A letter to Alan Joyce

[mviy]

Oh my, that is awful then. Surely they have better things to do!

One would hope so. Maybe I was being a bit too cynical there. However a manual review of approved fly forwards would not be very surprising.

 

[Denali]

One would hope so. Maybe I was being a bit too cynical there. However a manual review of approved fly forwards would not be very surprising.

Super early Monday morning request by a young DYKWIA, denied and then go to check in, denied again. Im wondering if the CS staff made a point to monitor the pax booking and got peeved the OP got around her. But thats me guessing.

 

[hb13]

After a boarding pass has been issued, it is quite ridiculous that it is retracted. Whatever happened prior to that - you can't go back and force someone to pay after the boarding pass was issued.

And do send the letter Astrokid - you have nothing to lose.

 

[drron]

The first 2 staff were doing their job but as always here on AFF(and other FF forums)the advice is always ask a different agent.
The third staff member was one of those treasures.I have experienced that on one occasion as well where if the agent went by the letter of the law I would have spent another night away from home.Fortunately my new BP wasn't recalled.
So really your complaint should be about your BP being cancelled and I would have left out the bit of the first 2 agents.To take that BP off you was cruel and reflects badly on QF.
But now nothing will happen.you may get a generic response in 4-6 weeks but maybe not.
And it is likely Alan will never see that correspondence.

 

[Mike65]

HB, I think the letter has already been sent but I agree that the most appalling thing is the retraction of the fly-forward boarding pass. I work in a customer service industry and would rather empower my staff to make good and sensible decisions (without recrimination) rather than stick slavishly to rules. The fly forward decision would have cost the company virtually nothing. The retraction has possibly cost the company a loyal customer and probably caused one of their agents confusion, doubt and mistrust. Culture comes from management so someone at/near the top seriously needs a re-think.

 

[timster]

Given that you probably won't get a good response from QF (if any), some closure on this event for you will require that you either just move on, or you do something material that will allow you to feel that you are not putting up with your treatment (ie specifically the reprehensible retraction of a compassionately-issued BP). The extent of that action only you can control, and only you can decide. Many of us have had 'epiphanies' when we finally realized the extent to which QF loyalty was a one-way street. We either learned to live with it, or took our business elsewhere. I took some agency back - and took my business elsewhere.

 

[juddles]

What is it about airlines that so many people expect "leniency" and "bending the rules"??????

It seems almost every time I go through an airport, there is someone at some point (check-in, lounge, whatever) asking/arguing/begging/chucking hissy fit because they want a service/product that is listed to cost more, but without paying more than what they did.

But I do not see people in the supermarket telling the check-out girl that they have been "loyal Woolies ambassadors" and thus want a discount from their bill, I do not see people explaining to the guy at the servo that they have suffered calamity XYZ and can they please get free fuel.

If you only concentrate on the fact that a boarding pass was retracted, this is rare and severe. But I suspect there was more to this. I think Denali's post is right on the mark........

 

[TheRealTMA]

The first 2 staff were doing their job but as always here on AFF(and other FF forums)the advice is always ask a different agent.
The third staff member was one of those treasures.I have experienced that on one occasion as well where if the agent went by the letter of the law I would have spent another night away from home.Fortunately my new BP wasn't recalled.
So really your complaint should be about your BP being cancelled and I would have left out the bit of the first 2 agents.To take that BP off you was cruel and reflects badly on QF.
But now nothing will happen.you may get a generic response in 4-6 weeks but maybe not.
And it is likely Alan will never see that correspondence.

I agree with DrRon's comments above this above. And AJ will never see the letter. Pulling the boarding pass once it had been issued is reprehensible. QF may or may not read AFF even thought it's Google indexed. But put it on Facebook or Twitter and it is another matter. Then it becomes a definite negative PR for QF (that's even if they care.)

 

[Must...Fly!]

What is it about airlines that so many people expect "leniency" and "bending the rules"??????

It seems almost every time I go through an airport, there is someone at some point (check-in, lounge, whatever) asking/arguing/begging/chucking hissy fit because they want a service/product that is listed to cost more, but without paying more than what they did.

But I do not see people in the supermarket telling the check-out girl that they have been "loyal Woolies ambassadors" and thus want a discount from their bill, I do not see people explaining to the guy at the servo that they have suffered calamity XYZ and can they please get free fuel.

If you only concentrate on the fact that a boarding pass was retracted, this is rare and severe. But I suspect there was more to this. I think Denali's post is right on the mark........

I completely agree with you. I have no problem with the staff that refused the OP's request to move to an earlier flight. They were just enforcing the rules as they were written. Likewise I have no problem with the other employee who changed the flight. They were just trying to help a customer and are a good example of customer service as well, as hypocritical as that might sound.

But to snatch the boarding pass back after it was given, to an apparently long term, frequent and loyal customer...that's a whole different story.

 

[drron]

What is it about airlines that so many people expect "leniency" and "bending the rules"??????

It seems almost every time I go through an airport, there is someone at some point (check-in, lounge, whatever) asking/arguing/begging/chucking hissy fit because they want a service/product that is listed to cost more, but without paying more than what they did.

But I do not see people in the supermarket telling the check-out girl that they have been "loyal Woolies ambassadors" and thus want a discount from their bill, I do not see people explaining to the guy at the servo that they have suffered calamity XYZ and can they please get free fuel.

If you only concentrate on the fact that a boarding pass was retracted, this is rare and severe. But I suspect there was more to this. I think Denali's post is right on the mark........

Then come a little further down the coast.I have seen little old ladies try to get freebies at Woollies.But they are only the loose lettuce leaves surely you cant charge me for those-except I had witnessed her tearing the outer leaves off several lettuce.
But also airlines don't have to put up with the 5 fingered discount-we are all paying for that one.

 

[Pushka]

I don’t think anyone here other than OP perhaps, had issues with the demand for payment with flight change. It is the retraction of the new BP that rankles and that is what I’d tweet if I wasn’t able to move on.

 

[juddles]

.... And AJ will never see the letter.....

Of course he wont. The OP's expectation that this would happen is understandable in the anger he had, but it is just not real. If the head of a company started reading such letters he would be busy 24/7 solely on this task - this would be absurd.

I would expect someone at that level to only hear about a complaint when it was such a huge scandal that it warranted a full briefing by a team of PR people and lawyers. This letter and situation does not rate that.

 

[RooFlyer]

What is it about airlines that so many people expect "leniency" and "bending the rules"??????

if QF are sticklers for the rules, what rule is it that they snatch the BP back? What rule is that?

But to snatch the boarding pass back after it was given, to an apparently long term, frequent and loyal customer...that's a whole different story.

This is a Qantas management problem, not the various counter staff. As posted above, a service industry can empower their staff to make common sense decisions rather than sticking to the "black and white" rules. After all, we know Qantas breaks their own rules when it suits them.

There was a post on a Virgin thread recently here the Virgin agent did something that "broke the rules" but made the poster's day, IIRC.

Focussing here on the OP's writing style, and who they wrote to doesn't detract from the essence of the experience, and what happened to them. We hear of this time and time and time again - not just Qantas of course, but that doesn't excuse it; there was that case that got a lot of airtime on AFF last year (forget name, sorry). Right now, think of their TV ads - got the music and images in your head? Now think of this and other similar experiences about Qantas' treatment of their customers - "loyal" or not - we've heard on AFF. Right.

<Last bit deleted by me>

 

[Pushka]

if QF are sticklers for the rules, what rule is it that they snatch the BP back? What rule is that?



This is a Qantas management problem, not the various counter staff. As posted above, a service industry can empower their staff to make common sense decisions rather than sticking to the "black and white" rules. After all, we know Qantas breaks their own rules when it suits them.

There was a post on a Virgin thread recently here the Virgin agent did something that "broke the rules" but made the poster's day, IIRC.

Focussing here on the OP's writing style, and who they wrote to doesn't detract from the essence of the experience, and what happened to them. We hear of this time and time and time again - not just Qantas of course, but that doesn't excuse it; there was that case that got a lot of airtime on AFF last year (forget name, sorry). Right now, think of their TV ads - got the music and images in your head? Now think of this and other similar experiences about Qantas' treatment of their customers - "loyal" or not - we've heard on AFF. Right.

Well, they do downgrade J passengers to Y when a flight is cancelled and they are desperate for space. It’s not much different to that I guess.

 

[RooFlyer]

Well, they do downgrade J passengers to Y when a flight is cancelled and they are desperate for space. It’s not much different to that I guess.

Not only when flights are cancelled and desperate for space!

 

[CaptJCool]

I don’t think anyone here other than OP perhaps, had issues with the demand for payment with flight change. It is the retraction of the new BP that rankles and that is what I’d tweet if I wasn’t able to move on.

From vague memory, it's doable to override the fee, but it is a goodwill gesture and needs to be authorised by a senior employee. It can't be done in ordinary circumstances Bookings - Fare Types

Of course one can cheekily ask

From a Service Recovery perspective, the tooth extraction method of pulling back an already provided BP is rude, but rules are often rude by their very nature.

You may also find this research by Choice on this very topic
https://www.choice.com.au/~/media/134ddb87e64843b1bf85a5a8019e1f00.ashx?la=en

And this whirlpool Changing Flights with Qantas - Air Travel - Travel

 

[browski]

Astroturf, here is where you went wrong.

Given my profound loyalty, my expectation is that when the tables turn and life circumstances impact my life to a point where Qantas could possibly accommodate me if possible, then I would be appreciative and further encourage me to carry on being the ambassador to Qantas that I have become to be.
>

Just re-align your expectations with reality, and you will no longer feel disappointment - nor will you write letters again.

 

[CMA222]

astrokid is a WP not a P1 according to the first post in the thread. For those of us who are WP and would find P1 difficult/impossible to reach it would've been nice if WP was still the top tier. Perhaps then some leniency would be extended that's now more likely to only be shown to P1 (if at all).

The final paragraph of the letter says:

"My entire life I have flown with Qantas. I am almost at 20000 status credits and should I carry on flying with Qantas with current reservations, I will become Platinum 1 yet again at the beginning of June. So as you can imagine, for me to experience this level of service is unfathomable to me. I sincerely to hope to hear from you as I seriously cannot believe that I am even having to write to you about such a humiliating experience with your company.

 

[mviy]

Good point, but not currently a P1. It would be nice if their systems considered the status your forward bookings would give you but I doubt it's that sophisticated.

Even for P1 the defined benefit for fly forward is for flex fares I think.

 

[SpudOz]

Just over 2 weeks ago, my adult son unexpectedly died in Perth while I was on a trip to Melbourne. I called Qantas and they arranged for me to fly out on the first flight the next day (there was another flight that evening but I wouldn’t have made it to Tullamarine in time). I paid the difference in the fare with no penalty. At the lounge, I requested a points upgrade but was unsuccessful. As I was still in shock, I was one of the last to get on the plane. I was dismayed to see some empty J seats but I was given a Y window seat and vacant seat next to me. I dont feel that I was treated badly by Qantas.