I was halfway into “Lost” when an alarm blared in my hotel room. A recorded voice told me to exit the hotel using the stairs. I did what most people probably do, which was check the hallway and look out the window. I didn’t see or smell a fire. I started putting my shoes on when a different voice announced that we should stay where we were while they assessed the threat. I watched “Lost.” A few minutes later, the first voice once again demanded that we leave the building. I was on the 17^th floor and was in no hurry to comply, but I finished getting my shoes on, grabbed my wallet, phone, and briefcase, and headed for the stairs. I never got there: The second voice explained that it was a false alarm and we could return to our rooms.

A month later I stayed in the same hotel. Same thing happened, although they were more efficient this time: They told us to ignore the alarm before I could get my shoes on.

The next morning, the hotel forgot my wake-up call.

When they sent an email asking me to take a short survey, I did, explaining why the false alarms and missed call accounted for the low scores and the likelihood that I wouldn’t stay there again.

A week later I received an email from one of the hotel’s managers apologizing for the alarms and missed call and promising changes to keep both from happening. He offered a coupon for a night’s stay the next time I was in the city. I took him up on it.

In “Hotels Answer Online ‘Tidal Wave of Whispers’” (USA Today, March 25, 2010), TripAdvisor states that less than 4% of negative reviews of hotels at its site get a response. And that’s after a 203% increase in responses from the previous year.

Some hotels are realizing that negative reviews are opportunities to lure back disgruntled customers and identify and correct the problems that upset them. Hilton is testing software that aggregates reviews on Web sites, blogs, and other social media sites. Marriott and Marriott-brand hotels monitor more than a dozen Web sites and list key phrases such as bedbugs, eviction, and security that get immediate attention.

Those hotels that are ignoring 96% of online negative reviews are missing an opportunity to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, find and fix issues, and improve performance. And in this economy, who can afford to do that?

To read more about customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction, click on these articles:

• Be Careful How You Measure Customer Satisfaction
• Walk in Your Customer’s Body Armor
• Lessons Learned from Dell Hell
• 9 Ways to Get Closer to Customers
• Word of Mouse

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