2 months and still no reply.....Goodbye QF hello AA

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spd

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Aug 10, 2006
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Following is an email i sent to customer care 2 months ago....as yet no reply. This is the final straw....cya qantas.


I arrived into NYC last night after a very unpleasant flight on QF 11 and QF3047, all due to my seating preferences being ignored yet again.

I don't expect much from the FF program, being able to check in quickly then have something close to my seating preference (forward window seat) is all I really look for. However 2 out of the last three times I have been to the USA this has not happened.

Once on board I realised I had been allocated 34D, I went and spoke to the crew who asked me to wait to speak to the cabin supervisor. Steve came and saw me and said he would do his best to find me another seat.

The flight was quite full but Steve managed to find me 73K after moving some passengers around (I was not aware of this at the time but soon would be). I was not happy being at the very back of the aircraft but Steve mentioned that there was no one stitting next to me so I would have some room. Due to the flight being full I could see there was no other option and Steve really had done everything that he could.

Just prior to take off a rather large man walked over to me and asked why I had taken "his" seat. I explained that I was moved from another location etc....He was very upset that he had been moved from 73K and was now in a row of 5 while I had 2 seats to myself. He promptly sat next to me and kept on voicing his dis-satisfaction with me for some time. He was a rather tall man and due to the metal box under the aisle seat he could not extend his legs in front of him so he took up over 50% of my legroom.

I felt extremely uncomfortable and incredibly angry that I had been put in this position, not by Steve but by qantas's failure to get something as simple a s seat allocation correct. Steve mentioned to me that I was one of 5 QFF Platinum members in the main cabin, I would have thought that my seating preference would have had some priority.

I spent 13 very uncomfortable hours, not only physically but emotionally as the wanker next to me reminded me that I was in his seat about 12 times during the flight.

The reason I ask for a forward seat on international flights is to ensure I get to immigration asap. Seat 73k was not helpful, QF11 was delayed in sydney and I had 75 mins to get my connection to Newark. of course the line at immigration was huge, again I had to beg with the customs official to get me to the front of the line to catch my flight. I managed to do this and just made my flight I time. Once aboard QF3047 yet again my seating preference was not in place, allocated 21E I spent the next 5 hours sitting between some very large people, the flight was full so there was no chance of moving.

All up I spent close to 20 incredibly uncomfortable hours due my seat allocation not being delivered. Like most people i don't want to complain, i hate having to cause problems and in this case i know i caused Steve a considerable amiunt of grief as he had to shift other people around....i just want to get on board, get somfortable and get on with getting to my destination. I found the whole experience highly embarassing and it got worse when i discovered other passengers had been shifted so that i could a window seat.

It seems Qantas only cares when I purchase a business class fare, I fly once every 6 weeks business class to Tokyo and get my seating preference but my company will not pay the $12,000 + for bus class to the USA. I fly Qantas in the hope my status will make the flight bearable and I upgrade with points when I have enough in my points balance.

I truly am at the end of my tether here, I have been a loyal customer for some time (Platinum FF for 5 years running) but I really don't see the point any longer. The value of the QFF program has been dramatically eroded over the last 4 years, other airlines have better programs and I can tell you without a doubt (from flying a number of sectors this year with Air NZ and Virgin to HKG) they look after their top tier customers significantly better than I have experienced over the last 12 months on Qantas.

I do not want an apology or it won't happen again etc, I want to know what qantas is going to do to about the situation the airline place me in over the last 24 hours and what they will do to ensure it does not happen again.

Stephen
QFF $#@#$#$#
 
:(

Have you followed up with QF (not that you should have to but sometimes emails get lost, assigned to someone who then leaves, etc)?

Goodbye QF hello AA - last I checked AA doesn't fly anywhere near Australia. I don't see how having an AA FFP# is going to make any difference to selecting good seats on QF flights.
 
point is...i was loyal to qantas, but now as long as i can find a one world seat...i don't care who i fly.
 
It is actually one of the hard things about having status or flying business class. The disruption to other people so that the airlines can accommodate you. I mean I only feel bad for a little while as if you do spend a lot of time flying the smallest things set you off.

One weird thing though is that your company dont pay for US business class but fly the shorter hops business - thats when you need it!
 
Regardless of whether I am sitting in J or Y, I always check my seat position prior to leaving the check-in counter. In the last year twice I was not given my preference and when mentioned I was re-assigned a seat that suited me.
 
I always ring the Platinum desk ahead of the flight and put in a specific request. It has been accommodated on every occasion.

Not disagreeing with you as I've heard of other complaints also. Just stating that I've never had a problem. :D
 
straitman said:
I always ring the Platinum desk ahead of the flight and put in a specific request.

Agree, don't leave it to chance, take it into your hands.
 
I got caught once but never again,never leave it to the airport .
Beware there are several million QFFF..the higher the tier status the more access to the better seats. always confirm the seat when the booking is made..dont rely on yr generic request eg forward aisle...cause the'll prob be 50 people with the same request and status on the flight that why you can end up with 10000C as yr forward aisle....I've always found when able to get a seat the people in the res centres...doesnt have to be the Platinum area..but that obviosly helps are really good at solving these probs before U get to the Drome...as for the not responding to yr query..no excuse
 
straitman said:
I always ring the Platinum desk ahead of the flight and put in a specific request. It has been accommodated on every occasion.

Not disagreeing with you as I've heard of other complaints also. Just stating that I've never had a problem. :D
Occasionally a pre-allocated seat can be changed. I have only had this done once, but it can happen. At least you should notice at check-in when they may be a chance to fix the problem. And if not there, then ask at the F lounge. In my experience they will do whatever they can to find you a seat that matches your preference. Leaving it until on board is really limiting the chances of a favourable outcome.

But that does not excuse a company from not responding to a written complaint from a high value and loyal customer.
 
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I have written [or by email] the QFF a number of times in the past 2 years and have always had a response. If this occassion was me I would follow it up with the original letter and new one asking why no reply. When all said and done Qantas is a big company and only one mistake has to be made and your letter is lost. I am sure a supervisor would rather know of the non-answered letter than lose a WP customer.
 
That is really really strange you haven't had a response.

Whenever I have queried, complained or complimented I have always had a response, either phone or email within 7 days.

I would re-send, it probably didn't make it through, or call.
 
Sad to read about your unpleasant experience.

I have sent several emails to QF and have always received a response within 3-4 days.

It wouldn't hurt to follow up in case they have not received your original feedback.
 
jakeseven7 said:
That is really really strange you haven't had a response.

Whenever I have queried, complained or complimented I have always had a response, either phone or email within 7 days.

I would re-send, it probably didn't make it through, or call.

In my experience, it is no so strange at all. I would concur with the advice to follow up.
 
I think someone at Qantas must really hate you.

I am a long-term QC member who scrapes through to Silver status annually (though sometimes with a little help from Qantas). I have the ubiquitous "Forward Aisle" seating preference and .... that is what I always get.

Sure it's rarely the first few rows behind business 'coz that's where the put the Platinums and Golds who are slumming it, but the only times I have received a dodgy seat has been when I have jumped ship to an earlier flight or flown BA. No - that's not entirely true ... a couple of months back I was returning from Canberra and was surprised to be near the back of the plane. I was even more surprised that we actually became airborne with all that heavy metal aboard!

I should also point out that I have never flown business (correction - paid for business), and 99% of the time will be on a discount economy ticket.

So I think your plan to bail out is a good one, though I would also consider changing your name to Mr Aardvark (couldn't hurt) and starting again.


Cheers,

Andrew

P.S. I don't think BA pays any attention to OW Ruby status, and I can feel the lounge dragons at LHR seething with anger that they have to let me in. As Kim would say "Cardonnay chunts!"

.
 
acampbel said:
P.S. I don't think BA pays any attention to OW Ruby status, and I can feel the lounge dragons at LHR seething with anger that they have to let me in. As Kim would say "Cardonnay chunts!"

.

Why do the dragons have to let you in? Ruby doesn't confer any lounge access privileges

Dave
 
Dave Noble said:
Why do the dragons have to let you in? Ruby doesn't confer any lounge access privileges

Dave
As a Ruby no, but as a long time QC member yes....they may just not like the idea of letting a QCPS in.;)
Oh I am also a long time QCPS....
 
spd said:
Once on board I realised I had been allocated 34D, I went and spoke to the crew who asked me to wait to speak to the cabin supervisor. Steve came and saw me and said he would do his best to find me another seat.
Not to excuse the poor treatment of a Plat, but 34D is a bulkhead, and right at the front of the Y cabin. They probably thought they were doing you a favour. Did you happen to notice if 34E was empty?

Just prior to take off a rather large man walked over to me and asked why I had taken "his" seat. I explained that I was moved from another location etc....He was very upset that he had been moved from 73K and was now in a row of 5 while I had 2 seats to myself.
Not only was he rude to do that, but he obviously couldn't count. There are no rows of 5 in any QF aircraft. AA's 777s are the only aircraft I've ever been in with 5 across seating.
 
;)
acampbel said:
I think someone at Qantas must really hate you.

I am a long-term QC member who scrapes through to Silver status annually (though sometimes with a little help from Qantas). I have the ubiquitous "Forward Aisle" seating preference and .... that is what I always get.
I never get forward aisle. As I've mentioned elsewhere it's row 46 and beyond. Although I admit that I never ask for anything better when I check-in at the QP (perhaps I should) but I also wonder if it depends on the route and time of day. For example, if I am flying peak morning or afternoon times between SYD-MEL, there is probably a good chance that there will be a squillion other FF's higher up the food chain than me.

acampbel said:
... though I would also consider changing your name to Mr Aardvark (couldn't hurt) and starting again.
I reckon that's definitely the trick. My surname starts with W so that's why I'm down the back of the b*s on QF. :mrgreen:

acampbel said:
As Kim would say "Cardonnay chunts!"
LMAO!!! :D Some of the lounge dragons leave me feeling gropable. ;)

spd - you should definitely follow up Qantas. Every time I have sent a compliment or complaint, they have always followed up, and thoroughly. They won't let something like this go unresolved.
 
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