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

 

[JohnM]

I phoned the WP line today at 0840WST. About 5 minutes on hold. Answered pretty obviously offshore by very polite but obviously from the outset (just the way she repetitively asked security questions) very inexperienced Mary.

I had an aircraft change DRW-PER, with my partner's (NB) separate booking supposedly linked to mine but the system had defaulted my seating way back to her row.

When I moved myself forward in MMB, her seating failed to move with mine. So it seemed liked there was still some sort of linkage, but it was not functioning properly. Only option was to call.

Anyway, Mary was in Fiji. She had no idea about status and wanted to move me back, rather than PJM forward. Errr, Mary, allow me to assure that it does not work like that.

She puts me on hold to check with higher authority. Comes back after about 10 minutes saying she'd call me back when she could get through to the higher authority.

Yeah, sure...

Well, blow me down, 1 hour later, just as I was going to call again in the hope of getting Hobart, Mary calls back. She had moved PJM forward.

Hopefully Mary will learn something from this and only take a couple of minutes instead of over an hour faffing around over something so simple next time.

OK, update on this.

First, (not that it makes any difference) I neglected to mention that Mary was in Fiji (I asked).

Anyway, there was something that didn't feel quite right. I, as a WP, seemed to be in a 'linked' booking with PJM, but 'following' her - instead of the other way round.

Long story short, I phone again and get offshore but eventually redirected to Dave in Hobart.

Big, big shoutout to Dave.

He looks at everything and says, "There's something strange here. You haven't been ticketed."

It turns out that in the changes I made to our bookings a couple of weeks ago to bring our flights to DRW from PER forward a day, mine (revenue, with a few extra $$ to pay for the change because of fare bucket difference) had not been ticketed - but PJM's (changeable Award booking with X available on the new flight (on my points)) had.

Bingo! Dave gets it sorted while we are talking. Ticket issued and confirmation email received within minutes - and my Amex alert for the extra $$ that I should have been charged about two weeks ago pops up.

OK, I'll freely admit that a mix of separate revenue and points bookings, plus subsequent changes, would challenge the average airline booking database but (relevant to QF IT Issues thread) the failure to update my ticket and payment at time of change (by phone) is a fail.

But - onya Dave for sorting it where offshore (seemingly) had no clue.

 

[Duffa]

But did you manage to pay for your flights without some untrained work experience kid in Capetown or Suva totally screwing up the whole booking?

They admitted today that their phone staff are being let loose on the general public with 50% less time spent in training…

the taxes have appeared on my amex and I have the booking on my QF account. Points have not been deducted yet

 

[Phoenix-1]

Why is it that the call centre staff can't see the same seats I can see? Is this something only for certain call centres?

 

[Mattg]

Exactly… the 90% increase in call complexity isn’t from those calling… it’s on those *taking* the calls!

Seriously, I had an agent tonight trying to tell me that a classic award of 68400 points to SIN plus $231 in carrier imposed charges (and a few bucks tax) was a ‘points plus pay’ booking and NOT a classic award, because there was a cash component.

The agent genuinely believed classic awards were totally ‘free’.

Yet another reason Qantas should not be allowing offshore agents to take calls about Classic Flight Reward bookings until they've fully completed their training!

Seriously Qantas, this is such basic stuff.

 

[dylarr]

You could probably also attribute the 60% increase in calls to the fact that most people now need to call more than once about the same issue, as the agent either didn't resolve it on the first call or the call got disconnected.

Absolutely. I'd attribute the increase in calls to:

- Disconnected calls or having to HUACA due to agents being unable to achieve 1st/2nd/3rd/4th/... call resolution
- Poor ability to self service a lot of requests, in particular where there are irrops/schedule changes and issues redeeming credits
- The fact that the chat, SMS and airport ticketing support channels that existed pre-COVID, no longer exist

Nothing in the presentation about addressing this and trying to reduce call volumes. Actually watching the investor webcast replay on the Qantas site earlier, they mentioned they will actually be setting up a special travel credit concierge number to help customers redeem credits... so driving more people to call in(!!)

 

[encryptededdy]

Nothing in the presentation about addressing this and trying to reduce call volumes. Actually watching the investor webcast replay on the Qantas site earlier, they mentioned they will actually be setting up a special travel credit concierge number to help customers redeem credits... so driving more people to call in(!!)

I mean, if they have agents trained just for Travel Credit redemption, then this is probably a net benefit, assuming they can do it in one call without messing it up.

 

[Ade]

Day of week	Sunday
Time of call	1848
Number used	13 12 11
Status	Platinum
Hold time	~12 mins
Call Centre (if known)	CPT (going by the accent)
Matter resolved	No
Details	Called to book a specific routing for 2x $ seats SYD-DSS. There was a 5 minute wait time before someone from CPT answered the call. I explained that I would like to make a booking from SYD to DSS via certain routes that is not possible to book online via the website. The agent said "Ok, I will put you on hold now" and she never came back. I waited for 20 minutes on the call to see if she returns, nada ... so I HUCA.

 

[Ade]

Day of week	Sunday
Time of call	1903
Number used	13 12 11
Status	Platinum
Hold time	5 mins
Call Centre (if known)	CPT (asked the agent)
Matter resolved	No
Details	Recap : <title song & voiceover recap in the background> Called to book a specific routing for 2x $ seats SYD-DSS. The agent on the phone put me on hold for 20 mins and never came back, so I HUCA <title song fades> This episode : Another agent from CPT answers the call. I think her name is "Tina". Right off the bat I could sense that Tina is a confident person. She was very relaxed, comfortable and listened carefully to what my booking request was. I had already written down the trip, stops & flight numbers that I'd like to book. I wanted to book SYD-DXB-CKY-BMO-DSS-DXB-SYD for 2x adults $ fare in Y. All of these routes are done in EK metal with SYD-DXB & DXB-SYD sold as QF flight number. I was able to get $3500/person return. But the fares in QF & EK websites were $12K and upwards for a Flex Y. So she keyed in the routes and the system did not price. She tried a few many things, no luck. She placed me on hold every now and then for 10-15 mins to see if a supervisor can sort this *complex* route. 50 mins into the call, still no luck. At this point in time, the call automatically dropped and within a few seconds Tina called me back. She apologised that the call had dropped. I think it was around lunch time in CPT and Tina, I could say, was getting hungry and she was yawning ... I told her that I understand that it's her lunch time and I apologised for keeping her. She said that it was ok and I quote "I feel very comfortable talking to you Ade, most of the customers I speak to are very demanding and they rush us to finalise the bookings. This makes us panic and we make mistakes. Then someone from HBA or AKL need to fix the mistakes we make and it reflects poorly on us. Customers also sometimes yell if we are not able to do the changes/routes they expect. It may be simple for those that have been working for many years, but most of the staff here are new and still under training. Thank you so much for being patient with me, I'm still learning the systems". She then put me on hold again trying to price the routes. She came back after 10 mins and told that she needs to physically go to a different person's desk to have this ticket sorted and that she will call me back within the hour. Rightly so, she called within the hour, but not with the news I was expecting. She advised that EK is not allowing QF to sell any seats in the "Sale" or "Saver" fare classes. I asked how about "Flex" class and guess what EK is not allowing QF to sell Flex seats as well. The only option at this point was to book SYD-DXB-DSS and return on QF website for a whopping $12K return for 2x adults OR purchase seats from EK for a similar pricing. This wasn't going to work for me, so I asked not to proceed with any bookings and thanked Tina for her time. She then asked if there is anything else she can help with and I brought up my CBR-MAA booking that is not ticketable on the QF website. Explained that this is a DSC booking, so I don't want the booking reference to change. I asked if Tina can just change an existing flex booking and add new routes. She said that she can do that and I told her the flight numbers I'd like to take. She wrote everything down and put me on hold for 10 mins to get the routes ticketed. She came back that the system is not allowing her to add the routes I had asked. I then told her to remove the existing single leg I had in the original booking and replace it with the new routes. Again on hold, 10 mins, came back that she is not allowed to change this booking. By this time it was almost 2200 in CBR and I said that it's ok. I will call again tomorrow to have this sorted. Tina thanked me again for being patient and the call was finished. Left a very good feedback for Tina post call.

 

[Ade]

Day of week	Sunday
Time of call	2202
Number used	13 12 11
Status	Platinum
Hold time	~2 mins
Call Centre (if known)	HBA (asked the agent)
Matter resolved	No
Details	Recap : <title song & voiceover recap in the background> Called to see if an existing DSC flex booking can changed to include new routes. Call went to CPT, but the staff couldn't make the changes requested. So HUCA and called again. I couldn't wait to lock this trip ASAP. The fares were increasing like forest fires. <title song fades> This episode : What can I say about my luck, eh .. 10pm CBR time, the amazing, legend-of-a-person Jessica from HBA answers the call. Very knowledgeable. I told her that this is a DSC booking, so please no new booking ref, re-use existing booking ref, add new routes, provided flight numbers and within 10 mins Jess provided the quote. The only issue was her booking system was showing 5 SC less that what QF website showed. I had been playing with the QF website to come up with different routings and I laid it all on Jess. She was a superstar, searched for every route I asked for and only a handful were bookable via QF. She was baffled by the difference in SC and QF points between the public facing website and her booking system. She asked for some screenshots and I sent them and that only add more questions. She put me on hold and went to talk to her supervisor, who was also surprised by the difference in the SC earn. They simply couldn't believe it. We kept talking about other IT issues in the QF system, all the while trying to maximise my SC earn. And before we realise, it was 11 PM and that was the closing time for the HBA call center. Jess had to leave for the day, but promised that she will find out why there is a difference in the SC earn and scheduled a call for 2030 on 29/08 to finalise the booking. Jess also told me that she will lock the fare, so that I can pay same fare that we were able secure today

 

[Ade]

Day of week	Monday
Time of call	2045
Number used	Call back from QF HBA
Status	Platinum
Hold time	NA
Call Centre (if known)	HBA (asked the agent)
Matter resolved	Yes
Details	Recap : <title song & voiceover recap in the background> Called to see if an existing DSC flex booking can changed to include new routes. Call answered by Jess from HBA, had difference in the SC & points earned between the QF website & CC booking system. Jess to investigate and call the customer<title song fades> This episode : Call back was expected at 2030, but call arrived at 2045, which is absolutely fine, as long as the call was made. Jess apologised for the delay in calling, she was held on a different call. She said that she & numerous supervisors investigate the issue and no one could explain why there is a difference in the SC & points earned when booking from the QF website and CC booking system. I said that it was ok and I really need to lock the dates for the trip today. Given that the fare was locked, I really did not see the value in investigating 5 SC (10 after DSC).Jess proceeded with the booking and I was also looking at adding other domestic ports to the booking. We were able to add a SYD-MEL-CBR on the return leg, which bumped the SC earn from 240 to 265, paying only $130 extra. So we proceeded with that booking and payment was done. e-ticket was issued at 0045 and there were 2 issues ; 1. CMB-MAA leg was not ticketed. 2. A change fee of $99 was added to the fare even though the original DSC booking was Flex.

 

[Ade]

Day of week	Tuesday
Time of call	0826
Number used	13 12 11
Status	Platinum
Hold time	0 mins
Call Centre (if known)	HBA
Matter resolved	Partially yes
Details	Recap : <title song & voiceover recap in the background> Called to see if an existing DSC flex booking can changed to include new routes. Booking done, payment processed, e-ticket issued had problems with the route & change fee<title song fades> This episode : Called at 0826 to fix the obvious routing issue with the trip and to address the change fee issue. Call answered immediately by a helpful Toni from HBA. Explained the issue, she was able to identify the root cause of the issue (UL had momentarily cancelled the UL125 CMB-MAA flight on 09/09 when the QF ticketing was in progress, so QF couldn't get the seats as planned & paid for). She said that she is going to take care of this and I should expect a new e-ticket within the hour. I got a new e-ticket within the hour, the CMB-MAA segment was fixed, but the change fee was still there

 

[Ade]

Day of week	Tuesday
Time of call	0939
Number used	13 12 11
Status	Platinum
Hold time	Was advised wait time of 15 mins and offered a call back
Call Centre (if known)	CPT (going off the accent)
Matter resolved	Too early to tell
Details	Recap : <title song & voiceover recap in the background> Called to see if an existing DSC flex booking can changed to include new routes. Booking done, payment processed, e-ticket issued had problems with the route & change fee. e-ticket was fixed and re-issued, but e-ticket still had the change fee of $99<title song fades> This episode : Called at 0939 to fix the Change fee issue. Was advised of 15 mins wait time, offered call back. Graciously accepted it and received a call within the next 5 mins from QF. Explained the incorrect Change Fee charged. Agent on the phone said that he is going to put me on hold and check with the Finance team. Came back after 5 mins and confirmed that the refund is now processed and will take 7-21 days to reflect in the credit card.

 

[VPS]

Day of week	Tuesday
Time of call	0939
Number used	13 12 11
Status	Platinum
Hold time	Was advised wait time of 15 mins and offered a call back
Call Centre (if known)	CPT (going off the accent)
Matter resolved	Too early to tell
Details	Recap : <title song & voiceover recap in the background> Called to see if an existing DSC flex booking can changed to include new routes. Booking done, payment processed, e-ticket issued had problems with the route & change fee. e-ticket was fixed and re-issued, but e-ticket still had the change fee of $99<title song fades> This episode : Called at 0939 to fix the Change fee issue. Was advised of 15 mins wait time, offered call back. Graciously accepted it and received a call within the next 5 mins from QF. Explained the incorrect Change Fee charged. Agent on the phone said that he is going to put me on hold and check with the Finance team. Came back after 5 mins and confirmed that the refund is now processed and will take 7-21 days to reflect in the credit card.

I got tired reading all of them let alone having to be on the phone and explain it to someone again (and again and again .....)

 

[Ade]

I got tired reading all of them let alone having to be on the phone and explain it to someone again (and again and again .....)

According to my flatmate, I seem to have infinite amount of patience when dealing with stuff like this

 

[RooFlyer]

Called as a plat; wait time a few minutes, got what sounded like a Sth African person, in an incredibly noisy environment. Children??

I pretended I couldn't hear them and politely hung up. I got a call back from 02 82..... number immediately. I'm pretty sure that's the type of number that comes up when an offshore call is routed to Australia and 'appears' to be a domestic call. I didn't answer & no message left.

Oh, I reckon they most certainty can call you back if they wish .....

 

[Ade]

in an incredibly noisy environment

Same experience calling into CPT .. very noisy background ... in one instance I heard someone singing a song in the background. Not a music player playing a song, a male human being singing a song, in possibly a local language/dialect

 

[Ktan89]

I called once on the weekend, got CPT, and yes, it sounded like they were having a party. I just thought maybe they weren't getting many calls so they had some downtime. I hung up cause it was too loud and waited until Monday

 

[JohnM]

Called as a plat; wait time a few minutes, got what sounded like a Sth African person, in an incredibly noisy environment. Children??

I pretended I couldn't hear them and politely hung up. I got a call back from 02 82..... number immediately. I'm pretty sure that's the type of number that comes up when an offshore call is routed to Australia and 'appears' to be a domestic call. I didn't answer & no message left.

Oh, I reckon they most certainty can call you back if they wish .....

I called a week or two ago and got what sounded from the accent like CPT. I could hear the agent clearly but she could not hear me. No partying going on in the background,

At least it saved me having to pretend I couldn't hear her...

 

[RooFlyer]

I could hear the agent clearly but she could not hear me.

Possibly your phone was accidently on mute, like the second time I called. Really hate doing this sort of thing - not their fault, but I want to be as sure as possible reward bookings aren't screwed up.

 

[eminere]

Same experience calling into CPT .. very noisy background ... in one instance I heard someone singing a song in the background. Not a music player playing a song, a male human being singing a song, in possibly a local language/dialect

So unprofessional.