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

 

[Seat0B]

I got a call back today ... for a call back I requested 7 days ago.

Called at 0730 this morning, was quoted less than 30 minutes, call back offered.

Call back received at 0825.

Pretty good service IMHO.

I am always really, really nervous about taking a call back if it is offered because my experience is more like yours @levelnine than yours @justinbrett. Also, I call when it is convenient to me to do whatever the business is - who knows when they will call back and if it will be convenient for me at that point.

 

[ronlon]

Hi in my opinion I would be keeping this thread low key and not share or promote outside of the forum. Perhaps Qantas already read this but who knows? The reason I say this is because the priority telephone number seems to have been passed around a lot and not so urgent callers have been clogging it and causing longer wait times. I had reason to call it recently out of desperation with continued call drop outs, long wait times and incompetence with agents and I was grilled as to how I got the number.

 

[DC3]

Hi in my opinion I would be keeping this thread low key and not share or promote outside of the forum. Perhaps Qantas already read this ….

Well, QF knows all about AFF.

Remember how Red Roo was a contributor on here.

 

[Guvner]

and I was grilled as to how I got the number.

I mentioned it on another post, but the simple answer to this is "Alan gave it to me".

 

[DC3]

…I was grilled as to how I got the number.

… and?

 

[ronlon]

… and?

...well the sad irony is that it was like dealing with a different business altogether.....call answered quickly, agent knew what they were doing, matter resolved quickly. It should be like this for all customers !

 

[ronlon]

I guess also we would not want to be in a situation where priority starts filtering calls based on need and sends us to the work experience student to sort out out a multi city, multi class, oneworld award that we have spent ages putting together and all we want to do is one small change that can't be done on-line !

 

[RooFlyer]

How did they get her email address ?

Look at available addresses online for qantas personnel and follow a similar format. It will go to her PA at best. If you are a shareholder you have access to registry details

I dare say, like ABC staff and others in organisations with predictable e-mails, the "company format"'email address isn't used by these people day to day. Checked ( and mostly ignored) by a PA and another address used for "work".

 

[VPS]

These are a few of the comments - if anyone wants to give it a go [email protected] or

 

[blackcat20]

Hi in my opinion I would be keeping this thread low key and not share or promote outside of the forum. Perhaps Qantas already read this but who knows? The reason I say this is because the priority telephone number seems to have been passed around a lot and not so urgent callers have been clogging it and causing longer wait times. I had reason to call it recently out of desperation with continued call drop outs, long wait times and incompetence with agents and I was grilled as to how I got the number.

The numbers are popping up in groups on Facebook so they aren't a secret anymore.

 

[Daver6]

Actually I might do that

Perhaps you could suggest that she saves everyone some time and while going through this thread reaches out and resolved people's issues.

Even better idea, we just post what we need (instead of calling) and she actions it. This will lighten the call centre load too.

 

[ozgod]

Hi in my opinion I would be keeping this thread low key and not share or promote outside of the forum. Perhaps Qantas already read this but who knows? The reason I say this is because the priority telephone number seems to have been passed around a lot and not so urgent callers have been clogging it and causing longer wait times. I had reason to call it recently out of desperation with continued call drop outs, long wait times and incompetence with agents and I was grilled as to how I got the number.

I do my best to be polite to any customer service staff I speak to - I believe in being respectful to people doing their job, and it's not their fault their company sucks after all, and I don't want to be hung up on after waiting on hold for 3 hours - but I would be hard pressed not giving someone a piece of my mind if I was "grilled" on how I got a number. I have thankfully never been grilled by anyone in the 5 or 6 times I've had to call Qantas in the past 3 months where I have probably endured at least 10 hours of hold time but I would probably have lost my stack if someone did.

What other company forces you to resort to your own measures to find a number online because you CANNOT contact them using their normal number? If they picked up the phone when people called, or hired enough people to cover for the increase and (so called) complexity in phone requests then nobody would have to use priority numbers? I don't particularly enjoy having to trawl the internet to find the best number to reach them in this game of whack-a-mole with them. Then they have the nerve to "grill" us about how we found a quicker way to contact them? If they think it's so inconvenient for customers to contact them there's a solution - annoy the customers enough so that they eventually all go away. Then there will be no more annoying phone calls!

Also that whole thing about how the reason for the 4 to 8 hour wait times is because people have more complex requests seems dodgy. I'm sure there are some people who have complicated requests, and I'm sure there are people who call for frivolous reasons. But I suspect that the main reason so many people are having to call them is because their website SUCKS. These days you have to call them for everything - even something as basic as changing the same flight from one day to another, no fare difference or anything else to worry about, or following up why the booking wasn't ticketed (something that has happened to be at least 3 times in the past 3 months - cannot be done online, no matter what Stephanie Tully claims. The option if greyed out. This wasn't the case a few years ago.

Please let us change things online and we will do the work ourselves and Qantas won't have to worry about us calling their priority numbers! I would be personally happy to never have to speak to Qantas ever again!

 

[DC3]

Not happy, Stephanie.

 

[wenglock.mok]

In all honesty, I don't think it's the number of staff that is the problem as much as it is how long they are actually taking to service simple requests. Even changing a simple domestic flight often takes more than 30 minutes (and this is on a stock standard domestic itinerary with no fare difference), which is then obviously impacting the queue as the numbers of staff they put on each roster are predicated on how long an average call is meant to take.

I sure hope they realise what the root cause of this is but I'm still not convinced they actually know and appreciate the issue.

 

[Anna]

I think the root cause is that QF isn't prepared for the number of people who are now (a bit suddenly from QF's perspective?) feeling confident to book flights for Easter, for the upcoming school holidays and for the northern summer. And we all have various types of credits and vouchers that we can't use ourselves online, so we are forced to ring up.

I recently used a credit to book flights for Easter and I couldn't believe how few seats appeared to be allocated, only 2 weeks out. Normally Easter flights would be chockers.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Then QF are doing themselves a disservice because those credits are a liability to them until they are spent.

 

[levelnine]

Then QF are doing themselves a disservice because those credits are a liability to them until they are spent.

I'm not sure they see it that way. I think they would be very happy if most customers never redeem their flight credits/vouchers and they eventually expire, giving them free revenue.

Indeed, this is one of the reasons that QF are unlikely to provide stellar phone support. Most phone calls cost the airline money (ie redeem points on expensive OWA flights, redeem flight credits/vouchers).

QF would much prefer people either to give up and let those flight credits/vouchers expire or for people to redeem points for cheaper options (eg toasters).

The only point at which QF is incentivised to improve its call centre offering is if it reaches the point that it starts to prompt people to book with competitors. Given that its principal domestic competitor is quite weak at the moment, they probably aren't that fearful. Though the recent mainstream negative press is surely causing some action to be taken.

 

[Must...Fly!]

I think they would be very happy if most customers never redeem their flight credits/vouchers and they eventually expire, giving them free revenue.

I wish them luck in the court of public opinion and the real thing then if this is ever proven. The ACCC has not been afraid of chasing airlines for immoral or illegal behaviour in the past (and recent past too, mind you).

 

[CMA222]

I received an two identical emails (one on Saturday 02/04 and once on Sunday 03/04) from QF advising me:

"A transaction has been made with your Qantas TravelPass ending in xx_x, for AUD 55.58 on 31 March 2022.

If you made or authorised this transaction, you'll receive/have received a separate confirmation, e-ticket or itinerary by email. If you didn't make or authorise this transaction please contact us on 131313 in Australia, or contact your local Qantas office to discuss.

Please do not reply to this email."

So if there is a fraudulent transaction I have to phone them and wait for 5 or 6 hours. or contact a "Qantas Office" which from the link means send a message via Customer Care Form or (surprise !!) phone 131313. So technically they will do nothing unless I am prepared to wait on hold for hours or send a message that we know will be ignored. What a joke ! At least it says "Please no not reply to this email" because we know QF do not want to hear from their Customers, even in the event of fraudulent transactions.

I had used the credit so there was no issue but if there had been well, kiss goodbye to your money.

 

[jase05]

I wish them luck in the court of public opinion and the real thing then if this is ever proven. The ACCC has not been afraid of chasing airlines for immoral or illegal behaviour in the past (and recent past too, mind you).

Any mention of the ACCC always makes me laugh. Absolute paper tigers