Las Vegas
When most of us write on our friend’s Facebook wall, or inform them via a tweet about a product we’re not happy with, or service that’s been particularly poor, chances are all we want to do is simply let our pal know they should avoid the poor quality goods/venue in question. Well, in an effort to fight back against dissatisfied consumers and, dare we say it, actually improve customer service, certain Las Vegas casino companies have been answering customers queries online, using various social media sites.
The Las Vegas Sun has reported that the casino management at The Mirage have been busy setting up a Facebook profile for fans (and enemies) of the casino to join and Wynn Las Vegas have been busy tweeting newcomers to Vegas via Twitter.com. In the case of the latter, the LV Sun reported that no sooner had one tourist suggested she’d just landed in Las Vegas, Wynn’s PR team were replying back to her, proposing that she should “come on over” to their resort, as she “won’t be disappointed”.
While the majority of customers tend to be happy with the Las Vegas casino experience, there are those who experience poor service, or simply play games that aren’t paying out. Well, in an effort to embrace online democracy, the major players in this new era of Las Vegas social media are allowing disgruntled consumers to have their say. The LV Sun reported that South Point Casino allowed a comment suggesting that their slots we’re particularly tight to appear online and because of this, numerous players backed the casino up, with one suggesting that “If you don’t like the South Point that much — then just don’t go there. But the rest of us LOVE the place ... better luck next time.”
The aforementioned example just shows how casinos realise that in order to please players they have to actually discuss issues with them. Due to the very nature of websites such as Twitter and Facebook, this can be done instantly and in some respects is much easier than a 5 minute courtesy call. Harrah’s, who’ve also emerged as a social media player in the past few months, told the Las Vegas newspaper that the “reality is, customers are going to talk about our brands with or without us”, noting that they “want to be part of that dialogue.” Presumably, other casinos on the Strip who aren’t already online will be eager to enter the social media marketplace after reading that their competitors have already been approaching prospective customers as soon as they land in the gambling capital.
