Lack of training for Perth domestic check-in staff for international itineraries?

[Jurahn]

We've found over the last couple of years, there seems to be a decline in the training given to check-in staff at PER domestic terminal in relation to VA flights to international destinations via BNE/SYD/MEL. Travelling from PER, the domestic sector is counted as part of the international itinerary so we can't do OLCI check-in and have to do "international" check-in at PER domestic. When we travelled to the US two years ago, the check-in staff at the domestic terminal were fantastic - the young lady who assisted us (Priority check-in lane) was great, had both of us checked in for both flights and bags tagged through to LAX quickly and efficiently, no problems at all.

It was a different story in 2013. Hubby went to the US in February and the girl on the check-in counter (again Priority lane) seemed to have little or no idea what she was doing, was extremely slow and had to ask another staff member several times for assistance as she seemed to keep getting "stuck" on parts of the check-in process, then looked at us blankly when hubby handed her the details of where he was staying the first night in the US and said "what do I need this for?" - er, because it's a mandatory part of checking in on VA when travelling to the US and you have to enter it on the system ... ??

Even worse when I was travelling to the US in November. Priority check-in again and the lady behind the counter waved us forward with a smile - but when I told her I was checking in for a flight to LAX via MEL, she said she didn't know how to do international check-in and we would have to go to another counter. The other person on the Priority lane didn't know either, and it turned out that only one of the 5 staff on the check-in desks knew how to do it, so we were sent up to his counter, where he was already dealing with another passenger who was flying to NZ. This took quite a considerable amount of time, and it was rather frustrating to watch numerous other people come and go at the check-in counters as we waited. Anyway, finally get up to the desk and it turns out that he had never done an international check-in for flights to the US before and apparently the person he had served ahead of us was the first one he had done to NZ!!!!! So we spent ages at check-in whilst this poor young man waded through the process for the first time - he ended up having to call over two other members of staff, including a supervisor with "what do I do next" questions. Doesn't exactly fill you with confidence ... and we checked carefully before my bags headed off to the conveyor belt that they were tagged correctly! Don't get me wrong, all the staff we spoke to were very pleasant and friendly, but there seems to be a woeful lack of training here. Especially when using Priority check-in (VA Gold and travelling in J), I would have expected VA to ensure that at least one of the staff handling the Priority lane would know how to deal with international check-in - we can't be the only people in Perth who travel to the States LOL.

Has anyone else experienced this? Or have we just been unlucky?

 

[Mak404matt]

I travel that route quite often no problems at all.

The issue is that only one or two of the desks at T3 have a passport reader in them, which is what is required for the international checkin.

I've been told that when they move to T1 that this will no longer be an issue.

 

[bubblyguy]

The Virgin Perth operations and check in is handled by a contractor and not directly by VA.

There is a difference between contractor and VA staff including in the training. The contractor has their own trainers that are trained by VA (train the trainer sessions) and then they return and train their own staff themselves. Such a quick turnover of staff means that sometimes more "advanced" functions such as international check in haven't been trained to everyone on check in yet. This particular contractor take international check in very seriously and won't allow staff to do it unless they have been fully trained, especially when they can be responsible for infringements and have to pay the fine that VA receives for any breaches set upon by governments due to passengers arriving without the right to enter the country.

 

[MandM]

I've encountered similar issues in Melbourne when connecting through syd or bne to lax. I think they have limited people trained in that part of the system and if there are no direct international flights to be checked in then there may only be one trained agent available.

 

[Jurahn]

I travel that route quite often no problems at all.

The issue is that only one or two of the desks at T3 have a passport reader in them, which is what is required for the international checkin.

I've been told that when they move to T1 that this will no longer be an issue.

If that's the case, then being directed to another desk for check-in isn't an issue. However the problem, as we were told by the staff themselves, wasn't that they didn't have the required equipment to be able to do international check-in, it was that they didn't know HOW to do it and I felt quite sorry for the poor guy who actually did check me in as he was obviously still extremely inexperienced and appeared to only be doing his first international check-ins that night.

Bubblyguy mentions in his post that staff aren't allowed to do international check-in unless they have been fully trained - however on the two occasions we experienced last year, it was quite obvious that the staff who were allocated to do international check-in weren't fully trained in the required processes, which should be a cause of concern for VA - and of course it's extremely unfair on the check-in staff themselves.

 

[bubblyguy]

I've encountered similar issues in Melbourne when connecting through syd or bne to lax. I think they have limited people trained in that part of the system and if there are no direct international flights to be checked in then there may only be one trained agent available.

Hopefully you notice a difference next time you fly as recently VA staff took over from the contractor for the long haul 777 flights for check in so most staff should be efficient in the international check in, especially for VA LAX and AUH services.

 

[MandM]

...on the two occasions we experienced last year, it was quite obvious that the staff who were allocated to do international check-in weren't fully trained in the required processes, which should be a cause of concern for VA - and of course it's extremely unfair on the check-in staff themselves.

You say the first one was in Feb last year - that was not long after the change over to Sabre. That was an awful time of the year for international check in. But it is 12 months later now and I agree that they should have more staff trained.

 

[Jurahn]

You say the first one was in Feb last year - that was not long after the change over to Sabre. That was an awful time of the year for international check in. But it is 12 months later now and I agree that they should have more staff trained.

Yes, we thought at the time the "Sabre situation" might have had something to do with it - as you said, it was an awful time for international check-in (along with a lot of other things, such as my hubby's domestic flights completely disappearing off his PER-BNE-LAX-SYD-PER itinerary due to to a changeover "glitch" - luckily I checked the itinerary a couple of weeks before he flew out!), but I was surprised to discover similar check-in issues still occurring 10 months later.

As Bubblyguy mentions (and many thanks for the information ), hopefully there will be improvements now, although whether this will flow on to Perth remains to be seen. - I'll have to book another trip to the US this year to find out!

 

[Must...Fly!]

Has anyone else experienced this? Or have we just been unlucky?

Seems like bubblyguy got in with the answer first!

I noticed PER-LAX being offered for ~$1350 return on VA :shock:...How crazily cheap!

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Hopefully you notice a difference next time you fly as recently VA staff took over from the contractor for the long haul 777 flights for check in so most staff should be efficient in the international check in, especially for VA LAX and AUH services.

Is this only in cities where the 777 flies out of?

So is PER still handled by a contractor?

 

[bubblyguy]

Is this only in cities where the 777 flies out of?

So is PER still handled by a contractor?

VA have their own staff at ADL, BNE, MEL and SYD. For domestic operations there are also contractor staff to fill gaps as casuals etc at these ports.

The international check in at BNE, MEL and SYD was previously outsourced and now is handled by VA staff. If you have any problems from your original departure port then I would certainly proceed to the transfer desk staff for any assistance at the domestic terminal before you go over to the international terminal (unless you are in Melbourne where there is none as you walk).

PER remains with a contractor at all 3 terminals (same contractor does VAA, VARA and short haul international).

 

[Sprucegoose]

I think it's the west in general. A bit outbackie......

 

[Must...Fly!]

VA have their own staff at ADL, BNE, MEL and SYD. For domestic operations there are also contractor staff to fill gaps as casuals etc at these ports.

The international check in at BNE, MEL and SYD was previously outsourced and now is handled by VA staff. If you have any problems from your original departure port then I would certainly proceed to the transfer desk staff for any assistance at the domestic terminal before you go over to the international terminal (unless you are in Melbourne where there is none as you walk).

PER remains with a contractor at all 3 terminals (same contractor does VAA, VARA and short haul international).

I do wonder if VA will ever bring PER in house, given the A330 and commitment to fight QF. But if it's cheaper, then why not continue if there are not significant issues.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

It was a different story in 2013. Hubby went to the US in February and the girl on the check-in counter (again Priority lane) seemed to have little or no idea what she was doing, was extremely slow and had to ask another staff member several times for assistance as she seemed to keep getting "stuck" on parts of the check-in process, then looked at us blankly when hubby handed her the details of where he was staying the first night in the US and said "what do I need this for?" - er, because it's a mandatory part of checking in on VA when travelling to the US and you have to enter it on the system ... ??

Even worse when I was travelling to the US in November. Priority check-in again and the lady behind the counter waved us forward with a smile - but when I told her I was checking in for a flight to LAX via MEL, she said she didn't know how to do international check-in and we would have to go to another counter. The other person on the Priority lane didn't know either, and it turned out that only one of the 5 staff on the check-in desks knew how to do it, so we were sent up to his counter, where he was already dealing with another passenger who was flying to NZ. This took quite a considerable amount of time, and it was rather frustrating to watch numerous other people come and go at the check-in counters as we waited. Anyway, finally get up to the desk and it turns out that he had never done an international check-in for flights to the US before and apparently the person he had served ahead of us was the first one he had done to NZ!!!!! So we spent ages at check-in whilst this poor young man waded through the process for the first time - he ended up having to call over two other members of staff, including a supervisor with "what do I do next" questions.

The Virgin Perth operations and check in is handled by a contractor and not directly by VA.

There is a difference between contractor and VA staff including in the training. The contractor has their own trainers that are trained by VA (train the trainer sessions) and then they return and train their own staff themselves. Such a quick turnover of staff means that sometimes more "advanced" functions such as international check in haven't been trained to everyone on check in yet.

This particular contractor take international check in very seriously and won't allow staff to do it unless they have been fully trained, especially when they can be responsible for infringements and have to pay the fine that VA receives for any breaches set upon by governments due to passengers arriving without the right to enter the country.

It would seem that the ground handler is telling VA that they take international checkin very seriously however they clearly don't if hardly anyone at PER Domestic can do international through checkin. It would be interesting to know what VA think happens with regards to the training given to the contractors ie was the mandate to the contractor re the percentage of staff to be trained in international? Maybe VA have done the train the trainer bit with the expectation that all the CSA's will be trained however the reality sounds like the contractor is 'risk managing' by only training a fraction of who they should & hoping they'll be able to 'wing it' which they clearly can't.

I've encountered similar issues in Melbourne when connecting through syd or bne to lax. I think they have limited people trained in that part of the system and if there are no direct international flights to be checked in then there may only be one trained agent available.

If that's true then that's not a good situation to be in. The contractor staff all wear the VA uniform so in the eyes of the travelling public they are dealing with VA & if they can't even check someone in with an international connection then the first impression the passenger has of VA is not a good one. IMO it's more important for PER domestic staff to be trained in international checkin because they'll be doing PER/SYD/LAX checkin & the US has strict rules re visas & if the pax doesn't have an ESTA they must either have a US or Canadian passport, a hard visa in their passport or a green card. If a CSA checks in someone without correct documentation it's a fine of USD5000.00.

If that's the case, then being directed to another desk for check-in isn't an issue. However the problem, as we were told by the staff themselves, wasn't that they didn't have the required equipment to be able to do international check-in, it was that they didn't know HOW to do it and I felt quite sorry for the poor guy who actually did check me in as he was obviously still extremely inexperienced and appeared to only be doing his first international check-ins that night.

Bubblyguy mentions in his post that staff aren't allowed to do international check-in unless they have been fully trained - however on the two occasions we experienced last year, it was quite obvious that the staff who were allocated to do international check-in weren't fully trained in the required processes, which should be a cause of concern for VA - and of course it's extremely unfair on the check-in staff themselves.

The VA staff in PER that are trained in international checkin only really have to check that pax flying PER/HKT or PER/DPS have at least 6 months validity on a passport, hardly any pax would have oncarriage ex HKT or DPS as most would be holidaying at that destination so a fairly simple task.

The CSA's that are 'just domestic' consultants have much more responsibility as they are checking in USA flights as they are essentially doing international checkin eg BNE/LAX that just has a domestic flight in front of it so the current situation is the same as having them in BNE doing checkin for VA7 withouth any training.

 

[Must...Fly!]

It would seem that the ground handler is telling VA that they take international checkin very seriously however they clearly don't if hardly anyone at PER Domestic can do international through checkin. It would be interesting to know what VA think happens with regards to the training given to the contractors ie was the mandate to the contractor re the percentage of staff to be trained in international? Maybe VA have done the train the trainer bit with the expectation that all the CSA's will be trained however the reality sounds like the contractor is 'risk managing' by only training a fraction of who they should & hoping they'll be able to 'wing it' which they clearly can't.

If that's true then that's not a good situation to be in. The contractor staff all wear the VA uniform so in the eyes of the travelling public they are dealing with VA & if they can't even check someone in with an international connection then the first impression the passenger has of VA is not a good one. IMO it's more important for PER domestic staff to be trained in international checkin because they'll be doing PER/SYD/LAX checkin & the US has strict rules re visas & if the pax doesn't have an ESTA they must either have a US or Canadian passport, a hard visa in their passport or a green card. If a CSA checks in someone without correct documentation it's a fine of USD5000.00.

Staff are trained up in product and systems first, then trained in international check-in after a few weeks experience. I.e. anyone there longer than a month or so should, I believe, have the requisite training...

I have personally witnessed a rejection for lack of an ESTA at VA check-in at PER...

 

[cssaus]

FWIW I had a somewhat similar experience last year when I turned up at the Premium Entrance for the lounge in Sydney for my SYD-MEL-LAX-JFK business class flight.

Because I had an international travel itinerary and couldn't do online check-in the first obstacle I had to overcome was gaining access without a boarding pass. After resolving this issue I was then directed to the service counter in the lounge where I had to wait until someone who was knowledgeable with handling international check-ins. As it was I had to l wait in lounge for about 15 mins before I was called back to desk to collect my 3 boarding passes.

Being a Platinum VFF member I then asked about "fly-ahead" for my SYD-MEL flight which I was entitled to. This seemed somewhat too complicated for the service rep. to handle and said I couldn't do it because of my international itinerary. I found out later upon my return that it shouldn't have mattered.

So yes, there does some to be gaps in the training of check-in staff when it comes to handling international itineraries. The sooner that OLCI becomes available the better.

 

[anat0l]

Because I had an international travel itinerary and couldn't do online check-in the first obstacle I had to overcome was gaining access without a boarding pass.

If you were a Platinum member, there should be no issue in your using the lounge and/or Premium Entry. The lack of BP is purely cosmetic and if they needed more sophisticated assistance than could be provided at the Premium Entry reception (which in itself is a dubious observation), refusing access to the lounge or worrying about a BP is ridiculous.

The lack of training of staff (either VA and/or contracted) to handle international itineraries - particularly with certain procedures like the USA or certain parts of Europe, and particularly when the onward flight is also operated by VA - is mightily concerning. Bad enough that I don't expect much except competence when I have to deal with contractor services; worse when they are earnestly incompetent.

The fact that at a station the responsibility for such itineraries is left to at most one person or that person and/or the station supervisor is ludicrous and unprofessional.