Noooo...Customer Support did not die. There are plenty of companies that excel at customer service. Drop your coffee at Peets? They hand you a new one, no questions asked - after making certain you're okay. Problems with an L.L. Bean shipment? They overnight a replacement and arrange for return of the lost package - without charging your card. Lost your Debit Card? Charles Schwab immediately mails a replacement and offer to overnight at no charge.
"Experience" may be how airbnb managers excuse what they're doing, but as a first-time-never-again customer, I see a company that is in failure. Another poster child in the rise and fall of shared economy. They have lost sight of the fact that without a dedicated customer base, they don't have a business. Booking accommodations 3,000 miles away from home is completely different than picking up a used lawnmower. It's not Craig's List, and trying to justify operating as though the two offer an equivalent connection service is foolish, especially when airbnb collects a service fee from the guest for the booking.
When the I booked this apartment in Boston, the host told me the address was 38 Queensberry St. I looked it up on Google Maps, and went okay! This'll work.
Skip one month, a verrryyy long flight from the West Coast, and one Uber, I'm standing outside this very nice complex with my kid and pile of bags. Waiting. Wondering. Where is the host? Where is 38? I can see 36, and 40, but no 38.
After 15 minutes I checked my 1% phone and found a message from the Host instructing me to go a block away to meet "Eddie" at a Pizza Parlor.
We hauled everything down the street, and waited. Eddie shows up and takes us ANOTHER block down to a large apartment complex at 62 Queensberry St.
It's was about 8:30 at night. Dark.
Eddie talks a fast talk about the apartment having been on Craig's List, and nobody is who they say they are, so when they moved to airbnb they didn't want to lose the good ratings, so they kept the old address, even though it's not right. (Huh?!) But you'll love this place because it's all professionals. Doctors and lawyers.
It's student housing.
When we got into the apartment, I was pretty shocked to see it was only one bed, not two as advertised. Eddie showed me the kitchen saying there was a little hole under the carpet probably from the dishwasher leaking, but they were going to get it fixed and I could use it if I wanted to, though really; you don't want to cook, do you?
FINALLY he left and I pulled back the carpet. The soft area went from wall to cabinet, was about 2 feet wide and punched straight through the subfloor in spots.
There were other soft spots throughout the unit and large holes in the walls:
The shelf in the living area was falling out of the wall. An ancient window AC could barely kick out air through the crust of dust.
The bathroom looked like it hadn't seen a scrub brush or caulking in years, and the door couldn't close.
The sheets were threadbare. Pillows disgusting.
I told my son to sleep on the coach and I caught a few hours sleep before looking for a hotel the next morning.
The first two hotels were booked solid because the Dead were playing Fenway Park that weekend. The third had room, but would have to move us three times, and Saturday and Sunday were going to $695 per night. Fortunately the gals at the front desk told me to check out Hotel Buckminster because they always had rooms - and they did! At a reasonable price. (Great hotel!)
We packed up and were out the door by 10:30 am. I contacted the airbnb Host while standing on the street waiting for an Uber to let him know we'd checked out. He asked why, and I sent the pictures.
The next day, while on a school tour, the Host started sending messages telling me I had no right to leave because all that could be fixed in 20 minutes 0_o
I contacted airbnb as soon as we got back to the hotel. I was scared. I wasn't exactly certain about airbnb procedures, but at this point, it seemed over the top even for the "unstoppable share economy".
Technically, this was Day 3, but only two nights.
The support folks were wonderful! Totally focused on the right thing: our safety. Discontinue contact with host. You've done everything you can.
But I was worried. I contacting support multiple times and ended up with TWO case numbers that got joined. I filed for a refund for the 5 days we didn't stay plus cleaning fee (cause it wasn't) and service fee (because it shouldn't have been).
Of course the host denied my refund. Per airbnb policy, I had to wait 72 hours before requesting help from the Resolution Center. I submitted the paperwork and photos and called. The support rep was wonderful! She was horrified by my experience and assured me it warranted a case worker who would contact me shortly.
William, the case worker, sent me an email days later that succinctly stated the reservation had not been "officially" canceled, and as a result the Host had lost money.
I told William that I HAD contacted airbnb multiple times and not one person mentioned that I needed to "officially" cancel the reservation. That the Host had communicated outside the app when texting my phone directly, and had changed his profile name from Alan to Edward - resulting in ALL the communications within the app being retroactively modified!
William responded that I was still in violation of the 24 hour notification policy, even though there was false advertising, and questioned the location issue, "because nobody else had complained". I sent him the very negative reviews that had posted since I'd booked, and the text message that Alan/Edward/Eddie had sent outside the app which identified the address as 62.
William told me the best he could do is refund the cleaning fee, service fee, and 50% of the nights not stayed because of the 24 hour policy. Regardless of the breach of contract and multiple contacts with airbnb. He refused to provide his last name for "security reasons", and refused to let me speak with a supervisor.
It's not easy to find a phone number for airbnb.
1-855-424-7262
The supervisor who lectured me is quite proud of the fact that being a web service they don't have a phone number published on the site.
How was I supposed to contact airbnb the 1st night so they could find another place for us to stay?!
I will never use airbnb again.
btw - Alan/Edward/Eddie is still a host.
