Narky QF gate staff

[33kft]

Seen (and been on the receiving end of) plenty of narkiness from QF staff. Funnily enough most of it I laugh off as standard operating procedure, but one recently got under my skin when the check-in agent had forgotten to print our boarding passes and instead of just printing them and getting on with their day, they shot back at me with one of those infuriatingly smug looks "you can just use your phone to check in, you know". Sure, but it's hardly time saving when I've lined up to have you check me in. I guess it's fair to say that I don't care up to the point that QF staff try to pin their errors on me, and then it gets unpleasant. Also makes me wonder why they're on the priority check in, surely you put the biggest w**ker on oversized baggage desk, right?

 

[Quickstatus]

Look at an agent the wrong way or accidentally brush up against one while walking in the US of A, could get you ejected from a flight.

 

[33kft]

True. I have also had to step in to stop a TK "service desk" agent who was screaming at a crying customer at IST, that I found particularly egregious - it was a particularly vicious attack. After I told (not asked) him to stop screaming at this lady, he crossed his arms and refused to deal with either of us, so we each had to speak to the other agent there. There's some pretty impressive customer service out there, but that does not excuse the QF behaviour (although I do understand the difficulties of such a job). Wonder how much we'll miss them when they're gone and the whole process is done via an iPhone app.

 

[Melburnian1]

Maybe it’s a public holiday thing. I barely got a nod out of the BNE J lounge attendant just now on presenting my WP card, let alone a smile. Pretty poor IMHO. She pretty much had a “FML” expression.

If they're on 'wages', then wouldn't they be happy at receiving up to three times the standard hourly rate when working on pub hols?

 

[pauly7]

I’ve seen some really awful US agents that I can’t believe would ever speak to anyone in the way I observed, let alone in an official capacity as a representative of their company or a citizen of an ‘advanced culture’ but honestly US customer service in general is just a brand of rock bottom ‘don’t care / sickly sweet insincerity’ to me. I just minimise my time there as much as possible

 

[Saab34]

Just go nuts like Tiger passengers do!

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

OT, and not only do QF gate staff bark out, but it turns out the VA gate staff do too, if you dare to step out of line.
As I did in the eyes of this VA gate "agent".
Not to worry, had my VA same as in OP...
I am VFF PS, and this bird let 2 old people on, because they were old, so priority boarding.
No one stepped forward after these 2 old people got on, as this was a F100 with(out) (edited), a J class, and no one else was boarding with VFF WP/VFF SG, so I thought I as VFF PS, would be able to sneak into the Priority Lane at PER gate 46, because no one else stepped forward.
Front of plane boarding only can be done first, as the F100 has no rear PAX door, so, what do you think happened?
Yelp, I sure did feel small after the scolding I got.
My tail was firmly between my legs, and I felt small.
My first snap from a VA staff member.
Just because I am a VFF PS, and the PB was for J class/VFF WP/VFF SG first, but without no one stepping forward, and rear of plane PAX were to board next, does not mean she could have snapped at me the way she did.
Now I know how it feels.
But I didn't say a word in reply.
Not being a QFF flyer on this time round PER sojourn, ... but will try the QF run next time I fly to PER.

 

[Quickstatus]

I’ve seen some really awful US agents that I can’t believe would ever speak to anyone in the way I observed, let alone in an official capacity as a representative of their company or a citizen of an ‘advanced culture’ but honestly US customer service in general is just a brand of rock bottom ‘don’t care / sickly sweet insincerity’ to me. I just minimise my time there as much as possible

They need to introduce tips. Fastest way to recreate “Fly the Friendly Skies”
I really think that’s why USofA airline staff are super Narky - poor wages and no tips

 

[jb747]

They need to introduce tips. Fastest way to recreate “Fly the Friendly Skies”
I really think that’s why USofA airline staff are super Narky - poor wages and no tips

I got a tip from a passenger once. She tried to tell me how to land a 767. Given that it was a 38 knot crosswind, and we’d stayed on the black bit, I was quite happy with the landing. I asked her how her last landing was...

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

I’ve seen some really awful US agents that I can’t believe would ever speak to anyone in the way I observed, let alone in an official capacity as a representative of their company or a citizen of an ‘advanced culture’ but honestly US customer service in general is just a brand of rock bottom ‘don’t care / sickly sweet insincerity’ to me. I just minimise my time there as much as possible

And then they over there in the US expect to be tipped to high haven for "services" provided.
Tips maybe not in the airline gate service side of things as such.

 

[justinbrett]

And then they over there in the US expect to be tipped to high haven for "services" provided.
Tips maybe not in the airline gate service side of things as such.

I’m fairly certain all of the major US airlines have a policy of refusing tips

 

[RooFlyer]

I’m fairly certain all of the major US airlines have a policy of refusing tips

Is Frontier Airlines a major?

Why Flight Attendants Aren't Happy With Frontier Airlines' New Tipping Policy

Individual flight attendants will now keep 100% of the tips they receive – but what they really want is better pay.

time.com

 

[BD1959]

Sometimes its very best not to talk back to staff at an airport no matter what.
No matter how rude the staff are, (airline or security or who ever).
You certainly don't need to be taken by away by airport police for being seen as a threat.
Even if you thought you were right but staff might feel threatened.
I certainly wouldn't do it at an airport of all places.

Disagree Pooch.

I was once physically pushed back by a GA on boarding an EK flight. I certainly felt I was correct to talk back since:

1. I would never intentionally touch a member of staff - they should abide by similar protocols
2. I was correctly walking forward to priority board as called

Should I have just copped both the physical intervention and lost the ability to place my bag directly over my seat (full A380)?

Regards,

BD

 

[Quickstatus]

Stand your ground but prosecutor,judge, jury and executioner are often the same person so there are consequences in doing so.

 

[dajop]

Lots of criticism of US gate agents being narky. But in the OP’s situation they would not have been narky. They simply wouldn’t have even been there, the OP and other remaining passengers would have been well and truly offloaded from the flight by that stage !!!

 

[Flying mermaid]

Is Frontier Airlines a major?

Why Flight Attendants Aren't Happy With Frontier Airlines' New Tipping Policy

Individual flight attendants will now keep 100% of the tips they receive – but what they really want is better pay.

time.com

oh good grief - who next will introduce tipping, so they can get away with rubbish wages and maximise profits!

 

[justinbrett]

Is Frontier Airlines a major?

Why Flight Attendants Aren't Happy With Frontier Airlines' New Tipping Policy

Individual flight attendants will now keep 100% of the tips they receive – but what they really want is better pay.

time.com

No. Major would be the big three (AA, Delta, United). Possibly also South West but they operate on a different business model than the other three and I don’t know what their policy is towards tipping.

From what I understand Frontier Air is just the worst. They probably don’t need a tipping policy.

 

[Denali]

22yrs ago was my first long haul and I still remember the San Fran agent standing on the desk to yell at everyone.

It was like that Robin Williams movie where the kids stand and say, Oh Captain, my Captain" but he was armed and pissed off at the masses.

 

[Isochronous]

In the end, thanks to the padded timetable, there was nothing to worry about. QF10 on Easter Saturday, the 1325 hours PER to MEL was airborne at 1344 (about 5 - 8 late) and arrived at gate in MEL at 1852, three minutes early.

Narky QF staff are unfortunately nothing new. Combined with the sense of self entitlement, laziness and incessant gossiping of so many cabin crew, this contributes to the vast majority of international journeys by air to and from Oz being made on QF's competitors. Even including JQ and EK, far fewer than half all overseas journeys is QF++ market share.

QF may have been privatised over 20 years ago, but too many staff still behave as though they're unaccountable indolent unionised bureaucrats. Poor service culture just isn't competitive in the 21st century global market for aviation.

 

[33kft]

Poor service culture just isn't competitive in the 21st century global market for aviation

Really? Consumers have long been voting with their wallet, and more now than ever the vote is for the cheapest product, not the best service. This is not true for premium cabins but then again, how much premium cabin space will there be if services continue to be pushed towards LCCs? Just this week MI's merger with SQ pushed 17 routes to Scoot, surely this doesn't suggest soft product is of primary importance?

LCCs in Asia Pacific: two decades of steady market share gains

Low-cost carriers (LCCs) in Asia have experienced rapid growth, accounting for 29% of seat capacity in 2018, compared to virtually zero in 1998, with China having a relatively weak LCC presence. Seven Asian markets now have domestic LCC penetration rates above 50%.

centreforaviation.com

• LCCs accounted for 29% seat capacity within Asia Pacific in 2018, compared to 14% in 2008 and virtually zero in 1998.
• LCCs now account for more than 50% of domestic capacity in seven Asian markets.
• LCCs now account for more than 30% of international capacity in six Asian markets.