Philippines call centre for WP?

[nedl]

I've been Platinum with Velocity for several years and always seem to reach someone in Australia or New Zealand when I call. Without fail they've always been incredibly helpful and professional. I tried calling this morning to discuss a special request for a reward ticket I've booked for my dad (who has some mobility issues) and twice was routed to the Philippines call centre, where both people were friendly in a robotic way, but completely unhelpful.

Does anyone know if there has been a change to the call centre routing for premium members? If so, I'll be really disappointed - the high level of service over the phone for Gold/Plat members is one of the reasons I rave about VA to my friends and colleagues.

 

[Astro]

I think there is an overseas call centre after hours. Could it be you called before 5am?

 

[nedl]

I think there is an overseas call centre after hours. Could it be you called before 5am?

No, it was around 8:30am AEST today...

 

[Bolthead]

No, it was around 8:30am AEST today...

Interesting.... perhaps the call centre was busy and you got automatically rerouted to the overseas call centre. That happended to me once many years ago however they were able to sort me out so it wasn't an issue. Perhaps wait an hour or so and call back again.

 

[amcmahon]

Funny you mentioned this. I have always been routed to the Aus call centre (Platinum) but rang on Friday to sort a small issue and went straight through to an OS call centre. Was still able to sort out the problem but maybe its a change of system's which isn't great.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Airline Call Centres in Meltdown

Airline call centres worldwide are struggling to cope with the current surge in demand, leaving many calls unanswered and others on hold for many hours.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

From a past post, kudos to them, but can't assume "skeleton operations" could mean anything less.
That was a bit prior to covid, or on covid, so now, its probably worst.

 

[Zanzara]

Every time I have called VA reservations over the last 3 months, regardless of the day or time, I have been answered by someone overseas. Must be getting ideas from QF. Prior to COVID I only got routed overseas as a Plat or Gold if I wanted to make a booking using VA points on an airline that you weren't able to online, VS etc.

 

[Icy]

Called this morning after 9:00am to access a complimentary upgrade and was routed overseas as well. There was about a 15 minute wait before being answered so maybe it was simply due to the current capacity and load. Haven't had to call for a while but normally don't have to wait more than a few minutes.

 

[nedl]

Interesting to hear that others are having the same experience... I have some friends who work at VA, I'll try to remember to ask them about this next time I see them.