Velocity/Virgin websites are RUBBISH

[Deleted member 29185]

I've noticed the complaint of the moment seems to be response time to complaints

I wonder if VA have noticed that...

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy had emblazoned on it's front cover the words "DON'T PANIC"

Perhaps JB is a Douglas Adams fan?

 

[eastwest101]

Yup. Here we are coming up for 7 months later and I can't actually think of a single real functional improvement.

Well according to my big list of complaints I had about 48 different bugs/errors/things the website cannot do anymore. Of those - about 8 or 9 of them have been rectified I think, so it may be that further progress on the outsanding problems may be some time away (if ever).

Its a pretty bad look when the old unreliable system that was a cheap bodgy and homemade/modified solution and admittedly did crash a bit can still do more than the current VA and Velocity web sites.

The multiple logins, double charging, lack of seat selection, missing SC's/Points and slow response to all problems are the big ones and are still outstanding if the posts in the last few months are representative?

 

[Clivem]

Well there you have it ....... the cost of a rubbish website is $50,000,000 in lost revenue

As reported in yesterdays Melbourne Age yesterday ......

"Virgin conceded that the disruption from installing a new reservations system meant Virgin had handed as much as $50 million in revenue to rivals such as Qantas and Jetstar."

Largish part of the expected loss this year ....... No bonus this year !!!!!!

 

[TSOOBI]

I just booked a further $21,500 on QF this morning. I could not for the life of me get the website to work.

" Temporary Error
We experienced a temporary error, please try again. If the error persists, please contact our Guest Contact Centre to complete the booking for you. #00193 "

I dont have time to call the guest centre, the nature of most of my flights are cost and book now not sit on hold and wait.

Personally i can account for $50,000 of the 50 mill they are missing as i have spent it elsewhere since Jan.

Cheers Nath

 

[Comoman]

Also cannot book a flight using points. Says technical error.

 

[markis10]

Virgin Australia ‏@VirginAustralia

Airlines globally using the Sabre reservation system are experiencing an outage. We are working with Sabre to restore services asap.

We’re manually checking-in customers & site bookings are offline.Check flight status at http://bit.ly/vSoqfN thank you for your patience.

 

[JennyH]

Okay my two cents worth. I also switched from Qantas last year and to be honest I am more than happy with the flight experience on Virgin. BUT, I am increasingly unhappy with the web booking system. The multiple log ins are annoying. The constant glitches in bookings are infuriating. For example Melbourne - Oslo is an option, but no matter what dates you put in, the system tells you there are no flights available for the date, even if you select the "flexible dates" option. I know I can pick up the phone and I know as a platinum member my call will be answered pretty quick. The issue is - I DON'T WANT TO CALL.

I most certainly do not want to call every time I am exploring options of using my points for overseas travel. I want to be able to explore what is available, then make a considered decision. I don't want to spend hours on the phone talking through all the possible flights.

My main disgruntled issue is that Qantas (who have appalling face to face customer service) have a very user friendly web system. Why after spending $50 million, can Virgin not offer a comparable service?

After trying to convince work colleagues that Virgin was a better option, I am about to shift me loyalty (sheepishly) back to Qantas.

 

[KCMil]

Okay my two cents worth. I also switched from Qantas last year and to be honest I am more than happy with the flight experience on Virgin. BUT, I am increasingly unhappy with the web booking system. The multiple log ins are annoying. The constant glitches in bookings are infuriating. For example Melbourne - Oslo is an option, but no matter what dates you put in, the system tells you there are no flights available for the date, even if you select the "flexible dates" option. I know I can pick up the phone and I know as a platinum member my call will be answered pretty quick. The issue is - I DON'T WANT TO CALL.

I most certainly do not want to call every time I am exploring options of using my points for overseas travel. I want to be able to explore what is available, then make a considered decision. I don't want to spend hours on the phone talking through all the possible flights.

My main disgruntled issue is that Qantas (who have appalling face to face customer service) have a very user friendly web system. Why after spending $50 million, can Virgin not offer a comparable service?

After trying to convince work colleagues that Virgin was a better option, I am about to shift me loyalty (sheepishly) back to Qantas.

JennyH, I am with you all the way!!!

I'm fed up with their IT rubbish...

 

[flyer999]

I'm a VA platinum who phoned (because I could not achieve what I wanted on the website) and then got the Philippines. I still did not get a satisfactory result. Bye, bye VA.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Melbourne - Oslo is an option, but no matter what dates you put in, the system tells you there are no flights available for the date, even if you select the "flexible dates" option. I know I can pick up the phone and I know as a platinum member my call will be answered pretty quick. The issue is - I DON'T WANT TO CALL.

There is another problem apart from just not wanting to call. The plat/gold GCC cannot or will not assist with Int. bookings/queries. The last time I tried, despite calling the GCC, I was put through to the Int. reservations line which had an operator that was not fluent in English and I ended up proving his advice was wrong (and I'm an international non-frequent flyer). He tried to push me to a BNE-AUH-MLE flight and almost refused to search my prefered BNE-SIN-MLE. It was only after some terse words and persistance did he bother to check and found the BNE-SIN-MLE to be the cheaper option and better flight times for me. That experience has left me unwilling to waste time trying to find international routes with VA that don't show through the website. I find on the phone, we're under pressure to select and buy whereas I want time to browse and compare. The two don't seem to be mutually compatible.

 

[RooFlyer]

<snip>

After trying to convince work colleagues that Virgin was a better option, I am about to shift me loyalty (sheepishly) back to Qantas.

Careful 'bout the grass being greener ...

QF recently 'enhanced' their web site so that it was better for the kiddies on their phones and tablets - and made the layout much worse for normal monitors (eg lot more white space, need to scroll and scroll to see all results ..). They also took the bookings of what's called 'marginal' ASAs OFF the web site and you now have to call!! And somehow many of the call centre operatives aren't aware of how to book mASAs and aren't aware that the call booking fee should be waived.

Also, people are reporting general web site issues much more frequently than say 6 or 12 months ago. Seems to be a lot of tinkering in the background.

 

[Markmat]

The post by JennyH really resonated with me. I fly both airlines due to a BFOD policy at my company, although it is now becoming less stringent and we will normally get the airline of choice, except is fare differential is extreme, or flight times don't suit. I find I have no issues with Qantas bookings, can view, change, get seat allocation, do an on-line checkin and only have to log in once and importantly receive my points and SS within a day at the worst. With VA I can view the booking, can't change it, can't get seat allocation, can do an on-line checkin, but have to log in multiple times and often have to chase them up for points and SS. The experience is not what I would expect of a modern business.

 

[bcworld]

Been looking (attempting) at hotel booking on the VA web site for a few days now...but every time I hit 'Find Hotels' I just get 'Internal Server Error'.

Just me? Tried 2 browsers.

They really don't want peoples money do they!??

For anyone that's quitting VA due to the tech & functionality issues...do make sure you let them know as they really do seem to have given up on it.

 

[greenfish]

Trivial annoying glitch.

Attempting points redemption BNE->LHR for 1 specific date. Search returns available flights via SYD. OK, so there must be flights available SYD-LHR, but no, try again, SYD->LHR, search returns available flights via BNE or MEL, try again, MEL-LHR, returns available flights via SYD and BNE.

You will connect, sir!

 

[Clivem]

they really do seem to have given up on it.

That is the real concern isn't it .... the throwing up of the hands in the air and not doing anything, or worse appearing to be not doing much tangible to fix it ……

I remember well, back late one afternoon in September 2001 standing at the Ansett check in counter at Cairns airport when the charming attendant told me that there where available seats in ‘J’ on my flight and with all my points, and the current situation, it could be wise to upgrade …….. ‘Dumfer’ me thought Singapore was about to swoop on in on their cashed up ‘white charger’ and save the day at the time ……..

I woke the next day to find the pin had been pulled and the grenade had gone off over night…. it was all over …..and nobody came in on ‘white charger’ to but humpty back together again. Now yes, I did lose a load of points, but a lot of people lost a hell of lot more important things than a few FF points.

Point is, and the question I’m now asking ……..are we seeing the start of an increasingly greasy slope appearing here ?

Every time I walk in into the Virgin BNE lounge I feel that sharp cold ‘Gold Wing’ breeze down my spine of late ………… If you're saving Velocity points for a rainy day make sure your subscription to the weather channel is up to date on Foxtel.

The issue I see with whole VA web / internet thing is that Virgin are not communicating with their prime clients in regards to the matter and that is fatal for any business ……. $50 mil in lost revenue by their own admission …… and only the Chief Operating Officer has bailed or been tapped on the shoulder ??? What gives there ???

God I miss those Gold Wing club ‘danishes’ from days gone by ……but hey I was 33 Kg heavier then ….. There could of been a 'cause and effect' link there I’m thinking.

But there you go – ‘cause and effect’ …….. Piss off enough of your base, good, core, clients….don’t communicate with them …… and they’d better keep a few of the valet parking bays free for either the ‘Barbarians at the Gate’ or the troopers from the likes of KordaMentha.

 

[QF WP]

I was hosting a Flyertalk function at BNE VA Lounge on Saturday afternoon and had a number of chats with the Lounge Goddess, Annette. The Sabre issues came up as she had organised a cake in the shape of dog which was named "Sabre" for obvious reasons (although she told me that BNE bore up better than SYD or MEL).

I can confirm that JB is well aware of the Sabre issues and isn't impressed with the loss of revenue that has happened - I know I read an article about this somewhere in the past couple of days quoting $50M (since January?). Don't know how much $ he wants to throw at the problem but the Sabre post-implementation crew next door to me might swell soon...

Proble is, they have to throw $$ at the problem rather than revert to Navitaire or go to another GDS (akin to Queensland Health and their payroll system)

 

[flying foon]

Just booked a flight MEL to LAX using rewards pay plus points. The dollar figure was X that I had to pay. When I got my itinerary it is a totally different cost. I spoke to the good people at Virgin and 30 mins later, and let me speak to my boss. There was no further clarity. I have sent an email to the accounts guys with screenshots of what it said on my booking and what the itinerary says. Hoping this will get sorted, I really have no idea what they have charged my credit card.

Anyone else experienced this? I can only assume this is because of Sabre. Maybe should have considered Amadeus.

 

[blackcat20]

Just booked a flight MEL to LAX using rewards pay plus points. The dollar figure was X that I had to pay. When I got my itinerary it is a totally different cost. I spoke to the good people at Virgin and 30 mins later, and let me speak to my boss. There was no further clarity. I have sent an email to the accounts guys with screenshots of what it said on my booking and what the itinerary says. Hoping this will get sorted, I really have no idea what they have charged my credit card.

Anyone else experienced this? I can only assume this is because of Sabre. Maybe should have considered Amadeus.

The $$ amount on my itinerary is different to what was on the booking screen too.

 

[flying foon]

The $$ amount on my itinerary is different to what was on the booking screen too.

blackcat20 Let me know if you get a resolution. Thanks!

 

[Comoman]

Just booked a flight MEL to LAX using rewards pay plus points. The dollar figure was X that I had to pay. When I got my itinerary it is a totally different cost. I spoke to the good people at Virgin and 30 mins later, and let me speak to my boss. There was no further clarity. I have sent an email to the accounts guys with screenshots of what it said on my booking and what the itinerary says. Hoping this will get sorted, I really have no idea what they have charged my credit card.

Anyone else experienced this? I can only assume this is because of Sabre. Maybe should have considered Amadeus.

I did a points + pay last weekend. On my itinerary the points are converted into a dollar amount. My credit card got charged correctly though.