No more QF chauffeur drive to LAX and DFW

[mattm199]

Got a call at 6.30 this evening as I was driving home, regarding flights departing June 20.
Outbound transfer still ok, but return in July cancelled as expected.
Got the offer of 10.000 points and told might take up to 21 days.

After the call, half wondered what the relative cost of a taxi voucher vs the points would be...

 

[Sequel]

Don't forget, those 10,000 points are complimentary, and they may just cancel them all if they don't get a big enough take up!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Apologies if i have missed this... but during a call from QF to cancel the CD... has it been explained why the service has been cancelled in Australia?

I can maybe appreciate overheads in the USA were too high. But how does that apply to bookings to and from home here?

 

[Gold Member]

Play your cards right and you might just end up with a better outcome. After expressing my displeasure at a measly 10k points which I value at ~$100, and that the CDs were worth $200 to me, the agent started to offer me alternatives:

- upgraded status to Platinum! But she then noted I already was platinum and moved on. I couldn't believe that a status upgrade was on offer. Wonder if it was a full 12 months or just temporary. I cheekily asked (jokingly) if an upgrade to P1 was eligible to which she laughed back.
- FirstClass Lounge passes. Again realized I was Platinum and moved on...
- Qantas Pub vouchers. These have no value to me but nice to give out to family and friends so I have a 'wad' of these coming my way.

I think I exhausted all of the options available but keen to hear if anyone else managed to elicit any other benefits.

 

[Ansett]

- upgraded status to Platinum!


That is just laughable they change status Credit earn rates as it is too easy to get status they say and here they are throwing it around willy nilly. WTF

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Play your cards right and you might just end up with a better outcome. After expressing my displeasure at a measly 10k points which I value at ~$100, and that the CDs were worth $200 to me, the agent started to offer me alternatives:

- upgraded status to Platinum! But she then noted I already was platinum and moved on. I couldn't believe that a status upgrade was on offer. Wonder if it was a full 12 months or just temporary. I cheekily asked (jokingly) if an upgrade to P1 was eligible to which she laughed back.
- FirstClass Lounge passes. Again realized I was Platinum and moved on...
- Qantas Pub vouchers. These have no value to me but nice to give out to family and friends so I have a 'wad' of these coming my way.

I think I exhausted all of the options available but keen to hear if anyone else managed to elicit any other benefits.

wow! Aside for the upgrade to platinum, weren't those the compensation options I mentioned at the beginning?

So QF does respond. Just wish they cut some of the spin, and offered these things proactively.

 

[legroom]

Play your cards right and you might just end up with a better outcome. After expressing my displeasure at a measly 10k points which I value at ~$100, and that the CDs were worth $200 to me, the agent started to offer me alternatives:

- upgraded status to Platinum! But she then noted I already was platinum and moved on. I couldn't believe that a status upgrade was on offer. Wonder if it was a full 12 months or just temporary. I cheekily asked (jokingly) if an upgrade to P1 was eligible to which she laughed back.
- FirstClass Lounge passes. Again realized I was Platinum and moved on...
- Qantas Pub vouchers. These have no value to me but nice to give out to family and friends so I have a 'wad' of these coming my way.

I think I exhausted all of the options available but keen to hear if anyone else managed to elicit any other benefits.

OMG

Is there anyone at QF making a policy - while sitting down - anymore ?

Smacks of 'policy on the run' to me.

First, 'sorry'

Second, '10,000 pts per pax'

Thirdly, '10,000 pts per booking'

Now, 'instant WP upgrade'

Truly bizarre !

Even Dick Smith runs his stores in a more organised fashion than this.

 

[AussieTim]

Play your cards right and you might just end up with a better outcome. After expressing my displeasure at a measly 10k points which I value at ~$100, and that the CDs were worth $200 to me, the agent started to offer me alternatives:

- upgraded status to Platinum! But she then noted I already was platinum and moved on. I couldn't believe that a status upgrade was on offer. Wonder if it was a full 12 months or just temporary. I cheekily asked (jokingly) if an upgrade to P1 was eligible to which she laughed back.

Thank you for posting this Gold Member! good to know for when/if I get the call.

In my case - CD was going to be a godsend as travelling with an infant and this would have made it much simpler for transfers etc. So even with the above info I would have still preferred the simplicity of CD.

 

[serfty]

Urgg .. received a phone call at 6pm MEL time yesterday - unfortunately I am in New York and was awoken from a deep sleep after flying from oz the day before.

I garnered enough to ascertain it was about CD (for which I had two transfers booked) and postponed the conversation (with a polite reference to 4am NYC:evil until next Thursday.

 

[codash1099]

Apologies if i have missed this... but during a call from QF to cancel the CD... has it been explained why the service has been cancelled in Australia?

I can maybe appreciate overheads in the USA were too high. But how does that apply to bookings to and from home here?

Indeed, especially since they are still running the service for UK flights.

Never mind right hand/left hand knowledge. With QF it's right half of brain/left half of brain.

 

[Kangol]

Play your cards right and you might just end up with a better outcome. After expressing my displeasure at a measly 10k points which I value at ~$100, and that the CDs were worth $200 to me, the agent started to offer me alternatives:

- upgraded status to Platinum! But she then noted I already was platinum and moved on. I couldn't believe that a status upgrade was on offer. Wonder if it was a full 12 months or just temporary. I cheekily asked (jokingly) if an upgrade to P1 was eligible to which she laughed back.
- FirstClass Lounge passes. Again realized I was Platinum and moved on...
- Qantas Pub vouchers. These have no value to me but nice to give out to family and friends so I have a 'wad' of these coming my way.

I think I exhausted all of the options available but keen to hear if anyone else managed to elicit any other benefits.

Did you ask about extending your WP status for another year?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

- upgraded status to Platinum! But she then noted I already was platinum and moved on.

Do you think the agent just had a sense of humour when offering platinum status?

 

[Nizar]

Don't forget, those 10,000 points are complimentary, and they may just cancel them all if they don't get a big enough take up!

Call of the year lol

 

[travelislife]

Even Dick Smith runs his stores in a more organised fashion than this.

What stores does Dick Smith run these days? He hasn't had a say or stake in the electronic stores since 1982 I am pretty sure.

 

[mattm199]

Disappointing in a way that their offer can change depending on customers response or "inconvenience", but on reflection, the offerings don't amount to much for most premium passengers (might already be Platinum, with the QP or F lounge access that comes included).

As I said when they called to offer the points, travelling from Brisbane one doesn't get to use the "premium" lounge offerings in Sydney or Melbourne; can't upgrade from Business as 3-class aircraft used, and so the extra points really aren't that useful (as opposed to the car service).

(A little like the "service recovery" card I got, unasked, last week, after a spilled drinks tray in J - a Valet parking voucher, good for one day only, not including overnight stay!)

 

[eastwest101]

Re: No more QF chauffer drive to LAX and DFW

(My bolding). I think that's an interesting turn of phrase.

Was CD 'complimentary'? Yes, that could be argued in as much there wasn't any apparent additional charge levied when the service was introduced. But on the other hand it might be argued at it was part of the overall service bundle that is handsomely charged for in a Qantas fare - like baggage, meals, lounges etc. Qantas does make a big deal out of the fact that "everything's included".

I agree with that comment RooFlyer - that was a particularly unfortunate turn of phrase to use, although I strongly suspect that this may have been scripted/instructed from somewhere above the official company reps own position, and raises the interesting possibility that customers can buy a full service airline product and then have the 'complimentary' stuff such as the baggage allowance, food, lounge access, other on board amneties such as IFE/drinks removed without compensation.....

But if one has to ask for, or negotiate a 'goodwill gesture', then its value as 'goodwill' is probably zero. I'm sorry, Red Roo, if you are enunciating Qantas' position in respect of compensation for Qantas unilaterally not honouring existing bookings fro CD, then Qantas has no idea of what 'goodwill' means and it shows how totally out of touch Qantas management is with its J and F passengers. What Qantas is talking about isn't a 'goodwill gesture' but buying off a complainant IMHO.

A gesture of goodwill in this case would be what drron mentioned when AA cancelled his flight - an automatic, prompt crediting of points to the account of the person involved, and an e-mail to them. That's the "goodwill" part. The quantum of 'compensation' is another matter.

Exactly. Could not have put it better myself.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Re: No more QF chauffer drive to LAX and DFW

... although I strongly suspect that this may have been scripted/instructed from somewhere above the official company reps own position

But this in itself raises two issues.

The company representative should have a pretty good grasp of AFF by now.

So either they are reading the official line, as handed down, and not sending it back up the line to say 'hey, this won't cut it',

or

they have sent it back up the line and management is saying 'we don't care'.

Either of those two options is not an ideal approach to PR.

 

[RooFlyer]

Re: No more QF chauffer drive to LAX and DFW

But this in itself raises two issues.

The company representative should have a pretty good grasp of AFF by now.

So either they are reading the official line, as handed down, and not sending it back up the line to say 'hey, this won't cut it',

or

they have sent it back up the line and management is saying 'we don't care'.

Either of those two options is not an ideal approach to PR.

I've been pretty hard on 'Red Roo' from time to time here. Its not personal - I'm not addressing the young lady or young bloke (believe me, for me I'm sure they are all 'young') behind the keyboard but the management positions they have to enunciate.

RR is sometimes very pro-active and sometimes completely absent - its just what their line manager has instructed on the issue in question. I feel sorry for the individual sometimes when they have to post complete pap here, based on QF management dictates or policy.

RR's interaction here I think is just another indication of QF management's being out of touch with the world in general.

I'm a regular Air Canada flyer so look at FT's Air Canada forum from time to time. There is a dedicated Q&A thread there; with the official AC 'rep' (Ben) fielding questions. BUT from time to time there is (as far as I know) a real, using his own name, guy at VP level, also chiming in (also Ben [surname] ). Amazing (if I'm not being fooled). If I get time I'll start a thread here on this, but have bee travelling too much lately to get a handle on the thread over there.

Air Canada is a legacy carrier with the 'enhancement' disease much like Qantas. Worse in some cases :shock: . The vitriol on the FT Air Canada forum leaves the QF forum here in the shade.

I'm hoping that FT thread is an indication that, like the banks, AC have woken up to the fact that passenger interaction does matter.

We can only hope that Qantas might eventually take the same approach. Imagine being able to directly ask Justin [name] a question here and getting an honest answer!!

Coo, Admin, wouldn't THAT attract some traffic

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Re: No more QF chauffer drive to LAX and DFW

British Airways does the same thing. And United. It's about putting the right person - able to see and deal with things at strategic level - in a position dealing with stakeholders.

There have been many issues at a strategic level for Qantas that have gone unanswered, and that has resulted in lost revenue to Qantas.

Such a a simple thing to remedy.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Re: No more QF chauffer drive to LAX and DFW

I'm curious why anyone would accept 10K points as compensation for the loss of CD??

There are essentially 4 cars per return journey = in most cities ~$50/ride = $200 worth of CD
10K points is realistically worth ~$80 (in 95% of redemption cases factoring in taxes/fees ec..), and cost QF ~$20 once you factor in margins, arbitrage, goodwill and points that may expire, delaying the redemption (interest) and so on... There is also evidence to suggest 10K points is the standard "sorry you had a bad experience - we really don't know how to fix it so lets throw 10k points at you to be happy for another while" type compensation. Which means these points may be funded through the 'service recovery' which essentially cost nix as it's a sunk cost for QF.

To make everything equal again - QF realistically needs to offer you $200 worth (25,000 points) just to be even.
THEN - we talk about compensation, which another 10,000 seems fair given the inconvenience/bad press/negative emotions you're feeling towards QF/perhaps CD was the reason you chose QF over another airline.

All up - 35,000 points genuinely seems fairer and simpler.