QF check-in agent told me a whopper last night...

[Homer]

This is a strange one. When I checked in for a flight at BNE yesterday afternoon the QF check-in agent in the Business line, whose name I will withhold out of fairness, wanted to weigh my roll-a-board. It came to 8kg. I asked him if that was going to be a problem and he said no, but that there was a new QF policy that he wanted me to be aware of.

According to the check-in agent, on Monday of this week QF introduced a new policy that every time a QF FF member had carry on luggage over the 7kg limit, the incident was to be recorded in the member's profile and, when the member had accumulated three "strikes", he/she would lose their platinum status! He told me that there was a two-week grace period where nothing was to be recorded and he wanted me to be "aware of this policy". To round out his story, the check-in agent was at pains to point out that "You won't lose your points, just your status". He delivered all of this information in a very serious, detailed manner.

I listened to this for five minutes and thanked him for advising me of the new policy. As I walked through security I started to see the flaws in his advice. Why had I not received a letter from QF notifying me of this new policy? Do WPs who infringe three times become SGs and, if so, is their infringement count reset or do they go all the way down to NB? What if you have no status with QF - are you not subject to this new enforcement? etc, etc...

There was no altercation between me and the check-in agent. It was all friendly and professional, but I was feeling a bit annoyed that this guy had just wasted five minutes of my time to tell me what seemed to be a fairly elaborate fiction.

So this morning I called QF, explained what happened, expressed my incredulity and asked for clarification. After some minutes of checking I was told, unsurprisingly, that there is no such policy. I asked for the number of someone at BNE so that I could report the incident and hopefully prevent any further embarrassment to QF because of this check-in agent's fantasy policy. I was told that, because the airport is very busy, it is not possible to speak to anyone there but that next time I pass through BNE I should speak to a supervisor. I'll probably do this when I'm back there in a few weeks.

 

[ksthommo]

Good practice for April Fool's

 

[harvyk]

So lets get this right, it's a policy which only disadvantages the airlines most loyal pax...

Yeah right...

If heavy carry-on was a problem, they would have forced you to check it in. The last thing they want to do is annoy the people who are keeping their airline afloat.

 

[2muchplastic]

Hmmm, that's an absolute corker! Lose your flying status (achieved by spending several thousands of dollars with QF and hours sitting on one of their planes) for the sake of a kilo or two of hand luggage?

Was there an aroma of, errr, illicit substances hanging around this guy?

 

[markis10]

What do you expect from the check in staff at Brisbane, they are overworked and underpaid so they have to have the fun sometime!

 

[Homer]

Was there an aroma of, errr, illicit substances hanging around this guy?

Maybe I was too tired to notice, perhaps because I had spent the last two days sitting in a conference room, but he seemed normal and credible to me until I had time to actually think about his comments a minute or so after I left him.

This has also got me thinking about my attitudes to the pax in those fly-on-the-wall airline programs such as "Airways". I always assume that the pax is an infrequent flyer, who can't read their conditions of carriage, can't tell the time, is hung over, has been fairly edited and portrayed by the program makers, etc and that the check-in agent is a straight-laced professional who would easily pass a psychological evaluation and who has no agenda of his/her own and no axe to grind against passengers...

 

[markis10]

i dont suppose you have seen him before at Qnatas Valet???

 

[Homer]

i dont suppose you have seen him before at Qnatas Valet???

I don't live in BNE so I don't valet park there but I don't think I would ever recognise a QF employee like that anyway. I just don't pay attention to people's faces in those situations. I did notice his name though because the conversation went on for some time so I will probably give it to his supervisor just in case the poor guy needs a vacation or other help.

 

[markis10]

Did it start with a H, I would be surprised if its who I think it is, pretty poor form.

 

[Homer]

Did it start with a H, I would be surprised if its who I think it is, pretty poor form.

No, his name started with a "G".

 

[markis10]

Not eto self - avoid all G named check in agents!

 

[medhead]

Maybe I was too tired to notice, perhaps because I had spent the last two days sitting in a conference room, but he seemed normal and credible to me until I had time to actually think about his comments a minute or so after I left him.

This has also got me thinking about my attitudes to the pax in those fly-on-the-wall airline programs such as "Airways". I always assume that the pax is an infrequent flyer, who can't read their conditions of carriage, can't tell the time, is hung over, has been fairly edited and portrayed by the program makers, etc and that the check-in agent is a straight-laced professional who would easily pass a psychological evaluation and who has no agenda of his/her own and no axe to grind against passengers...

you assume all that about those airways type tv shows? :shock: don't assume it only makes an cough out of u and me

Regarding the weighting of carry on, I think Dubya said some about this "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me"
well that's two pieces of wisdom from idiots for you.

 

[straitman]

Not eto self - avoid all G named check in agents!

.... or avoid the BNE Zoo where possible. :mrgreen:

 

[djfuzz]

Regarding the weighting of carry on, I think Dubya said some about this "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me"
well that's two pieces of wisdom from idiots for you.

To be (more) precise, Dubya said:

Fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again.

Homer, you sure no one you knew was setting you up for a prank? Seems unbelievable that a check in agent would put their job on the line for some giggles.

 

[N860CR]

What's even poorer is Qantas' response. You have a premium passenger who hasn't just been slightly mislead or received some incorrect information as a result of an agents mistake, but one who has been straight out lied to, and the best they can offer is "oh sorry it's a busy airport, you deal with it next time you're there".

A supervisor isn't going to give a toss about someone who walks up to them and says "3 weeks ago this person did this". Poor form on the part of Customer Care.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

What a tool! If he hates his job that much he should just get the hell out!

Forget waiting until next time you pass thru BNE. Call the Customer Care Centre today or the Premium Desk & report him. They'll see his staff number from your checkin record but do it now.

 

[david870mdg]

This sounds like the kind of cough Jet* would treat their customers with.
A written complaint with follow up might be called for in this case...

 

[docjames]

ISTR a similar thread mid last year, when J class pax were being harassed (? at security) about not being able to carry onboard > 7kg of luggage, also at BNE. :shock:

/off to use search feature/

 

[JohnK]

No, his name started with a "G".

You know now everytime I am at BNE airport I will walk past all check-in counters looking for a check-in agent with a name that begins with a "G".

Forget waiting until next time you pass thru BNE. Call the Customer Care Centre today or the Premium Desk & report him. They'll see his staff number from your checkin record but do it now.

Homer did call QF this morning and QF told him to report the matter to the BNE airport supervisor.

I have had some interesting check-in experiences at BNE airport but I have given up contacting QF about them as they simply do not care.

 

[BAM1748]

Seems bizarre no one seems to care, even when I used the on-line feed back form for some replacement luggage tags I got a call the very next day asking how many I wanted.