Qantas Promises to Fix Ongoing Reward Flight Ticketing Failures

[SOPOOR]

youd think that everyone/media/qantas are behaving like theyve cured cancer.


over a decade ago, we booked a 10 day intrepid tour via flight centre overseas (yes FC, i hate them but my partner at the time did it)

our day 5 iteneray included a 1-2 hour inter flight,

when we got to the airport, just mine and my partners flight tickets were not there, out of the whole group

I called from my mobile to australia FC the branch we booked at , back then there was no whatsapp or cheap mobile call plan,
they apologised profusely and literally bought/issued tickets straight away,

when I got back I told them my calls cost me $50, so they gave me $100 cash as well no questions asked,

that impressed me, but they were essentially fixing a huge problem they caused

well done qantas

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

In response to my Jan 31 email, I have received a call from a call centre in NZ, who was friendly, patient and did everything she could to help with my issue. For those who have an email to escalations, there is hope!

I’m glad you got a response, but 6 days later…. Not that helpful when tickets can disappear after 24hrs…

 

[Mr H]

I’m glad you got a response, but 6 days later…. Not that helpful when tickets can disappear after 24hrs…

Let's be generous and hope they are clearing a backlog - and will soon be able to deal with emails in a more timeous manner. At least we are getting some demonstration that the emails are being looked at, even if they don't get acknowledged.

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

Let's be generous and hope they are clearing a backlog - and will soon be able to deal with emails in a more timeous manner. At least we are getting some demonstration that the emails are being looked at, even if they don't get acknowledged.

Very magnanimous of you, but I take your point.
Fingers crossed for the future.

Of course it would be a bit better if they didn’t faaark them up in the first place…

 

[futurebeans]

I’m glad you got a response, but 6 days later…. Not that helpful when tickets can disappear after 24hrs…

yes, my issue was not a ticketing one. wish you all the best with your issue(s)!

 

[Mr H]

Of course it would be a bit better if they didn’t faaark them up in the first place…

I suspect this is a penny that has dropped with Qantas quite recently. I suspect they had underestimated the scale of the problem and thought it was a couple of isolated cases caused by a couple of inexperienced call centre operators. Then, as the number of cases started to mount, as they faced administrative tribunal actions, as their execs got bombarded with emails and as their good agents got tied up for days at a time trying to fix the mistakes, they realised that they were sitting on a time bomb. Yes, it would have cost them less to get the bookings right rather than fix things afterwards.

 

[exLXCXFF]

I suspect this is a penny that has dropped with Qantas quite recently. I suspect they had underestimated the scale of the problem and thought it was a couple of isolated cases caused by a couple of inexperienced call centre operators. Then, as the number of cases started to mount, as they faced administrative tribunal actions, as their execs got bombarded with emails and as their good agents got tied up for days at a time trying to fix the mistakes, they realised that they were sitting on a time bomb. Yes, it would have cost them less to get the bookings right rather than fix things afterwards.

Yes to the analysis but no to the course of action so far. Based on what we read in these pages to-date, it does not seem that QF Exec have actually installed an incremental, competent team to deal with this (at least ad interim to clear the mounting backlog).

All that seems to happen is that complaints can be lodged with Hobart / Auckland (?) via email now and that the people sitting there presumably have a higher workload and are distracted to take WP/P1/CL calls.

 

[SimonR32]

Well optimism can prevail...

Just got an email from

"Hi Simon,



Thank you for your email.



We have been able to secure your requested flights from Japan Airlines.



I have sent through your updated E-ticket.



Enjoy the trip,



John"

 

[SimonR32]

And they have an autoreply now... Note the rules regarding using the inbox

 

[RooFlyer]

In response to my Jan 31 email, I have received a call from a call centre in NZ, who was friendly, patient and did everything she could to help with my issue. For those who have an email to escalations, there is hope!

Welcome to AFF @futurebeans

View attachment 315931

And they have an autoreply now... Note the rules regarding using the inbox

Wow. An autoreply! But WTF does the "Success!" button mean? And what does "Please cancel" mean - cancel the enquiry, because the problem has been solved, or please cancel the ticket??

 

[tassie6]

Welcome to AFF @futurebeans



Wow. An autoreply! But WTF does the "Success!" button mean? And what does "Please cancel" mean - cancel the enquiry, because the problem has been solved, or please cancel the ticket??

I think you will find those buttons are just SimonR32's email app suggesting possible responses, not anything QF has added

 

[Captain Halliday]

Prioritising by date of departure clearly shows they don’t understand the problem.

 

[DAC1]

Wow. An autoreply! But WTF does the "Success!" button mean? And what does "Please cancel" mean - cancel the enquiry, because the problem has been solved, or please cancel the ticket??

Those are just recommended quick replies within the Gmail app, not actual buttons provided by QF.

 

[RooFlyer]

I think you will find those buttons are just SimonR32's email app suggesting possible responses, not anything QF has added

Those are just recommended quick replies within the Gmail app, not actual buttons provided by QF.

Thanks both. A bit dangerous!

 

[exceladdict]

Prioritising by date of departure clearing shows they don’t understand the problem.

In fairness, someone travelling in the next 24hours is probably pretty desperate - however in that instance should really be able to get through to someone by phone.

However I agree that it assumes that they will be able to fix the problem when it reaches the top of the queue, which might not be possible if the seats are lost.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Yes to the analysis but no to the course of action so far. Based on what we read in these pages to-date, it does not seem that QF Exec have actually installed an incremental, competent team to deal with this (at least ad interim to clear the mounting backlog).

The solution to this problem won't happen overnight. It will likely take weeks to deal with the inconvenience caused thus far, and likely many months for QF to dedicate the resources to preventing these horror stories from happening again (i.e. improving training and recruitment processes to ensure that agents are actually competent). One can hope that long-term they fix the underlying processes they have in place which cause these very issues from happening which would require them to rethink how they ticket flights in general. Having a manual queue that has to be reviewed might reduce the potential for fraudulent transactions, but one must also weigh whether the cost savings from that is greater than the cost of hiring people to review the queue and for them to purchase revenue fares for customers when bookings aren't ticketed on time. I know a lot of folks will say it won't happen given the current management and their quest to cut every corner there is to save a nickel to make their customers happy, but other airlines have proven that it is possible (Air Canada and their move to Amadeus is one such example).

-RooFlyer88

 

[stm1sydney]

Fingers crossed for the future.

That's the Qantas strategy; they do the bare minimum (and play the media) to give you enough hope that things will get better in the future and so you continue to be loyal and strive for LTG, meanwhile we wait for ticketing problems to be fixed (notwithstanding the headline "Qantas fixes..." which is clearly incorrect), for that awful SYDint J lounge to be upgraded as promised years ago, for customer service to actually improve, etc etc etc.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

That's the Qantas strategy; they do the bare minimum (and play the media) to give you enough hope that things will get better in the future and so you continue to be loyal and strive for LTG, meanwhile we wait for ticketing problems to be fixed (notwithstanding the headline "Qantas fixes..." which is clearly incorrect), for that awful SYDint J lounge to be upgraded as promised years ago, for customer service to actually improve, etc etc etc.

In fairness there is nothing wrong with the SYD INT J lounge compared to the lounges in the domestic terminal and the joke of a lounge at HBA! Keep in mind too that there is recourse for travellers who distaste the SYD INT J lounge: head to the Emirates lounge!

 

[djkelly69]

their quest to cut every corner there is to save a nickel to make their customers happy

shareholders rather than customers maybe?

 

[yaksha98]

In response to my Jan 31 email, I have received a call from a call centre in NZ, who was friendly, patient and did everything she could to help with my issue. For those who have an email to escalations, there is hope!

Was the issue resolved with her assistance?