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

 

[Powderpack]

I think the answer is ‘ voting with our feet’. Alongside Telstra, Qantas is absolutely the worst service provider I have ever dealt with. But all complaints fall on deaf ears!! Writing to customer service is a worthless exercise……Ive never had a response in all my years as a Qantas member.

 

[Pushka]

Qantas won't let me 'Manage' my International booking online - one is forced to ring them. And 5 times in one week I have endured their 1 hour to 2.5 hr wait times. 3 times the line cuts out when placed on hold - always at the 50 minute mark. On the two times it didn't - one time they gave completely incorrect information about what I had to do. The final time - they confirmed it was not possible (to amend the booking to add a code share flight in Canada to the booking). After lengthy discussion - I got the 'Sire I can't hear you. Sir - are you there ? Sire - hello ? Hello ? Then she hung up on me. It's just third world level of service. Unbelievable.

Are you logged in? It does this flakey thing when it flicks to bookings from your home page of having to log in again.

 

[Poh]

Yep, you were lucky.
I just held on for 15 minutes only for them to just cut me off. That's one way of reducing wait-time!

Just ringing them to see why they changed my flight booking to another city in the USA that I don't want to go to! Guess I'll find out eventually.

QF Call Centre is a joke!! this disgraceful service has been going on for years & years. 10 years ago had to regularly call them to redeem points/info/etc. Even though boss is a platinum member I had to wait ages (sometimes 3/4 hour); I want to bang my head against the wall at times. No point trying to call them first thing in the morning either. CEO doesn't care I'm sure or otherwise tone deaf

 

[bodog]

Qantas does not discriminate, I am platinum and lifetime gold, I gave up after half an hour of being on hold.

I have the same status and have had no issue getting through to the call centre multiple times over the last month or two to make changes to bookings, resolve flight credits etc and the agents are in Australia and know what they're doing - they should add getting your phone calls answered by an Australian call centre to the top of the list of benefits for Platinum status. Ironically it's the only Platinum benefit I've enjoyed since qualifying in early March 2020. I can't wait to get back on a plane!

My frustration is the 8 week waits for refunds - they certainly spin that out without fail

 

[Seat0B]

We have also had dreadful service out of the Capetown call centre on multiple occasions. Similar to OP experience, but not as long, whilst trying to change award flights in the initial onset of COVID in January 2020 - we were already in Japan, and did not want to go via China any more.
Made several attempts to get it sorted out over more than 2 weeks - many of these requiring several hours on hold, late into the night, before calls either just cut off whilst speaking, or dropped out before even being connected - and this was as a WP. Eventually it was sorted - by the fantastic Tasmanian call centre - just a couple of days before our flights. I wish Qantas would do something about the dreadful phone service.

 

[dylarr]

Thanks @AFF Editor / Matt for the great article on Qantas' call centre today. I've noticed this article being passed around at my workplace and it seems to have ignited some anger with wounds from the past few years being reopened by those reading some of the relatable experiences that have been shared.

I can also throw my hat in the ring with poor customer service from Cape Town, both within the last month or so:

- My parents called up to change a booking that couldn't be serviced online as QF had already made invol changes to the booking. Gave PNR and new dates, placed on hold for 20 minutes (by the way, does anyone know what the hell the Cape Town agents are actually doing when they are placing customers on lengthy holds for the most basic of requests?). Agent came back and said the changes could be made, but would need to pay 2x the taxes already paid when there should have been no adcol at all. After explaining that the taxes and fees had not changed on the QF website, was placed on hold for another 20 minutes before the agent came back and said that they as a "once off" they wouldn't charge any additional fees and a new ticket was reissued. I had to do a similar change myself through the Premium desk and all was completed in a matter of minutes.

- Received an e-mail from Qantas to call them in regards to my Classic Flight Reward Seat release request that was created through the Premium desk. Unfortunately this time, the call was connected to Cape Town. Advised them that I was calling per the e-mail about my Classic Flight Reward release request. After placing me on hold for 5 minutes, she came back and said the reservation was confirmed and I would receive the ticket within 24 hours. I said great, do you need my credit card details to pay the taxes and fees? She then put me on hold then came back and told me she had made some updates to the booking (no idea what) and I'd get the ticket in 24 hours. I asked if she was sure because I hadn't paid any taxes or fees, and she just hung up. I called back and got the Premium desk, turns out the request had not been approved at all and no seats had been released.

 

[jakeseven7]

Yes, until we reach LTG and then jump ship!

To what exactly

Bonza! Bangers and Mash Club? (Launching….)

Or Rexy Rev Heads? (launching 2022)

 

[Jacques Vert]

To what exactly

Bonza! Bangers and Mash Club? (Launching….)

Or Rexy Rev Heads? (launching 2022)

In my case, to SQ & CX.

 

[MooTime]

When I was younger/child, my impression and my parents used to say "Qantas is the premium brand, so you won't get any of the issues flying with a lcc"
How things have changed

QF probably have the same account of call centre staff now as they did when you were that child.

Domestic travel VA as premium as QF if not better, especially without any status.

Better value Y & J, economy X option & last but not least, call centre answer in matter of minutes.

It's just not solely the wait times with QF, it's at times the lack off solving the issue.

 

[Pagans]

My friend, tried to change his flights due to Qantas bumping him on his flight to a flight ten hours earlier,he followed the instructions watched his booked flight disappear and then a message came up to call QF customer centre, three and half hours later he was asked to rate his experience and then cut off ,another three hours he was answered by a person who could barely speak English let alone understand what he was saying he was charged I think $150 dollars to get his old flight back. Disgraceful.Several years ago I phoned Qantas myself and was put on hold and drove from Brisbane to Toowoomba a two hour drive and was eventually answered. One thing about Qantas there're consistent - rubbish customer service.

 

[glennp]

If you think contacting the Call Centre is challenging try contacting Qantas Customer Care. For almost three months I have been unable track down one of these elusive creatures. I have a collection of their reference numbers from trying to unsuccessfully contact them by their preferred method online, but they simply do not respond. Phone conversations begin with "you have called the wrong number, you need to call 1300 722 040". You then have to quickly respond "but that is the number I called" or your call is promptly disconnected. Despite countless hours on hold waiting for their colleagues to track one of them down, it would appear they do not answer internal calls either. I have been promised call backs but that is just the Call Centre's way of politely giving up.

 

[Jacques Vert]

What's the point of wasting your money to get LTG, then never use it. I get the international travel on other airlines, but that's just strange thing people do here.

I've often asked myself the same question. However, there are times when a Oneworld airline is the most convenient.

 

[NSun]

I've been lucky to never have a wait of more than 15 minutes as a WP and typically get Auckland.

However so many of the things I've had to call for are things that should be able to be done online but can't - for instance I had a flight credit that was originally for a one way flight out of New Zealand so unless I called, I could only use it for flights out of NZ (and I doubt I'll be able to before it expired).

 

[ronlon]

It is not just the long wait time but the training of staff in order to answer the most basic of questions varies so wildly and it does seem ( although not always ) that the Cape Town call centre is at the bottom when it comes to knowledge and skill set.

 

[jakeseven7]

I've often asked myself the same question. However, there are times when a Oneworld airline is the most convenient.

Yes agree especially this part of the world to the most popular routes… which is why the lack of alliances with the other three domestic airlines (well three whenever Bonza launches!) is a real killer.

 

[Pahf70]

Qantas lost my business years ago over their terrible service. I happily put my money to Virgin and Emirates who are significantly better in this area. What surprised me is many complain at the service (or lack thereof) and yet still throw money at Qantas. Why? This is why they have such poor service because they know people just accept it. If enough people do the talking with their money and put it elsewhere, they will step up their game.

 

[RichardMEL]

Pretty much the complacency and arrogance of a huge domestic market share most premium and corporate contracts sown up etc and things like the golden status handcuffs. What seems odd is the apparent great CS from JQ being fully owned by QF. I mean take some lessons from the Orange?

This is always why I held status and interests in the two big global alliances personally. Domestically QF does the job. Usually very few if any issues (pre covid) so am more or less happy enough there, and as noted above VA's lack of global partners/alliance make them less attractive an option (I come from ex-AN and Star links).

It's so disappointing the seeming lack of care or priority to customer care and service over YEARS now. Can't blame Covid.. etc... just ongoing over years. And the lack of technology updates to make up for this, despite the rhetoric, is so disappointing as a customer. As a IT guy there may well be very understandable reasons for these issues in the backend, integration with Amadeus, whatever.. but as a customer that stuff should not matter to me. We should not still be having to deal with the manual queue nonsense, or issues with cancelled flights and having to call etc (noting it was a QF decision to remove some of this functionality on purpose) and why management is so poor.

It's funny I saw an app update from UA the other day and in the new features note it had a thing about "If you're in a middle seat and a better seat opens up we'll send a push notification to you to let you know" and this is such a small yet useful thing and I thought.. this is what an airline like UNITED is doing... while QF struggle with the basics in many ways... just goes to show.

There has been improvement in some areas to be fair.. but so much more work needed.

and in the meantime customers suffer but QF relies on the notion that the other options are less desireable to those that "matter" to them (yield).

Sad (written fully realising being part of the status shackled but not afraid to go elsewhere.. when possible)

 

[Daver6]

What's the point of wasting your money to get LTG, then never use it. I get the international travel on other airlines, but that's just strange thing people do here.

I'm just guessing here, but I think the logic is you can fly other OW airlines and get the status benefits gold while building status with the new airline.

 

[mitti]

Journalists Anne Summers and Chip Rolley have just been live-tweeting their shocking QF call centre experiences, which left them stranded at JFK for hours on end after Qantas failed to ticket their flights and they missed their flight home:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1469124940012138497

https://twitter.com/x/status/1469044448436932611

 

[Sutty]

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 134 502
1300 659 134
1300 304 318 (confirmed to be active on 27 Nov 2021)

Hi Matt
Many thanks my experience reward flight was horrible : 9.05 am on phone
Lost contact 3 times each time transferred to South Africa ( bewildered with that thought Australian company) asked each time to get the rough to Hobart
Eventually at 11.59 and was resolved it’s a joke and should not be able to get away with that
Mike