It has never been easier than it is right now to voice your opinions, and to make them heard. The advent of websites such as TripAdvisor, which allow users to review accommodation and tours, have revolutionised the world of customer service. With regards to TripAdvisor, hotels are now paying upmost importance as to what their customers experience on their stay. The opinions of their customers and their hotel in general are now immortalised on the internet for everybody to see. Since my personal discovery of TripAdvisor, whenever I need to book accommodation it is the first place I go, and I find it great, no more dirty or overpriced hotel rooms, generally if it is rated well on TripAdvisor, it is a good hotel. Hotels themselves have well and truly recognised this newfound power in the hands of their customers, and actively monitor and reply to reviews on such websites.
'Tried to kill the cockroaches, they fought back!'
An article on The Age website caught my eye, discussing this newfound form of 'customer feedback' (http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/tweet-revenge-at-last-for-shoppers-with-complaints-20110823-1j8h4.html). Even traditional forms of social media such as Twitter and Facebook are being utilised by the general public, which is forcing businesses to closely monitor what is being said about them, and to respond quickly, in order to maintain their image and reputation. There are many examples, but the most recent, and probably the biggest, is the 'Vodafail' campaign. Many consumers recently became fed up with the Vodafone network, after struggling with drop outs, poor reception, and generally bad service. The momentum and sheer numbers behind this 'protest' forced Vodafone to respond, announcing a prompt network overhall and service restructure.
www.twitter.com/@vodafailure
Personally, I believe this is a great tool for consumers, and I generally find myself checking reviews on the internet for any high involvement product I purchase. However, I think it will be interesting to see how this evolves in the future. Consumers need to be constantly aware of the sheer degree of subjectivity and personal bias taking place with everything posted on the internet, including reviews, and take everything with a grain of salt.
3 comments:
I agree with you completely that we, the consumers, have the power. I for one heavily rely on trip adviser and such sites to hear what real customers have to say about products. Good old W.O.M. But as you said, the problem is the consumers need to be fully aware that online you can say anything about anyone, and it can be completely unsubstantiated.
I have worked in tourism for several years and managed the online aspect of the business (including trip adviser) and know from personal experience that sites such as these offer little business support when it comes to false claims (sometimes its purely defamatory). Unlike on facebook where users can delete comments, with sites such as trip adviser once it is posted it is very very very hard to get it removed, or even get in contact with someone to discuss options for removing comments. I would like to see these sites offer more business protection. I know they are a forum for the people but there still needs to be avenues for companies to protect their online reputation when it is unsubstantiated. And currently there is not, and if there is, it is very difficult to muster.
Anyone else had a similar problem or was I the only lucky one??
xoxo
rebecca
www.emarketingbybec.wordpress.com
I always ignore the VERY BEST review (which has obviously been written by the owner of the establishment) and the VERY WORST review (which has obviously been written by their competitors). Remove the outliers, and you'll have a good idea of the true quality of the service.
Bec: It's interesting to hear the other side of the TripAdvisor story! I agree, I don't think consumers actually realise the damage they can actually do.
Wags: Very true! I'd have to admit, if I am personally feeling favorable towards the product, I'll automatically dismiss the bad reviews as being written by a competitor or rude customer, and vice versa.
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