Customers often take to social media to share their grievances regarding a certain product they are facing issues with. But a Chennai-based Senior Consultant, who had a rough experience with hospitality company Oyo, didn't want to stop at a tweet or a Facebook post.
Recently, Mohamed Najiullah, who was using the hotel service to celebrate his first wedding anniversary in Havelock Island, Andamans, complained that he had such a 'bad experience' that he actually ended up setting up an entirely new website called oyo-ruined-my-anniversary.com.
"Here's a website I created just to voice out how Oyo ruined my first wedding anniversary," Najiullah on his Facebook page.
Since its inception in 2013, Oyo Hotels and Homes or simply known as Oyo has grown into one of the largest hotel chains in the world. With its simple motto of "hassle-free" transparent pricing and online booking, it has become the abode for young couples and vacationing families alike across the world.
That, however, hasn't stopped the backlash. Last month, two hoteliers in from Karnataka filed separate police complaints accusing Oyo of deceitfully increasing commissions. They accused Oyo's 25-year-old founder and CEO, Ritesh Agarwal of fraud.
On his website, the customer detailed how he arrived at the Hotel Lee Meridian resort in Andamans with his spouse and family only to be turned away by the "polite yet furious" hotel manager who said the hotel was apparently dealing with payment issues from Oyo's end.
"I showed him my booking and he responded saying that there were some payment issues with Oyo. Apparently Oyo has been sending guests to his hotel for a price that was unacceptable to him. And he had written to Oyo nearly a month ago regarding this and received no proper answer," the customer wrote.
This was when Najiullah, the customer, contacted the Oyo executive and handed his phone over to the manager to resolve the payment issue in order to confirm his booking at the hotel. Instead, he wrote, the executive put the call on hold and eventually the line went dead.