One of the best aspects of the Nomandess Travel community is our ability to rally and help our fellow members when problematic situations arise. LaDonna Jones shares tips on just how to battle back against bad customer service during their travels.
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A friend of mine had a very bad experience with lost and then damaged luggage with an airline. Now problems with luggage making it from your departure city to your destination and then back home happen all the time. Even getting the bag back undamaged or if an item is missing is unfortunate, but not uncommon in the airline industry. But it is our right as consumers to acknowledge a company’s shortcomings, to hold them accountable and to help them make better experiences for the future.
So after she posted about her experiences on social media providing some constructive feedback, she received a threatening voice message about her posts. The perpetrator went to great lengths to identify her from her post, then slander and threaten her if she did not remove the posts. This is by far one of the most egregious abuses of power and disrespect I’ve seen.
HOW CAN YOU FIGHT BACK AND STAND UP FOR YOURSELF
Well after being verbally assaulted, she reached out for some friendly advice from our online travel group, the Nomadness Travel Tribe. Our group is an urban travel community of diverse millennials located all over the world who love to travel the world and and travel frequently. After we heard her story, we gave her some tips on how to reach out and get her story heard. She needed to fight back and get some retribution for the actions of the company’s employee’s bad behavior.
§ Document any information you can collect. When issues arise, make sure to get the customer service rep’s name, phone number or any other documentation detailing the issue or concerns you have. If there was a supervisor you were transferred to, collect their info as well. It’s important to keep a record of all correspondence just in case the company requests documentation to help resolve your case or you need to turn over the documents for litigation.
§ Reach out and tell your bad customer experience to the world via social media. We live in the digital age where news is at your fingertips immediately, and most reputable companies have customer service reps ready and on-demand to handle your concerns in a professional manner.
§ Post tweets, Facebook and Linkedin post and any other social forum available about your bad experiences or situation. Know that this is your right to speak the truth and let your voice be heard. Companies and their employees have to be held accountable and its our duty to let others know what to watch out for as well.
§ Another public source to consider is to reach out and report them to your local news stations who are always on the consumer’s side and willing to investigate on your behalf to unearth the truth.