Customer Care Don't Care?

[penegal]

Earlier this year I felt that I had cause to raise my second ever QANTAS complaint.

Quite a few things about this experience were below par. I didn't get a chauffeur drive service which put me several hundred dollars out of pocket, but what really irritated me was the service in first class. The crew were visibly fatigued and the service was rather like "economy class". If I wanted economy service I would have booked an economy ticket!

To be fair, I really appreciate that QANTAS could get me a ticket at short notice, and QANTAS got me to my destination on time and in a flat bed. But the service and customer experience was rubbish. If you book a first class ticket I don't think that it is unreasonable to expect a first class experience.


Anyhow, the response from customer care is a complete cop-out. "Sorry it was bad, please keep flying us".

I understand that things like MASAs had to go, but is QANTAS also discontinuing customer service?

Why should I keep flying you?

Dear penegal

Thank you for contacting us with regard to your travel from Dubai earlier this year.

Please accept my sincere apologies for that you had cause to write and were disappointed in several aspects of your journey.

...

The standard of service you describe having received in First is disappointing and has been relayed to our cabin crew management.
We invest a great deal of time and resources training and mentoring our Customer Service Managers and First Flight Attendants to provide exceptional service which we aim to be the best in the aviation industry. Of course we rely on feedback like yours to achieve this and we are grateful to you for taking the time to write.

...

penegal, comments from our loyal members like yourself are important and taken very seriously. Please be assured we are listening as we are committed to creating the world’s best flying experience.

Thanks for taking the time to contact us. I hope we’ll see you again soon.

Yours sincerely

[Name Name]
Customer Care Executive

Qantas Airways Limited
C Wing 10 Bourke Road
Mascot NSW 2020

 

[penegal]

And for the record this email is the only "service recovery" I have received...

 

[BD1959]

What precisely was the "economy class service" you received in First?

Regards,

BD

 

[medhead]

I feel uncomfortable about the idea of asking for things, disturbing the crew, in any cabin. It would be worse to have to do so just to receive what is supposed to be the highest level of service.

 

[penegal]

• I wasn't addressed or recognised properly throughout the flight.
• "David Copperfield" CSM
• FA spilt wine all over the tablecloth during in meal service, and didn't clean it up or re-set the table. (I don't have a problem with the wine spill, these things happen... But they should have cleaned up)
• Call bell not answered outside of meal service time
• I had to walk to the galley to clear my own service items and refill my water bottle (thus interrupting the FA's mothers club meeting).
• Very long wait to clear the bed / duvet away (I thought I may be landing with a bed, rather than a seat).

There were a couple of celebrities aboard who may have star struck the crew, or maybe they were just having a bad day.

Either way, it left a bitter feeling in my mouth.

 

[Kangol]

Unfortunate to hear that you experienced a bad F product. In my mind, F should never be bad.
Who were the celebrities?
What kind of service recovery/compensation do you think would be appropriate?

 

[SQ421]

Next time, fly a real airline, penegal

Seriously!

:idea:

Derision aside, this seems to be a pretty poor effort by Qantas. Both in the air, and then at service recovery.

I get that things don't always run like clockwork, and cough happens. It's how you recover from there and make good, that leaves an impression with the customer. And if I were in your shoes, I'd vote with my feet and take my business elsewhere.

 

[BD1959]

• I wasn't addressed or recognised properly throughout the flight.
• "David Copperfield" CSM

Judging by various threads in this forum this seems to be almost par these days. I think the issue is more one of consistency, it shouldn't be too difficult for F crew to consistently use passenger's name and for the CSM to have various duties they should be seen to be performing. That said, I'm not sure what "service recovery" would be expected if these were "missing" on the flight.

• Call bell not answered outside of meal service time
• I had to walk to the galley to clear my own service items and refill my water bottle (thus interrupting the FA's mothers club meeting).
• Very long wait to clear the bed / duvet away (I thought I may be landing with a bed, rather than a seat).

Definitely not good enough for an F cabin, IMHO - really not acceptable in J either although crew can get distracted from, for example, cleaning away a doonah/duvet - if they've had yet another mishap with a bottle of wine; but in an F cabin that'd be pretty obvious! Again, not sure what you'd be expecting with respect to service recovery.

• FA spilt wine all over the tablecloth during in meal service, and didn't clean it up or re-set the table. (I don't have a problem with the wine spill, these things happen... But they should have cleaned up)

This would really have annoyed me. I'd have been down to the crew area demanding they clean it up ... I'd also be pointedly asking the CSM why I'd had to wait so long. I wouldn't care less if I came across as a DYKWIA; I'd be one p!ssed-off premium passenger and they'd certainly know about it.

There were a couple of celebrities aboard who may have star struck the crew, or maybe they were just having a bad day.

So were the celebrities getting the full attention of the crew? It doesn't sound like it if the crew were "fatigued" from their "mothers meeting"!!

In isolation, the issues - apart from the wine - sound like they could be from a standard "bad crew" ... it shouldn't happen, but it does from time-to-time. It's fascinating reading insight of Cabin Crew on other forums and appears that most airlines have a common theme: the CSM (or CSD or CSS, whatever you want to call them) leads the crew and unfortunately it sounds like you had a bad one. A good one would have proactively ensured that you didn't leave the flight with that bad taste (I'd suggest: half of the issues would not have arisen with a really good CSM).

Hopefully, your highlighting of these issues has ensured the CSM is on notice ... if it was me, that would be the Service Recovery I'd be asking of QF, because only through consistent good service will premium passengetrs feel it's money well spent.

Regards,

BD

 

[QF WP]

After reading the full story, I agree what a reasonable person would expect in F, were not the service levels you experienced. I also consider you a reasonable person.

I would hope that Red Roo would make their presence known to you and follow up.

 

[RAM]

e crew were visibly fatigued and the service was rather like "economy class". If I wanted economy service I would have booked an economy ticket!

Sounds identical (other than stage of airline decline) to what happened with one of the last United flights from Sydney (I did say different stage of decline).

Flight to SFO (or LAX) a while ago but was so memorable for the wrong reasons. True 'flying aversion training'.

All FAs were hoping that retirement would come before Chapter 11. Gender was no issue - m/f gave same lack of care.

A drink/water was not served for over 3 hours while laughter bellowed from the kitchen and 'calls' went unanswered.

I had the cheek to go to the kitchen and ask for some drinks to be told they will be served shortly. Needless to say neither was I given anything there and then and the shortly was nearly 50 minutes before the first drink was served. Food was cold (I presumed it was supposed to have been hot but figured the oven was broken given age of plane and parlous state of United.

Last time I ever flew United but kept FF membership just to cost them money mailing me the info.

 

[SQ421]

After reading the full story, I agree what a reasonable person would expect in F, were not the service levels you experienced. I also consider you a reasonable person.

Now now.. lets not rush to judgement QF WP

 

[JohnPhelan]

The service on-board was clearly deficient. As others have noted, this can largely be attributed to a lacklustre CSM.

QF has "sincerely apologised" and I'm quite sure it will be taken up with the CSM by the crew management people.

That would be good enough for me. What is it that you'd like - and please don't say "compensation" !!!!

 

[dfcatch]

The crew were not doing their jobs - plain and simple.

Compensation offered or not..... I don't consider a cut and paste response adequate.

 

[JohnK]

And for the record this email is the only "service recovery" I have received...

Time for Red Roo to assist.

 

[SQ421]

The service on-board was clearly deficient. As others have noted, this can largely be attributed to a lacklustre CSM.

QF has "sincerely apologised" and I'm quite sure it will be taken up with the CSM by the crew management people.

That would be good enough for me. What is it that you'd like - and please don't say "compensation" !!!!

Why wouldn't he like compensation? He paid for a product and believes what he was delivered was considerably inferior. If Qantas thinks that's an unreasonable expectation, they should go revisit their "Service promise" posted elsewhere in this thread.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

• I wasn't addressed or recognised properly throughout the flight.
• "David Copperfield" CSM
• FA spilt wine all over the tablecloth during in meal service, and didn't clean it up or re-set the table. (I don't have a problem with the wine spill, these things happen... But they should have cleaned up)
• Call bell not answered outside of meal service time
• I had to walk to the galley to clear my own service items and refill my water bottle (thus interrupting the FA's mothers club meeting).
• Very long wait to clear the bed / duvet away (I thought I may be landing with a bed, rather than a seat).

There were a couple of celebrities aboard who may have star struck the crew, or maybe they were just having a bad day.

Either way, it left a bitter feeling in my mouth.

Unfortunately this is exactly what I have been describing for a long time here on AFF regarding some F class crews who really shouldn't be where they are.

Call-bells unanswered is common. CSM? Maybe once on a flight to say 'hi'. Having to go to the galley to get water? All too common.

The excuse I had on one flight was that the FA on duty needed to go and get her own food so there was no one there (for over 15 minutes). In the mean time she had left all dividing curtains wide open and business class pax had moved to the F galley to eat the snacks and use the WCs. Both WCs were occupied by J class pax when I wanted to use them.

Often the initial greeting by the CSM will set the tone for the flight: you can get an immediate sense of how good or bad things will be.

There are some good crews... I posted on here that my last flight was back to the halcyon days of QF F in the 90s. But it's currently a 50/50 as to a good or downright bad experience.

Combine the above with running out of champagne, and neil perry food that is sometimes not well prepared in flight, and you can be forgiven for wanting to be somewhere else.

I have mentioned all these things on AFF - but the airline representative hasn't seen it as a strategic issue worthy of addressing. Bottom line? Revenue goes to an airline that can deliver a better experience.

 

[penegal]

Not that it matters who they are, but the celebrities were Ronan Keating and Storm Uechtritz. They kept to themselves, and I didn't have an issue sharing the cabin with them at all.


Good post BD1959. Yes, many small things which added to a disappointing experience overall.

I agree that it was "out of the normal", but frankly it really doesn't leave me wanting to fly QF F, or even QF again in a hurry. I can be absolutely honest in saying that I have had better domestic economy QF flights!


JohnPhelan - I am not one of these people who regularly complains and demands compensation. As I posted, this is only my second ever complaint. I will vote with my feet before I jump up and down like some people do. No "compensation" is expected, but any gesture is appreciated.

The crew were not doing their jobs - plain and simple.

Compensation offered or not..... I don't consider a cut and paste response adequate.

Agree - At the very minimum I would have liked a phone call rather than an email from a "no reply" address.

 

[OATEK]

• I wasn't addressed or recognised properly throughout the flight.
• "David Copperfield" CSM
• FA spilt wine all over the tablecloth during in meal service, and didn't clean it up or re-set the table. (I don't have a problem with the wine spill, these things happen... But they should have cleaned up)
• Call bell not answered outside of meal service time
• I had to walk to the galley to clear my own service items and refill my water bottle (thus interrupting the FA's mothers club meeting).
• Very long wait to clear the bed / duvet away (I thought I may be landing with a bed, rather than a seat).

There were a couple of celebrities aboard who may have star struck the crew, or maybe they were just having a bad day.

Either way, it left a bitter feeling in my mouth.

I got better service than that in PE!

 

[RAM]

Not that it matters who they are, but the celebrities were Ronan Keating and Storm Uechtritz. They kept to themselves, and I didn't have an issue sharing the cabin with them at all.


Good post BD1959. Yes, many small things which added to a disappointing experience overall.

I agree that it was "out of the normal", but frankly it really doesn't leave me wanting to fly QF F, or even QF again in a hurry. I can be absolutely honest in saying that I have had better domestic economy QF flights!


JohnPhelan - I am not one of these people who regularly complains and demands compensation. As I posted, this is only my second ever complaint. No "compensation" is expected, but any gesture is appreciated.



Agree - At the very minimum I would have liked a phone call rather than an email from a "no reply" address.

Compensation causes ripples within Q, trite cut & paste emails do not.

The lines about 'and staff membr will be counseled to ensure not happening again" (something I have received from several different organisations) ring hollow with such widespread failings making life hard for great Q staff confronting jaded fliers.

I do not believe in the 'Chamberlain Option' appeasement didn't avert WW2, has not stopped Putin's ever widening moves and from my limited experience - never caused a turn around in declining standards.

One particular company issued cut & paste response and then that Xmas at a function i came across an ex-employee from "Customer Retention" merrily discussing what counseling meant. Do nothing.

I may be a cynic but I do know auditors only follow money trails not apology trails.

 

[dfcatch]

In fairness - there are some genuinely good people at QF - both crew and customer service management, who do truly care about the customer experience.

The problem is that like most things at QF - they are in the minority and lack sufficient authority to make the necessary difference fast enough.