query (re tiger)

[fortymilliondaggers]

I'm arriving in Gold Coast at 08:40 from KL with Air Asia, provided everything's on time. Booked a flight to connect to Melbourne which was originally departing at 13:00, but that got changed a while back to something getting in at about midnight. They sent me an email and asked me to click a link to confirm I accepted this flight change, but I didn't. By this time, it was too late to consider a different carrier for this obviously extremely busy date. At this time there were no other flights that suited my connection except for this one.

Subsequently, they've added more flights: one leaves at 12:05 and the other at 17:05. I'm not prepared to risk the 12:05 because (as you can tell by choice of airlines) I'll be a bit strapped for cash and won't be able to afford a rebook should I be delayed out of KL, but the 17:05 flight would be much better for me. I'm pretty sure I'm entitled to a change like this. Can't get through to them on the phone right now, but any magic phrases you guys use in situations like this to get your own way?

 

[comint]

Can't get through to them on the phone right now, but any magic phrases you guys use in situations like this to get your own way?

Normally you have to wait quite a while to get through to Tiger on their Melbourne number.




Thing to realise is that Tiger phone reps work off a script, and as you have figured out, giving the right information to them, so they pull up the best script, is paramount. I think you have it though -

• didn't click a response to the email
• system auto-rebooked you on a flight time that is no good
• now they are flying additional services on that route, with a flight time closer to the original one

Let us know how you go, but based on my experiences with Tiger, looks good!




I’ll contrast this to dealing with, say, Qantas, where the key is – empathy. The Qantas rep is fully trained and an independent thinker, so you need to get them onside for best results.

Politeness is always important, obviously, who ever you deal with, but the Qantas rep wants to understand/comprehend your “unique situation”, whereas the Tiger rep wants to categorise your issue as quickly as possible and read the appropriate script.

Qantas staff are also adept at dealing with assertive customers (given the main markets they target) and while not responding passively, they do want to let you vent and control the conversation until they respond. Tiger reps appreciate quite the opposite, and respond best to concise, relevant, unemotional information, as well as passiveness – e.g. explain the situation swiftly and then ask what they can do for you. (Rep then finds appropriate script.) Whereas Qantas reps appreciate you telling them what you think they can do to fix the situation. (Rep then doesn’t have to do more independent thinking about how to keep you happy.)


LOL: If you book far enough out, you are obviously aware that you can use this process at LCCs, to turn your airfares into fully flexible (no route changes on JQ though) tickets! (Given the likelihood of future schedule changes on LCCs!)

 

[fortymilliondaggers]

LOL: If you book far enough out, you are obviously aware that you can use this process at LCCs, to turn your airfares into fully flexible (no route changes on JQ though) tickets! (Given the likelihood of future schedule changes on LCCs!)

...which is what I discovered by accident here! All sorted, no problem at all. Got through to an operator almost instantly by just pressing random keys on my phone because Tiger have a very long recorded message, I got impatient and didn't want to listen to it twice in one day.