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

 

[ronlon]

Can you find another way to get from JFK to MEL by first spending a bit of time yourself playing with multi city routes on the QF website ? If you find something suitable just cancel and book. If you dont have immediate points for a another booking call frequent flyer services they can fastrack points refund on the spot. As someone else recently suggested on the forum you have to weigh this up with the hours dealing with the call centre. Not sure when your flight is but anything through Japan is too fickle until they stop being xenophobic under the guise of covid and fully welcome tourists back.

 

[Mr H]

Can you find another way to get from JFK to MEL by first spending a bit of time yourself playing with multi city routes on the QF website ? If you find something suitable just cancel and book.

Agreed. It is best to go to the Call Centre with a solution (or range of possible solutions), not a problem - their solution may well just be a refund.

 

[MJHoops]

Agreed. It is best to go to the Call Centre with a solution (or range of possible solutions), not a problem - their solution may well just be a refund.

Thanks both
I need to fly 3 Aug. 2 pax. We have business classic reward seats via Haneda.

On searching I can’t see any classic seats at all (even economy) on 3 Aug or nearby dates from a NYC airport to MEL via anywhere.
Whereas I can see cash fares on AA/QF routes that day

Also, I can’t see any JAL flight on the Qantas website, I can only see a cash fare for a flight via Narita on the JAL website for 3 Aug
Doing my head in and haven’t even called yet (!)

Do I add in now that with the cathay schedule change for the way over I lost my first seat down to business so I also need to take up how to get some sort of partial refund on that…

 

[maryflyer]

Day of week	Sun 8 May
Time of call	1:10pm AEST
Number used	13 12 11
Status	Platinum
Hold time	15 minutes - exactly as quoted
Call Centre (if known)	Cape Town
Matter resolved
Details	Called to request 2 x I>U seats coming back from Europe next April. Had to talk him through the process of Platinum seat requests but he seemed confident in being able to get this submitted. 30 minutes later the request leg is showing..View attachment 276402 ..I will give it another 30 minutes in case he's still trying to work it out.. then call again...

Had a similar issue. They said this was 'not possible' to convert seats. How did you explain the process to them?

 

[sudoer]

Had a similar issue. They said this was 'not possible' to convert seats. How did you explain the process to them?

I start by saying "I'd like to make an award booking on a flight which doesn't have any award seats available, so I'd like to submit a request for classic award inventory to be opened up."

If they ask for clarification I say something along the lines of "Qantas allows Platinum FFs to request classic award space on [international] flights which have seats for sale in Igloo (I) class", sometimes they will know vaguely what's going on, sometimes they'll have no clue. For the latter I think it's best to just HUACA.

Besides, when I do find a Cape Town or Fiji agent who knows what I'm talking about, they never get an immediate response like HBA can. It's always a case of "call back in 48 hours", many times just to be told that the request wasn't submitted properly in the first place...

 

[ronlon]

MUHoops while not ideal there are econ seats LAX-SYD-MEL on 3 and 4 Aug. Not sure how much a paid fare is these days between JFK-LAX but pre covid it was OK. Also the flight from LAX while being in econ is aboard a comfortable A380......Or try Sudoer's suggestion. 1300 134 502 might get you Hobart and someone competent.

 

[aidan059]

I was given 1300 134 502 at Tullamarine 4 May and it went to Hobart. Hope it helps.

Unfortunately must already be outdated. Got through to this lovely Fijian agent who tried to insist that I will be charged for making changes to my booking which occurred as a result of Qantas letting go of my flights..... ahhh customer service. Then tried to tell me that she can't make changes to my flight as there is no availability (at all) due to the fact it is rebooking and not making a new flight. This is despite me seeing availability on Qantas site online.

 

[Seat0B]

You know how every call has a recorded message that the call will be recorded for quality control and training, it seems to me that this is just a bald faced lie. There is clearly no quality, and no training either.

 

[Seat0B]

You know how every call has a recorded message that the call will be recorded for quality control and training, it seems to me that this is just a bald faced lie. There is clearly no quality, and no training either.

yeah I know @MJHoops! I should have posted this in the "Bit of Humour" thread.

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

It looks like it will all be sorted out soon: they’re sending in the big guns…

From The Age-

 

[Mr H]

It looks like it will all be sorted out soon: they’re sending in the big guns…

From The Age-

View attachment 278374

Won't she be surprised to find her ticket has been swapped to economy class and the return leg cancelled?

 

[RAM]

You know how every call has a recorded message that the call will be recorded for quality control and training, it seems to me that this is just a bald faced lie. There is clearly no quality, and no training either.

HOWEVER....

Under the Federal Privacy legislation you are entitled to request a full digital copy of the call recording. Make this request after you have asked the agent to spell their name for you, note the time your call started & how long you've been speaking so far. Warn, nicely, that if this call suddenly drops out then it can be traced as you have all the necessary details. There is a time period for your request to be dealt with etc etc, failure to meet time limits = fines...

I have a nice collection of calls, many of which I've forwarded to various company secretaries (after speaking with them & volunteering that I have an audit trail for them to follow-up) such as Qantas, JetStar, CBA, Westpac, Citibank, Coles (more recently Westfarmers, but not yet Coles again), Woolworths, Optus, Telsta, BUPA, HCF, AHM, Lenovo...

Some were sent to the ACCC to help in investigations & eventually fines for 'illegal' activities.

Many call centre staff will argue that they don't provide copies etc. Response: the contract signed by your company with X (Qantas, Coles etc) states you will abide by all applicable Australian legislation and specifically names the Federal Privacy legislation as one important one. If you do not know how to process my request then please Farhan (today's agent) put me onto your supervisor/team leader, ...

 

[Seat0B]

HOWEVER....

Under the Federal Privacy legislation you are entitled to request a full digital copy of the call recording. Make this request after you have asked the agent to spell their name for you, note the time your call started & how long you've been speaking so far. Warn, nicely, that if this call suddenly drops out then it can be traced as you have all the necessary details. There is a time period for your request to be dealt with etc etc, failure to meet time limits = fines...

I have a nice collection of calls, many of which I've forwarded to various company secretaries (after speaking with them & volunteering that I have an audit trail for them to follow-up) such as Qantas, JetStar, CBA, Westpac, Citibank, Coles (more recently Westfarmers, but not yet Coles again), Woolworths, Optus, Telsta, BUPA, HCF, AHM, Lenovo...

Some were sent to the ACCC to help in investigations & eventually fines for 'illegal' activities.

Many call centre staff will argue that they don't provide copies etc. Response: the contract signed by your company with X (Qantas, Coles etc) states you will abide by all applicable Australian legislation and specifically names the Federal Privacy legislation as one important one. If you do not know how to process my request then please Farhan (today's agent) put me onto your supervisor/team leader, ...

Well @RAM I think I will start doing that as I am now very very afraid of every contact I have with Qantas call centre. I've been going to considerable lengths to keep an audit trail of screenshots etc, but a recording would be of some value in sorting out the he said/she said type of problems people (including me) have encountered.

As someone upthread remarked, I too have a severe and worsening lack of trust in my dealings with the call centres. We certainly got very poor advice from South African call centre for Seat Son in January this year - which I knew to be total BS at the time, but many people would not. And that's not the only time - lots of trouble with award bookings and agents clearly having no clue.

 

[ANstar]

Unfortunately must already be outdated. Got through to this lovely Fijian agent who tried to insist that I will be charged for making changes to my booking which occurred as a result of Qantas letting go of my flights..... ahhh customer service. Then tried to tell me that she can't make changes to my flight as there is no availability (at all) due to the fact it is rebooking and not making a new flight. This is despite me seeing availability on Qantas site online.

Unfortunately thats a pretty standard experience with the fiji/SA call centres.

@RAM do you know if its tied to your FF number ie could I call and ask for all recordings this year? I am struggling with a refund from last December and over 50 calls I keep getting told different stories from it processed wait 5 days to I'm going to send off a request to send an email to [email protected]

Complete nightmare.

 

[RooFlyer]

Many call centre staff will argue that they don't provide copies etc. Response: the contract signed by your company with X (Qantas, Coles etc) states you will abide by all applicable Australian legislation and specifically names the Federal Privacy legislation as one important one. If you do not know how to process my request then please Farhan (today's agent) put me onto your supervisor/team leader, ...

I wonder if that will lead to a call 'drop out'?

 

[RAM]

Unfortunately thats a pretty standard experience with the fiji/SA call centres.

@RAM do you know if its tied to your FF number ie could I call and ask for all recordings this year? I am struggling with a refund from last December and over 50 calls I keep getting told different stories from it processed wait 5 days to I'm going to send off a request to send an email to [email protected]

Complete nightmare.

Different companies have different systems when its in-house. When it is outsourced then there is no consistency unfortunately. For Amex (say) then yes all calls linked to your account number and also appear separately cross-referenced to telephone number calling in. If you know they do this then NEVER tell them if you have called in using a different phone along the way - that way they cannot 'lose' that digital recording.

Back in 1988, BT New York's phone systems were linked to your computer screen (for certain areas). So an incoming phone call to Asset Mgmt (for example) immediately put the details of the person onto your screen before you had the 2nd ring on your phone. Immediate snapshot of all recents calls, funds invested, where etc. So you appeared to have a photographic memory when on the 2nd ring you picked up the phone.

Some places (Lenovo) do link everything as well. Q via outsourced call centres does not appear to (that I have been able to discover).

Perhaps a call to your state's Fair Trading equivalent may be worthwhile.

My rule of thumb. A4 notebook, list every call, company, date, start time, name of person (with surname if possible or staff ID#) (so I can identify you for positive feedback - here's hoping), any specific words/phrases used, brief relevant bits of the conversation, ending time, also length of periods on hold (start/finish).

So, if you call back then you can say I spoke with X on Y around 10.35am and X said/did/etc. Then on Z I spoke with ...

You get the idea. CC agents generally don't like a customer who has previous details for some reason.

Today's call (for me) used dates to disprove 'alleged' timeframe supervisor was quoting. 'Expedited' response, service tech coming Monday morning at 8.30 to replace components in laptop instead of having to courier it to them, wait up to 10 business days before it gets couriered back. Seems they don't want me calling the company secretary.

 

[ChrisMars]

I am wondering if it is legal for us, the caller, to run an audio record of the call too, since we gave our implicit consent to be recorded.
Anyone knows? I saw that generally speaking recording phone call is illegal, but there seems to be a state by state legislation.
For ACT NSW, I found this info somewhere

...It is also legal if only one party consents and one of the following two conditions is met:
- It is reasonably believed that recording the conversation protects the lawful interests of the said party.
- ...

But then, how does this apply if the call ends up in Manilla, South Africa, or Fiji...

 

[RooFlyer]

I am wondering if it is legal for us, the caller, to run an audio record of the call too, since we gave our implicit consent to be recorded.
Anyone knows? I saw that generally speaking recording phone call is illegal, but there seems to be a state by state legislation.
For ACT NSW, I found this info somewhere

...It is also legal if only one party consents and one of the following two conditions is met:
- It is reasonably believed that recording the conversation protects the lawful interests of the said party.
- ...

But then, how does this apply if the call ends up in Manilla, South Africa, or Fiji...

I raised this Q a while back on AFF and recall the 'answer' was much as you write. I think the caveat in Tas is that the caller (ie us) needs to just say that the conversation is being recorded, no agreement necessary, but of course if not in agreement, the other side (who we want to talk to) will simply hang up. When you are in their position - someone calls, wanting something - they hold the cards.

The Qantas centre will simply hang up - 'have the call drop out'.

 

[RAM]

I am wondering if it is legal for us, the caller, to run an audio record of the call too, since we gave our implicit consent to be recorded.
Anyone knows? I saw that generally speaking recording phone call is illegal, but there seems to be a state by state legislation.
For ACT NSW, I found this info somewhere

...It is also legal if only one party consents and one of the following two conditions is met:
- It is reasonably believed that recording the conversation protects the lawful interests of the said party.
- ...

But then, how does this apply if the call ends up in Manilla, South Africa, or Fiji...

A little 'grey' area, perhaps, but as you are dealing with an Australian domiciled business then the foreign laws regarding what Q must do for Australian based customers are not really the juristiction any matter would go to.

Think of the EULAs most people merrily agree to without reading the fine print (Apple - can download ANY file on your system with no recourse by you - even family photos etc etc) and most have you agreeing to be covered by US laws, and hear any cases in a particular US State.

Your ticket purchase/QFF redemption has a T&C which states what juristictional laws apply, sales made in Australia = Australia. Outsourcing call centres doesn't affect this.

Recording generally - (layman's understanding), be careful, mention you are recording it at the start, if asked why then there are many possible reasons, some people cannot write down info anywhere near as fast as people talk (for example)...

In the last 5 years there have been several cases where people recorded calls without the declaration being made (individuals not companies) and (from memory) every one of those instances were OK as the person had the suspicion that they needed to do so to protect their legal/statutory rights.

Worth doing some research into if interested.

In my own case, at a meeting stacked with 11 State Govt & prime contractor personnel & illegally appointed 'independent Chair (who was the CEO of a State Govt corporatised vehicle receiving over $600,000 from this same State Govt dept) as well as an equity partner in a business getting over $50m in State Govt contracts per annum, and myself - technically I could have recorded their lies to forward to the ICAC as I was clearly legally disadvantaged by not being allowed to bring a witness. I didn't record it though, and the minutes missed out around 80+ of what I questioned and 90+% of what they said - poor minute taking for some reason. Shame about all the asbestos the community has been exposed to.

 

[dylarr]

Day of week	Thu 26 May
Time of call	8:15pm AEST
Number used	13 13 13
Status	Platinum
Hold time	No wait at all
Call Centre (if known)	Hobart
Matter resolved	Yes
Details	BXG-SYD cancelled tomorrow morning, Classic Flight Reward booking. Called up to reroute via MEL-SYD instead (there is plenty of X availability across the MEL-SYD flights tomorrow AM). Spoke to the wonderful Emily (I think!) at Hobart who had the flight swapped over in minutes and new e-ticket received, checked in and have new boarding pass. Checking call log - duration all up including traversing IVR menu prompts though to ending the call was 7 minutes all up. Such a remarkably pleasant experience in comparison to my previously documented calls from the other night dealing with Cape Town agents that took 4 calls and about 60 minutes of call time to resolve an almost identical query.