It's raining, so the customer wants money back - Blog
Posted on Thursday, November 2, 2017We still hear it sometimes as a reason why a sloop, bike or scooter rental company does not want to be bookable online. "We are hospitable, so if a customer has made a reservation and it rains then that customer can cancel it for free. When they book and pay online then I have to go and return the money and that's such a hassle..."
First of all, you can choose to have a reservation made even without payment. But this way you run the risk of someone not showing up and thus blocking your materials. Second, the customer likes to pay in advance. Because then they are sure of the reservation, and this is what makes them feel good. This is an eye-opener for many companies. Often, online reservations and payments are not considered proper, while customers expect this. In addition, many reservations are made at the last minute. People already look at the weather forecast. 44% make reservations a day in advance, 28% on the day itself and the rest often a few days in advance. In fact, the weather determines when people make reservations or not. So you can also choose to book online only today and yesterday. You are then assured of your money, revenue and that the customer will show up.
But you also have to be realistic: how many times a year does it happen that a customer wants his money back because it rains? If this is a high number, you can, for example, indicate this in the general terms and conditions or you reschedule the reservation free of charge or for a small fee. This alone can be called hospitable.
Oh yes, by the way, with LeisureKing we found an easy way to deposit the money back, just through Pay.nl (the online bank where we manage our money matters for everyone). Settled with the click of a button. So technically it's nothing more than a small operation, should you still like to deposit money back. The time this takes is disproportionate to the many phone calls you normally get when people make reservations with you by phone or email.
Booking and paying online does not have much to do with refunds as excuses. In fact, there are many other reasons to not book online. It all has to do with whether you actually want it. Ok, then let's cite an example to dispel all prejudices. 19 years ago you may have been asked if you wanted to be on the Internet with your business. Then you probably said, and many with you, why should I follow this technology? I'm in the yellow pages, right? And everybody looks in there, right? And today practically every business has a website. This will also apply to online booking and payment in a few years. Your business will also become bookable online, because your customer will want to book your services online through many platforms and other channels. There are many reasons not to do it, but there is one reason to definitely set it up tomorrow: the customer wants it, whether it rains or not.
