A Newby FF's review of pre flight service of QF and VA

[Trebmal]

Hi Everyone,

I'm by know means a writer of any sort, however sitting here in QF Brisbane J lounge, I felt that I wanted to add my thoughts to the world about QFF and VA.

I'm reasonably new to the world of FF's. I have however managed to go WP in the few months since Feb this year and must say from my first flight in Feb watching the suits walk behind the frosted doors of QC I wanted in, but was to tight to pay outright. Did my SC numbers and realised I'd be there with SG in 3 months, goal set lets go.

Since attaining WP in August I've enjoyed the bar and quieter room of the J lounge, I have however noticed the service desk continues to lack service. This seems to be my ever constant with QF. I hoped it would get better with rank but not to be. I arrived quite early for my flight today, walking in to the J lounge and asked if there was an earlier flight? From behind the flashy stone desk the customer service lady obliged, with no eye contact or smile to be seen - really love there jobs these QF staff. I asked if an upgrade with points was available - no was the reply. All good, flights quite full can deal with that. Was offered row 36 aisle or window - "I'll take the aisle thanks, anything closer available" I ask, " no that's it" comes the cold reply.

With my AFF experience kicking into gear I sit down and fire up the laptop - what do you know 24a is free - seat change for me thanks - can't print my BP so back to the desk for a new lady (who reminds me of a royal family member well past the used by date.) " can i help " she snaps.......... "Uhhhhh yes, please reprint my boarding pass" - " Why" - " cause I booked a better seat than you colleague offered on line" - I return fire with a smile that will light up your grandma's heart............. just another very typical QF customer service experience.

Last week I was booked on a flight on VA by work with some colleagues and was lucky enough to enter the VA lounge with them. Talk about SERVICE....... greeted with a smile, team members actually wanted to talk even if I was taking them from their path. Low and behold I was asked if i was a member of QFF - I guess the WP bag tag might have given it away....... : ) - on the spot upgrade to VA platinum. While very early days i have booked my next two flights to perth with VA using the J upgrades they handed over freely.

So to bring this piece back to the topic, i am constantly left disappointed by QF customer service - yet VA blows me away. Is it a deal breaker....... not sure but I know that VA is receiving more business for the next 12 months so I have time to weigh up my options. I'm not anti QF I'm just tired of there desk and cabin staff who want to be doing something other than offering me customer service. Why do they stay in these jobs and why does QF MGT allow this poor attitude to continue?????

 

[Warks]

Interesting contrast.
I don't know why but I don't tend to get these negative QF experiences in the last few years. Going back a ways it happened now and again but lately I've had no problems at all. They even let me jump an earlier flight at BNE to SYD when the TSV flight came in early saving me two hours. That was on a cheapo ticket too.

Vermin have the bright eyed and bushy tailed approach down pat now it seems. Some years ago they lost me when they stranded a heap of us at OOL when a storm was on and didn't pay for our hotel stay. QF put their pax on a bus to BNE when it looked like the curfew would be missed. Have not forgiven them yet - a lot of that was due to their appalling customer service at the time.
I have flown with them since on the odd occasion when the price difference has been too great or it's been booked by someone else but not in the past 12 months. Good on them if they've got their act together.

 

[pshepvic]

A couple of weeks ago I walked into the Sydney J lounge, with two guests who'd never been there before and were expecting a great experience.

Well we stood right in front of this grumpy old b**** at the entrance desk for over a minute before she would even look up at the boarding pass for the whole 2 seconds it took to say come in. We were actually almost going to just walk in when she eventually looked up. Next time that happens I will and see what happens. Almost said "sorry to interrupt your busy schedule" but I bit my tongue.

I find the cabin crew on QF have improved in recent years, but generally the ground crew - especially in Sydney - are absolutely appalling.

The exception to that are the staff in the F lounge. Almost can't fault them, apart from the lady at the spa entrance in Sydney again who is always surly.

What is it about Sydney that makes them so grumpy?

 

[connieguy]

Well we stood right in front of this grumpy old b**** at the entrance desk for over a minute before she would even look up at the boarding pass for the whole 2 seconds it took to say come in.

She was saying, "Just walk in". I just hold up the WP card and keep walking. Never have been stopped.

The F lounge is different as they actually scan the WP card and BP and say "Welcome Back Mr. Watson. Your usual massage and then lunch?" Now that is good and something that VA needs to provide in say their Mel (spa area is small but functional) and Syd lounges. Sit down meals and a massage for their WPs. Ah that feels so good.........

 

[Robert K]

Any monkey can get SG these days. Even I have one. So Keep your expectations really low and you won't be disappointed

These ground stuff probably do hate their job. But it's too hard to find new jobs at their age. And there really isnt much qantas can do about it. They can't fire these people.

I guess all we can do is write complaints every time we get bad service and if these underperforming staff get enough complaints against them it will be enough ground for dismissal

 

[pshepvic]

Any monkey can get SG these days. Even I have one. So Keep your expectations really low and you won't be disappointed

These ground stuff probably do hate their job. But it's too hard to find new jobs at their age. And there really isnt much qantas can do about it. They can't fire these people.

I guess all we can do is write complaints every time we get bad service and if these underperforming staff get enough complaints against them it will be enough ground for dismissal

Well, for a start I'm WP so don't think I should have to keep my expectations low, particularly when they are generally exceeded with things like the F lounge.

On the topic of firing people, well it's not really that difficult. Part of the KPIs for their job role would have to include a Customer Service component. If they are not meeting that requirement, it's pretty simple to put them on a performance management plan, and they either have to shape up within the timeframes set out or ship out. Three warnings and they're gone. I've terminated staff for this reason before, and whilst it's not pleasant, it's absolutely necessary for the company.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Interesting discussion.

Mel F int checkin has the best Qantas service (IMHO) but the J lounge in Mel not the best. I was denied an UG there once and went to the general QP deck and received one. How bad is that!!!

Overall I find that if you approach people in a civil way and acknowledge their presence and circumstances then generally you will get treated well.

As for VA, good for them getting their act together. Competition is good for us and will make Qantas management to sharpen up a bit and become more responsive, like priority boarding for WP's. good lord we can take this egalitarian concept too far sometimes!

 

[pshepvic]

Overall I find that if you approach people in a civil way and acknowledge their presence and circumstances then generally you will get treated well.

Absolutely, and in many cases I've benefited from op-ups (domestic & international), better seating, or small touches (like certain people in lounges offering to book spa treatments ahead of time, despite me not flying in F) as a result of this. But I find that is becoming more an exception than the norm. Being completely ignored by someone when I've stood in front of them for a minute and even said good morning to them is just not acceptable. I wouldn't accept that at the counter at McDonalds, let alone in the Qantas J lounge!

 

[TonyHancock]

Interesting discussion.

Mel F int checkin has the best Qantas service (IMHO) but the J lounge in Mel not the best. I was denied an UG there once and went to the general QP deck and received one. How bad is that!!!

Overall I find that if you approach people in a civil way and acknowledge their presence and circumstances then generally you will get treated well.

As for VA, good for them getting their act together. Competition is good for us and will make Qantas management to sharpen up a bit and become more responsive, like priority boarding for WP's. good lord we can take this egalitarian concept too far sometimes!

MEL F check in has been a succession of excellent experiences for me. Bright and bubbly staff, it is a genuinely uplifting experience for me, a great way to start a trip.

BNE DOM J is where my worst experiences have been. Surly staff on the service desk. I'm looking forward to my DJ/VA trip in just over a week.

 

[Sprucegoose]

MEL F check in has been a succession of excellent experiences for me. Bright and bubbly staff, it is a genuinely uplifting experience for me, a great way to start a trip.

BNE DOM J is where my worst experiences have been. Surly staff on the service desk. I'm looking forward to my DJ/VA trip in just over a week.

BNE, mmmm it could be the heat?

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Interesting contrast.
I don't know why but I don't tend to get these negative QF experiences in the last few years. Going back a ways it happened now and again but lately I've had no problems at all. They even let me jump an earlier flight at BNE to SYD when the TSV flight came in early saving me two hours. That was on a cheapo ticket too.

Vermin have the bright eyed and bushy tailed approach down pat now it seems. Some years ago they lost me when they stranded a heap of us at OOL when a storm was on and didn't pay for our hotel stay. QF put their pax on a bus to BNE when it looked like the curfew would be missed. Have not forgiven them yet - a lot of that was due to their appalling customer service at the time.

I have flown with them since on the odd occasion when the price difference has been too great or it's been booked by someone else but not in the past 12 months. Good on them if they've got their act together.

I don't know whether it's actually DJ that would have done the checkin or whether it was a ground handler like Oceanic. What airlines don't seem to 'get' is that their quest to save a buck by outsourcing or sub-contracting their checkin to the lowest commom denominator, is that it actually costs them money by loss of goodwill if their ground people can't or don't know how to get their act together in the event of a disruption.

 

[777]

Vermin ... lost me when they stranded a heap of us at OOL when a storm was on and didn't pay for our hotel stay. QF put their pax on a bus to BNE when it looked like the curfew would be missed.

You may need to update your perceptions. VA are getting much, much better at dealing with delays. However if you want to go to OOL on QF you will still need to take a bus from BNE.

 

[LiamR]

It frustrates me when I hear stories about poor service by QF ground crew, especially in the lounges. Because it is so easy to fix. It just seems so sad to see our national airline turned into this, QF have the most amount of resources and assets, things VA will never have. Yet it's all being destroyed by poor customer service.

A couple of weeks ago I walked into the Sydney J lounge, with two guests who'd never been there before and were expecting a great experience.

Well we stood right in front of this grumpy old b**** at the entrance desk for over a minute before she would even look up at the boarding pass for the whole 2 seconds it took to say come in. We were actually almost going to just walk in when she eventually looked up. Next time that happens I will and see what happens. Almost said "sorry to interrupt your busy schedule" but I bit my tongue.


What is it about Sydney that makes them so grumpy?

I've stood at the J Lounge desk soooo much waiting for somebody to look up at me, I don't get what they are doing? Are they trying to finish the sentence they are writing on Facebook?

My biggest pet peve, is when a staff member responds to you without lifting her eyes off the computer screen. So disrespectful! QF J Lounge SYD seem to have this routine down pact.

I don't know whether it's actually DJ that would have done the checkin or whether it was a ground handler like Oceanic. What airlines don't seem to 'get' is that their quest to save a buck by outsourcing or sub-contracting their checkin to the lowest commom denominator, is that it actually costs them money by loss of goodwill if their ground people can't or don't know how to get their act together in the event of a disruption.

OOL is serviced by Aerocare (Read, Derrocare), Virgin are soon going to be ending that contract and re-hiring everybody under VA.

You may need to update your perceptions. VA are getting much, much better at dealing with delays. However if you want to go to OOL on QF you will still need to take a bus from BNE.

QF fly to OOL, you'll just have to put with black seats and orange stars instead of kangaroos.

 

[SighMN]

Wow after reading some of the things in this thread about Qantas I'm a bit shocked. I don't fly them normally as I travel mostly internationally, but if an airline treated me like that I'd use all my frequent flyer miles on a trip with another one world partner and jump ship! Its a pity we only have 2 choices domestically. I know Virgin Australia seems to be trying its hard for a low cost airline to convert itself into a business friendly airline overnight.

After a few horrible experiences with United Airlines in the late 90's and early 2000's I cashed out and switched. Even though I loved United's really generous upgrade policy I couldn't tolerate their horrible customer service. They made tons of mistakes with me, but it was the way they tried to fix them which was the real deal breaker. For instance I bought a first class ticket SFO-SYD and when I checked in from JFK I was assigned a new seat (in the back near the galley/lavatories). I knew I needed a quieter area because I was planning on sleeping the whole flight as I had to work the day I arrived. When my connecting flight arrived late I went up to gate counter and asked to have my seat allocation changed. She took my ticket and said she'd get back to me. Well after everyone and their mother was upgrades from Business to First (and i"m sure a lot of those were non-revs on standby), and hearing the gate agent ask about their seat preferences, she called me up and wrote "sorry couldn't change your seat". So when I get into the airplane I noticed my seat is actually taken, and it takes me 5-10 minutes to get a FA to pay attention to me, and she tells me to sit in 1a, when I go there I see its taken too. She then tells me to go back to the gate agent, but security wouldn't allow me. She then relunctantly used the phone to call the gate agent who came on board and had to downgrade a passenger back to business. They must have taken the first class pillow as there was no pillow available and all I was given was some flimsy economy one which unfortunately isn't a real pillow. The next day after not sleeping at all well I kept cursing at United and that's when I knew I had to change airlines. I got no apologies or even a mention of how this was an embarrassing situation for me but the other person as well.

Since that incident I've never had anything even remotely like it and I've flown just as much if not more on other carriers. Whenever I have requests for seats they are 100% given if there is nobody else in the seat. Etihad does have a bad habit of changing seats around even in first class, but really because of their suites there isn't really that bad of a seat anymore.

 

[richie9x]

I have had some of the worst customer service from Brisbane airport. Some staff do a good job but there seem to be a few bad apples that really let the side down.

Once I said good afternoon to the guy at the front desk of the Qantas club/J Lounge he looked up at me and gave me a look like I had just called his mother a cough.

Like the OP I have had only good experience going to Virgin Lounge, although I have only been once.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

OOL is serviced by Aerocare (Read, Derrocare), Virgin are soon going to be ending that contract and re-hiring everybody under VA.

Sounds like a good move. Maybe airlines are finally getting the message that outsourcing does more harm than good.

You may need to update your perceptions. VA are getting much, much better at dealing with delays. However if you want to go to OOL on QF you will still need to take a bus from BNE.

Sometimes there's no subsitute for experience though. :idea:

 

[LiamR]

Sounds like a good move. Maybe airlines are finally getting the message that outsourcing does more harm than good.

OOL ground staff are pretty good when it comes to dealing with customers, as in polite, efficient and well dressed. However, when it comes to the operational side of things, they need some help.

Making boarding calls at T-30 regardless of if the aircraft has pulled up or not causes everybody standing on the tarmac. Once while the aircraft was de-boarding. :shock:

 

[DJ332]

OOL is serviced by Aerocare (Read, Derrocare), Virgin are soon going to be ending that contract and re-hiring everybody under VA.

Derrocare! Haven't heard that one before. I've generally had good experiences with Aerocare staff in DJ uniforms, particularly in CNS and TSV, so it's disappointing to hear the OOL staff aren't very good.

Interesting to hear about DJ ending that contract at OOL, I heard a rumour that DJ were going to sack their ADL ground crew and outsource it all to Aerocare as ADL's considered somewhat of a regional port.