Article: How to Get Good Qantas Customer Service for Under $3,000

[Melburnian1]

Apart from the comprehensive information, it's great how the author correctly uses 'fewer' when so many would believe that the appropriate word was 'less'.

Even some "journalists" do not know the difference.

My preference however is to travel on competitors that offer better service to passengers than the Red Roo, and often at a cheaper fare, whether J or whY. That's challenging if you're wedded to the Qantas FF program.

 

[Franky]

What's disappointing is that a wait time of 1-2 hours actually does seem to be the Platinum priority service level, with lower tier members regularly waiting well in excess of that.

Can confirm that, we waited 4 hours on Saturday afternoon/evening and gave up...

 

[jasetheace]

Sorry to tell you Qantas platinum is not worth that much. I have been platinum for 7 years and I am treated really badly. Here are 3 examples in the past 2 weeks. I had a notification on a Thursday night. I called the number and went to the priority line 40 minutes I got disconnected. On the Friday morning I found my flight was cancelled at 5.15am I was unable to get through in 1 hour. I arrived at the airport while still on hold. On Monday I was flying to Brisbane my flight was cancelled I rang the number as the service desk in the Melbourne business domestic lounge is not attended. On Wednesday I spent 2 hours on hold trying to book a business class ticket Mel-CDG-Mel. No luck so I rang Singapore Airlines they answered in 3 minutes I am pps but it was too easy. So do not think Qantas platinum is special. Qantas has not given me a comp upgrade in 5 years. Lufthansa gives them too me often at least 3 times a year.

 

[melbournemarie]

Sorry to tell you Qantas platinum is not worth that much. ... I called the number and went to the priority line 40 minutes I got disconnected.

What do you mean by "priority line"? Does this mean that you rang the main number and when you put in your FF#, you get put into a priority line ... or does it mean something else?

I am also platinum and spent 3 hours on hold on Saturday. The person who answered was not knowledgeable and couldn't help me.

 

[Franky]

What do you mean by "priority line"? Does this mean that you rang the main number and when you put in your FF#, you get put into a priority line ... or does it mean something else?

I am also platinum and spent 3 hours on hold on Saturday. The person who answered was not knowledgeable and couldn't help me.

So that's who was holding up my call!!! Not only Saturday, but another dose on Sunday, and an hour has just passed waiting yet again to finalise a booking made 12 days ago. Once this is all over, we're bailing out.

 

[DC3]

So that's who was holding up my call!!! …

 

[Franky]

So that's who was holding up my call!!! Not only Saturday, but another dose on Sunday, and an hour has just passed waiting yet again to finalise a booking made 12 days ago. Once this is all over, we're bailing out.

Have just hung up, thankfully connected with a lady in Hobart who sorted it out in about 15 minutes - after the 1.35 hour wait...

 

[BriarFlyer]

@melbournemarie, I believe the priority number referred to is for Platinum 1.

 

[Franky]

@melbournemarie, I believe the priority number referred to is for Platinum 1.

Just to clarify, the on hold calls on the weekend were made to the Platinum call centre. Today, we received an email from QF asking us to call re the booking, and we responded to the number given 13 13 13, which as I found was located in Hobart and took 1.35 hours to get thru, but all went well from then on.

 

[27mrpc27]

How to Get Good Qantas Customer Service for Under $3,000 is an article written by AFF editorial staff:

How to Get Good Customer Service from Qantas for Under $3,000

The problems with the Qantas call centre are well-documented on Australian Frequent Flyer and elsewhere. Unless you happen to have Platinum or Platinum

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

probably the best article I've read on here, at least the ending at least. As someone who has always chased status it is a Will Smith type smack in the face of reality as to the level of my stupidity (mind you I'm not taking sides, just using the action to demonstrate the example in the moment).

 

[craven morehead]

Great article, thanks. Except given that even Plats are waiting over an hour on the phone, maybe the title should have been "How to get better customer service ..."

1 hour 35 minutes today @RooFlyer

 

[AFF Editor]

Thanks to all the Platinum and Platinum One members who commented on Monday's article. Unlike Qantas, I have taken your feedback on board and published a follow-up article.

Even Platinum Members Can't Reach Qantas Anymore!

Last Monday, I wrote an article explaining how you could get better customer service from Qantas by taking advantage of the current Double Status Credits

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[dajop]

Just saw this pop up in my YouTube feed. Not sure if it was fake or real, whatever, it got me thinking of Qantas. Maybe there’s a business opportunity for people to pay for someone to sit on hold with Qantas for them.

 

[ChrisBNE]

As an employee in an adjacent service provider to Qantas, I understand their resourcing pain and the impact to the customer.

I do not hold Qantas in a high regard from a commercial perspective, and agree that this level of service is not good enough for all levels of status.

It’s very challenging to hire right now and demand from the customer is through the roof in a complex and volatile travel landscape.

Travel service providers are the new toilet paper.

It’s understandable that a relatively low paying industry remains unattractive to many of the experienced staff that were sent into the diaspora over the last 2 years.

Maybe fares, revenue and investment in innovation and people have been too low, for too long. Maybe it’s challenging for Qantas to compete with lower cost competitors that operate outside AU.

I think we will start to see Qantas start to focus on yielding up above the demand curve to claw back this missing revenue which will be us back to the hold times and innovation we expect as customers.

 

[dylarr]

The follow up article encapsulates my thoughts on the current situation perfectly. Thanks @AFF Editor!

 

[Berlin]

The follow up article encapsulates my thoughts on the current situation perfectly. Thanks @AFF Editor!

Cannot agree more. Wish anyone in a level of power really took notice at Qantas but as I've said before, they probably well know all this and still manage to find some internalised corporate blurb to wish away the sad reality, "Covid" being everyone's favourite at the moment it seems.

 

[encryptededdy]

On that topic, should we also mention that "Priority telephone service in Australia" is an advertised benefit for SG, PS, and QC Members as well?

With the current wait times (and even the wait times in 2020 and 2021), they might as well remove that advertised benefit.

Anecdotally as a PS QC member I see absolutely no difference in hold times from my friends who are NB or aren't even QFF members. It's all >4 hours on the main line.

I suppose if Qantas actually prioritized SG, PS, and QC members, then Bronze and non-QFF members will literally never get their call answered (although it really feels like we're nearly functionally there).

 

[Franky]

Thanks to all the Platinum and Platinum One members who commented on Monday's article. Unlike Qantas, I have taken your feedback on board and published a follow-up article.

Even Platinum Members Can't Reach Qantas Anymore!

Last Monday, I wrote an article explaining how you could get better customer service from Qantas by taking advantage of the current Double Status Credits

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Good follow up, and glad you again stressed that QF must invest in hiring and training staff. Though training may be considered a cost of running a business, if done well, it will return the investment in spades. Moreover, it can't be a case of throwing a few dollars in that direction, it has to be a commitment.

 

[bussyboy]

"If you think flying to Christchurch twice in a row would be boring… firstly, you would be correct..."

Actual LOL!

 

[themaiz]

Thanks for the followup article - good reading.

I was sort of wondering if WP status was in any way helpful at the moment. No call I've made in the last three months has been less than 45 minutes wait, and most are over two hours. On Sunday night I gave up and went to bed after waiting well over two hours. The challenge: my flight was 0700 Monday morning. So, not much hope of my calling back to the contact centre and no expectation that I'd get through in sufficient time to be useful.

On Monday afternoon I got through after only 2:35 on hold. Way too many times I had to listen to the perky "Did you know it's possible to do all this agenty stuff yourself by going to the website and clicking a few buttons?". Unfortunately for me, I have a PNR that is not possible for me to manage myself even though I booked it myself. Such is the QF system. Worse: that PNR now is going to hang around until October (COVID delays!) and I can see at least one more change in the near future. Were there people in front of me waiting to add a FF number, or get better legroom, or upgrade? Who knows.

One interesting comment from the exceptionally competent agent who answered on Monday, and fixed things very quickly, and with no fuss: why didn't I take the callback option? Answer: there was no callback option. Oh how I wish. I haven't been given a callback option in... I don't remember. Possibly never. Am I calling the wrong number?