On a 737 service ex-Sydney today, I walked to my gate with a little skip in my step. The reports suggested I'd in for a welcome change. I'd scribbled a little note on a piece of paper, ready to hand to the gate agent to thank Qantas for taking action.
The note wasn't needed.
At gate two, the person behind the desk announced boarding, including premium boarding through the left lane. Two scanners, two staff, two boarding queues simultaneously. I was six deep in the premium lane. By the time I reached the front, at least three passengers in the right, non-premium lane had already been boarded by the FA.
I exited the line and spoke with the chap behind the gate desk. He could not have been less interested in me or my concern, happy to push back in his fancy chair, completely void of any level of enthusiasm or customer service. I said "I didn't realise the new boarding boarding system hadn't made it's way down to gate two." "It hasn't," came the curt reply. Followed by "Who are you?" I took out a piece of paper and a pen and took the chap's name as he told me that "our" job is to call priority boarding and that's what he did. He said "Do you think everyone in the priority lane is entitled to priority boarding?" to which I said "No." His response: "Exactly. But it's not our job." He asked if I wanted to speak to a supervisor and I happily accepted.
Several minutes later a man wandered by to explain that it's up to the FAs how they board; it's their decision, not the groundstaff's. He pointed out "It's a new system so they're probably still getting used to it" to which I replied "Yet it's been a stated benefit for years." Her response was, essentially, 'It's up to Qantas what benefit it offers.'
I was floored by the behaviour of the chap behind the desk. It's almost as if, should a passenger have suffered a heart attack right in front of him, his "job" effort at helping would have been to put in a call to someone before reclining in his chair and happily reminding himself "It's not my job."