge Algonquin reserves the right to require a guest to leave prior to the scheduled end of their stay if such departure is deemed necessary for the well-being of our staff & other guests. In such cases a pro-rated refund will be provided.”
- a feedback form (optionally anonymous) allows us to gather feedback on a guests visit prior to their return home. If any issues are flagged, we call and check in with these guests before they get home, using language like, “It appears that you have had a disappointing stay, I would really like to hear more of your story and would like to make it right . . . .”
- asking guests upon departure “What could we have done to make your stay better?” is another question that can help defuse a potential Angry Guest Bomb.
Comment: How do you deal with Angry guests once they’ve headed out the door?
