Example scenario. The guest house, the guest and the times below are invented to show the order of events. They are not a real client and do not show a result.
Imagine a guest house with six rooms. The owner, let us call him Ivan, is on site during the day and at home in the evening. At 21:15 a guest in room 4 writes in the website chat: “There has been no hot water for the second evening, and nobody answers the phone at reception. This is unacceptable.” Ivan is having dinner with family and is not looking at his phone.
Why this is not a question like the others
Most chat messages are questions: until what time breakfast is served, whether there is parking. These can be answered from the property's approved information. A complaint is different. The person is not looking for information but wants to be heard and to see that someone is acting. If the reply is a note about breakfast times, they will feel ignored, even if the answer is accurate.
What the automatic reply must not say
There are four things that are not the automatic reply's job, however politely they are worded:
- arguing or explaining, for example “the hot water is in working order”;
- admitting fault that has not been established;
- promising a discount, a change of room or money back;
- promising a time by which the problem will be solved.
The reason is simple. The assistant cannot see the boiler, does not know what the guests were told earlier and cannot make a decision about money. Every such sentence would be your promise, made without you.
What it can say
As an internal rule for the team, you can write down a short reply that sounds something like this: “We are sorry you are having trouble. Your message has been read. Please call the property on 0XXX XXX XXX to speak to the owner directly.”
It acknowledges that the person has been heard, makes no promise and gives a clear next step: one phone number. Do not ask the guest to describe the problem again in the chat if you know you will deal with it by phone.
What you do
In the example, Ivan sees the missed call or reads the chat later. Three steps work better when they are decided in advance:
- First you call, you do not write. A complaint at 21:15 needs a voice and a specific action, not another text.
- You say what you will do and when, only if you can do it. “I will be there in twenty minutes” is better than “we will sort it out”.
- You offer something real that is within your power. Whether it is another room or an apology, you decide.
This way the assistant is a bridge to the person, not a replacement for the conversation.
Rules to prepare in advance
One afternoon is enough to write down a few decisions that are then not made under pressure:
- which words and situations you count as a complaint (hot water, noise, cleanliness, wrong room);
- who answers in the evening and at night, on which phone, and whether that phone is available;
- what your short apology is for the most common cases;
- what decision a member of staff can reach, and when they wait for you.
If you have a team, also write down who decides on money. The member of staff who answers the phone should not hesitate over whether they can offer a discount.
What to review after the stay
A complaint almost always points to something that can be fixed. Review the conversation in the Inbox: did the guest ask something before complaining, was there information that is missing, and was the phone available. If guidance is missing, for example how to start the boiler, add it to the property's information. If the complaint was justified, fix the problem, not only the reply.
What not to expect
The automatic reply does not replace reception and is not a live chat with a person. If a person is needed, they are reached by phone at the property. That is why the phone must be real, not just written down. A number that nobody answers in the evening is worse than no number.