HUCA thread - weird excuses from call centres

[Captain Halliday]

Following the suggest from @Ansett here: Seating Availability/Allocation/Configuration Help Desk I'm creating a thread to record wacky call centre interactions that defy belief.

We've all been there: trying to resolve a booking, seating, SC or other issue.

As a dedicated AFFer you're armed with the facts, you've checked the T&C screenshot and cross-checked on AFF, only to be given a weird, wrong or sometimes completely implausible response.

This is the place for sharing the weird and quirky response have you received from a call centre?

My experience was having five free seats available in row 4 on a QF 737 but not being able to select one on line. When I called the CSA told me all five seats I could see were blocked for passengers with assistance dogs. Five. One the one flight. What are the chances?

HUCA - resolved on the second call.

 

[Blackswan]

If I know I'm being fed BS, then I immediately inform them that "I'd like to escalate this call to your supervisor, please". Almost always resolves the issue, with the hope that the rep in question will get a bit of extra training.

 

[Ansett]

My best has been I am sorry sir but as your partners surname is not the same as yours we can not link the bookings together its against the law LOL and that was on QF. HUCA and sorted in under 2 minutes.

 

[drron]

Though sometimes it is a blessing getting an inexperienced agent.One complex AA award was booked through the Phillipines call centre.The lovely lady told me it was her first day on the job and this was her first award booking.my heart sank but then she said you can tell me all that you know but i also have a very experienced supervisor I can call.Went well but at one point having a little difficulty booking RJ into Europe.The supervisor came on and eventually sorted it but came up with several work arounds even using KLM or LH flights.The first time also that I was able to get an award on QF that as a WP mrsdrron couldn't get through QF.And the award ticket was in mrsdrron's name.

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

The Outsourced QFF service centre, that changed BPO's ( aka Other wise known as : Business Processing Outsourcing) in July 2017, would have to be the most inexperienced Call centre i have dealt with in recent times.

Phone calls that are answered in NZ are generally handled quite well, although many calls are put on hold, obviously for the agents to speak with supervisors to discuss how to solve customers problems/errors.

My understanding is Teletech who have taken over the QFF service centre, has struggled immensly with handling both the volume of calls and solving members problems on a first call basis, particularly their Manilla operation. The complexity of issues raised to that requires a phone Call to a call centre has also increased - with training not catching up to the problems customers are experiencing.

Online functions such as claiming missing points and status credits on the Qantas Web-page as a e-form , plus logging missing transactions on the Qantas mall through the [email protected] email address has become immensely problematic, with no responses issued for up to 12 weeks IME.

My belief is if businesses chose to use BPO's that Pay their staff peanuts..... You often get Monkeys on the phone.

 

[Spongbob]

Ummm, what exactly is "HUCA"?

 

[Captain Halliday]

Ummm, what exactly is "HUCA"?

Hang Up, Call Again.

A common approach when you know you're being told things that are incorrect, or when you encounter a customer service agent who doesn't know what they're doing.

 

[Spongbob]

Oh, thanks for the information. I thought it was a typo error and should have been HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee), and was interested in how this could be related to anything on AFF.

 

[Ansett]

In the old days when Emergency rows where free domesticly I asked an agent if I could have one of them and was told NO as they were reserved for people in wheelchairs so that they could get in and out easier and quicker...... Go Figure.

 

[theblank]

I dont know if its just me, but every contact I make with a customer service dept (by email or web) I get this exact same response every time.

"thank you for contacting us, I never bothered reading your question, but here is an irrelevant canned response that might make you go away and not bother us again"

 

[Deleted member]

Hang Up, Call Again.

A common approach when you know you're being told things that are incorrect, or when you encounter a customer service agent who doesn't know what they're doing.

This is always what you do when the person on the other end says "Kia Ora, welcome to Qantas"

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I wish this thread was not travel-centric ... I have some doozies from so called professionals!

I do find that HUCA works a treat in many and varied phone conversations.

 

[Ansett]

Perhaps going off topic at times may not be such a bad thing lol

 

[Captain Halliday]

I wish this thread was not travel-centric ... I have some doozies from so called professionals!

I do find that HUCA works a treat in many and varied phone conversations.

As the co-founder of the thread with @Ansett it was deliberately created in the "Open Discussion" sub-forum because I expected some weird interactions from hotel/bank/loyalty scheme and other call centres. The key words IMHO are:

Following the suggest from @Ansett here: Seating Availability/Allocation/Configuration Help Desk I'm creating a thread to record wacky call centre interactions that defy belief.

I'm sure it'll evolve over time, but it's not airline specific.

 

[Buzzard]

Ummm, what exactly is "HUCA"?

Also known as HUACA
Hang up and call again .

 

[Ansett]

I wish this thread was not travel-centric ... I have some doozies from so called professionals!

I do find that HUCA works a treat in many and varied phone conversations.

Your wish has been granted go for it

 

[Ansett]

Also known as HUACA
Hang up and call again .

Is that the posh version LOL

 

[Buzzard]

Is that the posh version LOL

Just the long and the short of it

 

[Captain Halliday]

Cue the banjos. Dueling acronyms.

 

[ALH]

I dont know if its just me, but every contact I make with a customer service dept (by email or web) I get this exact same response every time.

"thank you for contacting us, I never bothered reading your question, but here is an irrelevant canned response that might make you go away and not bother us again"

It is definitely not just you.