Qantas Customer Service

[Berlin]

or perhaps we could wish there were more flight attendants trained to the philosophy of one of lufthansa's former CEOs who said that they try and treat every passenger well given that even some of their regular first class passengers fly economy sometimes.

Funny that you mention LH for all airlines- I had to endure them for far too many years: Compared to their old dragons, the grumpy QF ladies are tame like a pet, I tell you! :shock:

 

[Julesmac]

Hi Hayden

Qantas provided nuts and a $50 voucher for the terminal food prior to boarding. Initially, I was looking for a refund of the points given it was not a J class experience. However, now, I would be happy if Qantas just called me back......

Jarman6 - wow, nuts to Qantas.....how come they didn't load food - it's TBI u were leaving from, they must have truckloads of food available surely? I'm guessing they had time to refuel the plane, I can imagine there would have been some very snarly passengers. Lack of forward planning I'd say!

 

[yeldarb8]

Have said before on this board and will simply repeat that I have avoided QF at all costs for the last 7+ years due terrible customer service at all contact points. It seems many Australians see QF as the Holy Grail of airlines (mind boggling ignorance IMHO). Reality is QF totally out classed by the likes of Emirates, Qatar, Asiana, Cathay, Singapore, and even Malaysian and Thai these days. I'm burning off the last of my QF points when I have no other options. Have not paid for a fare in years and I'm LIFE OneWorld Sapphire status. IMHO QF is the weak link in OW and should get the boot. Virgin would be a much better fit with Malaysian in the mix too. Cathay covers the balance of my needs. QF aircraft interiors are bland dentist waiting rooms with lousy food options compared to the best of the competition. AVOID.

 

[Must...Fly!]

IMHO QF is the weak link in OW and should get the boot.

Now who is exhibiting mind-boggling ignorance.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Have to say that I've had some great customer service from QF lately!

QF9 MEL-SIN 26/12 - offered a tour of the A380 flight deck after chatting to the crew for a while

QF31 SIN-LHR 27/12 - given access to the F lounge (when only entitled to the J lounge), due to the aircraft being delayed. The lounge was much quieter, which allowed both of us to get a few hours sleep while waiting for the aircraft. On board, our J hostie noticed me taking pictures from various windows around the A/C, and offered to take my camera into the coughpit and take some (better) photos for me! I emailed her a copy of the pictures for the scrapbook she was making as a thank-you.

Customer service - I've been chasing a major hotel chain for about 6 months for thousands of missing QFF points, and the chain have been ignoring my emails (and mentioning of the issue on TripAdvisor after getting fed up - to which they responded, but ignored the points issue completely in their reply)... one email to QF and less than 24 hours later, the points have been credited to my account!

Very happy

 

[yeldarb8]

Now who is exhibiting mind-boggling ignorance.

With 9+ million actual air miles flown I'd say I have at least a small wee bit of experience upon which to comment.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Now who is exhibiting mind-boggling ignorance.

well... let's look at the facts... aside from services between Australia and the USA... there really isn't any major international route where there there aren't stronger one world partners... qantas has a strong domestic and trans Tasman network (the later which can almost be considered domestic) but qantas internationally now offers very little.

there is Tokyo, Singapore and Bangkok, but those are also served by one world partners, leaving only really Manila and Jakarta which make qantas more worthwhile as a non stop than taking Cathay and connecting via hong kong (the latter having double or triple daily frequencies, and arguably, with the exception of a380 services and tokyo, a better full flat business class).

I agree the meals on cx may not be the same standard as qf, nor are there pjs, but you do get consistency of service on cx. and with cx's new premium economy coming to all a330s, it may well mean that qantas is a weaker player in it's own key regional international markets.

 

[medhead]

Customer service - I've been chasing a major hotel chain for about 6 months for thousands of missing QFF points, and the chain have been ignoring my emails (and mentioning of the issue on TripAdvisor after getting fed up - to which they responded, but ignored the points issue completely in their reply)... one email to QF and less than 24 hours later, the points have been credited to my account!

Very happy

Thanks! I'm still waiting on points from Crown in Melbourne and I wasn't sure who to chase first.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Thanks! I'm still waiting on points from Crown in Melbourne and I wasn't sure who to chase first.

I don't think it was Qantas that were holding the points up, but rather the hotel that hadn't transferred them... Qantas just seemed to have forced their hand!

I always try emailing the hotel directly first, and providing a copy of the invoice with the email - usually, they fix the problem themselves and occasionally throw in a few hundred points as an apology too

 

[yeldarb8]

well... let's look at the facts... aside from services between Australia and the USA... there really isn't any major international route where there there aren't stronger one world partners... qantas has a strong domestic and trans Tasman network (the later which can almost be considered domestic) but qantas internationally now offers very little.

there is Tokyo, Singapore and Bangkok, but those are also served by one world partners, leaving only really Manila and Jakarta which make qantas more worthwhile as a non stop than taking Cathay and connecting via hong kong (the latter having double or triple daily frequencies, and arguably, with the exception of a380 services and tokyo, a better full flat business class).

I agree the meals on cx may not be the same standard as qf, nor are there pjs, but you do get consistency of service on cx. and with cx's new premium economy coming to all a330s, it may well mean that qantas is a weaker player in it's own key regional international markets.

I'll take a CX meal over the garbage dished up on QF any day. But that's just me.

 

[yeldarb8]

... aside from services between Australia and the USA...

Not if you happen to be flying from Perth to the US... Cathay via HKG is a far better option than QF via SYD/MEL/BNE in my opinion. Lie-flat beds the entire journey and way better CX lounges in HKG vs the QF alternatives on the east coast.

 

[strance]

good on you for getting your refund. personally, after i had accepted the voucher and information at check in, then took the flight, i would not have the audacity to carry on so much, but that's just me.

hmm a little off topic but frequently they run out of mineral water up front, totally ruins my flying experience ala no vodka and mineral water, wonder if i could get a partial refund on my upgrades? good thing i signed up for a twitter account last week !

 

[patrickk]

I don't know if you use Twitter, but I've had lots of positive experiences using it to communicate with airlines & hotels. I'd suggest that you sign up for an account and send a public message about what is going on. You need to do it in 140 characters or less but after doing so, I'd expect you to get a response. You can also direct message them. Just make sure to include @QHCustomercare and @QantasAirways in your message so they see it.

My experience with QF call centres has been great of late. Had a set of poor options wkth an online booking with a credit voucher. The call centre person took it as a challenge and worked out it was a computer error (I should have had more options for that date on that voucher) so booked what I wanted with the voucher and waived the $60 phone fee as it was a computer glitch that forced me to to call anyway. Then the next call centre for seat allocation so I would be with my wife [on a separate booking] was also great and also doing it without a fee. After that we thought they must have had happy pills that day or were being audited.

 

[Simo]

Customer service also comes down the way the person reacts to the company employee.

I had a customer demand me do something for them only a few days ago.

Yes I could do it in about 5 minutes but when they just demanded it and raised there voice and saying you have to do this.

I politely directed them to our website or to ring our customer service area that actually handles that issue.

Yes I could do it but when the person was rude.

 

[spudseamus]

Customer service also comes down the way the person reacts to the company employee.

I had a customer demand me do something for them only a few days ago.

Yes I could do it in about 5 minutes but when they just demanded it and raised there voice and saying you have to do this.

I politely directed them to our website or to ring our customer service area that actually handles that issue.

Yes I could do it but when the person was rude.

comes down to "I'm a mirror to your attitude " and that works both ways!!

 

[nowmedia]

I don't know if you use Twitter, but I've had lots of positive experiences using it to communicate with airlines & hotels. I'd suggest that you sign up for an account and send a public message about what is going on. You need to do it in 140 characters or less but after doing so, I'd expect you to get a response. You can also direct message them. Just make sure to include @QHCustomercare and @QantasAirways in your message so they see it.

Great tip. I've just started a complaint process and will try this strategy in the valiant hope of getting some satisfaction from QFF. I paid cash and a lot of points for a fare to LHR which I've just been told is non upgradable. AND these fares are NEVER available under AUD3k!

Im ready to ditch x3 upcoming QF long haul flights, wear the losses and move my business to VA who have status matched me.

Wish me luck with QF....

 

[muppet]

Customer service also comes down the way the person reacts to the company employee.

I had a customer demand me do something for them only a few days ago.

Yes I could do it in about 5 minutes but when they just demanded it and raised there voice and saying you have to do this.

I politely directed them to our website or to ring our customer service area that actually handles that issue.

Yes I could do it but when the person was rude.

Agreed - Rude customers are a massive problem in the airline business - they're everywhere. However, Qantas Service Staff tend to think they're doing you a favour - ummmm no they're doing their JOB.

 

[N860CR]

Agreed - Rude customers are a massive problem in the airline business - they're everywhere. However, Qantas Service Staff tend to think they're doing you a favour - ummmm no they're doing their JOB.

I think that's a lot of the problem. Rude staff often create rude passengers. I've lost count of the number of times I've asked a polite, valid question only to be met with a rude aggressive answer (generally from ground staff).

It's a bit of a two way street... if somebody wants to be a customer service staff member for an airline, they need to realise they are going to have to deal with frustrated/annoyed (not rude) passengers from time to time. A frustrated passenger can easily become a rude one if they're met with attitude.

 

[33rpm]

Plenty of QF complaints here. I have generally been very happy with the carrier and the service IMHO has generally improved over the past few years. No airline gets things done perfectly except perhaps carriers (eg emirates) that fly to places that I do not wish to fly to.

If we go back to the OP, there was good resolution although not as timely as would be desired. When I have raised concerns, I always thought that they were dealt with in an acceptably timely manner. For most complaints, there is no real urgency for sorting out within 6-8 weeks - QF have had a lot of cough on their plate and any delays in responding are not surprising. Why so urgent to have this matter sorted out - more important things in life.

On the matter of QF being the weak link in OW in an earlier post, it is a serious joke to think that the product and service on AA and BA is better. Okay, i agree that Neil Perry inspired meals are cough but most airline food is ordinary. JL has marginally better service. CX is my preferred carrier but it is simply not convenient for me to travel via HKG.

In summary, I am happy with QF and sticking with them. Of you who are not happy, use other carriers - we are lucky to have choice.

 

[medhead]

Great tip. I've just started a complaint process and will try this strategy in the valiant hope of getting some satisfaction from QFF. I paid cash and a lot of points for a fare to LHR which I've just been told is non upgradable. AND these fares are NEVER available under AUD3k!

Im ready to ditch x3 upcoming QF long haul flights, wear the losses and move my business to VA who have status matched me.

Wish me luck with QF....

Was it an award booking or a points plus pay? Award bookings are never upgradeable, I believe, regardless of fare class.