QANTAS call centre

[Blackadder]

A thumbs up to the Qantas Call Centre, just off the phone arranging a Intl upgrade request to F (damn website not liking upgrading discount J fares.)
Answered straight away by a very nice friendly lady (Jenny??), who was a little taken back by why I was making the request so early (90 day window opens today). In a matter of moments done, and finished with I hope you enjoy your flight.
Kudos to the QF call centre.

 

[russ]

Huh? Aren't they just doing their job?

 

[Blackadder]

Well reading some bad experiences with the call centre that have been posted on here, just showing it is not always the case.

 

[JohnK]

Good to hear.

On Friday I was thinking of changing flights from middle of October back to end of September. Pleasant lady on the phone and was able to answer all my questions and we managed to change to the exact flights I wanted without too much drama.

As with any call centre operation you will find some people should not work there (simply do not have the people skills to work in call centre) while others do not know, and have difficulty learning, the intricate details of what they are supposed to do.

Luckily QF has one of the better call centres.

 

[Mal]

Luckily QF has one of the better call centres.

Yep, the day Qantas outsources their call centre to certain other countries will be a total shame.

Overall the staff are good, competent, friendly and know their stuff. Of course there are ones that shouldn't be there or are having bad days... but that's like everything in life.

 

[MiLK_MaN]

Yep, the day Qantas outsources their call centre to certain other countries will be a total shame.

Could be the next unpublished SG/WP benefit, that you get to speak to a local instead of a foreign call centre.

 

[Nigelinoz]

Last week I phoned Telstra to order an iPhone,the call was answered by a young lady who spoke excellent English,she was polite and professional and handled the call very well and the whole process only took about 10 minutes,I was going to send email feedback to Telstra complimenting the young lady on how she dealt with my call ,then I asked myself why I was sending feedback on the call when all the girl had done was what she is paid to do -provide good customer service-my perceptions had been coloured by all the bad experiences I have had over the years in dealing with Telstra.
I think it's the same with many organisations ,the level of customer service we receive is so inconsistent that when we actually receive what we want we feel a sense of surprise.
I'm not saying that Blackadder felt that way as a result of his call to Qantas but I have certainly had inconsistent service from both the Qantas and Virgin call centres so it's nice to hear a good report.
Cheers
N'oz

 

[LiamR]

I think it's the same with many organisations ,the level of customer service we receive is so inconsistent that when we actually receive what we want we feel a sense of surprise.

+1

Some of the customer service reps I deal are shockingly bad. So I get a little suprised when someone just does their job.

IMO, dealing with some of the major tech companies are the worsttttt. As an IT guy, I hate being asked dumb questions such as 'have you tried restarting it' or 'is it plugged in'

Someone who understands can do what you ask, with a positivie attitude, is all it takes...

 

[Nigelinoz]

I hate being asked dumb questions such as 'have you tried restarting it' or 'is it plugged in'

I think we have "The I.T Crowd" to thank for that :!:.(Funny show though).
Cheers
N'oz

 

[Blackadder]

Last week I phoned Telstra to order an iPhone,the call was answered by a young lady who spoke excellent English,she was polite and professional and handled the call very well and the whole process only took about 10 minutes,I was going to send email feedback to Telstra complimenting the young lady on how she dealt with my call ,then I asked myself why I was sending feedback on the call when all the girl had done was what she is paid to do -provide good customer service-my perceptions had been coloured by all the bad experiences I have had over the years in dealing with Telstra.
I think it's the same with many organisations ,the level of customer service we receive is so inconsistent that when we actually receive what we want we feel a sense of surprise.
I'm not saying that Blackadder felt that way as a result of his call to Qantas but I have certainly had inconsistent service from both the Qantas and Virgin call centres so it's nice to hear a good report.
Cheers
N'oz

That last part summed it up, have had a mixed response from QF in the past.
So when the good service comes along it makes for a pleasant change, both in speed of answering the call, and the tone of voice and helpfulness of the operator.

 

[lsmi4126]

I too had a simple and easy call-centre interaction yesterday. A call was required to book an award flight due to the 'We are having connectivity issues' with the QF awards website. Not only did the CSR know exactly what he was doing, but he also ran through the online to process to make sure QF tech was aware of the problem.

It's great when a CSR does more than the minimum required to complete the call.

 

[Flashback]

I always end up calling the Australian QF call centre rather than London as the wait times have always been too long IME. I wonder who actually answers the London one...

 

[Mal]

I always end up calling the Australian QF call centre rather than London as the wait times have always been too long IME. I wonder who actually answers the London one...

Australia I believe. London Call centre was shut a few years ago.

I assume what's happening is that the London calls aren't being prioritised properly when they get diverted to the Australian QF call centres.

 

[JetLagged]

IMO, dealing with some of the major tech companies are the worsttttt. As an IT guy, I hate being asked dumb questions such as 'have you tried restarting it' or 'is it plugged in' .

Liam - my partner used to work for an ADSL/boradband support company: was constantly amazed at how little some IT 'professionals' knew, or how arrogant they were , before theirt jaw hit the floor and left totally cough-faced - "Look, don't tell me my job - I'm an expert": from a guy who didn't know that the computer had an ON switch - or those IT professionals who didn't think it really all that necessary to put a filter on all appliances to ensure ADSL worked properly, or who had put it on wrongly (looking at you NSW Electoral Commission IT department), or who didn't bother to tell a client that his electric fence had to be turned off before using ADSL - etc, etc , etc.....

 

[Flashback]

Liam - my partner used to work for an ADSL/boradband support company: was constantly amazed at how little some IT 'professionals' knew, or how arrogant they were , before theirt jaw hit the floor and left totally cough-faced - "Look, don't tell me my job - I'm an expert": from a guy who didn't know that the computer had an ON switch - or those IT professionals who didn't think it really all that necessary to put a filter on all appliances to ensure ADSL worked properly, or who had put it on wrongly (looking at you NSW Electoral Commission IT department), or who didn't bother to tell a client that his electric fence had to be turned off before using ADSL - etc, etc , etc.....

At the same time, though ; I hate "IT guys" who ring up for support and go "I know what I'm talking about, rah rah rah rah" and then you go through the troubleshooting steps anyway (must to their disgust) and you end up fixing their problem because they missed something simple. It works both ways. As much as I hate it when I call IT providers, I won't put on the DYKWIA role because it just makes the call so much easier.

 

[JohnK]

I was going to send email feedback to Telstra complimenting the young lady on how she dealt with my call ,then I asked myself why I was sending feedback on the call when all the girl had done was what she is paid to do -provide good customer service-my perceptions had been coloured by all the bad experiences I have had over the years in dealing with Telstra.
I think it's the same with many organisations ,the level of customer service we receive is so inconsistent that when we actually receive what we want we feel a sense of surprise.

My feelings exactly. We have all come to expect, and receive, poor service that when we do get good service we are surprised.

Sad how big enterprise has been able to get away with off-shore call centres and poor service. They should have been punished as soon as they made the change.

IMO, dealing with some of the major tech companies are the worsttttt. As an IT guy, I hate being asked dumb questions such as 'have you tried restarting it' or 'is it plugged in'

So is it plugge in?

Sorry could not help muself....

 

[reductionist]

Liam - my partner used to work for an ADSL/boradband support company: was constantly amazed at how little some IT 'professionals' knew, or how arrogant they were , before theirt jaw hit the floor and left totally cough-faced - "Look, don't tell me my job - I'm an expert": from a guy who didn't know that the computer had an ON switch - or those IT professionals who didn't think it really all that necessary to put a filter on all appliances to ensure ADSL worked properly, or who had put it on wrongly (looking at you NSW Electoral Commission IT department), or who didn't bother to tell a client that his electric fence had to be turned off before using ADSL - etc, etc , etc.....

Uggh.

"I work in IT".

I can't think of a more eye-roll inducing phrase.

And I say that as a guy who works in IT.

 

[Nigelinoz]

Sad how big enterprise has been able to get away with off-shore call centres and poor service. They should have been punished as soon as they made the change.

Yeah I agree,but ironically a few years ago I was part of a project management team involved in setting up an Indian call centre for a major finance company,so I can't really complain about that :!:)
Cheers
N'oz

 

[ajw373]

Yep, the day Qantas outsources their call centre to certain other countries will be a total shame.

Overall the staff are good, competent, friendly and know their stuff. Of course there are ones that shouldn't be there or are having bad days... but that's like everything in life.

They already do to a certain extent. I have spoken to people in call centres in NZ and the UK, having called the Australian number and never had any real issue with any reasonable requests.

 

[ajw373]

Liam - my partner used to work for an ADSL/boradband support company: was constantly amazed at how little some IT 'professionals' knew, or how arrogant they were , before theirt jaw hit the floor and left totally cough-faced - "Look, don't tell me my job - I'm an expert": from a guy who didn't know that the computer had an ON switch - or those IT professionals who didn't think it really all that necessary to put a filter on all appliances to ensure ADSL worked properly, or who had put it on wrongly (looking at you NSW Electoral Commission IT department), or who didn't bother to tell a client that his electric fence had to be turned off before using ADSL - etc, etc , etc.....

OT a little I know, but you do know you don't need to use a filter AT ALL for ADSL to work. The filter filters OUT the ADSL tones so clearly one isn't needed for ADSL to work. The reason filters are used however is to remove the ADSL tones from the lines going to handsets, faxes and data modems. Without them ADSL will still work well, though audio quality on the handset might be diminished a little bit.

Certainly not needed if one has a naked ADSL line where the phone handset plugs into the ADSL modem or where a VoIP phone is used.

Anyway point being that whilst yes some callers can be trumped out and full of self importance many may actually know their stuff after all.

PS I am not an IT professional, but I am a data comms professional with 20 years experience!