Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/10/19/expedia-cancels-family-vacatio.html
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4 Likes
Well, YES, this happened, but police or federal agents would NEVER abuse their access to data in such a fashion!
theyd never email the family thats a rookie mistake
37 Likes
Man, why are people even getting access to their survey results? That’s how you get shit like this.
At least they seem to be getting taken care of by Expedia, but daaaaaaaamn.
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Expedia cancels family vacation flight, emails “Fuck You”
Honesty is the best policy.
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Rating surveys are weird in the modern world. I think I first discovered that a decade ago on eBay, where not giving the absolute highest ranking to sellers or buyers seemed to make them angry. I haven’t dared to give my Lyft or Uber drivers less than 5 stars in consequence.
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Warning: link has an auto-playing video.
Also, this:
…should have been a giant red flag.
20 Likes
Looks like they have been hiring ex-Comcast employees!
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Survey results are serious business.
I know in some instances surveys are tied directly to compensation (for instance, at the car dealership I go to I’ve been told that anything less than an 8 out of 10 means they risk losing their commission and will get a stern talking to by the boss.)
I think this is awful. Survey metrics are treated like some all important infallible piece of data when as anybody who has read a negative Amazon or Yelp review can tell you there’s plenty of room for error.
I just don’t bother with surveys anymore.
28 Likes
I do, but mostly for the public transit system because I know I’m only one of a few hundred that likely go on and fill them out. It means I’m likely to get what I want as a result…
6 Likes
Boy, I was about to take the hit for “Unpopular opinion OTD” but it looks like you beat me to it, Ficus.
Yeah, the “F-you” comment posted directly to the customer was over the top. My guess is the CSR who handled the call was on their way out the door and knew it, but I also know that metrics in practically every sales department are geared in a way that they’re impossible to meet. That way, the outsourcer (And I’m pretty sure this is outsource CS, but if someone from Expedia would like to prove me wrong I’ll happily recant) can fire you whenever they please and claim they had a valid reason to do so.
Source: I’ve worked for plenty of CSPs and the tactics never change. And they love New Mexico as we’re a Right-to-work, At-Will state.
Leeches. At least vampires buy you a glass of wine first.
21 Likes
I find this bit hilarious, since Expedia relentlessly robocalls me, despite the fact that I have never done any business with them.
9 Likes
I know.
On my scale, I would consider the following accurate:
- 1/5 - You done screwed up. I won’t be coming back, even if I can’t find an alternative.
- 2/5 - You did a fairly poor job, or didn’t do everything that you should have, given what I paid for. I will actively look for a better place to go next time, but may come back if there isn’t a better option.
- 3/5 - You did exactly what I paid you to do, no more , no less, and did an adequate job. I might return, but I see no reason to be particularly loyal.
- 4/5 - You did what I paid you to do, plus some nice extra things, but nothing that I wouldn’t expect. I will probably return, unless I hear a phenomenal rave review of someplace else.
- 5/5 - You did something above and beyond my expectations. I am definitely coming back.
The problem with the 5/5 is that anything unexpected, done repeatedly, becomes expected. Even if I were to give someone a 5/5 score once, the next time that I’d come in, they’d have to wow me again to get a 5/5 score.
“Less than 8/10 (4/5) is a fail,” I can deal with. You’re striving for “better than the average competition,” which is exactly what 4/5 means to me. But I’ve had people telling me to fill out a review, and saying that anything less than a perfect score is a fail.
I would rather not fill out a survey than give someone all perfect scores when they haven’t wowed me. And generally, I don’t fill out the survey, if that’s what they’re asking me to do.
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Your scale makes a lot of sense. You’ve applied a value to each of the five options.
Unfortunately, the five star system is actually a binary system for most companies that rely on reviews. 1-3 are negative; 4 and 5 are positive. It doesn’t take many negatives to cause someone to lose her job or to drive a company or subcontractor out of business.
From your perspective, you’re saying, “everything’s fine; nothing to see here.” From the perspective of the company reading the review, you’re saying, “this person failed to properly meet expectations and should be terminated.”
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Ebay counts a DSR score of less than 5/5 as a defect they can punish the seller with. It’s directly tied to how ebay grades the seller, and as a result the financial incentives and monthly beatings you get.
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I don’t even mind 4/5 and 5/5 being positive, and the rest negative. As I said, with a score of 3/5, I very well might not be coming back. If they want to improve things to the point where I will be coming back, they just have to be better than adequate. Do this, and I’ll score them accordingly, and give them a 4. My objection is to those companies that say that 4/5 is a negative score. That is utterly ridiculous.
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This is why I only fill out these surveys if I have good things to say. It’s hard enough trusting people you know, let alone the corporate policies of a dotcom.
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We use a few of those restaurant delivery apps, and one of them would ONLY allow you to leave a negative review. My husband was upset because I was trying to rate the driver as “excellent”, not realizing the “review” button was only for negatives.
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Surveys determine what things you value. Companies reason that if you value something they can charge you for it. I’ve stopped answering them.
I get particularly pissed at the ones that promise you a reward for answering and then waste your time secretly “qualifying” you so they can dump you if they don’t like your demographic.
Adobe, for example.
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Those are all scams, they aren’t actually Expedia.
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Good to know. I shall redirect my rage accordingly.
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