Webjet = fail

[Jaycee_au]

Didnt have much to say up till now John

Thanks for the Welcome

 

[medhead]

Re: Webjet Wobble

- I do not expect Webjet to do it for me, nor would I expect the Local Travel Agent in the high street to do it for me if I had booked through them!
Once you have booked a flight you keep check with the Airline in question. Most times the Airline you have booked with will keep you up to date with any changes and I do not know how this did not happen in this case.
Webjet is there to get you a good deal in regard to fares and they do this very well.
:idea:
JC

Sorry to say i can't completely agree with this. Yes, the passenger should protect themselves and check for changes. But the fact is that the reason you pay a travel agent is for them to do these things for you. Not only that but the limited number of TA bookings that I have had, when I've contacted the airline to add special requests like kids meals and such, the airline has refused to deal with me and have referred me back to the TA. So even the airlines take the approach of dealing with the pax via the TA. In that case it is, IMO, the role of the TA to do the administrative work.

oh and a belated Welcome to AFF.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Re: Webjet Wobble

Once I have booked my flight its up to me to keep a check on my flight departure dates and time - I do not expect Webjet to do it for me, nor would I expect the Local Travel Agent in the high street to do it for me if I had booked through them!
Once you have booked a flight you keep check with the Airline in question. Most times the Airline you have booked with will keep you up to date with any changes and I do not know how this did not happen in this case.
Webjet is there to get you a good deal in regard to fares and they do this very well.
:idea:
JC

It's quite simple. In this case as the pax booked through an agent the airline chose to communicate those changes back to the agent (Webjet). The only problem is that Webjet failed to pass those schedule changes on to the passenger.

The airline would not have been given the pax details by Webjet to keep them up to date because it is the responsibility of the travel agent to do this on behalf of the client.

Webjet's aim is to make a profit for Webjet first and foremost. If the passenger happens to get a good deal out of it that's an added bonus however that is incidental. Look at their fees on domestic airfares for example - Webjet charge more than anyone else for the 'privilege' when pax would be better off going direct to the airline website concerned.

 

[N860CR]

It's quite simple. In this case as the pax booked through an agent the airline chose to communicate those changes back to the agent (Webjet). The only problem is that Webjet failed to pass those schedule changes on to the passenger.

Exactly, and there is no excuse for Webjet not doing this.

I recently booked a RTW ticket through a travel agent recommended to me by someone here. There was a schedule change (that I actually picked up right away), however before I'd even had a chance to think about it, the TA emailed me the updated flight details and, when I said they weren't acceptable, had them changed right away. This all in the space of about 12 hours.

I don't see why Webjet couldn't handle it!

 

[Cocitus23]

There have been a few posts to this thread commenting that Webjet1 did not adequately establish his/her credentials as an authorised representative of the company. That's true, but it is not the only shortcoming of Webjet1's communications. Did you notice how they were full of spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. They were not at all professional and they hardly inspired confidence in the capability within the company.
Now before some of you start jumping up and down and say that I am being too negative, I will agree that it is excellent that someone from Webjet entered the fray, and even better that they seem to be doing something constructive for their poor client.
But I confess that had I been the OP, I would have read Webjet1's posts and said to myself "Is this fool for real?"

 

[Jaycee_au]

Thanks for the Belated Welcome Medhead and your comments oz

Maybe ive been lucky and none of my flights have been changed, but just know its best practice to check out your flight yourself - I was in UK recently with the Icelandic Dust Cloud debacle and it was chaotic.

Best Regards
JC

 

[markis10]

There have been a few posts to this thread commenting that Webjet1 did not adequately establish his/her credentials as an authorised representative of the company. That's true, but it is not the only shortcoming of Webjet1's communications.

How do you adequately establish your credentials on this board, there are no rep tags, as as per the post by Admin, they have been validated as far as all the other reps have been, so I find your comments very harsh? Most companies have policies against official representation on boards like this,as the trolls and attacks by people with hidden agenda make it a loosing proposition. I am a rep on another board and its a thankless task at times.

Obviously someone has taken onboard the responsibility to follow up and correct a mistake made by someone else at their employer on their own time and initiative (I know for a fact their job description is not forum rep or customer service manager) , why personally attack their posts and pick apart their spelling etc when they got the message across and are busy sorting out the problem for the OP?

AFF is a better place when we have input from company employees regardless of how well they spell, it helps to provide facts when all we have is conjecture for many threads? Do you really think we are going to see more employees participate when they get abused for poor spelling or not validating their identity when there is no process in the first place to do so, short of putting their email address online that will attract the wrong attention, or worse, publish a contact number?

I wish people would stick to posting constructive comments that improve this community, that includes refraining from using the word "fool"!

 

[Cocitus23]

Thanks, markis10 for your reply. Your points are well made and I accept your rebuke. I know that I'm a grumpy old man who is easily set off by the sins of the semi-literate. I guess what surprised me was that Webjet would be so careless in choosing the person to project its public image. To me it gave a poor impression of the organisation.

 

[straitman]

Thanks, markis10 for your reply. Your points are well made and I accept your rebuke. I know that I'm a grumpy old man who is easily set off by the sins of the semi-literate. I guess what surprised me was that Webjet would be so careless in choosing the person to project its public image. To me it gave a poor impression of the organisation.

Cocitus23,

I must agree with markis10 on this. Earlier in this thread I posted: 'I think some people are just too quick to jump up and down rather than looking at the positive possibilities. '

I stand by what I said earlier. Webjet1 was confirmed by admin as having a Webjet address and frankly that was sufficient for me. With regard to the spelling and grammar, I suggest that you look again. What was really wrong? The meaning was obvious with a few words missing here and there and a few sets of fat fingers on the keyboard. It is quite common to see a whole lot worse on this forum on a daily basis.

At the same time I did not take it that Webjet1 was ever a formal representative of Webjet but rather someone with the ability and caring to help solve the situation. I believe that the good that he/she has done far outweighs a few grammatical and spelling errors.

 

[Cocitus23]

OK, Straitman/Bill, I'll accept that.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Re: Webjet Wobble

Once I have booked my flight its up to me to keep a check on my flight departure dates and time - I do not expect Webjet to do it for me, nor would I expect the Local Travel Agent in the high street to do it for me if I had booked through them!
JC

You have got to be kidding! That's going in for the most ridiculous quote of 2010.
There is so much wrong with that statement, l don't know where to begin. Either you work for Webjet, or are someway associated with the Travel Industry.

 

[MelUser]

I won't really respond to last statement other than to say I do check my reservations from time to time via Amadeus Check My Trip or whatever, especially (and with increasing frequency) in the week before departure when I am trying to improve seating, secure an upgrade etc etc.

But, how did Webjet fix the issue which resulted in this thread?

 

[medhead]

Re: Webjet Wobble

You have got to be kidding! That's going in for the most ridiculous quote of 2010.
There is so much wrong with that statement, l don't know where to begin. Either you work for Webjet, or are someway associated with the Travel Industry.

In reading the statement that your referring to you need to remember that it is expressing 2 different ideas. It is clearly the passengers responsibility to protect themselves from a travel agent failing to do they job properly. However, that doesn't absolve the travel agent of their responsibility to do what they are being paid to do.

Both of these ideas are correct and they are not mutually exclusive. For those reasons I can't agree it is a ridiculous statement at all.

Yes, it would be good to know how this situation was resolved.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Re: Webjet Wobble

It is clearly the passengers responsibility to protect themselves from a travel agent failing to do they job properly. However, that doesn't absolve the travel agent of their responsibility to do what they are being paid to do.

Correct.
That's what l was highlighting. When you book through a TA, you would expect them to keep you informed of any changes to the itinerary. JC is of the opposite opinion though, and clearly stating that they DO NOT expect the TA to keep them informed of ANY changes, that's rubbish in my view. I'm sure the FA's have an obligation to keep clients informed of any changes.

 

[straitman]

Re: Webjet Wobble

Correct.
That's what l was highlighting. When you book through a TA, you would expect them to keep you informed of any changes to the itinerary. JC is of the opposite opinion though, and clearly stating that they DO NOT expect the TA to keep them informed of ANY changes, that's rubbish in my view. I'm sure the FA's have an obligation to keep clients informed of any changes.

I'm sure that is something that we all agree on here and it is where Webjet has let themselves (and their reputation) and the OP down on this occasion.

 

[harvyk]

Re: Webjet Wobble

Once I have booked my flight its up to me to keep a check on my flight departure dates and time - I do not expect Webjet to do it for me, nor would I expect the Local Travel Agent in the high street to do it for me if I had booked through them!

Well actually, yes if there is a substantial and foreseeable change in my flight details, then yes I expect the airline or the TA to call me regarding options. I've had a few flights be moved around on me, and each time I have been given a phone call to ask if the new time is still ok, or if there are better flights I can now take.

You cannot simply say to the customer "it's all up to you now, we have absolved our responsibility"

Webjet is there to get you a good deal in regard to fares and they do this very well.
:idea:
JC

No one is denying this fact. It's just again, you can't absolve customer responsibilities and expectations (well you can but it does make you look like a "2 bit operation", and it doesn't really work as a long term survival strategy)

 

[odysseus]

Re: Webjet Wobble

No one is denying this fact.

Actually, I'd deny that too. In a sea of deals theirs are broadly equivalent, and with higher fees than a fair number.

However, I agree with the rest of your comments.

 

[MelUser]

Please - enough squabbling about how far a TA should go after ticket has issued - we all have different views on this.

How did Webjet sought out the issue at hand?

 

[medhead]

Re: Webjet Wobble

It is clearly the passengers responsibility to protect themselves from a travel agent failing to do they job properly. However, that doesn't absolve the travel agent of their responsibility to do what they are being paid to do.

Correct.
That's what l was highlighting. When you book through a TA, you would expect them to keep you informed of any changes to the itinerary. JC is of the opposite opinion though, and clearly stating that they DO NOT expect the TA to keep them informed of ANY changes, that's rubbish in my view. I'm sure the FA's have an obligation to keep clients informed of any changes.

Yes, I understand that and I believe this point was adquately coveredin posts #82 and #83 in ths thread.

I also note that you are selectively ignoring the rest of what I wrote (by you emphasis in the quote) and the reasoning that I've used to say that it is not a ridiculous statement but just a statement that is, IMO, mixing up 2 different ideas.

I'm not objecting to your highlighting of this point, but I do object to your characterising it as the most ridiculous post of the year. I also don't really need you to tell me that I'm correct, I already know that and it has nothing to do with the point I was really making.

 

[markis10]

Re: Webjet Wobble

I also note that you are selectively ignoring the rest of what I wrote

Quoting selective parts of a reply does not mean the rest was being ignored, just not being addressed in the reply, it also makes the thread easier to follow for the rest of us who prefer to be concise rather than verbose.