Qantas Club Dress Standards...Stubbies, singlet and thongs....What the???

[Princess Fiona]

So today is the first day of the new dress code and entering into the BNE J lounge this afternoon there were no less than 3 ladies greeting me. I asked if the extra staff were due to school holidays and their response was that they are on singlet and thong patrol. Looks like they are taking this seriously, at least for today anyway

Was in the MEL J lounge this morning.
Absolutely no evidence whatsoever of a dress code being enforced.
I saw at least half a dozen people wearing rubber thongs. Greater numbers than this observed during a stroll through the QP on the way out.
FWIW my enjoyment of the lounge and travel experience isn't affected in the slightest by other people's choice of clothing and footwear.

 

[footy99]

Was in the MEL J lounge this morning.
Absolutely no evidence whatsoever of a dress code being enforced.
I saw at least half a dozen people wearing rubber thongs. Greater numbers than this observed during a stroll through the QP on the way out.
FWIW my enjoyment of the lounge and travel experience isn't affected in the slightest by other people's choice of clothing and footwear.

Thongs aren't on their hit list according to a brief chat with a SYD staffer.

Men in singlets will be the borderline one I think. Anyone see anyone turned away today?

 

[eminere]

Was in the MEL J lounge this morning.
Absolutely no evidence whatsoever of a dress code being enforced.
I saw at least half a dozen people wearing rubber thongs. Greater numbers than this observed during a stroll through the QP on the way out.

No policing out of the ordinary in the AKL J lounge today either. Although there were some men in shorts no one was wearing slippers.

 

[RickyT84]

Was in the QF SIN Lounge on Tuesday and saw one patron wondering around barefoot :shock:

Thankfully one staff member was quick to point out the danger of such behaviour (and non-compliance with the Lounge rules in general) and the gentleman concerned was politely asked to return to his seat and put some footwear on

 

[RichardMEL]

re AKL and SIN lounges - this policy enforcement is only for oz domestic lounges BNE/SYD/CBR/MEL IIRC. Def not the int lounges.

 

[moa999]

Some press in the AFR today (mostly quoting twitter posts) -- mostly from females rejected for wearing thongs and 'b*%^ing' about the other expensive accessories.

Rae Ka‎
Not impressed with inconsistent dress code enforcement. Have worn my upmarket thong style sandals in lounge many times before. Turned away this morning. Gold membership. Not happy.

Amy Melissa Lodge @lillyandwolf Follow
I was rejected from the Qantas Club lounge today for wearing my @ksubi jeans and @havaianas (I thought this would... http://fb.me/3bItKlzMf

Estelle Lucas @Estelle_Lucas Follow @AvaGraceVIP @Qantas I think they're trying to be classy but cmon, I have a 2k bag in my hand & I didn't have any notice of the new policy

Maria Neale @mazbutler Follow @Qantas no thongs should be in the terms and conditions for clarity. I think I am smart casual even in thongs. Very shaming.

Note the third users twitter profile is potentially not work appropriate

 

[eclectic_boogaloo]

Looks like the media have jumped on board the dress code story, and 'Estelle Lucas' makes a cameo appearance:

Estelle Lucas, a sex worker who was travelling from Melbourne to Perth, where there is a science fiction convention on, said she was refused entry to the Qantas Club in Melbourne on Wednesday because she was wearing thongs.

"I alternate between designer high heels and thongs," she said of her footwear. "As it was a four-hour flight, it was simply a matter of comfort over class. I had three pairs of designer heels, which were sent off into the carousel when I checked in."
Ms Lucas said the rest of her attire included a $2500 Prada handbag, basic trousers, a singlet and a designer coat.

If escorts can't get into the Qantas lounge then what is the world coming to?

 

[footy99]

Looks like the media have jumped on board the dress code story, and 'Estelle Lucas' makes a cameo appearance:



If escorts can't get into the Qantas lounge then what is the world coming to?

The mention of the science fiction convention there is classic!

Interesting these stories coming out of MEL where we've already had an account of numerous people being allowed in wearing thongs the same day. And word from SYD that thongs aren't part of the crack down.

I wonder if it is just random which staff member applies which rules or whether they just don't like the look of certain people so use the excuse of dress standards where it is convenient.

 

[sjd]

People not familiar with the local lingo might be surprised that she was ever allowed in the QP wearing a thong.

 

[RichardMEL]

The mention of the science fiction convention there is classic!

Interesting these stories coming out of MEL where we've already had an account of numerous people being allowed in wearing thongs the same day. And word from SYD that thongs aren't part of the crack down.

I wonder if it is just random which staff member applies which rules or whether they just don't like the look of certain people so use the excuse of dress standards where it is convenient.

Whatever the cause this is a core issue for QF with this "policy enforcement" - fine if QF want to put in whatever rules for their private club all well and good it's their right HOWEVER if it's not consistently enforced, and how can you with such a subjective thing such as a dress code policy (specially the bet about offensive slogans to my way of thinking) that it just leads to a nightmare both for staff and the company let alone travellers:

1. Allowed into one lounge, but not the next (in this case it's not relevant if the first lounge is not on the "enforcement list" eg BNE/MEL/SYD/CBR because this is not going to matter one hoot to the pax)
2. Allowed one visit, but not the next to same lounge
3. (subhective) "but that person walked in wearing X ... why not me?"

and so on. I wouldn't want to be QF PR (but then again, this is their decision) and certainly not the lounge agents at the front line here. This essentially becomes a judgement call in many cases. Honestly I'm surprised to hear so many stories of issues so soon. I think most (me anyway) expected one or two at most and this to be a non issue. Seems some staff are more overzealous than others (remind anyone of another recent long running thread - also involving MEL at the core? )

Such a policy that is not black and white but subjective will ALWAYS be problematic imho.

Well, I have a date with the MEL QP in a couple of days.. can't wait

 

[love_the_life]

This is shaping up to be a publicity nightmare for QF. Mainstream media have jumped on board as well; bet it makes television at some stage as well.

 

[dk4]

Mainstream media have jumped on board as well; bet it makes television at some stage as well.

CNBC already has, replete with news anchors showing bare knees, and wearing moccasins and ugg boots.

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000367578

 

[moa999]

As mentioned to a few people at QF, making it subjective and not having clear rules was always going to backfire.

Same happened at SCG a few years ago.

 

[jackthomas]

I think most of us agree with these rules, however the execution hasn't been fantastic. There needs to be rules in place and the change has been advertised heavily, but as moa999 said, the rules have been too subjective.
What somebody wears in the lounge doesn't really bother me, but I certainly think if these rules are followed the area will be more pleasant.

If QF released a list of set guidelines, it would be much easier for everyone.

:evil:

 

[Chesty]

Surely you can wear shorts though as long as no thongs?

 

[eminere]

re AKL and SIN lounges - this policy enforcement is only for oz domestic lounges BNE/SYD/CBR/MEL IIRC. Def not the int lounges.

Oops sorry

 

[footy99]

Surely you can wear shorts though as long as no thongs?

It's not cut and dry. As we've seen so far, thongs are usually fine but not always. Depends who you get and what they think of your face. There was something in one of the above articles about revealing clothing being blocked which I guess could include some shorts at a stretch, but you'd have to be really unlucky.

 

[MichaelD]

I'm currently in the Perth lounge and they are not letting anyone in with thongs. They are being polite but very firm. I watched for a while - a surprisingly large number of people with thongs on approach the Perth lounge.

Open toed dress sandals are OK for the ladies.

They have some enclosed shoes which the bethonged can "buy" for a $5 donation to Unicef which I thought was a nice touch, softening the blow somewhat.

 

[Deleted member]

I've heard ( on feed back in the papers) people argue that they wear the thongs for comfort on the flight.
So carry them in a bag , and wear them on the flight. How hard can it be?

 

[mattm199]

Despite the big media beat-up, looks like quite a few of the newspaper comments are supportive of having "standards".