Should I delete my customer service blog?

Alistair Young had a problem. He booked a room through the Comfort Inn site and paid $225, but then found the same room elsewhere online for just $174.

Comfort had a best rate guarantee, which he invoked. The hotel turned him down, citing fine print in its agreement. So he started a blog called Keeping Choice Hotels Honest. (Choice owns the Comfort Inn brand.)

He also asked me for help, and I referred him to this wiki, where he obtained the executive contacts for Comfort Inn and appealed to them.

Comfort came through. He received the following email from them last week:

I apologize for the confusion regarding your E-rate submission. I was able to change your rate for your reservation at the Comfort Suites Paradise Island for July 23 for four nights. Your daily rate is now $156.18. Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention, we appreciate your patronage.

A happy ending. But now what?

Young wondered,

Do you think I should remove the blog that I started or leave it there for others – if this was a genuine mistake I would take it down, but if they are just appeasing me because I put up a fight then it might serve others? Any thoughts?

Ah, great question! And one I’ll let you answer in a moment.

First, though, a few thoughts about online censorship. I’m asked to delete material on my blog all the time, and I almost never do.

If someone writes to me as a journalist, and doesn’t specifically ask me not to use their name or story, it’s all on the record. (As a matter of practice, I almost always ask if it’s OK to write about someone’s story, but I do that as a courtesy.)

I’m not sure if Comfort Inn’s motives matter. The truth matters. If Comfort stonewalled Young for weeks because of a technicality — if that was true — then I don’t see any reason to delete the blog. The site served its purpose: it kept Choice Hotels honest.

This case raises another question, which is how other consumers might be served with a Choice Hotels gripe blog online. If others have similar complaints, wouldn’t this site act as a guide for other rate guarantee claims?

At the same time, I understand how Young must feel. It may be important to put this matter behind him and move on, if not for his own sake, then for the sake of his relationship with Choice Hotels. Deletion may be a prudent diplomatic move.

What do you think? Delete — or not?

(Photo: Old Shoe Woman/Flickr Creative Commons)

  • http://twitter.com/sparklingwit Christopher Wyble

    I wouldn’t delete, unless the error was actually a misunderstanding on Young’s part. If the hotel really was stringing him a long, it’s easy enough to post an entry describing the resolution, and letting the whole thing continue to exist for the sake of posterity. Others will have the same problem someday, and the blog could help to resolve it for them.

  • http://blog.happyflier.com/ Bob

    Keep the blog online and post the letter giving details about the new price. If you are going to complain about them, then you MUST also post that they resolved the issue. You can only speculate as to why they fixed it, but the fact is they did and it should be so noted.

  • Jayne52

    don’t delete it. If anything, it will make people aware if they fight, they can be given the service thy should have been offered in the first place.

  • Rosered7033

    A blog implies an ongoing journal. I vote he posts the resolution for a time, then delete the blog unless he intends to add to it.

  • Anonymous

    I wouldn’t delete it; I’d expand upon it. Why not invite readers to submit their own stories, including whether the situation was resolved to their satisfaction and if so, how it was accomplished. As a consumer, I always welcome helpful personal anecdotes, information, tips, and suggestions, so I say keep it.

  • FLYER

    I vote no.. But I do think that this goes both ways… if it turns out the customer is wrong, or is attempting something dishonest or otherwise (not assumed in this case, but used as illustration). I see nothing wrong at all with the company keeping record of that too… I agree with the truth… but it’s a two way street.. You can’t ask for truth only when it suits your ends..

  • Bill

    What is the “technicality” that Choice pointed to? Is it valid or not? As is the case many times, there is not enough information to make a recommendation.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1556838763 Nancy Marine Dickinson

    This is a double edged sword, IMHO. As a journalist, the public has the right to know the truth, always. My suggestion is: the blogger keep the blog and ask others to share their stories. He can become the ‘voice of the people’ and work towards resolving the issues others have with the Choice hotel chain line.

    The name of the blog is Keeping Choice Hotels Honest, not Keeping Choice Hotels Honest for Just Me. Why stop at being the advocate for just one person when we’re dealing with an industry that demands more accountability.

  • http://twitter.com/travelingiraffe Crissy Maier

    I think an update to the blog is the more appropriate course. Then it shows everyone the whole story. They can then make their own decisions on what happened.

  • suz

    I understand wanting to put it behind him and to focus on more positive elements of life in general. If he wants to keep it up – he should. It is really a personal choice.
    There are plenty of great customer service blogs out there keeping vendors in line. Thanks Chris!

  • Joelw

    I agree with Rosered7033. Once the resolution is posted there is no reason to keep the blog alive. Anyone who has a problem with Choice in the furure can create their own blog.