When Eileen Landauer’s hotel in Jasper, Canada, was evacuated because of a wildfire last summer, she faced more than a battle with her online travel agency for a refund.
Landauer, an accountant from Palo Alto, Calif., also had to endure several “no-reply” emails from Booking.com — a polite way of saying, “Don’t bother writing back.”
There was an email acknowledging her complaint, to which she couldn’t reply. And another one asking her what she thought of the service she received (not much, it turns out). But this email, too, was a “no-reply.”
“The process is opaque, time-consuming and difficult,” she says. “I’ve reached a point of exhaustion.”
“No reply” emails are on the rise
Experts say travel companies have been putting roadblocks in front of their customers lately. They include “no-reply” emails, unhelpful chatbots, and seemingly endless phone trees. But among the most alarming are the “no-reply” messages.
“Instead of improving efficiency, these impersonal messages create frustration,” says Mario Matulich, president of CMP, a customer service consultancy. “They force customers to navigate numerous chatbots, play phone tag, or even resort to posting on social media just to be heard.”
Booking.com did not respond to multiple requests for a comment about its “no-reply” emails. Landauer’s case is another matter. I’ll tell you what happened with that in a moment.
Her problem exposes a growing challenge among travelers: Why are we getting these announcements that we can’t respond to? If you get a “no-reply” email, how do you get through to a real person? And what do all of these messages say about customer service, anyway?
Why are more travel companies sending “no-reply” emails to their customers?
For companies, the “no-reply” email is about efficiency, says Matulich, “or at least the illusion of it.”
“Businesses implement these automated responses to reduce inbound volume, streamline workflows, and push customers toward self-service options,” he says.
The problem is, “no-reply” emails don’t always work, especially for travelers. Often, customers need an immediate answer because of an upcoming flight or stay, and not being able to respond to a message is frustrating.
“No-reply emails send a terrible message,” says Liviu Tanase, CEO of ZeroBounce, an email validation platform for businesses. “‘We want you to shop with us, but we don’t want to hear from you. At a time when customer experience is everything, making it harder for people to reach you is bad business.”
It’s also bad customer service. Tanase says “no-reply” emails can trigger spam filters and miss the inbox. Since consumers tend to mark these emails as spam, other no-reply emails may automatically be directed to the spam folder–including essential communication like booking confirmations.
How do you get around a ‘no-reply’ email?
Fortunately, there are easy ways around a no-reply message from an airline, car rental company or hotel.
First, you have to understand that the “no-reply” email may not bounce back. Some businesses create a “no-reply” email address to discourage people from responding, but they do, in fact, monitor the replies. So you might start by doing something counterintuitive and replying to the no-reply email.
But there are other ways to get around these silly emails:
Switch channels. “Dig through the website for a live chat, a phone number, or an email that takes replies,” says Harry Folloder, the chief digital and technology officer for Alorica, a customer service technology company. Often, companies will provide those in the same thread or in your confirmation.
Go social. “If you absolutely can’t find a direct line of connection, take to social media,” recommends Rob Gold, vice president of Marketing Communications, a cloud communications platform. “Then DM them or comment publicly. The latter tends to get a quicker response because you’re having that conversation in front of potentially thousands of people.” Remember to keep your communication polite and to the point.
Appeal to a higher level. Emily Dreilich, a frequent traveler and travel advisor, says if she’s getting nowhere with the conventional channels, she takes her requests straight to the top by finding executive contact emails. “I use customer advocacy sites like Elliott Advocacy,” she told me. Aw, thanks. My team and I spend a lot of time finding the right company contact, and reaching out to an executive often helps resolve a problem quickly.
Point is, just because an airline or hotel says it doesn’t want to hear from you doesn’t mean you have to stay quiet.
What “no-reply” means to this consumer advocate
Whenever I get a “no-reply” email from a company, I see both sides. Usually, the email is an FYI — a confirmation or quick notification. It’s not an invitation to start a dialogue, and often, there are other ways to contact the company, like a web-based chat At the same time, a “no-reply” email feels like a lecture, an invitation to shut up and listen: “Here’s a message — we don’t care what you think.”
So when I see “no-reply” messages like the ones Landauer received, I understand why the company is sending them, but at the risk of repeating myself, it’s bad customer service.
For Landauer, the woman trying to get a refund after her hotel was evacuated, the “no-reply” emails proved to be prescient. Even though she eventually got through to a real person at Booking.com, no one could find her money. I asked the companies to check again, and this time, Booking.com returned the money.
Christopher Elliott is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes Elliott Confidential, a travel newsletter, and the Elliott Report, a news site about customer service. If you need help with a consumer problem, you can reach him here or email him at chris@elliott.org.