What Qantas should do to make customer service better outside the aircraft?

[chonetsao.co.uk]

Hi all, I have been watching this forum for a while and I feel there are too much moaning last few weeks due to all changes within QF. I think as customers we should make our voice heared and hopefully someone in QF could pick up some good ideas. Let us face it, many of us face lots of situations which can be void by successful customer service provisions. So I summerised some points on where QF SHOULD improve and try to make customer experience more enjoyable. You are welcome to comment and add your weight!

1>, First, I think QF should do more abot their online booking system. The biggest issue I have seen and other people had discussed was the credit card check from certain countries (e.g. China, Thailand to name a few). I think QF should look into the issue and implement online credit card security system to enable customer purchase airline ticket online without have to be physically present the credit card to the local office. It is 21 century. If they can do online booking with credit card in EU or AU, why not majority part of the world?

2>, Secondly is the award booking assistance fee. As some OP pointed out yesterday, to book some award we could not do it online! Some itineraries just could not be done online (I am not blame the QF IT yet). So I think it is unfair to charge a fee to punish us while it is QF's fault that they did not have a platform to perform such duties.

3>, Make Jet* a better airline. I am sure most of us would accept travel with Jet* in their style. But one of the compliants we have, or most of us have, is the lack of FFP consideration. The last round of changes really upset some of us as the cheapest Business class fare no longer qualifying for the points. Please, nobody here cares how Jet* operates. But most of us care if we will be awards or recognised when travelling on Jet*. QF is putting too many routes to jet* that leave some of us less options when flying. Please please consider to make Jet* more FFP friendly. Or at least to make every Jet* routes available in QF code which we can book one way or multi-city or return.

4>, A better mobile app. I have to admire AA, who has a such wonderful I-pad app. But by comparesion the QF one is awful. I do not care it is connected to facebook or whatever. I just want to be able to use the app to check flight information and my bookings. Just do away with all those social media gigs. Please concetrate on what you do: airline passenger service! I download the QF app to check information of my travel and my FFP account. Not the social media. And please please have a better app.

5>, There is no last. I think there are more small things here and there other members can tell their oponion. If so please let us share.

 

[thewinchester]

A few points in response;

The biggest issue I have seen and other people had discussed was the credit card check from certain countries (e.g. China, Thailand to name a few). I think QF should look into the issue and implement online credit card security system to enable customer purchase airline ticket online without have to be physically present the credit card to the local office. It is 21 century. If they can do online booking with credit card in EU or AU, why not majority part of the world?

As someone who's worked with the payments industry, I don't see anything greatly wrong with QF's business decision here at all.

Firstly, Mastercard SecureCode and Verified by Visa are nowhere near robust enough IMHO for high volume credit card businesses to trust and implement them.

Secondly, the issue comes down to risk management and mitigation. It's a simple fact that credit card fraud is more prevalent. If QF knows this and puts in processes to mitigate this risk, then all power to them. They shouldn't have to have teams of people stuck dealing with credit card fraud/chargeback issues as these put a significant impost on business.

What I would say in respect of this is that QF does need to remove the requirement of switching to a country-specific booking page if booking separate segments or those not originating in Australia. This would reduce consumer frustration, and allow transactions to be booked in the consumers home currency, and better overcome some of the risk issues related to your first point.

2>, Secondly is the award booking assistance fee. As some OP pointed out yesterday, to book some award we could not do it online! Some itineraries just could not be done online (I am not blame the QF IT yet). So I think it is unfair to charge a fee to punish us while it is QF's fault that they did not have a platform to perform such duties.

No arguments here. If your self-service options don't allow you to do it, it should be fee free. However, there's nothing in consumer regulation which could support this or help to apply pressure to any carrier who charges for something you can't do yourself.

3>, Make Jet* a better airline. I am sure most of us would accept travel with Jet* in their style. But one of the compliants we have, or most of us have, is the lack of FFP consideration. The last round of changes really upset some of us as the cheapest Business class fare no longer qualifying for the points. Please, nobody here cares how Jet* operates. But most of us care if we will be awards or recognised when travelling on Jet*. QF is putting too many routes to jet* that leave some of us less options when flying. Please please consider to make Jet* more FFP friendly. Or at least to make every Jet* routes available in QF code which we can book one way or multi-city or return.

Really? Jetstar is Jetstar. You either like them and fly them, or you choose to spend your money on Qantas.

Secondly, what's your basis for the 'too many QF routes to JQ' comment? With exception to OOL, most ports I know of have QF routes and services available, so I don't think, AFAIK, your point has any basis in fact.

Jetstar's business model is geared towards the leisure market. Sure, there are times where you might have to fly JQ due to routes (ie OOL to anywhere) or timings, but them's the breaks. JQ isn't full service, so you don't and shouldn't expect exactly the same privileges, benefits, service, etc that you get on a full service carrier such as QF.

4>, A better mobile app. I have to admire AA, who has a such wonderful I-pad app. But by comparesion the QF one is awful. I do not care it is connected to facebook or whatever. I just want to be able to use the app to check flight information and my bookings. Just do away with all those social media gigs. Please concetrate on what you do: airline passenger service! I download the QF app to check information of my travel and my FFP account. Not the social media. And please please have a better app.

I would say patience on this. One only has to view the QF demo application prepared for the new Windows Mobile "mango" platform that was shown off at the Mix11 event to get a good idea of what the carrier has in the pipeline for mobile applications.

Also, let's not forget just how much the carrier has recently spent on overhauling the entire domestic check-in process - all designed to make the process of getting through the airport to your flight as simple, streamlined and easy as possible.

Now for what I'd add to this list:

5) Website improvements - The QF website for too long now has been an under-maintained mess. From a usability perspective, the rollover menus are a pain due to the exact targeting required with a pointing device without a mouse. The homepage is also an unmitigated disaster, with too much focus on ancillary revenue as opposed to a decent user experience.

From an information perspective, QF is certainly leaps and bounds ahead of other carriers. However, some information areas such as entertainment information (as in not providing complete listings, like when you hear a song and forget a copy of the magazine to find what it is - and online mag doesn't include entertainment), children's entertainment, parents travelling with kids, etc, continue to let the airline down. Most of this information is already within other systems, and just needs to be made available.

6) Accountability - There is no justifiable reason for electronic requests such as emails, online and the like, and calls that need to be followed up on not relating to an active PNR being provided a reference number, which is traceable through an online portal to find out what is going on, and request follow-ups where it has been too long.

Further, this system should be linked to frequent flyer profiles so that all enquiries can be easily linked to the requesting pax, without the need for other logins or re-keying information.

The worst part of this - QF already pays for and uses a system which handles all of this (RightNow Technologies) which it already uses for its inbound email handling, online feedback and frequently asked question. Sadly, the company hasn't 'switched on' the systems full capability to close the feedback and informational loops.

 

[dfcatch]

Thewinchester - if you include OS routes and the general move by QF to hand routes to JQ, together with QF's exit from NZ, then there's a ton of routes where JQ is the only "Qantas Group" option available.

Your comment is overly simplistic. If someone chooses JQ over and above QF on the same route - then they have no right to complain.

But when QF isn't an option, then there should be some incentive to fly JQ vs another airline.

Eg. I'm in CNS, if I want to fly to AKL I can choose JQ or NZ (used to be DJ as well). To choose QF I have to pay twice the price AND connect via SYD.

Don't tell me that's my choice not to fly QF. My only choice is whether to fly NZ or JQ. NZ has setback IFE, JQ (for a horrendous fee) can give me FFPs..... But I have to pay - it's not an incentive to keep my money within the QF family.

 

[samiam]

As someone who's worked with the payments industry, I don't see anything greatly wrong with QF's business decision here at all.

Firstly, Mastercard SecureCode and Verified by Visa are nowhere near robust enough IMHO for high volume credit card businesses to trust and implement them.

Is there a difference for domestic transactions where presentation of the original card is not required? Does this mean the system is not robust enough for the (I assume) millions of transactions that occur with QF and elsewhere, with the above cards, annually?

Not having had the benefit of working in the industry, I'm struggling to see the difference.

 

[connieguy]

If you buy Starter Plus, to get the QF points and SCs, you get seat selection, more luggage allowance, priority boarding, food and booze.

As a QF SG or WP you get QF lounge access no matter what type of ticket you bought.

About the only thing that makes JQ non QF FFer friendly is lack of priority check-in for Y Paxs and priority baggage stickers. If JQ allowed Y QF FFers to do priority check-in, I suspect a lot more QF FFers would fly with JQ and this may not be what QF would desire.

I should add that on the infrequent times I have flown JQi in Y, I was able to flash the WP card and use the *Class check-in but then I do get to the JQi check-in early so I get the max lounge time.

 

[dfcatch]

If you buy Starter Plus, to get the QF points and SCs, you get seat selection, more luggage allowance, priority boarding, food and booze.

As a QF SG or WP you get QF lounge access no matter what type of ticket you bought.

About the only thing that makes JQ non QF FFer friendly is lack of priority check-in for Y Paxs and priority baggage stickers. If JQ allowed Y QF FFers to do priority check-in, I suspect a lot more QF FFers would fly with JQ and this may not be what QF would desire.

I should add that on the infrequent times I have flown JQi in Y, I was able to flash the WP card and use the *Class check-in but then I do get to the JQi check-in early so I get the max lounge time.

CNS-AKL on JQ Starter Plus u get:

- No food or booze (NZ flights are excluded from this benefit)
- There was no priority boarding
- No baggage allowance
- No lounge access as there is no lounge
- The only thing I got for my extra $$ was the points and SC's.


So - In a port, on a route, where it is not serviced by QF - my question remains - other than the "benefit" of being able to pay an additional fee to earn points & SCs, what incentive is there for me to choose JQ (A Qantas Group Airline "when it suits") over NZ?

I gave JQ a shot on this as schedule suited that particular day and I thought I would try a Starter Plus pack to try it out.

But let's compare to what I get with NZ on a basic Seat Only fare (with NZ status):

- Priority check-in
- Seatback IFE
- SC's
- Priority Boarding
- Priority baggage (if you pay for baggage)
- Additional Baggage (if you pay for basic baggage)

So - my point is simple......

When flying on routed NOT serviced by QF - what is the incentive to choose a QF Group airline (ie. JQ)?

 

[thewinchester]

Is there a difference for domestic transactions where presentation of the original card is not required? Does this mean the system is not robust enough for the (I assume) millions of transactions that occur with QF and elsewhere, with the above cards, annually?

Not having had the benefit of working in the industry, I'm struggling to see the difference.

Sorry, should clarify that some more.

The problem is that in the target markets where QF's strategy is to require physical presentation of the card, the aforementioned technologies are not as I understand used widely by banks operating there for it to be a viable strategy for mitigating these risks.

 

[Grooba]

3>, Make Jet* a better airline. I am sure most of us would accept travel with Jet* in their style. But one of the compliants we have, or most of us have, is the lack of FFP consideration. The last round of changes really upset some of us as the cheapest Business class fare no longer qualifying for the points. Please, nobody here cares how Jet* operates. But most of us care if we will be awards or recognised when travelling on Jet*. QF is putting too many routes to jet* that leave some of us less options when flying. Please please consider to make Jet* more FFP friendly. Or at least to make every Jet* routes available in QF code which we can book one way or multi-city or return.

Really? Jetstar is Jetstar. You either like them and fly them, or you choose to spend your money on Qantas.

Secondly, what's your basis for the 'too many QF routes to JQ' comment? With exception to OOL, most ports I know of have QF routes and services available, so I don't think, AFAIK, your point has any basis in fact.

I can't agree with this. Some people don't have much of a choice and have to use JQ. Perhaps the OP is based in OOL (probably not based on his/her handle but who knows)? Personally I used to really dislike work in Surfers, for the plain and simple fact that QF pulled out of OOL . Just recently however I've learnd that the Airtrain from BNE has an OOL Door to Door service that works out to be cheaper than flying into OOL plus a taxi return to Broadbeach. I'm now happy to take on projects in OOL

Jetstar's business model is geared towards the leisure market. Sure, there are times where you might have to fly JQ due to routes (ie OOL to anywhere) or timings, but them's the breaks. JQ isn't full service, so you don't and shouldn't expect exactly the same privileges, benefits, service, etc that you get on a full service carrier such as QF.

I think the OP was getting at the basic point that flying JQ on any fare should have some sort of QFF advantage, weather it be 1/2 or 1/4 point per mile (or something along those lines).

 

[777]

I can't agree with this. Some people don't have much of a choice and have to use JQ. Perhaps the OP is based in OOL (probably not based on his/her handle but who knows)? Personally I used to really dislike work in Surfers, for the plain and simple fact that QF pulled out of OOL . Just recently however I've learnd that the Airtrain from BNE has an OOL Door to Door service that works out to be cheaper than flying into OOL plus a taxi return to Broadbeach. I'm now happy to take on projects in OOL

Yes, it really is quite common. I am based in MEL but my work regularly takes me to OOL, NTL and MCY (among many others). Suffice to say QF isn't really practical for me.

 

[LiamR]

Airport staff and consistency would be on the top of my list, I don't understand the attitude of whoever runs the Priority Check-in desk, they seem to assume you are a Pleb Bronze trying to sneak into the queue until proved otherwise. This constant looking down and snobby attitude frustrates me sometimes. I've heard comments in the past like "You don't look like a Platinum" - Sorry, I don't know what a Platinum looks like.

Make the Qantas Club special, I don't know what they've been like lately, but around 6mths ago they were constantly packed, with there some sort of wild rampage every time food comes out.

I have no problem with NCGI, it works well, after a learning curve, people understand how to use it.

Dare I mention Priority Boarding and Priority Baggage?

Raise morale within the company!! I frequently chat with the crew, and it's quite obvious that management doesn’t care about the crew. This poor attitude from above, is passed down onto frontline staff, and onto customers.

Don't get me wrong, there are some amazing staff within Qantas, but, as a whole, the standard of service at Qantas is declining. In my eyes that's a little sad.

Really? Jetstar is Jetstar. You either like them and fly them, or you choose to spend your money on Qantas.

Secondly, what's your basis for the 'too many QF routes to JQ' comment? With exception to OOL, most ports I know of have QF routes and services available, so I don't think, AFAIK, your point has any basis in fact.

Jetstar's business model is geared towards the leisure market. Sure, there are times where you might have to fly JQ due to routes (ie OOL to anywhere) or timings, but them's the breaks. JQ isn't full service, so you don't and shouldn't expect exactly the same privileges, benefits, service, etc that you get on a full service carrier such as QF.

You could say I'm the worst affected by this. I personally don't blame Qantas, I mean. Let's be realistic here for a moment.

Why on earth would Qantas fly to OOL, if it is a completely leisure dominated market and would only fill a 737 up with 30 pax? No business minded person would do such a thing. If there is no demand for Qantas, there is no reason to be there. IIRC there was 2 daily OOL-SYD flights on QF, with JQ there is 10+ return services a day. IMO that is a lot better for the city.

 

[tipsy.skipsy]

What Qantas should do to make customer service better outside the aircraft? :shock: :shock:

What Qantas should do to make customer service better (everywhere) ? :mrgreen:

 

[chonetsao.co.uk]

What Qantas should do to make customer service better outside the aircraft? :shock: :shock:

What Qantas should do to make customer service better (everywhere) ? :mrgreen:

My personal feeling was to require Qantas to make service better inside aircraft was impossible as the current level of service is just fine being Qantas. But the improvement outside the aircraft could lightening the whole process of travelling with Qantas before and after your step on the air plane.

 

[pm3207]

Have to say I was fairly cautious about NGCI, but that would have to be the best advance in smoothing the travelling experience for some time.

The e-bag tags seem to stay on as well!

 

[chonetsao.co.uk]

Have to say I was fairly cautious about NGCI, but that would have to be the best advance in smoothing the travelling experience for some time.

The e-bag tags seem to stay on as well!

Yes same feeling here. If only Qantas has the spirit to make everything else as enjoyable as the NGCI.

 

[samiam]

Yes same feeling here. If only Qantas has the spirit to make everything else as enjoyable as the NGCI.

Isn't that a little counterintuitive?

NGCI is a no contact sport, with (almost) zero customer service/personal attention required.

Hence, this would suggest that to make everything else as enjoyable as NGCI, one could adopt a similar approach, viz:

- NGCI on arrival at airport
- Scan card at QF Lounge and automated door opens for entry
- Use QF Lounge vending machines to dispense drinks
- Scan card at gate and collect own boarding pass (PB optional)
- Re-scan at aircraft door to gain entry (delete previous step for the lean freaks)
- Use onboard vending machine and collect pre-ordered meal and drinks
- Sit down, shut up, put on headphones and pretend you are alone

Apart from flying the plane and loading your own luggage, who needs staff? Perhaps the pilot could be there just in case assistance is required.

For some enjoyment comes from the virtual reality of an online existence, where contact with real people is to be avoided at all costs, which varies greatly from my own definition.

Of course, the new spirit could always be created via an Avatar.



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