Qantas Call Centre Long Wait Times

My understanding (from unofficial sources) is that there is a pool of priority phone numbers that airport staff give to passengers which rotates every few weeks.

I will attempt to publish the currently active number(s) in this post:

1300 304 318
1300 659 161
1300 025 396
1300 659 116

1300 024 715
1300 025 390
1300 659 115
1300 659 134
1300 659 502

 

[Mr H]

The call centres are only the start. The mess that is now Qantas is causing loyal flyers to look around.

it is really easy to lose your place as an airline of choice and really difficult to regain it. maybe 15-20 years ago, BA was world beating. Now you actively avoid it.

 

[RooFlyer]

Not a good choice is you are female.

I know what you are saying, but I dare say I could find egregious behaviour by almost any airline or their government/shareholders. Not flying QR because of what happened in that incident is like (but not the same as) me not using my Qantas points because I loath Qantas ATM. Anyway, we use the choices that suit ourselves.

 

[Port Power]

Not a good choice is you are female.

QR is my favourite international airline, and I travel solo. I have booked QR for September and October this year. I agree with @RooFlyer’s comments.

 

[RichardMEL]

it is really easy to lose your place as an airline of choice and really difficult to regain it. maybe 15-20 years ago, BA was world beating. Now you actively avoid it.

Well it really comes down to trust - and as with any relationship - friendship, romantic or business (and in this case customer-provider) it's really hard to create trust, and once broken it can often be impossible to be regained, but at the very least takes a long time and much effort.

It's also a precept of marketing and customer service as I understand it - it's reasonably easy (or should be) to keep a customer but it's pretty hard to win a new one, or mend a broken relationship (which is why so many of the issues with QF currently for me are less about the incidents like the DFW screw up but about the response and the service recovery) - and this is where they fail seemingly quite often. Right or wrong this kind of thing starts at the top when you have the infamous comments from Joyce blaming customers for not being match fit and all the rest - that's the last thing you want to be saying when you are trying to repair broken trust.

Most people understand stuff happens (planes go tech, are delayed, weather, government policy changes/borders etc) and can accept that... it's how they are dealt with that is critical for mine.

Because that's what is at the core for many customers - right now a lot of people feel they cannot trust that :-

- their flight(s) won't get cancelled or changed
- there won't be delays
- that their call will be answered promptly and any issues resolved quickjly
- that they can use any flight credits easily (and/or that they can get a refund even!)
- that they will be easily be able to use their QFF points (an ongoing issue of course)
- that fares won't be unreasonable for service received (very subjective of course)
- that there might not be issues when away on their trip
- that tickets bought through QF on partners might not work out (while not technically responsible, it's again the treatment involved by the issuing carrier)
.... and many others no doubt.


By the same token many of us trust that carriers like SQ and QR WILL deliver the experiences we expect with far less fuss.. and until they do something to break that, then that view most likely won't change. And that customer trust in your product and brand is worth a very great deal in so many ways.

 

[RooFlyer]

Well put, @RichardMEL

From my point of view is that Qantas management will remain impervious and oblivious to all the carp that's flying about at the moment due to the pent up demand that's seeing planes pretty full (improved by the cutting-back of services of course). Their bottom line will keep getting better and the back slaps at Mascot will just get louder.

 

[Gladstone Tim]

A pleasant experience tonight with my call answered by a lovely lady in Fiji. Wait time was less than 5 minutes and lasted 18 minutes. A kind AFFer, Todd, had set an alert for any changes to my PER-(A330) SYD-BNE January flights. Sadly his alert came through about aircraft downgrade to a 737 whereas QF only advised of a slight schedule change. Both the res agent and automated system advised of a feedback opportunity at the conclusion of the call but was disconnected. Apart from what seemed like extended periods of stony silence, all my bookings were successfully changed. Wasn’t even challenged that a 10 minute schedule change warranted such drastic alterations. My first flight choice had no award availability but my second did. ‘‘Twas a very positive experience in light of what I was dreading.

An update....
No confirmation of new tickets being issued arrived over the weekend so I rang 131131 tonight. Was answered after about 30 minutes. From then, it was a further 60 minutes of prolonged silent pauses. The agent was saying “It is all good, all confirmed.” And I was thinking, “yeah right.” At one stage I asked if the new tickets had been issued yet and she replied, “The booking is showing some errors.” And i thought, “You don’t say.” I held on until I received the emails with the updated ticket numbers. What a debacle. I’m sure she was doing her best but lacked training or access or something to take so long to do something so seemingly simple.

 

[Lynda2475]

is like (but not the same as) me not using my Qantas points because I loath Qantas ATM.

Not even remotely similar imo. QR may have nice hard product but for me its not worth the price of potentially having your body violated and knowing our government will do nothing to ensure any justice. They are a government airline, giving them business is imo endorsing the appalling behaviour of a culture that does not respect women. <redacted>

 

[Mr H]

Not even remotely similar imo. QR may have nice hard product but for me its not worth the price of potentially having your body violated and knowing our government will do nothing to ensure any justice. They are a government airline, giving them business is imo endorsing the appalling behaviour of a culture that does not respect women. <redacted>

That was an appalling incident, but as far as I know it was a one-off incident that is unlikely to be repeated by QR or emulated by any other airline. By all means take your custom elsewhere but I don't think this incident was particularly indicative of the service you or anyone else flying with QR will receive.

 

[sudoer]

That was an appalling incident, but as far as I know it was a one-off incident that is unlikely to be repeated by QR or emulated by any other airline. By all means take your custom elsewhere but I don't think this incident was particularly indicative of the service you or anyone else flying with QR will receive.

It may have been a one-off for QR, but the Qatari government (which wholly owns QR) has a woeful track record on human rights.

Revealed: 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar since World Cup awarded

Guardian analysis indicates shocking figure over the past decade likely to be an underestimate

www.theguardian.com

 

[Mr H]

It may have been a one-off for QR, but the Qatari government (which wholly owns QR) has a woeful track record on human rights.

So do many other countries that we visit, transit or live in.

 

[RooFlyer]

So do many other countries that we visit, transit or live in.

Agree - the point I made in post #2422. Doesn't excuse it, but should give pause for thought when finger-pointing.

 

[Guvner]

Meanwhile, back on topic...

 

[cinder]

Well this time of day still seems like a garbage time to call (lunch time). Got 2 phones going, 30 mins and counting so far. Yes, using the priority numbers.

Edit: Got thru at 33 mins, could have been worse.

 

[cosi]

Tonight I discovered 13 12 31 only operates 7am to 7pm ASWT

Mrs C needs to change her domestic booking but cannot do online - told to contact customer service.

Had to call 13 13 13 because outside FF telephone number hours

After 50 minute wait Fiji answered - never heard a Fijian called Mary.

Spent several minutes discussing options only for the call to be disconnected.

MARY DID NOT RING BACK

Now after 90 minute they answered only to have the call to again drop out again.

Connection from our end is not the issue so what is going on????

 

[TheInsider]

Tonight I discovered 13 12 31 only operates 7am to 7pm ASWT

Mrs C needs to change her domestic booking but cannot do online - told to contact customer service.

Had to call 13 13 13 because outside FF telephone number hours

After 50 minute wait Fiji answered - never heard a Fijian called Mary.

Spent several minutes discussing options only for the call to be disconnected.

MARY DID NOT RING BACK

Now after 90 minute they answered only to have the call to again drop out again.

Connection from our end is not the issue so what is going on????

Why would the frequent flyer service centre be able to change a booking? They never have. They deal with the actual program, not reservations

 

[robinsparkles]

After 50 minute wait Fiji answered - never heard a Fijian called Mary

Completely irrelevant comment but Mary is a very common Fijian name, the Pacific Islander Fijians are mostly Christian hence the names.

 

[MJHoops]

Relevant to the thread - I’ve called twice now in mid morning to 1300 659 161. Based on accent got Fiji both times in under 10 mins (bronze QFF)

Slightly off topic is the subject of the calls - QF have now put a reinstatement request to JL on my classic award in business from HND to SYD for 4 Aug. flight no longer operating that day due to schedule change. There is a HND-SYD flight the next day. There is also a different route JFK-NRT-MEL on 4 Aug but of course that means JL changing a second sector. (But no one at either airline’s call centre wants to talk detail of alternatives.) They both say it’s up to JL to offer alternative following a request from QF.

I tried ringing JL to confirm they have received the request. That takes an hour on hold (!) no doubt due to much reduced Japanese international travel with only organised tour groups permitted entry at present. JL say request not received!

Called QF second time to follow up request which they say they’ve done

Told by QF it would take about a week. Has now been more than a week of course

The interesting contrast was that CX automatically pushed through alternative flight to for MEL-HKG-JFK outbound when their schedule changed. I Couldn’t accept it online. Had to call up QF to do that, which all went smoothly with eticket issued. Now my eticket just has no flight at all HND-SYD but still shows the last sector of SYD-MEL

Back to the phones for this ping pong ball…

 

[Mr H]

Slightly off topic is the subject of the calls - QF have now put a reinstatement request to JL on my classic award in business from HND to SYD for 4 Aug. flight no longer operating that day due to schedule change. There is a HND-SYD flight the next day. There is also a different route JFK-NRT-MEL on 4 Aug but of course that means JL changing a second sector. (But no one at either airline’s call centre wants to talk detail of alternatives.) They both say it’s up to JL to offer alternative following a request from QF.

My experience a few months ago is that JL is not interested non helping you out. You will not get them to release seats. You may also find that JL sectors had become married and a problem with one will become a problem for the other. If your ticket was issued by QF, you will need to deal with QF and get them to find a solution. You are most likely to have joy with this if you can suggest solutions yourself. If your main objective is to return to Australia from New York, look for routes that have availability to an airport with direct QF fights and suggest that QF open a revenue ticket for you to get back to Australia if there is no regular award availability. If you/they cannot find a solution you are looking at a refund, which I presume you do not want.

 

[MJHoops]

My experience a few months ago is that JL is not interested non helping you out. You will not get them to release seats. You may also find that JL sectors had become married and a problem with one will become a problem for the other. If your ticket was issued by QF, you will need to deal with QF and get them to find a solution. You are most likely to have joy with this if you can suggest solutions yourself. If your main objective is to return to Australia from New York, look for routes that have availability to an airport with direct QF fights and suggest that QF open a revenue ticket for you to get back to Australia if there is no regular award availability. If you/they cannot find a solution you are looking at a refund, which I presume you do not want.

Very handy to know - thank you

Yes it’s a QF issued ticket so I accept I need to go through them. Just thought I could massage the process along with JL but so far that’s not helped and long wait time to call

And good backup plan re saying QF need to find us some seats - I guess the tricky bit about that is I’ll have to find/buy a separate US domestic leg to get us to a west coast airport eg LAX

Much appreciated

 

[Pushka]

Just had excellent service from Nikki yesterday. Promptly answered and sorted.