Qantas Customer Service

[Russell Corr]

Firstly I'd like to say hi to everyone. I've lurked on this list for a few years on and off. Its probably time to be more active as I find this forum extremely informative and helpful.

I just wanted to tell you about an experience I had with Qantas recently. Like most people on this list I've never found them very helpful or flexible with planned travel.

Just before Christmas I was due to fly Syd-Per return with one leg as a business award flight the other paid economy. Just before I was due to fly I tore 3 ligaments in my ankle and could not make the trip. I rescheduled the award booking but for some reason just forget to change the paid sector.

About 3 days after the flight I suddenly realised my mistake and called Qantas to see if there was anything that could be done. Whilst they were helpful they said I was a no-show and they could do nothing.

Folliwing the advice of some on this forum over the years I emailed their customer complaints department to explain the injury etc.

two days later I had a call from a very helpful woman who understood the problems I had experienced and due to me being a loyal QF customer they refunded the full amount for the leg ($256).

I was very pleasantly surprised. As only a Silver Member I expected nothing, plus past experience with Qantas had also drawn me to this conclusion.

Rare but nice when it happens.

 

[bradwright]

Why o why, is Qantas service so variable.

I am like you, Silver, bordering on Gold at times.

I remember a time up to Narita on points a couple of years back when a QF Cabin person came and said he was happy to have me on board, 4 of us in economy. Why did he embarrass me in front of the whole cabin ? By pointing it out ? I STILL Do not know. If this was the precursor to an upgrade - fine. But no.

We flew back from Vienna a month ago and we got business for 4 of us. Great. The cabin crew were great and all went well except for a diversion to Djakarta which delayed us 5 hours.

We were on the upper deck SIN-BNE and the economy Flight attendant made a sardonic remark to the Economy passengers as we walked down the steps that they "Had to wait for these passengers" as if we were scum of the earth for flying in the 1990 ( 1967) 'Dreamtime seats' - What a joke. I could have screamed.

It is so hard to get consistency, that next European and US trips ( this month), stuff the FF points, I would rather pay and be assured.

Please get back in OZ - Singapore !!!!???

Brad

STILL bitter after Ansett Collapsed ( remember that ???)

 

[swissbignose]

With respect, the service that you are receiving from QANTAS is provided by other human beings, each with the capacity for emotion.

I don't believe it is fair to make a general statement that QANTAS service levels are variable, when in fact, it's really the actions of one or two that are determining your opinion.

Ever been to Coles or Woolworths (Safeway) and have a sour checkout operator? Do you similarly claim that the service provided by that supermarket chain is going downhill?

It's my belief that the majority of people respond to the demeanour of others. If one is constantly faced by cheerful, positive people, it's difficult to continue grumpiness. Similarly, if one is surrounded by depressing, negative people, it would be difficult to maintain a positive disposition.

Take Cabin Crew (particularly international). They must put up with hundreds of passengers of varying temperaments, while dealing with their own emotions and tiredness levels.

If all you get is a sarcastic comment, consider yourself lucky. I challenge anyone to operate under the same environment and still find it within themselves to be pleasant the whole time and make every passenger feel special.

In many ways, it's a karma thing... how many flight attendants complain about the increasing levels in passenger surliness?

 

[QF WP]

Why o why, is Qantas service so variable.

As SBN says above, because you are dealing with individuals with different emotion levels at the time. Do you want FA's to be robots (who are devoid of emotion).

I remember a time up to Narita on points a couple of years back when a QF Cabin person came and said he was happy to have me on board, 4 of us in economy. Why did he embarrass me in front of the whole cabin ? By pointing it out ? I STILL Do not know. If this was the precursor to an upgrade - fine. But no.

Sorry, I fail to see what your problem was with his comment. According to what you state above, he was happy to have you on board...seems perfectly acceptable to me. Where did he embarrass you?? Did he yell it at the top of his voice - that would be the only way pax 30 rows back would have known about it. Do you think other pax really cared that much about whether you were a paid or award pax...doubt it. Everybody knows that there aew award pax on every flight QF send in the sky. Maybe you missed adding more comments that would justify your rant.

We flew back from Vienna a month ago and we got business for 4 of us. Great. The cabin crew were great and all went well except for a diversion to Jakarta which delayed us 5 hours.

We were on the upper deck SIN-BNE and the economy Flight attendant made a sardonic remark to the Economy passengers as we walked down the steps that they "Had to wait for these passengers" as if we were scum of the earth for flying in the 1990 ( 1967) 'Dreamtime seats' - What a joke. I could have screamed.

Same comment as above - the FA was making the comment to the WHY pax that they had to wait for you, you are more important (as you were flying J, paid more money, or money + FFP's). Why would you be scum of the earth??? Why be upset about that (unless you have a reserve inferiority complex)??

If these are your only two bad experiences, what percentage of your flying are they representative?? As you state you're a Silver (nearing Gold), then you'll have done a fair bit of flying.

Get over it and look at the number of times you have had acceptable or excellent service (certainly a much greater percentage). Smiling, thanking FA's for doing their job begets better service, because having a positive mental attitude is usually infectious.

STILL bitter after Ansett Collapsed ( remember that ???)

Brad, perhaps you need to talk to somebody about these feelings...they might be holding you back from expressing those positive feeling I am sure are there crying to get out ...

 

[bradwright]

Yes. OK. I see where this is heading.

All it takes for evil to triumph is......

I will let you know after the JAL sectors. I think it is not that I am the one in denial....

Brad

Paying customer largely, but know consistency and service when I see it. Or not. For goodness sake. Its been real. Remember the TPA Sec 52 ?

 

[QF WP]

Yes. OK. I see where this is heading.

OK, I can't see where you're thinking it's going...but I think I'm glad I don't :?

I will let you know after the JAL sectors

Excellent. We'll be waiting with bated breath for your report. Presumably this is a QF/JAL codeshare flight (hopefully QF metal otherwise it's not relevant to the OP's comment on Qantas Cutomer Service

I think it is not that I am the one in denial....

I'm certainly hope not for your sake. I base my "bad sectors" from the total flying I have done (460 sectors on OW carriers since 1988 and probably another 30 on *A and other alliances/airlines). Bad sectors because of poor service - I honestly cannot remember any. Bad flights (including things like turbulence, unserviceable aircraft, missing onward connections due to delays, etc) - 4. I don't include in there the 2 times that I have missed flights due to my own ineptitude (arriving too late - after flight check-in closed), including one where I didn't speak the language, got searched in customs and didn't know the airport layout (GRU connecting to CNF).

Even though my sample for statistical purposes is large, perhaps I have been fortunate. Perhaps I treat everybody from the CSA's, Customs, QP's, Crew, Baggage Handlers in a more positive manner than you (because I feel I understand what they are doing, as I was married to a QF CSA and saw what they go through firsthand). But then again, I'm an eternal optimist :wink: ...thus I'm hoping that your flights to JFK are good ones Brad, and you survive to tell the tale...

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

I must be thick. I really dont get what the problem is, despite reading and re-reading the posts.

 

[Anna]

I don't understand what the problem is either. I like it when the crew welcome me on board. But what I do find disturbing is that there is somebody who has kept count of how many flight sectors he has flown since 1988.

 

[dajop]

I'm certainly hope not for your sake. I base my "bad sectors" from the total flying I have done (460 sectors on OW carriers since 1988 and probably another 30 on *A and other alliances/airlines). Bad sectors because of poor service - I honestly cannot remember any. Bad flights (including things like turbulence, unserviceable aircraft, missing onward connections due to delays, etc) - 4.

I'd agree (with about 340 QF sectors in the last 5 years, and another 120 or so on other carriers - mainly Star alliance, but about 30 on Rex) that I have not had any "bad" sectors due to poor service - and you must be lucky as I've definitely had more than 4 bad flights if turbulence counts - but that's probably a function of the number of Dash 8 and Saab flights I've "enjoyed"!!

However, I have had numerous sectors I would consider "disappointing", and all of these have been on QF international services (no problems at all with QF domestic). This includes both Y and J services and probably (I suspect) have more to do with management policy than staff attitude, such as the frequency at which staff move through the cabin on long haul flights (to offer water for example). Also, oddly enough I actually prefer a scowly flight attendant who empathises with customers (eg over meal choice and quality) than one who smiles and pushes the company line (hope you enjoy your meal sir, fake smile...).

My basis for these disappointments is a comparison to other airlines I've flown (such EK, SQ & CX) as well QF's own domestic operations. Perhaps if I hadn't flown on these I wouldn't have been so disappointed.

 

[QF WP]

I like it when the crew welcome me on board. But what I do find disturbing is that there is somebody who has kept count of how many flight sectors he has flown since 1988.

Thanks Anna, I resemble that remark :wink:. Each to their own...

I have always loved flying and tracked my flights (vie Excel) since joining the QFF. Flying and discussing all aspects of flying (particularly QF) is my "hobby". Very innocuous compared with many other hobbies.

You will find a number of regular travellers collate this information, Anna. Some here (plus at other flying-based web sites) go into more depth than me :shock: .

 

[QF WP]

I'd agree (with about 340 QF sectors in the last 5 years, and another 120 or so on other carriers - mainly Star alliance, but about 30 on Rex) that I have not had any "bad" sectors due to poor service - and you must be lucky as I've definitely had more than 4 bad flights if turbulence counts - but that's probably a function of the number of Dash 8 and Saab flights I've "enjoyed"!!

Most of my flying is to major capital cities domestically or major cities internationally, thus serviced by the larger aircraft. I can count on one hand how many Dash 8 sectors I've been on.

Some of my problem flights have been:

Flying Whyalla Airlines (when it was still flying) WHY/ADL and been caught in a severe storm, major turbulence and I was sitting in the first row, diagonally opposite the captain. He turned around mid-flight (over the Spencer Gulf) and said "Not a great night for flying but I'm enjoying the challenge - how are you travelling" :?

I've only ever been on 1 flight (physically on board, I mean) that went U/S (mechanical) and delayed longer than 1 hour (BA LHR/HKG, but I was in J and they started serving us drinks and snacks while we waited, so I was impressed by the service).

Was in SYD in meetings, when mobile in silent mode rang. Was BA Res advising me SYD/SIN flight that afternoon was cancelled, did I want to be re-booked tomorrow or flown to MEL (at their expense) to catch the MEL/SIN flight instead. I needed to get to SIN that night, so needless to say opted for the extra FF points & SC's.

I've had plenty of QF Dom flights delayed by up to 30 mins, but I've never had flow-on problems caused by the delay. I've never been on a cancelled flight (domestically) and only ever missed 3 flights (QF ADL/SYD, LH FRA/MUC and Varig GRU/CNF as described above).

However, I have had numerous sectors I would consider "disappointing", and all of these have been on QF international services (no problems at all with QF domestic). This includes both Y and J services and probably (I suspect) have more to do with management policy than staff attitude, such as the frequency at which staff move through the cabin on long haul flights (to offer water for example). Also, oddly enough I actually prefer a scowly flight attendant who empathises with customers (eg over meal choice and quality) than one who smiles and pushes the company line (hope you enjoy your meal sir, fake smile...).

Likewise, I may have had one surly FA serving me on a sector, but never two. I have always focused on being pleasant and talking with the FA's in the galley when flights are quiet. That way, I tend to get better service (case in point, FA Kylie on my recent BNE/AKL flight in my Trip Report).

Perhaps it comes down to attitude - I'm a very relaxed individual (after overcoming a malignant Cancer 4 years ago), so nothing much these days ruffles my feathers. I look for solutions to the problem, not dwelling over it - that never gets you anywhere.

 

[Anna]

I'm sure innocuous is one word for it!

 

[QF WP]

Note to self: Don't get involved with legal arguments with Anna (it probably won't get protracted!) :roll:

 

[NM]

In 14 years a FF member (Australian Airlines then Qantas) I can't remember any bad flights due to poor service onboard. Dome flights have better service than others, but I can't remember any that I would have wanted to complain about. And that is a lot of flights, domestic and international, in all cabin classes.

I have had a few delayed flights due to all sorts of things from broken parts to being stuck in SYD QP for about 5 hours the day the Ansett 747 landed on 16R without a nose wheel. In all that time I have only missed 3 connections - two domestic connections following long-haul international arrivals that were late (each time I was automatically put onto the next flight), and one AA domestic flight following a nightmare delay at immigration processing in LAX.

I have had a few flights cancelled and rebooked on later flights. This has happened on QF, AA and UA. I have had some very tight connections (and associated stress) due to late arrivals, most memorably connecting FRA-LHR-SIN when I manahed LHR Terminal 1 to Terminal 4 in 20 mins from landing to boarding next flight, and the biggest disappointment was missing out on the JW Blue in the LHR T4 First Class lounge . But one onboard QF10, I was offered a glass of bubbly with a smile and I began to relax for the long journey home.