Customer Care Don't Care?

[trippin_the_rift]

Qantas probably spend more on service recovery than on fixing the original problem to avoid future SR costs.

I've had my fair share of service recovery over the years and it certainly has cost QF more than it would to simply get it right the first time.

Also agree with dk4; there are non-performers who are toxic to the customer experience. Just as Asian & middle east airlines do, it wouldn't hurt QF to adopt the "hire slow - fire fast" approach.

 

[MelUser]

For some of the crew this can have been a long time away from home so this is the last flight before a decent break.

I know no excuse but perhaps an explanation.

I have found their new London crew to be very good - the F crew are very customer focussed. London crew usually seem to go as far as Dubai and then turn around.

DXB-SYD on QF2

 

[Brettmcg]

For some of the crew this can have been a long time away from home so this is the last flight before a decent break.

I'm a massive QF fanboi, but that is neither an excuse nor an explanation as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Hvr]

Is this too close to the truth?

 

[Red Roo]

DXB-SYD on QF2

I had in fact passed on your original post to Customer Care as soon as I saw it posted, however they require your name and/or Frequent Flyer details as reference.

Apologies for the oversight in not requesting this from you before I left the office today, however please do send me a private message so I can follow up for you tomorrow.

It's unusual that you didn't receive a call in this instance, and I agree that such experiences are not inline with our high standards and customer expectations of travelling in premium cabins.

 

[penegal]

Thanks Red Roo

 

[MEL_Traveller]

For some of the crew this can have been a long time away from home so this is the last flight before a decent break.

I know no excuse but perhaps an explanation.

.

It really is no excuse.

Cabin crew work a maximum of 90 hours a month, and 900 hours in any one year period. Stay in the best hotels, and go interesting destinations. During the flight they work a few hours, sleep, then work a few hours more.

It is demanding, but for the pay they receive it is a job many would dream about.

There is simply no excuse for less than acceptable service.

 

[milehighclub]

Cabin crew work a maximum of 90 hours a month, and 900 hours in any one year period.

I wish!!! Cabin crew in Australia are not bound by yearly limitations. The only limits they can reach to stop them flying is if their radiation exposure hits a certain number.

It varies among airlines (and even within the same airline that have domestic and international) the average hours per roster but there would be a lot of crew on 110-120 easily if not more per month.

But agree that there is no excuse for poor service in any job.

 

[JohnPhelan]

My recent experience with QF Customer Care was very good. The fault I was complaining about was actually an EK one (I was travelling on a QF codeshare). I sent off an email to Customer Care and got a specific response about 24 hours later.

There was an apology, some comments about the actual incident (so it was not a 'generic' email) and the offer of some compensation/reimbursement.

I declined the offer, because the point of my complaint was to let QF know this happened and how and why, in the hope that they might be able to ensure it doesn't happen again to another passenger. I made it quite clear that was my motivation, and got a great response in return.

 

[medhead]

I wish!!! Cabin crew in Australia are not bound by yearly limitations. The only limits they can reach to stop them flying is if their radiation exposure hits a certain number.

It varies among airlines (and even within the same airline that have domestic and international) the average hours per roster but there would be a lot of crew on 110-120 easily if not more per month.

But agree that there is no excuse for poor service in any job.

Just on the radiation thing. Is it even monitored? How do they know if it reaches that number?

Just based in a rough estimate, for 110-120 the radiation dose should be roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of the occupational dose limit depending on domestic or international.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I wish!!! Cabin crew in Australia are not bound by yearly limitations. The only limits they can reach to stop them flying is if their radiation exposure hits a certain number.

It varies among airlines (and even within the same airline that have domestic and international) the average hours per roster but there would be a lot of crew on 110-120 easily if not more per month.

But agree that there is no excuse for poor service in any job.

I wonder where I got to 90/900 from?

edited... the CASA regulations seems to indicate a max 100/1000 hours for flight crew. is that different to cabin crew?

 

[milehighclub]

Just on the radiation thing. Is it even monitored? How do they know if it reaches that number?

Just based in a rough estimate, for 110-120 the radiation dose should be roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of the occupational dose limit depending on domestic or international.

It is actually monitored. There is a company called PCAire based in Canada that estimates the radiation dosage based on the solar cycles and specific flight path taken. So the same route can have different dosages based on the time of year and route taken. I am currently sitting at 3.5 mSv for the last 12 months. The occupational limit is 20 mSv and on average domestic crew hit about 10% of that and international crew 20%

You can visit the website yourself and register as an individual
PCAire 2010

This is a little fact sheet from the Australian Gov
http://www.arpansa.gov.au/pubs/factsheets/027.pdf

 

[milehighclub]

I wonder where I got to 90/900 from?

edited... the CASA regulations seems to indicate a max 100/1000 hours for flight crew. is that different to cabin crew?

Flight crew are bound by the law which caps them at 1000 hours a year. Cabin crew are not. They can be worked as much as they want but EBAs help prevent that!

In the UK they flight crew are limited to 900 hours and I believe the cabin crew are too.

 

[Anna]

Just adding my $0.02 worth re star struck crew. I had the opposite experience when I found myself flying with Angelina Jolie, 4 of her kids and more entourage in the same cabin (sadly not including Brad) in QF dom J. I felt that the CSM did a great job of treating everyone equally and even managed to recognise my WP status and have a quick chat with me despite being busy.

So they don't all let being star struck affect their service levels. Sorry it happened to penegal.

 

[N860CR]

Flight crew are bound by the law which caps them at 1000 hours a year. Cabin crew are not. They can be worked as much as they want but EBAs help prevent that!

In the UK they flight crew are limited to 900 hours and I believe the cabin crew are too.

That's also flying hours (pushback to shutdown) not hours on duty.

 

[TonyHancock]

I always make a point of letting cabin crew know that my presence on the flight should in no way affect the way other pax are treated. (Fortunately they do manage to keep autograph and souvenir hunters away, well at least I think it is the crew keeping them away.)

 

[medhead]

It is actually monitored. There is a company called PCAire based in Canada that estimates the radiation dosage based on the solar cycles and specific flight path taken. So the same route can have different dosages based on the time of year and route taken. I am currently sitting at 3.5 mSv for the last 12 months. The occupational limit is 20 mSv and on average domestic crew hit about 10% of that and international crew 20%

You can visit the website yourself and register as an individual
PCAire 2010

This is a little fact sheet from the Australian Gov
http://www.arpansa.gov.au/pubs/factsheets/027.pdf

Thanks. I've heard of PCAire. That's monte carlo modelling and is supposed to be pretty accurate. The Japanese also have a similar website. I was wondering if there is currently any actual measurements of radiation exposure in flight, monitoring. I'm aware of measurements that were made back in the 1990s. I tried doing some monitoring on domestic flights last year, but the monitor wasn't really up to it as it was small enough to be used discretely. but small size involves other compromises. Someone gave 2 average hourly doses rates during an international radiation protection conference that I attended in May. Those were the basis of my estimate which was pretty close to your dose. I assume your domestic crew?

Anyway, I'm supposed to be commenting on an international standard that I think includes aircrew radiation exposure, but I haven't got to that bit yet. There seems to be some interesting developments in this area.

sorry for the thread hijack.

 

[vetrade]

My view is that service problems need to be addressed at source and corrected (as far as is possible) "on the spot". If this requires that you morph into a "demanding" customer then so be it. This is not a DYKWIA thing; where the service expectations are reasonable, but unmet, I have no trouble at all drawing the crew's attention to that fact and re-enforcing that message if they continue to be unmet.

IME under-performing staff, in planes, shops, restaurants or whatever, soon tend to re-consider their own actions if you can calmly articulate how they didn't meet the required standard.

 

[straitman]

Just on the radiation thing. Is it even monitored? How do they know if it reaches that number?

Whilst it may not be continually monitored there has been extensive monitoring to come up with the numbers that are used.

 

[straitman]

Flight crew are bound by the law which caps them at 1000 hours a year. Cabin crew are not. They can be worked as much as they want but EBAs help prevent that!

In the UK they flight crew are limited to 900 hours and I believe the cabin crew are too.

Remaining slightly OT for a moment.
It's even a little more expansive than that.
There are different limits for different type of flying. They were always covered by CAO48 parts .... but are now often covered by fatigue management structures. (a whole new ball game because it is so subjective)
As pointed out these can be duty times, flight times or often a mixture of both. ie those who do a lot of actual flying would be covered by flight time limits and those who have low flying rates would be covered by duty limitations.
Needless to say the limits are very complex with many paragraphs and sub paragraphs. It is very easy to get it wrong!