Has Qantas lost your business due to its failure to provide customer service?

[offshore171]

I think the main thing they need to do right now, is expand the scope of what can be done via online self service.

Probably 2/3 of their call volume is from people who would happily go online and deal with any changes if that were possible.

 

[jase05]

As one of QF’s key partners I have no option for work trips which can be from as little as once or twice per month to a couple of times per week at times. For personal domestic travel I’m probably about 90% VA and will retain Platinum within a couple of weeks of my new status year ( unfortunately no higher tier)
Internationally I’ve paid for 2 QF flights in the last 5 years (SYD-AKL and SYD-CGK) with about another dozen with QF on points all to Asia. I’m not a huge fan of their product or service and find much better pricing with other airlines. This year I finally made the move to BAEC and will easily reach Gold with them this year which will be nice. We were sick of being punished for using other OW carriers ex Australia especially the disgraceful MH SC earn. Will be good to finally get decent earn on OW flights

 

[coyote25]

I think the main thing they need to do right now, is expand the scope of what can be done via online self service.

Probably 2/3 of their call volume is from people who would happily go online and deal with any changes if that were possible.

This is the major point I rarely want to phone a call centre, give me the tools and I’ll fix the issue online but sadly the tools either rarely work or don’t exist.

Cut back on customer service staff if you must but you better have an alternative service option that works or why buy from your organisation?

 

[sudoer]

I think the main thing they need to do right now, is expand the scope of what can be done via online self service.

100% this - I feel way more confident when making changes/bookings myself using self-service tools. It would save everyone involved time (money) and stress.

They should also fix whatever this joke of a ticketing and refund process is. Ticketing should be almost instant, every airline has seemingly achieved it but Qantas. Refunds.. well we've been down that rabbit hole in the Wait Times thread a few months ago. Whatever the reason for it taking 2-3 months, it's not good enough.

If they could nail these three areas, I would bet money on a 70-80% drop off in call volume.

 

[sudoer]

Is this a permanent change for QF or just during these COVID times? If the former, then QF really needs to invest in the whole customer self service bit.

Supposedly permanent.

 

[pauly7]

It’s a no change from me as well - as QF suits my travel demands well.

Although I do empathise with the struggles that some people seem to be having right now with QF, personally I have not been affected by any of them, when I’ve needed to rearrange travel / move flights it has been fine and I’ve been able to get through easily to Customer Service (I do realise I’m in the privileged position of WP here though which clearly helps).

So as I’m not personally impacted, QF retains the same share of all of my domestic business travel as they always did.

My employers also won’t be changing.

 

[sudoer]

I’ve been able to get through easily to Customer Service (I do realise I’m in the privileged position of WP here though which clearly helps).

Have you needed to call in the past couple of months? WP wait times are usually 1-2 hours now.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

100% this - I feel way more confident when making changes/bookings myself using self-service tools. It would save everyone involved time (money) and stress.

While that may work well for simple IRROPs, the problem still remains of those with more complex itineraries, or ones where service recovery ain't clear which no self-service tool no matter how great it is will be able to help you with. That's precisely why we have these customer service desks at airports, and why people gave a toss about QF status since it meant getting served right away (or at least in a couple of minutes) rather than being in the long queue with the rest of the kettles!

-RooFlyer88

 

[pauly7]

Have you needed to call in the past couple of months? WP wait times are usually 1-2 hours now.

Yes, a few times.

I haven’t experienced anything over a 5 min wait in the last couple of months - hence not being affected by what some people seem to be experiencing.

 

[Cognac]

Interesting article and something I didn't realize. Is this a permanent change for QF or just during these COVID times? If the former, then QF really needs to invest in the whole customer self service bit. Perhaps they could look to United and other airlines that IMHO do a good job at enabling customers to resolve IRROP issues without having to involve an agent. That being said, there is something to be said for having agents at the airport who know the system like the back of their hand and can find a way to get you out the door. Yes self-service can help to some extent but it won't replace that experience. After all, any self-service rebooking tool is going to have a bunch of rigid rules built in that have no understanding for how travel and IRROPs happen. For instance, if you've got a traveller flying domestic to international (e.g. MEL > SYD > LAX) it may make sense to push the customer over to Virgin Australia if it means they won't misconnect their onward international flight. Then again, they aren't even doing self-serve which leaves people to hang on the phone for hours waiting to speak to an agent who has likely only received an hour of training. Then the cherry on top is Joyce says we're rusty travellers and that over half of the calls to the contact centre could've been done online

The issue with Alan Joyce is he is out of touch. He has no idea what domestic or international travel is like in Australia, taking private jets instead of having to mix with the rusty traveller out in public. I'd encourage him to spend a month flying in economy on his airline as a regular customer and see the type of cough travellers have to go through. These problems won't be solved with a clever PR campaign of Aussie children holding hands together and singing a song!


I've been fortunate enough not to encounter those issues yet but have no doubt I will. And that's the thing QF misses. Even if IRROPs happens only 15% of the time network wide (and that's being optimistic) having those staff there to deal with it can make a huge difference in someone's mind. I suspect many of us on this forum have encountered IRROPs and it's no fun, it's stressful, often you don't know when you'll be arriving and in some instances how that impacts downstream connecting flights. Having a human agent at the airport you can go up to and resolve such issues in minutes gives the traveller not only peace of mind but also enhances loyalty for the airline since the customer at the end (hopefully) thinks, well at least the airlines got my back. Given the recent cut backs to customer service it seems quite apparent that QF does not have their customers back be it the FoTSG or the Platinum One traveller.

-RooFlyer88

So much this for IRROPS. For fliers, even frequent fliers, the most we ever really want to interact with the airline website/call centre is booking the ticket. It shouldn't be on us to resolve our travel schedules when the carrier makes changes/has issues. And, more importantly, I am not familiar with their systems. Something that might take me, a tech-savvy young person, 30 minutes to sort out would likely only take the agent 5 minutes. Additionally, I'm not 100% certain on the rules around changes, and how to navigate what I need to do. The agent, on the other hand, will know exactly what is possible and what isn't (assuming good training).

I also can't see that having staff at the desk was such a huge expense that it required cost-cutting in the first place. It makes sense to reduce the number of staff when the vast majority of people on any given day are checked in online and do their own bag-drop, but retaining half a dozen extra people on-hand for the day can't have been that expensive.

 

[Peasant]

100% this - I feel way more confident when making changes/bookings myself using self-service tools. It would save everyone involved time (money) and stress.

They should also fix whatever this joke of a ticketing and refund process is. Ticketing should be almost instant, every airline has seemingly achieved it but Qantas. Refunds.. well we've been down that rabbit hole in the Wait Times thread a few months ago. Whatever the reason for it taking 2-3 months, it's not good enough.

If they could nail these three areas, I would bet money on a 70-80% drop off in call volume.

What....you want Alan to spend money?! Tell him he's dreamin'...

 

[VPS]

I'm LTG with QF and don't think I'll ever get WP again and certainly wouldn't go out of my way or spend money to obtain it. I've got nearly 1M QF points and will try and use them (quite easy as a solo traveller). I'm currently Virgin WP due a gift and if I purchase a RTW J ticket might choose to go with Star Alliance rather than one world

 

[encryptededdy]

That's an interesting observation actually.
I've heard people in my "circle", whom I've never heard discussing travel before, now speaking negatively about Qantas. They've unwittingly become a talking point.
Qantas has become "F%c%ing Qantas" in the vernacular.

Yep. I was flying with some friends (who definitely aren't frequent travellers) down to Melbourne recently, and Qantas and Virgin economy was approximately the same price. I suggested we fly QF since I could guest them into the lounge, but one of them said "The lounge would be nice, I've never been, but what if we have to contact Qantas customer service?". Honestly, fair point. We ended up flying QF anyway but it was a stressful time when they changed our flight and it took forever for the new e-ticket to come through...

 

[antycbr]

Yep. I was flying with some friends (who definitely aren't frequent travellers) down to Melbourne recently, and Qantas and Virgin economy was approximately the same price. I suggested we fly QF since I could guest them into the lounge, but one of them said "The lounge would be nice, I've never been, but what if we have to contact Qantas customer service?". Honestly, fair point. We ended up flying QF anyway but it was a stressful time when they changed our flight and it took forever for the new e-ticket to come through...

Alan has a big reputational problem. People are now concerned about having to deal with QF and with either not go, or fly someone else.

Combined with the s&*tfight that is domestic screening on high rotation on TV at the moment, people are starting to get anxious about any travel. I've had a number of colleagues at work mention it to me as they know I'm a frequent flyer.

I am VA Platinum but have more than half a million QF points. I am still waiting for $600 in taxes to be refunded from QF from December (4 calls now, each time assured it will happen) and am thinking of going down the chargeback route. The only reason I have kept the QF credit card open is to make sure the taxes are refunded. Have opened a new VA earning card.

 

[TheInsider]

and am thinking of going down the chargeback route

Just do it - easy process. Stuff QF, they can get the chargeback fee from their merchant.

 

[dylarr]

YES. I've already started to diversify due to the customer service failings. I don't want to be stuck at the airport waiting hours on hold to speak to a call centre agent to fix a problem that should be resolvable at the airport. I already had this issue over the weekend just gone trying to speak to someone about baggage that was never loaded onto my flight with > 2 hour waits followed by calls disconnecting etc.

There are certain routes I need to use Qantas for due to no competition, but I won't be going out of my way to travel with Qantas anymore if there are options.

I cancelled all of my Qantas direct points earning credit cards last month and got an Amex Platinum so I could earn Ascent Premium points and transfer to other airlines. Also comes with VA lounge access which is a huge deal sweetener. I've changed my SYD-MEL's for May/June to ZL (trying them for the first time) and VA (has been a few years).

I genuinely don't think there will be any improvements to customer service going forward despite what Qantas Management and PR say, especially when their current position is that it's the customer's fault. They don't care, and they never did. These problems have lingered for years and they seem hell bent on making it worse not better (i.e. removal of airport service desks etc).

 

[Peasant]

My brother was travelling SYD-MEL-LST this morning as part of a rather important delegation. They arrived in MEL to find their 9-something onward connection was cancelled - no reason or apology given. Told they would be rebooked on the 7pm, which would result in them losing the full day of engagements. Their only option was to either fly private or VA. Fortunately VA was able to accommodate them, so off they went.

The best bit? QF has said they will not be able to get their bags to them for "several days" as there is no spare cargo capacity. No one at the airport to help, unable to reach the call centre. No option to retrieve bags in MEL.

Needless to say, no one will be flying QF again if given a choice. Just how widespread is this?

 

[Must...Fly!]

I booked a paid QF flight last week for travel later in the month purely because it was 90 minutes earlier than VA, and HBA has a "lounge". However I felt genuinely dirty giving money to them for a revenue fare, even if the main benefit for travelling QF is availing the status extension. I expect I will have to argue for my extension as well as I partially paid for the ticket using a gift voucher purchased over 12 months ago so not considered a "new booking" - even though the FAQ clearly states gift vouchers are a valid form of payment.

I have also recently booked a LAX-MEL J award for December, not so annoyed with that as taxes+fees were only $224.

I will sooner book JQ than QF.

 

[Guvner]

My brother was travelling SYD-MEL-LST this morning as part of a rather important delegation. They arrived in MEL to find their 9-something onward connection was cancelled - no reason or apology given. Told they would be rebooked on the 7pm, which would result in them losing the full day of engagements. Their only option was to either fly private or VA. Fortunately VA was able to accommodate them, so off they went.

The best bit? QF has said they will not be able to get their bags to them for "several days" as there is no spare cargo capacity. No one at the airport to help, unable to reach the call centre. No option to retrieve bags in MEL.

Needless to say, no one will be flying QF again if given a choice. Just how widespread is this?

QF currently ~ $1000 return for MEL-LST in economy... private charter might have been cheaper for a group.

 

[aikman]

If VA was to offer me a WP status match then maybe...

Come to think of it, should VA be doing more to capitalise on the current situation and proactively poach some of QF's customers? Or should they just sit back and let QF do it for them?