Customer Feedback Management in Tourism

Had an insightful conversation over the weekend with a colleague about a common pitfall in CX programs: relying solely on surveys and ignoring other valuable insights. Here are some key takeaways: Ease of Implementation Surveys are easy to deploy and manage, providing quantifiable data that’s simple to analyze. This makes them an attractive option for many organizations, especially those with limited resources. Tradition and Comfort Many companies stick to surveys because it’s what they’ve always done. Changing this entrenched practice can be challenging, especially if the leadership team prefers traditional methods. Resource Constraints Surveys can be cost-effective, making them appealing for smaller organizations that may not have the budget for more sophisticated tools. Organizational Silos Feedback often gets trapped within departmental silos, preventing insights from being shared and acted upon. Lack of Ownership Without clear ownership of the feedback loop, survey results can end up being ignored. It’s crucial to have designated teams responsible for analyzing feedback and driving action. Inadequate Analytics Capabilities Many companies lack the analytical capabilities - people and tech - to turn survey data into meaningful insights. Cultural Resistance Taking action on feedback requires change, which can be met with resistance. Companies need a culture of continuous improvement to effectively address feedback. Short-Term Focus Organizations sometimes prioritize short-term gains over long-term improvements, leading to reluctance in making significant changes based on feedback. Here is where we ended in terms of actions to take: 1. Integrate Multiple Data Sources: Combine survey data with digital analytics, social listening, and customer journey mapping for a comprehensive view of the customer experience. 2. Foster a Customer-Centric Culture: Encourage leadership commitment, employee training, and recognition programs that reward customer-centric behavior. 3. Invest in Analytics: Enhance analytics capabilities to turn data into actionable insights. 4. Close the Feedback Loop: Implement a closed-loop feedback system and communicate changes to customers. 5. Design Thinking and Customer Co-Creation: Use design thinking methodologies to deeply understand customer needs and co-create solutions. 6. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Promote collaboration across departments to discuss feedback and develop action plans. 7. Measure Impact and Iterate: Continuously measure the impact of changes and iterate to improve further. What are you doing to get out of the CX-as-a-survey (CXaaS) trap? #customerexperience #cx #surveys #analytics #designthinking #customercentric

The Voice of the Customer (VoC) can be your secret weapon in making smarter decisions. This valuable data is a treasure trove of insights that can help analysts truly understand what customers are thinking. Whether it comes from online reviews, social media posts, or survey responses, VoC data provides real-time feedback on what matters most to your target audience. But simply collecting this data isn't enough; it's important to analyze and make sense of it. This is where tools like Topic Models come into play. See the example below used to visualize three of the themes that emerged from a few thousand hotel reviews posted by customers to an online review site. These models categorize feedback into important themes such as pricing, customer service, or product quality, allowing you to uncover the driving forces behind customer sentiment by seeing the words they use when speaking about that theme. Topic Models can also be combined with quantitative data like star ratings or sentiment analysis, which measures the intensity of customer perception and emotions. By carefully analyzing VoC data, you can turn unstructured feedback into actionable insights that can improve your products, refine your marketing messages, and enhance your customer service based on what your customers are really saying. You’ll not only be listening to your customers — you’ll be learning from them, too. Art+Science Analytics Institute | University of Notre Dame | University of Notre Dame - Mendoza College of Business | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | University of Chicago | D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University | ELVTR | Grow with Google - Data Analytics #Analytics #DataStorytelling

A 1-star review. 3 sleepless nights. And the $120,000 lesson every business owner should hear. It all started with a notification: “New Yelp Review: 1 Star.” A CEO of a well-loved restaurant told us about the gut-punch feeling of seeing a 1-star Yelp review from a first-time guest. The complaint? Slow service, the order was wrong & no one seemed to care. The CEO’s first reaction was defensiveness. The restaurant was packed that night. The servers were hustling. Mistakes happen, right? But instead of dismissing the review, he did something unusual: He publicly replied on Yelp, sincerely apologizing and owning the mistake. Privately, he tracked down the guest’s contact information and personally reached out. Invited the guest back, promising a totally different experience. Two weeks later, the guest returned. This time, the CEO personally greeted the table, the staff delivered exceptional service, and dessert was on the house. At the end of the meal, the guest handed the CEO a business card: “I’m actually the executive assistant to our CEO. We host multiple client dinners every quarter, and I was tasked with scoping out new venues. I initially wrote you off, but your personal response changed my mind.” Since then? That restaurant has hosted over $120,000 in corporate dinners for that one company alone. Here’s what the CEO told me he learned: Every complaint is an opportunity in disguise. It’s not about being perfect— it’s about responding perfectly. One genuine apology can open doors a perfect meal never could. Today, he reminds his staff: Hospitality isn’t just about good food or ambiance. It’s about being humble enough to make things right. Because sometimes, your harshest critic can become your best customer. And your biggest opportunities arrive disguised as your worst moments. The best leaders never forget that.

The other day, something rare happened. An employer gave us a mediocre review after an event. Not bad, just not the level of satisfaction we’re used to. We didn’t dwell on it - we leaned into it. Here’s what we do when we get constructive feedback: First, we share it with the team - immediately. Everyone needs to know where we can improve. Then, we take action. In this case, we reached out to the employer directly and said: "Tell us everything. What happened? How could we do better?" The employer’s response was eye-opening. First, the issue turned out to be much smaller than we initially thought - a minor hiccup, really. Second, the employer was blown away by how seriously we took their input. They appreciated that we didn’t just listen - we acted. By the end of the conversation, they were not only satisfied but impressed. Our quick response turned a so-so review into a moment of trust and connection. Moments like this are why we have a clear process for handling feedback: Share it. Act on it. Improve from it. It’s more than customer service - it’s about showing that we value input and take it seriously. Internally, it reinforces a culture of accountability and action. Externally, it builds trust and loyalty. If you’re serious about serving your customers, don’t just hear them. Act. It’s the difference between good service and great relationships.

NPS is a signal — not a strategy. Surveys give you a snapshot. A useful one. But when they become your entire Voice of Customer program, you’re not listening — you’re sampling. And you're likely missing the real story. Because the biggest drivers of churn and loyalty? They rarely show up in a score. They show up in other voice of customer sources. Support tickets when service breaks down. Complaints about clunky flows or missing features. Drop-off behavior when processes create friction. Reviews and cancellations that highlight what the product promised — but didn’t deliver. A balanced Voice of Customer strategy includes:  • Structured surveys for signals  • Unstructured feedback for depth  • Behavioral data to explore segments and journeys  • A unified view to tie it all together  • Closed-loop systems to prioritize action and measure results That’s how you move from reporting issues to actually fixing them. A modern CX strategy needs to connect the dots across service, process, and product. And that’s what we help companies do at Birdie AI. One of our clients — a leading digital bank — used Birdie to analyze feedback across all channels and found a hidden driver of churn tied to a specific onboarding step. In just weeks, they redesigned the flow and cut churn by 12%, while reducing ticket volume by 18%. Why? Because they stopped relying only on survey data and started listening to everything. Surveys are welcome at the table. But if they're running the kitchen, your customer experience is starving for real insight.

Not sure if your guests are into the tour? Ask them. You'd be surprised how few guides actually stop to check in on their guests beyond a general, 'Everything ok?' or 'Everyone having a good time?' When guests are asked that most will automatically answer, 'Fine.' Not wanting to rock the boat and assuming that nothing can be changed at this point. It's actually a great guest experience if you stop midway through the tour and ask, "So I'm curious, how is the tour going so far, is it what you expected? Was anyone expecting anything else?" It makes you look confident, not unsure. You can do this as a group, or find time to ask each guest individually (possible even on a short walking tour). By asking specifically, "Were you expecting anything else?" It offers a less intimidating invitation for guests to share what they might have been expecting. By asking midway, it gives you time to cover (if possible) what they WERE expecting. You can even answer guests with a, 'Hold tight then, we're actually going to cover exactly that topic a little later'. https://buff.ly/3Lokj7Y #tourguides #customerexperience #toursandactivities

I'm usually pretty successful at turning guest complaints around or making them work to my advantage. Here's what I do: 1) Match or exceed the guest's level of concern. Don't downplay. Be as concerned or more concerned than the guest appears, even if the issue is easily solved. 70% of the time, the guest will either feel seen, or they will start to downplay their own issue. 2) If it's not an emergency, don't offer a solution first. Instead, ask a clarifying question. This regularly stops me from over-solving an issue with excess money or time. This also puts the ball in the court of less responsive guests, who then have to decide if the problem is worth the conversation. 3) Be very grateful that the guest is keeping an eye on the property. I often provide context, like saying "Our guests almost never tell us when something is wrong. Thanks for respecting the place and treating it like your own home!" Guests will often feel a sense of responsibility for a home they have been praised for protecting. So a conversation might go like this: Guest: "You don't have enough towels." You: "Oh no! I'm so sorry about that. Let's get this fixed for you. Did you guys already get the towels from the linen closet?" Guest: "Didn't realize there was a linen closet. We're fine." OR Guest: "Your refrigerator is dirty." You: "Thank you so much for telling me! That's not acceptable. We maintain a high cleanliness standard, so hopefully this was an one-time incident. Would you kindly send a photo of the issue? Are there any other problem areas? Let me know if you'd like to have us come by to clean it now." Guest: "We already took care of it. No other issues. Place is great!" You: "We're so glad you like it! Thank you for actually looking out for these issues and treating this place like your own. We know you'll be a good guest!"

A layover in Istanbul turned into an innovation masterclass: Ignore customer pain, and innovation boards another flight. Read on and turn every complaint into your next breakthrough idea. 30+ years, 40 countries, 650 projects later, one truth keeps cashing cheques: The biggest innovations start with the smallest customer pains. Last Friday, I boarded a Turkish Airlines redeye from Bogotá to Riyadh. I was flying there to deliver two high-stakes negotiation workshops for a major Saudi corporation. I anticipated exhaustion, jet lag, and the dread of an 8-hour layover in Istanbul. Even the business lounge felt like fancy purgatory. Then I met Mauricio, a fellow Colombian. “Let’s tour Istanbul,” he said. But excitement vanished into stress: immigration queues, security checks, the fear of missing my next flight. Yet Turkish Airlines had already innovated around exactly this pain. They recognized layovers weren’t just idle hours; they were untapped opportunities. Their fix? Free (and worry-free) city tours: lunch overlooking Hagia Sophia, a Bosphorus cruise, and guaranteeing we’d be back in time. This wasn’t luck. It was innovation meticulously driven by genuine customer pain: 🤕 Pain point: Passengers despised wasted hours. 💡Relevant innovation: Tours that perfectly targeted travelers’ anxieties. 💝 Customer loyalty: They didn’t just solve my problem; they transformed me into an enthusiastic advocate. 📈 Continuous improvement: Regular refinement based on real passenger experiences. Turn your customer complaints into your innovation lab. Don’t just fix problems, transform them into delight. That’s my recent innovation insight from my flight to Saudi Arabia. What customer frustration has sparked innovation in your business? Share your story below! ♻️ If you found inspiration here, please hit repost to help others uncover their next big idea!  

Asking customers for feedback can be seamlessly integrated into any customer conversation. How? Through the structured framework known as the 1x1 Feedback Model. The 1x1 Feedback Model, named for its focus on drawing out one “did well” and one “do differently” from customers, is designed to help us get a sense of our customer’s preferences and how we can best serve them. To do this, we form a FEEDBACK ALLIANCE with our customers. It embodies a commitment to open communication, active listening and actionable feedback for continuous improvement. Within this Alliance, you and your customers establish a framework for collecting, analyzing and acting upon feedback. This framework includes defining the specific aspects of your performance or services on which you'd like to receive continuous feedback, as well as outlining the desired outcomes or goals of the feedback process. How do we go about creating Feedback Alliances and implementing the 1x1 Feedback Model in Customer Conversations? 1️⃣ Start with a Commitment: Open your conversation with a commitment to continuous improvement. Example: "My goal is to make each meeting better than the last. May I ask for your feedback at the end of our meeting to achieve this?" 2️⃣ Wrap Up with Feedback: As the meeting concludes, reinforce your commitment and remind your customer that you would like their feedback. Consider asking questions like, "What part of the meeting had the biggest impact?" and "What was missing that would have amplified the success of this meeting?" 3️⃣ Tips for Receiving Feedback: 📌 Stay patient and open. Give your customer space to share without interrupting. 📌 Avoid becoming defensive, justifying yourself or interrupting your customers when they are providing you with their feedback. 📌 Say thank you. Feedback is a gift! 📌 Take notes! Write down the feedback immediately. This ensures you don't miss out on valuable insights and demonstrates your commitment to making improvements. Remember, asking customers for feedback is about understanding their needs better to serve them. Creating customer Feedback Alliances is not only about soliciting feedback, it's about co-creating value with your customers, leveraging their insights to drive innovation, and ultimately, building stronger, more meaningful relationships. #Sales #Feedback #Partnerships