Qantas Call Centre Long Wait Times

My understanding (from unofficial sources) is that there is a pool of priority phone numbers that airport staff give to passengers which rotates every few weeks.

I will attempt to publish the currently active number(s) in this post:

1300 304 318
1300 659 161
1300 025 396
1300 659 116

1300 024 715
1300 025 390
1300 659 115
1300 659 134
1300 659 502

 

[MARTINE]

I have raised a complaint with Airline Customer Advocate but their turnaround is 20 days so that's not going to help for people that need urgent assistance. But it'll be interesting to see if it gets me anywhere.

An ombud is needed fo aviation. Having had to use the Telecom and Banking one in the past - always gets prompt resolution once you mention you have complained to them.
Of course there is none

Post automatically merged: Feb 8, 2022

Well I used @Scr77 number 1300 659 115 and the wait time was only about 15 mins before someone picked up. It was from the Cape Town call centre but the person I spoke to (Caleb) was super helpful and was able to rebook my flight and resolve all my issues. He had to put me on hold to price the ticket but promised to call me back in case we got disconnected but we didn't. That was a much more pleasant experience talking to a competent and helpful person, just about made up for waiting 2 hr the first time and getting hung up on.



I actually tweeted at Sen. Tony Sheldon when he tweeted about Qantas getting $2bn in assistance and laying off 2k staff back in December that maybe Qantas should spend some of that $2bn in more call centre agents but yes, writing a letter probably has more effect!

Change.org

 

[kingzac]

Called 1300 659 134 at 0941 this morning and got straight through.
Very happy and helpful staff member who has been with Qantas 21 years.
Tidied up and fixed my OW reward booking and changed the flights as needed.
Had some issues with calculating the taxes but she said she'd call me back and actually did! Flights ticketed, booking tidied up and the best call I've had to Qantas in years.

Thanks for everyone's comments and supplying the number. Too many messed up attempts on this booking from the call centre had me dreading the call, but now it's solved quickly in one (well two) calls. Previous attempts have taken 2,3 or even 4 calls to get things close to sorted. Seems a lot more economical to have 1 staff member who can do the job right first time than numerous who can't.

 

[PineappleSkip]

An ombud is needed fo aviation.

The ACA is in fact the ombudsman for the industry. I found it quite useful. We ran some dispute resolution and ombudsman training in Central Asia and I used the ACA as an excellent case study in how not to set up an ombudsman function. Even worse than the TIO.

Cheers skip

 

[MARTINE]

About Us

www.airlinecustomeradvocate.com.au

Agreed but
…nowhere near the powers of the other two ombuds when it comes to enforcement.

…name says it all ‘Airline’ advocate - probably think consumer starts with a silent Z …

 

[cinder]

Called 1300 659 134 at 0941 this morning and got straight through.

I think this only helps people who are platinum. Not the plebs like us who are just gold.

 

[MMT3011]

OMG... i have been trying to get my refund of $1230 back and qantas is pathetic...

I have tried calling and was on hold for 1 hour 40mins and when someone finally answered they just hung up on me straight away. I then sent them a private message on messenger and no response.
i then sent them an email via the contact us page and nothing again.
I have now called again I was on hold for 2 hours waiting to get through. i finally got through and the agent said 'oh you need to wait at least 8 weeks for a refund'. when i told i had been waiting since Oct 21 she then said ok let me look at that for you. She then said 'its in credit for you'. I said no its not. i dont have a credit and these are refunds for frequent flyer bookings. She then put me on hold for about 25mins and then just hung up.

Anyone got any ideas how i can get my refund from Qantas? what is the best time to call?

I'm in the same boat. I've been following up since mid Dec because I lodged my refund request on 15 Oct. The delay for my refund is BPay and was told that once Qantas process the credit, it can take up to 4 weeks for BPay to refund. In addition, Qantas only submit BPay refunds once a week on a Wednesday. OMG, I was only trying to save on card fees when I paid for my flight and the PoLi pay method doesn't use my bank.

So....long story short, try the priority numbers listed, I had a less than 10 min wait time and my queries were answered straight away. I rang in the morning. One staff member did get shirty with me as he asked who gave me the number and I said, my refund is a priority it shouldn't matter where I got the number. I've lodged 2 x complaints and waited the 8 weeks timefame and still no update and response from Qantas. They are now my last resort airline. Horrible experience.

 

[sudoer]

Day of week	Wednesday
Time of call	0835AEST
Number used	13 12 11
Status	Platinum
Hold time	"Current wait time under 30 minutes" Actual wait time 24 minutes
Call Centre (if known)	Unknown
Matter resolved	Probably
Details	Chasing refund for cancelled award booking after waiting 8 weeks with no sign of points or taxes. Rep agreed to process on the spot and advised to expect points back in account within 30 minutes and taxes back on CC within 5 business days. Total call time approx 3 minutes.

 

[cinder]

I think this only helps people who are platinum. Not the plebs like us who are just gold.

I stand corrected. Tried the new number added today and got through immediately. He's looking into it and I will report back.

 

[cinder]

So for query 1 (issue regarding 131313 rep arguing that I am only entitled to voucher credit value to rebook our flights and not the additional $ we paid for the fare difference), said the flights are waiting to be ticketed and there should not be anything to pay (we'll see!). Query 2: credit card charged 3 times for fare difference to use Travel Pass for USA trip later this year, apparently the system will recognise we've been charged 3 times and will refund 2. Again, we'll see! But it was good to get through immediately and get help so thanks everyone here.

 

[rginoz]

I called the phone number (13 12 11) on the back of my QFF Platinum membership card yesterday at about 2.24pm Qld time. It answered after a couple of rings to ask for my QFF number and the nature of my call. Within just a few seconds, I was speaking with a gentleman in the Hobart call centre, seeking release of a Classic Reward J seat to an international destination, and return. There was only a very short wait while he gained approval for an earlier flight on the same day, and the transaction was fully completed, points deducted and card charged in about 25 minutes total.

I made a second call to 13 12 11 later in the afternoon, to link the reward booking with a revenue booking, which was also completed quickly and without any issues.

To say I was very pleased with yesterday's Call Centre contacts would be an understatement! Equally, I can understand the frustration of those who face long waits and poor outcomes.

 

[clifford]

resolution and ombudsman training in Central Asia....
Cheers skip

Can I ask where in Central Asia?

 

[Daver6]

Day of week	Wednesday
Time of call	1540AWST
Number used	13 12 11
Status	Platinum
Hold time	I don't get a hold time estimate. Was on hold for 24 minutes. Call answered and rep needed to talk to finance. Put on hold for another 25 minutes and then was hung up.
Call Centre (if known)	Australian accent
Matter resolved	No as was hung up on.
Details	Following up a refund. Received the email notification for a flight paid with a GV. Received the GV component refunded but not the cash component. Spoke to them last week and they said give it a few more days. Obviously money hasn't arrived.

 

[Lynda2475]

Qantas screwed up the payment for extra taxes on 2 short flights I added to a OW reward itnerary Monday and when I logged on tonight to check something else i noticed they have cancelled the whole trip and refunded points even though 7 of the 9 flights were fully ticketed and taxes and points paid previously. Why dont they just send you a link to make a payment for the amount that didnt go through?

This is why I loathe having to make changes over the phone, if the web site could handle more complex changes and show all reward availablity youd know if payment went through or not, and could retry immediately.

Im quite panicked, called the number above, got through relatively quickly, but agent needs to speak to her help desk to get the tickets reinstated and to reprocess the payment, she has put me on hold and its been 40 mins. I am terrified that Im going to be cut-off without this being resolved and someone wil still my J seats. Im pretty sure its overseas.

Too scared to wait and call in the morning.

Edited To Add: After 55mins Ive been told the ticket is reinstated, but I wont believe it til it arrives in my inbox and the points come back out of my account. On the plus side can see taxes transaction on my credit card now.

Edited To Add: The points still havent come out and no ticket yet even though supposedly were escalating to make it happen tonight. I wont get any sleep I fear.

 

[TiredOldFlyer]

I am surprised that AJ, or an other

 

[encryptededdy]

EXCLUSIVE - Deplorable: A Look Into Qantas' Shocking Customer Service

A passport is often the pathway to endless possibilities. It brings us together and allows us to explore cultures, see loved ones and grow as humans.

aviationsourcenews.com

Also Qantas' PR response here is... only mildly helpful. They say they're training agents to reduce wait times - great! However this does not resolve the issue at all with agents being completely under-trained for any sort of moderately complex request/task, except maybe the Hobart / Auckland call centers.

 

[Port Power]

EXCLUSIVE - Deplorable: A Look Into Qantas' Shocking Customer Service

A passport is often the pathway to endless possibilities. It brings us together and allows us to explore cultures, see loved ones and grow as humans.

aviationsourcenews.com

Poor bloke. Deplorable. But, unfortunately, it is just a repeat of many AFF posters here. Will AJ or any executive staff ever really make changes? Don’t get on it!

Can we bookmark this thread to be brought back in 2 years’ time? Anyone want to bet there will have been any significant change?

 

[wandering_fred]

Poor bloke. Deplorable. But, unfortunately, it is just a repeat of many AFF posters here. Will AJ or any executive staff ever really make changes? Don’t get on it!

Can we bookmark this thread to be brought back in 2 years’ time? Anyone want to bet there will have been any significant change?

And they said "think positively things could be worse"
I was positive they could get worse and sure enough - they did

My opinion on the future for QF telephone support

Is hiding in a corner considered wandering
Fred

 

[dylarr]

Wow. Love the quotes from Qantas PR in that article.

"The current Omicron situation has driven a huge spike in calls from customers which has meant our customers have been experiencing longer wait times, which we sincerely apologize for."

Predictable and convenient response. Long waits existed before Covid.

"We've trained hundreds of new agents and continue to hire and train more so we can reduce wait times as much as possible."

"train"

"We are also introducing new processes around callbacks to make sure our operators are contacting customers if a call drops out."

So let me get this straight. It's well known that there is a dropout issue with the call centre currently — especially when calls are placed on hold. But instead of actually fixing the dropout issue, they're just gonna bandaid it by introducing a new "process" to call customers back when the call inevitably does drop out. Got it.

 

[Zanzara]

Poor bloke. Deplorable. But, unfortunately, it is just a repeat of many AFF posters here. Will AJ or any executive staff ever really make changes? Don’t get on it!

Can we bookmark this thread to be brought back in 2 years’ time? Anyone want to bet there will have been any significant change?

An absolute disgrace and unfortunately not that unusual.

 

[Lynda2475]

Ive been lucky in all my calls to QF this week not to have had the drop out issue despite being put on hold for extended periods.

I just used the one ending in 115 this morning and wait time for an answer was less than a minute. I was following up on my Wed call where my OW award ticket had been automatically cancelled because QF didnt process the payment for the extra taxes for the changes i made on Monday via the 134 number within 48 hours.

115 was routing to Fiji agai, but because it was within onshore working hours when she put me on hold to speak to aussie help desk at least they picked up quickly and appear to have fixed things.

Im hoping this last resolution sticks so I dont have to call again.