Qantas to shut airport service desks, force customers onto self-service

[kiwitripper64]

I have used the SYD and MEL customer service desks countless times. When your flight from SIN has been delayed, you arrive feeling tired and you have missed your connection ( domestic or International) it was never a big problem because we were directed to the service desk who had friendly professionals who took over and got us home.
I am not looking forward to the same situation where I have to power up my phone and try to find the right phone number or the section of the app that may work.
Another scenario was a flight AKL-BNE-CNS. The family were about to leave to go to the airport when we got a text saying flight delayed. We went out a few hours later and found a large group of grumpy cruise liner passengers who had got to the airport before the text. The QF checkin staff were good, told us we had a good chance of making BNE-CNS connection, but re-assured us we would be looked after. After another delay we boarded and departed. With our family and the cruise passengers there were about 30 PAX trying to connect. We were given updates, and babout 30 min before landing we were told that the CNS couldn't wait. On arrival QF customer services team took over. Lots of very tired PAX, but the got us together, organised taxis and hotels and flights for the next morning. The whole process was organised, professional and easy for PAX.
Finally, any word on how will they run the DOM-INT bus at SYD? Especially for people who have had a small delay and are cutting INT boarding very close.

 

[RAM]

Perhaps Bain has infiltrated Q among the senior exec ranks to makes sure their purchase of VA makes billions for them.

Otherwise Q is mad!

Remember that prior to CV Q's international share was around 23% - people have been voting with their feet for quite some time. Amongst people I know, some who were left stranded by Q's dummy-spit on June 8th, most have vowed not to use Q again. Some describe it as obscene how Q plays the 'national airline' card yet showed Australians his middle finger, others comment on the decreased frequency etc vs the competitors.

Q has always had a touch of arrogance - such as flying to Hawaii. Landing around 1am local time and returning around 3am local time. Worked very well for Q & b.....r the passengers. Only once more competition commenced, especially when Hawaiian started flying to Australia - did the timings improve.

The AFF archives are full of Q 'enhancement tales' - code for 'enhancing' seniors execs' remuneration that is at the expense & detriment for passengers. For those with longer memories (& perhaps expanded waistlines) perhaps the peak enhancement came when Q realised that they could both cut travel agents commissions & ripoff QFFers by reclassifying ticket costs to make (in some cases) fees & charges double the 'fare' component. As most TA commission structures worked off the 'fare' component since airlines globally argued that they should not have to pay commissions on money going to Govts - this 'enhancement' saw TA commissions drop as much as 70% for the same destination.

Now Q has one of the oldest & most expensive fleets to run of any major airline - cutting service levels seems one enhancement too many.

 

[dajop]

The AFF archives are full of Q 'enhancement tales' -

They are also full of stories of absolute devotion to the brand. All they have to do is keep on serving up free salt and pepper squid in the F lounge, and that will atone for all sorts of other sins.

I think we will see QF starting to act much more like a monopoly player would. They expect to once again have 70%+ domestic market share, have the strength of QF FF so will really go hard on cutting costs, knowing that many of their customer feel they have no alternative.

 

[Flying Fox]

Why is it that QF can listed to 'customer feed-back' about wanting less people interaction and more IT interaction yet it doesn't listen to 'customer feed-back' about improved meals, queuing policies, etc?

I doubt any customer has ever said, 'no please sack the customer service staff at the airport who help me make travel changes when I need assistance as I would prefer to speak to someone in a call centre'.

I would like to have their contact details please.

Given that everyone on this forum has a great interest in travel and probably travels much more than any sample set, I doubt that anyone here would like to see these staff go.

 

[RichardMEL]

Poor move. IRROPS will cause even more mayhem and bury gate agents with enquiries they do not have time to try and deal with (imo).

I am also shocked lounges - at the very least at major hubs SYD/MEL/CBR/BNE would npt have some staff to deal with all the little things that we tend to ask for or need from time to time.. from fly forward to reprinting BP's or .. well the hundreds of little things you can't do online or via the app like seat swaps, ODU's etc.

It will also mean for those lucky enough to be P1 or CL the "VIP Team" will be slogged with even more calls and demand.. so that will be another effect.

I strongly suspect QF will need to have like a triage team or something for IRROPS to try and deal with customers because the technology isn't there to support it right now, and we know how well the call centre(s) handle things currently.

I think QF will probably wind up reversing this decision, in part at least, as travel and demand increases.

 

[Rangalad]

There was a team: DYOM
Not sure if it still exists.

 

[AIRwin]

There was a team: DYOM

Do Your Own Matters?

 

[John in Melbourne]

I find it hard to believe customers actually told QF they'd rather call or use the app or a browser than front up at a desk when they're at the airport.

It was probably two 15 year old smartphone nerds.

 

[RAM]

It was probably two 15 year old smartphone nerds.

How did you know? Relatives of the CIO....

 

[muppet]

....

I think QF will probably wind up reversing this decision, in part at least, as travel and demand increases.

Yep. Cynical me suspects QF is taking the pandemic induced opportunity to make some “genuine” redundancies of the existing staff and then hiring lower paid/experienced staff once travel recovers.

 

[Seat0B]

They're now referred to as 'Self Loading Cargo'

That's what we used to call OPSAT pax in the RAAF!

 

[aussiejohn]

AJ is starting the lose the plot

"Starting" to lose the plot?? I have viewed this as a work-in-progress for quite a long time now.

 

[aussiejohn]

From Matt's intro in today's broadcast email:-

"...the information provided by offshore call centre agents in the Philippines or South Africa is frequently wrong, and staff at these call centres aren’t always empowered to help customers properly."

Very circumspect Matt, when we know the reality is that they - like most call centres - are NOT and never will be emporwered to solve customer problems. Despite what various customer service gurus have said over the years, this is still a bridge too far for most companies. Customers need to know their place and that means not having the right to demand soloutions to problems. You pays your money and you takes your chances. End of discussion. Call centre staff read from a script on their screen. They cannot deviate from it. If you have a problem outside of the approved list on their screen they cannot help you. And now many companies are forbidding agents to escalate calls to a senior person.

Comment has been made that no-one knows who told Qantas they wanted this. Really? We all know Qantas did not speak to one single customer. Why do we hedge around that simple fact? With some reluctance many of us have taken up the electronic check-in process, probably because it beats waiting in a long line, specially if it is the cattle class line. Qantas has extrapolated from that and taken it to mean that we want all electronic and non-contact solutions for everything. Isn't that called "mission creep"?

The obvious solution to deal with AJ is to vote with our feet, but as AJ knows all too well, that has just become a non-starter with VA almost on the ropes and will no longer provide a viable alternative under Bain. We've done our dash, AJ wins and he knows it. This is just the beginning. Fasten your seat belts and observe the no smoking sign, there is more turbulence to come. This is just the entree.

 

[RAM]

From Matt's intro in today's broadcast email:-

"...the information provided by offshore call centre agents in the Philippines or South Africa is frequently wrong, and staff at these call centres aren’t always empowered to help customers properly."

Very circumspect Matt, when we know the reality is that they - like most call centres - are NOT and never will be emporwered to solve customer problems.

I tend to agree with Matt about most offshore call centres to varying degrees - Q included. The times I've dealt with Q generally have been unpleasant where the script sometimes bordered on illegal - & I've ended up contacting Q's Company Secretary & said so with some effect. The occasional on-shore CC often is not that much better - but there are some notable exceptions for both (on & offshore) where I've had more +ve than -ve outcomes - Amex, CBA, SIA & AAMI. Q & JQ come down the wrong end of the spectrum in my experience.

For example Q was breaking the law during CV by saying people are/were not entitled to a full refund, as well as not providing any option to do so. The ACCC got out the softest feather for that massive indiscretion.

 

[Daver6]

Off the topic, I know, but I just hate the term “customers”. The same with Virgin’s “guests”. Passengers. Whatever happened to passengers.

Coles has customers, and my house has guests.

Companies that sell a product or service have customers. The problem is, companies sometimes see the customer as an annoyance or someone getting in their way of doing their job. What they forget is the company's reason for being is there to serve the customer and give them a great experience.

Now yes, the real reason for being is actually a return on investment to shareholders/owners, but that is achieved by my above statement.

 

[levelnine]

CX pilots & cabin crew just resigned contracts at 40 to 60 per cent less pay. Add that to what has been proposed at Virgin and it is clear that the cost cutting at airlines is going to get a lot worse. My guess is that there will be many, many more cuts to come at Qantas. Pre-COVID TigerAir is going to look like luxury by the end of this.

 

[RichardMEL]

Yep. Cynical me suspects QF is taking the pandemic induced opportunity to make some “genuine” redundancies of the existing staff and then hiring lower paid/experienced staff once travel recovers.

Anecdotal only so grain of inconsistent salt but an apparent QF staffer (possibly now ex since covid) claimed that this change had been discussed within QF or rather "canvassed with the staff" prior to the pandemic. This was on Melbourne radio the other day.

So maybe.. maybe not. I have no idea.

no doubt airlines around the world are using the pandemic as an excuse to make changes they probably have wanted to make for a long time to various things. Some justifiable.. others not so much.

 

[PineappleSkip]

Finally, any word on how will they run the DOM-INT bus at SYD?

The QF bus hasn't run for yonks, since about March IIRC. Options are the train or a cranky cab driver. Looking at changes like this I wonder whether that bus will ever return.

I am another data point who is not happy, Jan, about this service change.

cheers skip

 

[colinw]

This is crazy, just after New Year 2019 we were due to fly back Sydney to Newcastle UK via Melbourne and Dubai when the weather turned in the afternoon at Sydney which delayed our first flight to Melbourne which resulted in missing the Emirates flight to Dubai that day, obviously at that time of year flights were almost booked up so the staff at the help desk at Melbourne has quite a job to be able to rebook a large queue of people trying to get home, they also arranged a hotel in Melbourne for us that night as the replacement flights were the next day, the thought of having to try and sort that out using a call centre or an app does not bare thinking about, if they do this I suppose I will have to stick to other airlines to get to and from Australia

 

[serfty]

They're now referred to as 'Self Loading Cargo'

Now? It was one of the first new (to me) terms I came across when I joined AFF - I think it was via the late @ThaDoctor.