Sunday, December 30, 2012

Ahavia's Apology

If you read my previous ranting post on Ahavia Lounge Spa's Bad Customer Service, here is Part 2.

The owner of Ahavia Spa sent me three private messages through facebook to apologize.

Sent at 4:44am
Hi this is Carlo the owner of the spa please expound on why the customer service was bad so we could improve our service to you guys.  Sorry for whatever happened and I hope I can help and please send feedback like this as a message to our fan age that is the purpose of that added feature of facebook the recommendation section is for fans and positive feedback about a product, company, person or service.  Thank you and have a good day.

Sent at 5:08am
Nevermind I read your blog I am really sorry for the wait for the room since we only have 3 VIP rooms that's the reason we expanded and yes the customer did extend their service in the one room with the three beds. Please accept some services that maybe you could blog about plus 300 pesos worth of service for the VIP room for you and your friends.
Yes you are right groupon really is a problem for us that's why I want to stop doing marketing through them... We barely make money from those services on groupon and since we have a rather high customer traffic at the moment (this is why we are opening a bigger branch in the QC area and more branches in the future) Which I think shouldn't have been done during the Christmas season but groupon insisted (since more people are open on buying and spending during the Christmas season...) because they make 50% of every sale they make example their sale price is 300 pesos only 150 goes to the company which barely covers costs since they give a 60% discount from the retail price... It might be a good way of promoting new companies but not one with a already high customer volume.
and I would sincerely ask for you to repeal your blog since we are a new company (only 4 years old) that you should admit gives a better ambience at the same price of nuat thai, ton ton's and montalbo and we are the only company that really listens to customer feedback and takes it to heart, hence this message for you. I personally message every person who gives negative feedback and try to fix it, but when it is dues to parameters like the needing to expand bit this will take some time.  We have 50 plus or more employees in this branch alone so you would know the responsibility put on me to feed 50 families because I believe aside from constant change and growth the more mouths a business feeds the more positive aura it radiates.
I should tell the concierge to not be so strict with the soap but yes those steps where done for virality. I'm gonna look into a new way of doing this or spend to have an online app done for or fan page so everything is automated.
The numbering thing is a new addition to the spa if you noticed on the counter there is a digital display with numbers on it, We just started applying it yesterday. Since we have a lot of clients pouring in sometimes people would rush to the counter and say they came first. This is like the system they have a globe and banks for queuing clients and maintaining order
Please give us another chance. I am sorry for this experience.
Sent at 5:26am
and yes the one getting the massage was one of my partners and me but andrew didn't inform us that there was a reservation for that time.... So it is all my fault please accept my sincerest apologies.

My reply through this post
Hi Carlo, 
First, thank you very much or your sincere apology. It's good to know someone at the spa thinks about your customers. However, I would like to clarify a few things.
1. Thank you for offering use of the VIP room, but we already told Andrew we were not interested in it. It's only because we know from experience how hard it is to book a room, even with an appointment because we had to wait a long time before we were given one. 
Also, when we asked for something complementary for making us wait, we wanted to feel that the spa valued it's customers. That's why it didn't sit right when Andrew left for the day without leaving us any letter telling us how we'll be compensated or gift certificate after he promised us a complimentary service. Getting our names is really insincere because he had our names already. We were the group that had to wait 2 hours for our treatment.
2. About the soap at the concierge. I just want to explain, the issue is NOT the soap. It's about the execution of your viral facebook promotion. I did it myself before coming so I know that doing 7 steps is not easy. Just so you can qualify for the raffle. I don't think that people are joining for the soap. However, when you put it in the last step that you get the raffle ticket and the soap, your concierge must have a system to be able to check that you've done all 7 steps when you arrive, or at the very least, they should have it ready for you  and remind you about it before you leave. If your customers take time to join, your concierge should pro-actively do her part. And I wholeheartedly agree you need to check, since those who join would have better chances of winning if you only give the raffle ticket to those who did all the steps. Hahaha. 
Now, I also understand why the concierge was not able to do it. It's because she is the person entertaining all the mad customers, who also needs to answer the phone at the same time. But that is not an excuse. You should hire more people so your customers don't have to wait long with a number (it really sets the wrong tone for a spa), and you should only run viral promos that you can facilitate.
3. There seems to be an inconsistency in your 5:08pm reply where the customer extended in the VIP room we used, and your last message at 5:26pm where you said it was you and one of your partners getting the massage. Plus the additional inconsistency that Andrew didn't tell you there were customers waiting and he telling us that we only had to wait 20 minutes, then telling us again that he was knocking on your door for an hour. It just makes the customers feel that they are being lied to when it seems like the statements told to us are conflicting with each other.
Anyway, I just want to thank you again for your apology. No need to give me anything complimentary. I did not write my post to extort anything. I just wanted to share my experience. 
As an expanding business, I wish you the best of luck, and hope that you use our feedback to improve your services so that you can make the most of the ambiance you have, by creating good vibes for your customers and not additional stress :) just saying.



No comments:

Post a Comment