Like straitman, i concur that 51 posts telling us how much you don't like QF is enough.. I think we all get the picture.
51 eh? I count 9... ...from 9 pages of posts. Are you trying to censor me? I wonder would you be so annoyed with someone who complained about Telstra, or a bank, or an insurance company? Qantas is not above criticism, and the 75% or so reduction in Qantas' international market share suggests I am not the only ex-Qantas customer who is disillusioned with their attitude and their service...
10 or 11 years ago I switched from PC to Mac - I encountered similar irritation from PC users to my posts on that issue. As you probably know, the Mac has been growing its user base at the rate of around 26% for several years, while the PC market is declining in double digit numbers. I realise that must be very irritating for people who use Windows, but I have converted a lot of people to Mac, and none have switched back to Windows...
As an Aussie of course I am very disappointed that Qantas has lost the confidence and loyalty of the Australian travelling public, but they have proven remarkably insensitive to the reasons we are all flying other airlines... If you choose to keep flying Qantas, that's your right. If I choose to evangelise Virgin Atlantic and criticise Qantas, that's my right... Honestly, it would be wonderful if Qantas dumped their accountant CEO and employed someone who actually put customers before shareholders (if you keep losing customers, your shareholders will dump you sooner or later). However, it would be a very long, hard, slog to win back all the defectors... Many of the policies which cause the most grief to their customers could be changed at little, or no, cost - but Qantas are just not focused on customers... A good example is refusing upgrades at check-in using points and then flying the plane with premium seats empty. What's the point of that? And what is the cost in customer dissatisfaction? I think qantas just assumed customers would stay loyal - clearly that didn't happen, and the Irish CEO is now talking about selling the international airline to focus on Jetstar... ...whose only claim to fame is a cheap price - and, in any market, if you aim for the lowest common denominator you engender NO customer loyalty and continually run the risk of being undercut by a new, lower cost, entrant...
I have many years of experience in business, working for, or dealing with large and multinational corporations of all sorts. The most successful companies were those who provided a premium customer experience. The ones who aren't there any more are the ones who competed on price. The problem for Qantas is that their management is instilled with the Jetstar ethos - the bottom end, win on price, strategy. Poor old Qantas international has been nickel & dimed by these guys until they have lost most of their market share. Even Qantas will admit that their last 747 J class upgrade without flat beds was a mistake - they fixed it in the Airbus 380, but not before many people like me switched to other airlines. The reason given was that the major shareholders were worried that J class revenues would fall because of the reduced number of seats. Instead, they fell because their cabins were empty - even BA had flat beds for years before this upgrade...
I worry too about the continued friction between Qantas and their staff - the relations with cabin crew have been poor for years, and relations with maintenance staff are toxic. How can you deliver great customer service if your staff hate you?
If you are a faithful Qantas customer, you should be talking to Qantas about these issues. If they don't fix them, Qantas will continue to lose market share, at least on international routes... Most likely you will continue to be irritated by anti-Qantas sentiment...
...until you experience one of those defining customer service moments which propels you to someone else!
Or are you staff?
