Is inconsistency killing Qantas?

[zeiron]

Hi all,

Having booked a flight MEL-SYD-DFW-MIA RT in early January of this year, as part of the SYD-DFW route launch sale ($1110), QF had not had the opportunity to create/sort out the codeshare flights from DFW so we were booked on AA flights. Later, they became available and so we requested them to be told that O fare class wasn't available. No biggie. Having checked a few weeks later again, they were now available and so we asked again, only to be told that there would now be a $200 ticket reissue fee (as per the fare rules) in addition to an $80 service fee. We explained that the previous consultant said it could be changed with no charge, given the lack of codeshares when we initially booked. NO GO. Long story short, after 3-4 phone calls and a visit to the QF travel centre in MEL regarding some AA internal flights and visit USA airpasses, the consultant pulled up our international booking and noticed we were not on the QF codeshares and offered them to us at no charge. A few swift clicks of her keyboard, and it was all done!
Whilst I am grateful for the change, as we now earn points and SC on the O class AA flights, my question is why was this travel centre agent able to do it yet the previous 3 telephone sales agents all were unable to?
Why is QF so inconsistent, and is this affecting customers perception of them?

PS: the lovely lady in the QF travel centre in MEL is an absolute gem! ( I wont mention her name, for fear of getting her in trouble!!)

 

[russ]

Yes, inconsistency is killing Qantas.

 

[russ]

No, inconsistency is not killing Qantas!

 

[zeiron]

No, inconsistency is not killing Qantas!

hahahahah! You sure you don't work for QF? lol

 

[medhead]

Not sure about the answer to your question, but Mum has used a qantas travel person for years. They have always given great service.

 

[ric_melb]

No doubt the lovely lady in the Qantas Travel Centre is more experienced.
All big companies have varying levels of experience, plus have so many rules etc, that not everyone in the company is on top of things. Compare airlines, banks, telcos etc.

Some members on the board are consistent, they always bag Qantas! :mrgreen:

 

[nlagalle]

The question is are they consistently inconsistent, or inconsistently consistent????

 

[pshepvic]

You'll often find with many companies that call centre staff are a lot less flexible than retail stores. They're often checked and monitored a lot more, calls recorded etc and frequently have to stick to the rules no matter what. Also depends on experience and level of authority - sometimes you can be lucky and deal with a team leader or senior person, others you may get the most junior person on their first day.

If I don't get any luck ringing, I usually call and try again or ask for a supervisor. Probably works 8 out of 10 times.

 

[MelUser]

I have a real gripe with Qantas's inconsistency in relation to points upgrades and how they supposedly only apply to Economy (S) and higher fares.

Whenever I travel Qantas internationally I always booked an upgradeable airfare so that I can play the international upgrade lottery.

Anyway, I have tight cough relatives who were on the inaugral Sydney to DFW flight on Monday and they purchased $999 return flights in nonupgradeable economy. They are bronze qantas FFs. Anway, Qantas emailed them inviting them to put in a points upgrade request which they duly did and flew over in business class.

This seems unfair to those people who deliberately pay more for an upgradeable ticket.

My view is that Qantas needs to be transparent and fair about this process - either let all revenue tickets be upgradeable (a la American Airlines) and perhaps charge different points/co payments for upgrades or else enforce the rules that it sets.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi all,

...the consultant pulled up our international booking and noticed we were not on the QF codeshares and offered them to us at no charge. A few swift clicks of her keyboard, and it was all done!

PS: the lovely lady in the QF travel centre in MEL is an absolute gem! ( I wont mention her name, for fear of getting her in trouble!!)

Yes I know this lady! Been lucky enough to have her assist me a couple of times - nothing too much trouble and lets you leave the office while she sorts everything out and then calls you back later!

 

[zeiron]

I have a real gripe with Qantas's inconsistency in relation to points upgrades and how they supposedly only apply to Economy (S) and higher fares.

Whenever I travel Qantas internationally I always booked an upgradeable airfare so that I can play the international upgrade lottery.

Anyway, I have tight cough relatives who were on the inaugral Sydney to DFW flight on Monday and they purchased $999 return flights in nonupgradeable economy. They are bronze qantas FFs. Anway, Qantas emailed them inviting them to put in a points upgrade request which they duly did and flew over in business class.

This seems unfair to those people who deliberately pay more for an upgradeable ticket.

My view is that Qantas needs to be transparent and fair about this process - either let all revenue tickets be upgradeable (a la American Airlines) and perhaps charge different points/co payments for upgrades or else enforce the rules that it sets.

I couldnt agree more!!

Regarding the "O" upgrade your relatives got....
I too was emailed by QF offering me the same deal, valid for the next 2 days only.
the email said and I quote:
"Normally, not all fare types allow you to register for an upgrade using your Qantas Frequent Flyer points, however for a limited time we've waived this restriction.
This means that for your upcoming international trip which includes travel in Economy from SYDNEY to DALLAS you are now eligible to use your points to register for a Flight Upgrade Award* from Economy to Business"

I am traveling with a friend and we are both on the same RECLOC, but only I got the email, my friend who is silver, did not.
Not to worry, I log into my account and it offers me upgrades for BOTH of us from MEL-SYD and BNE-MEL but says that SYD-DFW and DFW-BNE are outside of 90 days and therefore not open for upgrade request. the AA sectors DFW-MIA-DFW were ineligible.
Can u imagine my displeasure at this? why send me an offer that makes me request an upgrade for both of us, and more stupidly, why send me an offer expressly mentioning my upcoming international trip, which includes SYD-DFW that I actually cannot upgrade? The FF service centre were no help either. they sought special permission to allow me to list for SYD-DFW but not the return as the email did not expressly mention the DFW-BNE sector. No amount of explaining could get her to budge, so I just gave up! My status has allocated us PE seating anyway, so im not all that bothered, but again... INCONSISTENCY!!!

 

[zeiron]

Yes I know this lady! Been lucky enough to have her assist me a couple of times - nothing too much trouble and lets you leave the office while she sorts everything out and then calls you back later!

She is a true asset to QF. It is people like her, that somehow makeup for all the others shortcomings.... And to top it off, she waived the service charge as a gesture of goodwill, which is odd, because TBH, id have happily pay it to be served by her!!

Just a shame that people like her are as rare as hens teeth!

 

[harvyk]

The question is are they consistently inconsistent, or inconsistently consistent????

Consistently inconsistent... Their motto should be, "No two flights are ever the same"

All big companies have varying levels of experience, plus have so many rules etc, that not everyone in the company is on top of things. Compare airlines, banks, telcos etc.

But that's the thing, companies put in policies and procedures so the experience should be the same.

Problem is that they then authorise certain people to make judgement calls. There are two problems with that, it means that some people really can't help the customer (and won't show initiative) and others can help the customer first time.

Some members on the board are consistent, they always bag Qantas! :mrgreen:

No, there are far worse "we hate qantas" site out there. We're just vocal when QF screws something up.

 

[pshepvic]

But that's the thing, companies put in policies and procedures so the experience should be the same.

I've worked in Process & Policy Development, and Learning and development for the last 10 years. I can tell you that just because a policy or procedure exists, doesn't mean that's what happens. If the training is not good enough, and the ongoing coaching, monitoring and development is insufficient, then there will be inconsistencies all over the place. Doesn't matter what organisation it is, as soon as you add people to the mix, you'll have these issues, unless your ongoing management is up to scratch. It's not always the fault of the person delivering the service.

The exception to this is the Japanese. That's the only place in the world I've experience the same, consistent service with every business I've dealt with (from airlines to restaurants to public transport and so on). EVERY business in Australia could take a leaf out of their book.

 

[harvyk]

I've worked in Process & Policy Development, and Learning and development for the last 10 years. I can tell you that just because a policy or procedure exists, doesn't mean that's what happens. If the training is not good enough, and the ongoing coaching, monitoring and development is insufficient, then there will be inconsistencies all over the place. Doesn't matter what organisation it is, as soon as you add people to the mix, you'll have these issues, unless your ongoing management is up to scratch. It's not always the fault of the person delivering the service.

The exception to this is the Japanese. That's the only place in the world I've experience the same, consistent service with every business I've dealt with (from airlines to restaurants to public transport and so on). EVERY business in Australia could take a leaf out of their book.

You missed the magic keyword there... - "But that's the thing, companies put in policies and procedures so the experience should be the same."

Your always going to have some degree of variation, that's just human nature, but we're now at a stage where companies have no real desire to provide good customer service for two reasons...

1 - It's expensive
2 - No one else is doing it either

and there in is the problem. You do get the exception to the rule, aka the person whom actually helps the customer, but it is rare.

 

[pshepvic]

You missed the magic keyword there... - "But that's the thing, companies put in policies and procedures so the experience should be the same."

Your always going to have some degree of variation, that's just human nature, but we're now at a stage where companies have no real desire to provide good customer service for two reasons...

1 - It's expensive
2 - No one else is doing it either

and there in is the problem. You do get the exception to the rule, aka the person whom actually helps the customer, but it is rare.

Oh I totally agree is SHOULD happen. But putting a policy or procedure in place doesn't mean it will - they need to ensure the communications, training, and behavioural "enforcement" (for want of a better term) is in place. That's the key thing that is missing.

 

[anthropologist]

Inconsistent: Last Friday I tried to change an 1810 Port Hedland to Perth flight, which I had upgraded to business online, to the 1620 flight. I rang the platinum number but person said I could not change unless I paid a fee and I would lose 2500 points for the change as I couldn't transfer the upgrade. I rang back (same platinum number) about an hour later and was told by the person they couldn't change it and I would have to go to the travel agent that booked the flight and get them to change it. Bugger. Rang back a half an hour later (same number) and the person said no problem you're on the 1620 flight and the upgrade was also transferred at no cost! Bewt!

Consistent: The last time I flew Perth to Kalgoorlie (2 May) my luggage did not arrive (nor did 10 other passengers') on the flight. I was working in Leonora. Qantas eventually found my luggage and sent it by taxi 235 km north to Leonora. Today, I again flew Perth to Kal and imagine my surprise when again my luggage did not arrive on the flight! talk about consistent. The Qantas attendant at Kal airport said this has been happening quite a lot since the intro of the Q-tags (my partner's luggage with the normal tag issued from the check-in machine arrived) and they are having to deal with angry passengers. She advised me to take the Q-tag off and use the normal tags issued from the check-in machines until they sort the problem out.

 

[Moopere]

unless your ongoing management is up to scratch. It's not always the fault of the person delivering the service.

Bingo.

This is the key. We have unmotivated or inexperienced managers overseeing the troops who know enough to be dangerous but no more.

Its rife across all levels of company and service in Australia and many places elsewhere. Its incredibly simple to fix, but takes balls and will.

The Romans were onto something with the practise of decimation. You kill off a few of the underperformers to provide the encouragement for the others (re: the stick). Bonuses and recognition of high performers is the required carrot.

 

[ctr20]

Definitely!

 

[oz_mark]

Lack of innovation, and becoming a follower is what has let Qantas down. They may have been first with Business class, but since then they were late to the party with things like lie flat beds in business, the devleopmen of Premium Economy and improved IFE experiences all round. In addition, they have had little network development in recent years, preferring to cede their operations to Jetstar.