Red Roo Update

[whatmeworry]

So no more QF junkets for AFF mods?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

A bit harsh I think, there were many more PM's between RR and myself and many others in this forum, raising genuine issues that affected other customers as well, often resulting in things being fixed from a system, operational procedure.etc point of view, just because you didn't see them in public doesn't mean lots was going on via private messaging, I know this first hand and from speaking with other AFFers over time at events.

Big opportunity lost if QF was fixing multiple issues but not posting about them. While at the same time letting all the negative stuff go unanswered.

Managing AFF should only have taken 30 minutes a day maximum.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

So no more QF junkets for AFF mods?

Dont know about Mods but I always had my suspicions re 1 or 2 members - but hey that's life huh.

As a non QF FF I always thought Red Roo's presence / activity was a real positive for both QF and AFF - yep absolutely on a hiding to nothing from the 'privileged' every time they merely sniffed they might be wronged - but pro-active responses on Red Roo's behalf really was a positive in the eyes of the 'reasonable' - well IMHU&UO.

 

[Princess Fiona]

So no more QF junkets for AFF mods?

Harsh......
IIRC there was only ever one event some of the mods were invited to in DXB along with various other guests from all parts of the media.

If you read the posts here, it was the engagement with the community as a whole that everyone (including the mods) valued most.

 

[Pushka]

So no more QF junkets for AFF mods?

There were certainly more comps for non mods than there were junkets. I can only recall one. And not all mods were invited. Years ago.

 

[samh004]

Red Roo wasn't exactly the golden goose (an inconsistent layer at best), but AFF surely killed it with petulant demands for real or imagined slights to be addressed. The sad fact is it wasn't worth the bother for Qantas to resource the position, and no doubt the funds have been channelled into some Big Data projects that provide Business Intelligence rather than Bull**** Indignation.

Or am I being too harsh??? Oops!!!

Aren't demands for real or imagined slights happening on other forms of social media too?

So no more QF junkets for AFF mods?

Before my time, but only happened once and was part of a much larger promotion. They probably flew almost a whole plane load of media out for that event.

Good point!

The cost of hiring one person who deals with multiple social media forums is negligible compared to the potential revenue lost when just one high flyer decides to jump ship after not being properly taken cared of by QF. What RR often did is basically "jump the queue" which helped solve various AFFers issues much faster.

Managing AFF should only have taken 30 minutes a day maximum.

That's what I would have thought, some days slightly more time than usual, others slightly less.

 

[harvyk]

Big opportunity lost if QF was fixing multiple issues but not posting about them. While at the same time letting all the negative stuff go unanswered.

Managing AFF should only have taken 30 minutes a day maximum.

Remember that managing AFF isn't just the 30 minutes a day, it's the constant monitoring of threads, it's the liaising with other parts of QF to come to resolutions. Doing that job properly takes time. A half coughd effort is worse than no effort at all.

Most of the negative criticism I saw was appropriately handled. Negative criticism is one of those things, sometimes it's better to simply let it go through to the keeper, since arguing the point often does your company no favours. How many times have we all seen the screenshots of arguments between a peeved person and a company rep just to watch the company rep start digging a massive hole. Also remember that there was no one person whom was a Red Roo, at least for Red-Roo 1, there where several people whom shared the Red-Roo account.

So no more QF junkets for AFF mods?

From memory there was only ever one, it was to do with the DXB / EK tie up, and AFF was included as another media representatives. (One of the mods, please correct me if my memory is faulty)

All other competitions specifically excluded AFF mods from participating. As a side note I was lucky enough to get one of those free lunches on QF's dime (and I sat next to one of the lovely red-roos). It's a pity that it won't be happening again in the foreseeable future.

 

[basso]

Companies make decisions on where they wish to concentrate their efforts. Obviously saw more bang for their buck focusing elsewhere..

 

[RichardMEL]

So no more QF junkets for AFF mods?

gee, that's a bit rude in my book.

Given at least one of the mods is a P1 who do you know any invite etc wasn't due to that alone?

Either way anything the mods may have received offsets the often tedius and difficult job of keeping the boards in line and dealing with pests like me. I for one don't have an issue even if there was something.

And you know what I'm not and never have been a mod, and the former RR offered me a last minute seat on the final 767 flight which I so happily took. Junket? I think a lovely gesture of kindness(and it only came my way after another AFF member knocked back the seat though they were the obvious choice for the flight, but I digress ).

Am I biased from that surprise gift? Probably a little, but even before that came along, as others have said, the interaction was the main thing. I never PM'd asking for any favours or anything, but I noted the activity of the most prominent RR we had at all hours of the day and night and the help they gave to people - both explicitly mentioned on here, and a lot probably left unsaid. At another event I got a few minutes with that RR to thank them in person and note again that the extra extra efforts were not unnoticed.

"Our" RR did a sensational job well and truly above and beyond the call (and I am not talking about event invites and the like here, but being on and reading stuff sometimes late at night their time and responding etc). Yes they copped it for not responding to many negative threads and some saw them as a mouthpiece but when you're in marketing that's kind of your job but I *know* for a fact that "our" RR gave of their personal time more than once, helped people out when they didn't have to and showed a personal consideration far more than your usual corporate mouthpiece. Often they couldn't respond directly to some threads and it must have been difficult for them I am sure personally they wanted to, but couldn't under the QF name.

The official presence will be (and has been for awhile) missed. I get it. It's their call.. we are a niche group and were bloody lucky to get the involvement we did IMHO.

I still think the call above re "junkets" to be unfair but guess we're all entitled to our opinions.

 

[Princess Fiona]

All other competitions specifically excluded AFF mods from participating. As a side note I was lucky enough to get one of those free lunches on QF's dime (and I sat next to one of the lovely red-roos). It's a pity that it won't be happening again in the foreseeable future.

Not wanting to split hairs but that changed over the course of the comps and the last few ones the mods were permitted to enter.

 

[DavidFlynn]

So no more QF junkets for AFF mods?

To be honest, although I'm sure AFF mods can speak for themselves, the last 'QF junket' of theirs which I recall was the launch of the QF-EK partnership which saw an A380 SYD-DXB loaded with a massive media contingent, and yes AFF was there alongside reps from all major TV networks, newspapers, travel and travel trade publications, aviation publications and other onlines. That was April 2013, so almost four years ago. It's not exactly like the mods are riding some gravy train.

 

[dfcatch]

Fact is that status runs fill otherwise empty seats, creates new positive trip reports/content on the web about the airline, creates a happy engaged member, and has almost zero hard cost to the host loyalty program.
The only issue is with oldskool airline people who think it's somehow a lost revenue opportunity for a flight that person may/may not have taken to which I call BS on their logic.

Absolutely correct.

Whilst dilution is a real issue that does exist - it doesn't factor in a pure Status Run.

(Dilution is where a program member redeems an award flight for travel which they otherwise would have purchased a revenue fare. The 'assumption' by management is that the revenue fare would have produced higher margin than the points redemption - which is generally, but not always true).

Dilution is always something to consider when managing a FFP with regards to redemptions.

But it's not a factor in a pure status run - as by definition - a status run is travel which the member would otherwise not have undertaken.

The only time an airline "loses" on a status run is if RM got the fare filings wrong for a flight and mistakenly offered discount seats on a flight that was always going to sell out.

 

[Vic]

152 pages dissecting a gnat. What was that about signal to noise?

 

[grussellt]

And you made it 153 posts. However many on AFF would give Red Roo status of elephantine proportions and far beyond the microscopic nature of Culex pipiens.

 

[mannej]

152 pages dissecting a gnat. What was that about signal to noise?

Posts, not pages...

 

[Vic]

Reading it felt like pages...

And you made it 153 posts. However many on AFF would give Red Roo status of elephantine proportions and far beyond the microscopic nature of Culex pipiens.

Metaphorically the gnat is the decision to withdraw, not red roo.

 

[djfuzz]

Ah, sorry to see Red Roo go, but unsurprised. You will be missed.

The reactions in this thread remind me of the vibe when they removed Anytime Access all those years ago too. While I applaud their frankness and honesty, it might have been better if they simply hadn't said anything rather than lighting a fire under this particular bushel. Never a good idea to antagonise your most loyal customers. Oh well, it's happened before, and it will likely happen again.

 

[Sdtravel]

The alternative was to just let us continue to live under the elusion that Red Roo was still around and that we were just being ignored. At least this offered closure and its clear how much of a one way street it is now rather than an elusion it might be a two way street.

Still not happy about it and still think its a huge loss.

 

[RichardMEL]

Yes it is decent that someone found the access details for the account and bothered to post an update. Credit there.

Though the initial post suggests a temporary absense... I think it's probably very long term... but anyway

 

[oz_mark]

Yes it is decent that someone found the access details for the account and bothered to post an update. Credit there.

Though the initial post suggests a temporary absense... I think it's probably very long term... but anyway

Maybe Red Roo will return on a seasonal basis....