juddles
Suspended
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2011
- Posts
- 5,283
- Qantas
- Platinum 1
I know this topic is done to death, but I saw an outstanding fail yesterday that I wanted to share, as I just CANNOT comprehend it:
We all have witnessed the standard circus spectacle of a Qantas domestic boarding – where two queues pile up, priority and non-priority, and then the two streams are simultaneous released towards the plane. I haven’t read all the other posts on this topic, but to say I do not understand the QF “method” is an understatement.
To save a few characters, I will use PB for priority boarding (and those eligible) and NPB for all the others.
At Brisbane yesterday morning, I was about to board a flight to Sydney. I wandered down to the gate from the lounge, and being a Sunday morning there was a bit less general chaos. I arrived at Gate 16 to see just a couple of people already lined up in the PB queue, and no one yet in the NPB one.
As they announced boarding commencement, I was about the 5th person in the PB queue, and the QF lady started scanning pax and we started advancing. There was a young QF bloke manning the NPB scanner. He called out for NPB’s to his lane, as there were none yet. The gentleman in front of me in the PB queue did exactly what I would have, he stepped sidewards in front of the waiting QF bloke and presented his boarding pass (the non-PB’s were still about 10m away, not yet arriving).
Not only did the QF bloke not scan him in, he steadfastly refused to even look at him. The poor pax just stood there, arm outstretched, ignored. This went on for several very excruciating and embarrassing seconds. The QF lad, still without looking at the pax, said in a loud and irritated voice “This is the queue for NON-priority boarding”. (he, with his speech, emphasized the NON aspect) The first NPB pax eventually arrived and was happily scanned by the QF lad, and I paused and let the PB man back in front of me to get scanned back in the PB queue. As he did this I quietly said to him “That was a bit rude” to which he equally quietly replied “Yes it was.”
In hindsight I wish I had of “had a word” with the QF lad. Both me and the PB gentleman remained way too calm but we were both seething.
What is going on here? This whole “event” only lasted a few seconds. But it was appalling. I took the time to try to explain the situation, as there was no way other to interpret it as a very intentional snub by the QF lad.
But why would he act like that? It did not feel that he was under orders (ie “thall shalt never serve a PB customer whilst manning the NPB lane”) The QF lad emanated an attitude of “You may be a PB, but that doesn’t mean you can use something saved for the NPB’s”. Hence my Communist conspiracy theory. The young QF lad managed to convey almost a hatred of the PB pax.
I am sure his career will not last long in a customer service industry.
Unbelievable.
We all have witnessed the standard circus spectacle of a Qantas domestic boarding – where two queues pile up, priority and non-priority, and then the two streams are simultaneous released towards the plane. I haven’t read all the other posts on this topic, but to say I do not understand the QF “method” is an understatement.
To save a few characters, I will use PB for priority boarding (and those eligible) and NPB for all the others.
At Brisbane yesterday morning, I was about to board a flight to Sydney. I wandered down to the gate from the lounge, and being a Sunday morning there was a bit less general chaos. I arrived at Gate 16 to see just a couple of people already lined up in the PB queue, and no one yet in the NPB one.
As they announced boarding commencement, I was about the 5th person in the PB queue, and the QF lady started scanning pax and we started advancing. There was a young QF bloke manning the NPB scanner. He called out for NPB’s to his lane, as there were none yet. The gentleman in front of me in the PB queue did exactly what I would have, he stepped sidewards in front of the waiting QF bloke and presented his boarding pass (the non-PB’s were still about 10m away, not yet arriving).
Not only did the QF bloke not scan him in, he steadfastly refused to even look at him. The poor pax just stood there, arm outstretched, ignored. This went on for several very excruciating and embarrassing seconds. The QF lad, still without looking at the pax, said in a loud and irritated voice “This is the queue for NON-priority boarding”. (he, with his speech, emphasized the NON aspect) The first NPB pax eventually arrived and was happily scanned by the QF lad, and I paused and let the PB man back in front of me to get scanned back in the PB queue. As he did this I quietly said to him “That was a bit rude” to which he equally quietly replied “Yes it was.”
In hindsight I wish I had of “had a word” with the QF lad. Both me and the PB gentleman remained way too calm but we were both seething.
What is going on here? This whole “event” only lasted a few seconds. But it was appalling. I took the time to try to explain the situation, as there was no way other to interpret it as a very intentional snub by the QF lad.
But why would he act like that? It did not feel that he was under orders (ie “thall shalt never serve a PB customer whilst manning the NPB lane”) The QF lad emanated an attitude of “You may be a PB, but that doesn’t mean you can use something saved for the NPB’s”. Hence my Communist conspiracy theory. The young QF lad managed to convey almost a hatred of the PB pax.
I am sure his career will not last long in a customer service industry.
Unbelievable.