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

 

[Port Power]

Sadly, access to Hobart by Platinums ha been enhanced by Qantas.

On my recent experience just as likely to get Fiji or SA.

And the call is still answered “Qantas premium line”.

 

[tdimdad]

And the call is still answered “Qantas premium line”.

And you may get a more competent team member on the line.

[Cynical] Though, if the overall experience / competence level is 1-4 out of 10, it's not much of use if you'd need something at least moderate level of competence done... [/Cynical]

 

[encryptededdy]

And the call is still answered “Qantas premium line”.

Mine wasn't

 

[Nitro6333]

Sadly, access to Hobart by Platinums ha been enhanced by Qantas.

On my recent experience just as likely to get Fiji or SA.

Even the "airport line"now gets answerd by Fiji & SA. I feel sorry for ppl stuck at the airport with a real problem!

 

[eminere]

And the call is still answered “Qantas premium line”.

I don't even get that.

 

[encryptededdy]

Called up, got Hobart, had a good 50 minute chat getting some award flights released.

We tried quite a few dates, and Justin (the agent) had to fight with the Qantas Droid that approves these as it kept crashing on him. Finally got some flights booked to LAX for later this year though



Not complaining though, we worked though many dates to find ones that worked. If only every call to Qantas would end up with a competent agent, maybe I wouldn't complain so much.

But also the first 10 minutes of this call was Justin fixing a broken booking made by Fiji, so maybe Hobart would be able to get through more calls if that didn't happen...

 

[Ktan89]

Called up, got Hobart, had a good 50 minute chat getting some award flights released.

We tried quite a few dates, and Justin (the agent) had to fight with the Qantas Droid that approves these as it kept crashing on him. Finally got some flights booked to LAX for later this year though

View attachment 288725

Not complaining though, we worked though many dates to find ones that worked. If only every call to Qantas would end up with a competent agent, maybe I wouldn't complain so much.

But also the first 10 minutes of this call was Justin fixing a broken booking made by Fiji, so maybe Hobart would be able to get through more calls if that didn't happen...

I wish you could transfer the call to me

 

[encryptededdy]

I wish you could transfer the call to me

Yeah...

On one hand as a new WP I'm pretty happy I can get Hobart on the line (sometimes).

On the other hand I think about how I purposefully spent heaps of extra money with Qantas this year just so that I can get good customer service from them :/ Logically if you were getting terrible customer service from a company you wouldn't put in effort to spend even more money with them, but here we are.

 

[dylarr]

Yeah...

On one hand as a new WP I'm pretty happy I can get Hobart on the line (sometimes).

On the other hand I think about how I purposefully spent heaps of extra money with Qantas this year just so that I can get good customer service from them :/ Logically if you were getting terrible customer service from a company you wouldn't put in effort to spend even more money with them, but here we are.

Earlier this year 95% of calls as WP would go to Hobart or Auckland.

Now it seems 95% of calls as WP go to Suva, Cape Town or Manila.

I’ve no idea what or why this changed, but it’s certainly quite the enhancement for WP’s and seriously reduces the value of the tier.

 

[encryptededdy]

Earlier this year 95% of calls as WP would go to Hobart or Auckland.

Now it seems 95% of calls as WP go to Suva, Cape Town or Manila.

I’ve no idea what or why this changed, but it’s certainly quite the enhancement for WP’s and seriously reduces the value of the tier.

cynical me thinks somebody set phone answer time as a big OKR, and they decided that sending WP calls to the first call centre available instead of making them wait a few minutes is an improvement.

 

[levelnine]

cynical me thinks somebody set phone answer time as a big OKR, and they decided that sending WP calls to the first call centre available instead of making them wait a few minutes is an improvement.

It's probably something more mundane as Hobart operators being so occupied with putting out fires caused by other operators that they aren't available to take incoming calls. If each Hobart operator spends the first 15, 30, 45 minutes of each call fixing some disaster generated by Suva, that radically reduces the number of calls they'll be able to answer each day.

 

[Nitro6333]

It's probably something more mundane as Hobart operators being so occupied with putting out fires caused by other operators that they aren't available to take incoming calls. If each Hobart operator spends the first 15, 30, 45 minutes of each call fixing some disaster generated by Suva, that radically reduces the number of calls they'll be able to answer each day.

And lets face it Rome is burning

 

[DC3]

Up thread, IIRC, Hobart hours are 7:00am to 11:00pm. Not that we are always answered by HBA during those hours.

Yes, asked and answered many times, upthread.

Unfortunately, many will never get through to Hobart.

 

[ronlon]

The sad thing with all this it should not matter whether the Qantas call centre person is based in Hobart, Cape Town, Manilla or Timbuktu. They all work for Qantas whether on staff or contract or via a third party provider. Training and skill set should all be the same……

 

[ellen10]

I remember doing my one and only OWA 3 years ago. As only a Bronze member, stressing about booking my first flights CX SYD via HK to Dublin. But adding extra flights on BA, IB, QR and then Qantas was a breeze and chatting to the wonderful staff in Hobart about the exciting upcoming trip.

Oh how I long for those days, which will probably never happen again. All this makes me very fearful to attempt another OWA trip, and now I have almost a million points. Very sad.

 

[clifford]

The sad thing with all this it should not matter whether the Qantas call centre person is based in Hobart, Cape Town, Manilla or Timbuktu. They all work for Qantas whether on staff or contract or via a third party provider. Training and skill set should all be the same……

Yes, but unfortunately we live in the real world.

The callcentres outside of Aust need to specialise, as it's been clearly shown that the off-shore units can't provide quality advice across the range of international services.

Or, I could be less diplomatic...

 

[GilliG]

I have emailed Stpehanie Tully as a last ditch- this is my story

Thanks for your story - this is mine. Did you get your tickets after the Stephanie Kelly reference??
Any advice ? I've now emailed them as well

SUMMARY OF ISSUE

18/6/22 Booking made for 5 flights through Qantas website using frequent flyer points.

Booking Ref ****** for the following trip

Perth/Mel QF784
Mel/Delhi QF69
Delhi/KL MH191
KL/Denpasar MH715
Denpasar/Perth JQ107

Points deducted 118 730
Visa card billed ~$300

Ticket Itinerary and receipt received from Qantas Customer Services at ******

I contacted Malaysian Airlines for seat allocation and was given seats 2A on each MH flight.

18/6/22 I contacted the service centre to see if I could change my flight date from Denpasar to Perth from 12/10/22 to 20/10/22 and this was done - new return flight was 20/10/22 Denpasar/Perth JQ117

I supplied credit card details as there was a fare difference of ~$23
I was emailed an itinerary from QANTAS AIRWAYS CONTACT CENTRES on 18/6/22 at 3pm to reflect these changes and told to expect a new confirmation and E-Ticket Itinerary from Qantas Customer Services.
All flights were listed on my bookings page on the Qantas website.
New confirmation and E-Ticket Itinerary from Qantas Customer Services not recieved.

4/7/22 Only the 3 QF/JQ flights were listed on my bookings page on the Qantas website

The MH flights below were no longer on my bookings page
Delhi/KL MH191
KL/Denpasar MH715

I contacted the service centre who said that the Visa card transaction for the flight change fare difference had not gone through which is why the 2 MH flights had been cancelled. There was no reason given when I asked why I hadn’t been notified of this. I was told that I should give my Visa card details again, which I did, for a charge of ~$23 and the agent reinstated flights.
I received an email of the itinerary from QANTAS AIRWAYS CONTACT CENTRES on 4/7/22 at 6:32 pm.
I was told to expect a new confirmation and E-Ticket Itinerary from Qantas Customer Services.
All flights were listed on my bookings page on the Qantas website.
A charge appeared on my Visa card banking page.
New confirmation and E-Ticket Itinerary from Qantas Customer Services not recieved.

26/7/22 Email notification advising a time change for Mel/Delhi flight, when I went to my booking page on the Qantas website only 3 flights (QF/JQ) were listed on the bookings page

The MH flights below were no longer on my bookings page
Delhi/KL MH191
KL/Denpasar MH715

I rechecked my visa account- the $23 charge was no longer listed. My assumption was that this was the reason the booking had failed again so I contacted the service centre. The agent was unsure why this would have happened and once again reinstated flights. I inquired as to why I hadn’t been notified of this again but no reason was given. The agent reassured me it was now fixed and they had queued it to ticketing, I was told to expect a new confirmation and E-Ticket Itinerary from Qantas Customer Services.
All flights were listed on my bookings page on the Qantas website.

28/7/22

No confirmation and E-Ticket Itinerary from Qantas Customer Services had been received so I contacted the service centre to ask why. The agent sent me an email of my itinerary from QANTAS AIRWAYS CONTACT CENTRES on 28/7/22 at 7:32 am but said there was problem with the booking and she would look into it and handle the matter. She would call me back within 3 hours. I did not receive a call. I rang back and spoke with another agent who checked with her and told me she would call me back shortly but I never received a call.
All flights are still listed on my bookings page on the Qantas website.

29/7/22

No confirmation and E-Ticket Itinerary from Qantas Customer Services had been received so I contacted the service centre. I was told that my booking had been rejected by ticketing and it would need to be resubmitted as there was an issue, the agent thought he could see what it might be so tweaked it and resubmitted it to ticketing. He said I should call back in 24 hrs if I hadn’t heard anything and it could be escalated directly to the Customer Care Team.
All flights are still listed on my bookings page on the Qantas website.

30/7/22

No confirmation and E-Ticket Itinerary from Qantas Customer Services had been received so I contacted the service centre. I was told the booking was not ticketed and the issue was still not resolved - it appeared to be due to a problem with the points booking at the outset. The agent said he would try to address it but the Points Redemption Team would not be contactable until Monday 1/8/22. He agreed to contact me at 0700 Monday 1/8/22 if the problem had not been resolved so that escalation to The Points Redemption Team could occur.
All flights are still listed on my bookings page on the Qantas website.

1/8/22

No call from Qantas Airways Contact Centre as promised. No confirmation and E-Ticket Itinerary from Qantas Customer Services received so I contacted the service centre. Reya took on the case, she saw the problems still existed - it appeared to be due to a "system glitch", she then sent me an email of the itinerary from QANTAS AIRWAYS CONTACT CENTRES on 4/7/22 at 09:25 am and 09:26, this one also listed the ticket number(as below) as she assured me it was now settled. I asked if she could organise my seat bookings for the MH flights- she did this as she was able to access that part of the system for me- she issued seats 5A for both legs (I had been issued with 2A back at the outset of the booking and again a second time). My seats were no longer available I would have to settle for 5A. I accepted this.

A short while later Reya called me- I would need to pay the ~$23 again as the transaction hadn't gone through and this should settle the matter, I provided a different credit card and the transaction appeared as PENDING to Qantas on my credit card statement. Reya said she would keep an eye on it and stay in touch.

2/8/22
No confirmation and E-Ticket Itinerary from Qantas Customer Services received and credit card transaction to qantas still pending on my card account and so I contacted the service centre. Another agent messaged Reya to let her know that I am still not ticketed and card transaction still pending, she said Reya would call me and this agent would also follow up.
I also rang Malaysian Airlines who confirm they don’t have ticketed flights for me in their system due to a pending payment.

An Update- I have my tickets. I decided to keep calling and just ask each operator to put me through to Hobart. One of them did! The Hobart employee who took my call and brief explanation apologised that I had been put through to her by mistake and she would transfer me back. When I asked if the overseas call centre would have the authority to issue my tickets she then asked for my whole story. I tod her using all of the terms that I had become very familiar with as a result of the many previous calls and bingo... after 5 mins my pdf doc arrived (she stayed on the line until it did). The issue was a system glitch with reward points as well as a change fee- an infinite looping. I'm really grateful to this AFF community for the extra info I needed to rectify my problem. It's a real shame as we have flown with Qantas and on points for so many years without a glitch up until now.
Anyway... phew, and thanks

 

[Nitro6333]

An Update- I have my tickets. I decided to keep calling and just ask each operator to put me through to Hobart. One of them did! The Hobart employee who took my call and brief explanation apologised that I had been put through to her by mistake and she would transfer me back. When I asked if the overseas call centre would have the authority to issue my tickets she then asked for my whole story. I tod her using all of the terms that I had become very familiar with as a result of the many previous calls and bingo... after 5 mins my pdf doc arrived (she stayed on the line until it did). The issue was a system glitch with reward points as well as a change fee- an infinite looping. I'm really grateful to this AFF community for the extra info I needed to rectify my problem. It's a real shame as we have flown with Qantas and on points for so many years without a glitch up until now.
Anyway... phew, and thanks

That’s a good outcome. I don’t know how many times I’ve been told “sorry sir I can’t transfer you to the Hobart call centre“ the lies just fall out of them when it suit’s!

 

[MARTINE]

The sad thing with all this it should not matter whether the Qantas call centre person is based in Hobart, Cape Town, Manilla or Timbuktu. They all work for Qantas whether on staff or contract or via a third party provider. Training and skill set should all be the same……

Its all OK now
Alan is giving away the free steak knives and engaging in virtual self flagellation not sparing the birches..
Cant wait for certain MSM travel journos to report and applaud such customer responsiveness

 

[yaksha98]

An Update- I have my tickets. I decided to keep calling and just ask each operator to put me through to Hobart. One of them did! The Hobart employee who took my call and brief explanation apologised that I had been put through to her by mistake and she would transfer me back. When I asked if the overseas call centre would have the authority to issue my tickets she then asked for my whole story. I tod her using all of the terms that I had become very familiar with as a result of the many previous calls and bingo... after 5 mins my pdf doc arrived (she stayed on the line until it did). The issue was a system glitch with reward points as well as a change fee- an infinite looping. I'm really grateful to this AFF community for the extra info I needed to rectify my problem. It's a real shame as we have flown with Qantas and on points for so many years without a glitch up until now.
Anyway... phew, and thanks

congrats on finally getting it sorted... i might try that approach soon "transfer to hobart"! out of curiosity how many tries did it take before someone actually did transfer?

almost 3 weeks and countless calls to fiji/manila/capetown has not resolved the issues caused by qf failing to issue tickets in time and flights being cancelled.