SK_D
Junior Member
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2014
- Posts
- 20
Yesterday we had the privilege of travelling from SYD to ADL.
As requested by cabin managers on previous flights, we made our first destination qantas.com and booked our return tickets for this exciting day trip!
In this instance we allowed 2 hours to get to the airport which is normally a 1.5 hour journey from the Lower Blue Mountains to Mascot. The first part of the journey was great then we were forced by the bank up of cars in front to proceed at snail’s pace, until we passed the first accident, all the motorists around us did their due diligence by closely examining the cars involved and then quizzing their memory (is that car Fathers? No, Mothers? No, Sisters? No, Brothers? Grandads? No, etc.etc.etc!!) finally we now had a clear run ahead of us. Hooray.
Then we approached the next accident and the due diligence above was carried out again. This accident took a lot more examination due to the fact that a very large crane was involved and this is not a very common sight so the scene was lapped up with intent interest and some drivers nearly requiring a stop it was that interesting. Then off we go again a clear run.
Time was ticking and the traffic was getting heavier, we crawled around the airport and by this time my finger nails had almost punctured the leather seat as I used it for a personal stress ball as time ticked closer to the check in cut off and we were positioned in absolute grid lock! Ideas raced through my head, should we get and run? No! think again (we had 45kg of baggage and are softies with bad backs not ironmen!) instead we made the call to Qantas “Premium”. The response was, it should be okay however if there are any problems just send it on the following flight as unaccompanied luggage. I was relieved as was the seat as the fingernail pressure was quickly released.
Our car finally pulled up 100m from the door and I ran inside to catch the attention of a lovely Qantas customer service specialist, (I’m sure I would have passed Usain Bolt as I was powered by adrenaline) there was my saviour for making the flight positioned at a desk on the phone. I figured that my body language would shout “URGENT & IMPORTANT” and she was in managers colour uniform so she could call on anyone to assist me. My face was as red as the top part of her uniform due to a combination of stress and exhaustion from running. I arrived two minutes after baggage check in closed.
Unfortunately, she was on a "VIP" call (you can tell this by the hushed tones in her voice and before hanging up she said “bye bye Love”) so I waited for 4 minutes for this to finish and in the meantime no doubt amused the security team watching the CCTV with my pacing up and down the counter twirling around and kicking my legs jiggling my arms (this was no happy dance by the way!) and trying to communicate that this was slightly more urgent than the phone call she was on (admittedly you do need to thank your valentine for the lovely roses! However, I’m sure studies will prove that 5 – 10 minutes later will have just as much impact?).
Okay now she was off the phone, I reeled out my sentence in record time, “wehavebeenheldupintraffichowcanwegetthesebagscheckedinforthe8oclockflighttoAdelaide?” No time for spaces! She looked at the time and looked back at me and said “sorry check in closed”. Ok, back to the drawing board this time we will let her show her managerial powers “What do we have to do to get these bags on the 8 O Clock flight?” reply – “you have missed the cut off time, we recommend that you check in 45 minutes prior to the departure time it is now 6 minutes after check closes”. (2 minutes if she had put the customer ahead of the VIP call but then again – I didn't get her roses so I was a second grade citizen). I mentioned the unaccompanied luggage but this was “Very Very Dangerous!” "You can’t do that", well the person on the phone said we could, “Noooooo that would be too dangerous” and then I had to endure a high level overview on the dangers of even entertaining a thought of sending unaccompanied luggage. Her next resort was suggestions, “why don’t you put the bags in a taxi and send them back to your office so that you can make the flight”. Um if you come to the airport with luggage isn’t this for a reason? These bags weren’t just for a fitness workout or weight training they were presentation tools and props! (I took it she meant we would love to take your money for this flight however I could not care about you getting all the luggage that you need for your presentations).
I was getting nowhere; I came to the conclusion that Qantas was as flexible as the pillars holding up the bridge out the front. Then there was a light bulb moment for her. “I could maybe fit you on the 10.30am flight but we cannot guarantee catering?” my eyes light up! I don’t care about catering! I have just consumed a life supply of adrenalin! Yes, sounds great what time would that get in? that arrives at 12.05pm, no! I have a room full of people expecting me at 11.00am! “Sorry we can’t help you then, could you re book the appointment for another day”? Oh dear, not only was she making it impossible for me to make this flight by stringing out the process, (she was carefully examining the screen on the computer, then looking at me above her glasses flashbacks of when I raised my voice above a whisper in the school Library and I got “the look” from the librarian at Primary School) now she was giving me futile business advice.
So what do you do? It seemed like this exciting trip to Adelaide had fallen in a heap, I felt punched in the guts, this opportunity of my life had fallen out beneath me, my passion and love of flying had diminished. I walked outside to sit on the bench and cry… then I spotted a Virgin sign.
That’s our last resort we said, like a mad man I sprinted across the terminal. Fellow passengers must have thought that they had come to a marathon the rate I passed them. I spotted the Service Desk by there was a long queue, a Virgin Australia team member must have read my facial expression and handpicked me out of the line. “Are you okay?” No! I have just missed my flight on Qantas and I need to get to Adelaide by 10.30am, (I could do spaces in between words now due to the puffs and pants and short breaths of air I was taking) “Sure, come with me” I was directed to another member and skipped the queue entirley, she could get me on the 8.30am flight! It was now 8.00am! Wow! Let’s do this, we booked it in, she walked me over to the check in counter introduced me to the gentleman and saw me get checked in, she wished me all the best and left me in the capable hands of the the gentleman at Check in counter who was more than helpful, he checked me in and the baggage check in process was finished at 8.10am, this was 4 minutes later than when Qantas had told me to get lost! He walked me over to oversized baggage and then assisted me with the bags onto the conveyor (Qantas normally point into thin air and say "its over there") and then directed me to the premium entrance to skip the long queue at the security screening area so that I could make the flight comfortably. What a breeze, as a Qantas Platinum Frequent Flyer I never realized how easy flying should be, we were inside the terminal within 2 minutes and a leisurely stroll to the gate after this ordeal with Qantas was like being sent to a relaxation resort.
The flight pushed back at 8.34am and we arrived 5 minutes ahead of schedule.
The Virgin crew on board were brilliant, service was flawless and the plane was clean and didn’t smell stuffy or like jet fuel like I am used to!
They say in every negative is a positive, however this experience is different. Out of one negative came 3 positives. Qantas do not have to put up with a nuisance Platinum Frequent Flyer anymore that on one occasion in my life showed up 2 minutes late. Virgin now have a happy loyal customer! (I will just have to work my way up to Platinum from Red which will not take long) and now Virgin have a free marketer! At future presentations I now have a fresh and vibrant “What not to do” opening story. – there may be another, If Qantas keep treating loyal customers this way they will have a much smaller customer base.
To sum it up, if you want First Class service at a realistic price when you are on the base status level, choose Virgin Australia!
As requested by cabin managers on previous flights, we made our first destination qantas.com and booked our return tickets for this exciting day trip!
In this instance we allowed 2 hours to get to the airport which is normally a 1.5 hour journey from the Lower Blue Mountains to Mascot. The first part of the journey was great then we were forced by the bank up of cars in front to proceed at snail’s pace, until we passed the first accident, all the motorists around us did their due diligence by closely examining the cars involved and then quizzing their memory (is that car Fathers? No, Mothers? No, Sisters? No, Brothers? Grandads? No, etc.etc.etc!!) finally we now had a clear run ahead of us. Hooray.
Then we approached the next accident and the due diligence above was carried out again. This accident took a lot more examination due to the fact that a very large crane was involved and this is not a very common sight so the scene was lapped up with intent interest and some drivers nearly requiring a stop it was that interesting. Then off we go again a clear run.
Time was ticking and the traffic was getting heavier, we crawled around the airport and by this time my finger nails had almost punctured the leather seat as I used it for a personal stress ball as time ticked closer to the check in cut off and we were positioned in absolute grid lock! Ideas raced through my head, should we get and run? No! think again (we had 45kg of baggage and are softies with bad backs not ironmen!) instead we made the call to Qantas “Premium”. The response was, it should be okay however if there are any problems just send it on the following flight as unaccompanied luggage. I was relieved as was the seat as the fingernail pressure was quickly released.
Our car finally pulled up 100m from the door and I ran inside to catch the attention of a lovely Qantas customer service specialist, (I’m sure I would have passed Usain Bolt as I was powered by adrenaline) there was my saviour for making the flight positioned at a desk on the phone. I figured that my body language would shout “URGENT & IMPORTANT” and she was in managers colour uniform so she could call on anyone to assist me. My face was as red as the top part of her uniform due to a combination of stress and exhaustion from running. I arrived two minutes after baggage check in closed.
Unfortunately, she was on a "VIP" call (you can tell this by the hushed tones in her voice and before hanging up she said “bye bye Love”) so I waited for 4 minutes for this to finish and in the meantime no doubt amused the security team watching the CCTV with my pacing up and down the counter twirling around and kicking my legs jiggling my arms (this was no happy dance by the way!) and trying to communicate that this was slightly more urgent than the phone call she was on (admittedly you do need to thank your valentine for the lovely roses! However, I’m sure studies will prove that 5 – 10 minutes later will have just as much impact?).
Okay now she was off the phone, I reeled out my sentence in record time, “wehavebeenheldupintraffichowcanwegetthesebagscheckedinforthe8oclockflighttoAdelaide?” No time for spaces! She looked at the time and looked back at me and said “sorry check in closed”. Ok, back to the drawing board this time we will let her show her managerial powers “What do we have to do to get these bags on the 8 O Clock flight?” reply – “you have missed the cut off time, we recommend that you check in 45 minutes prior to the departure time it is now 6 minutes after check closes”. (2 minutes if she had put the customer ahead of the VIP call but then again – I didn't get her roses so I was a second grade citizen). I mentioned the unaccompanied luggage but this was “Very Very Dangerous!” "You can’t do that", well the person on the phone said we could, “Noooooo that would be too dangerous” and then I had to endure a high level overview on the dangers of even entertaining a thought of sending unaccompanied luggage. Her next resort was suggestions, “why don’t you put the bags in a taxi and send them back to your office so that you can make the flight”. Um if you come to the airport with luggage isn’t this for a reason? These bags weren’t just for a fitness workout or weight training they were presentation tools and props! (I took it she meant we would love to take your money for this flight however I could not care about you getting all the luggage that you need for your presentations).
I was getting nowhere; I came to the conclusion that Qantas was as flexible as the pillars holding up the bridge out the front. Then there was a light bulb moment for her. “I could maybe fit you on the 10.30am flight but we cannot guarantee catering?” my eyes light up! I don’t care about catering! I have just consumed a life supply of adrenalin! Yes, sounds great what time would that get in? that arrives at 12.05pm, no! I have a room full of people expecting me at 11.00am! “Sorry we can’t help you then, could you re book the appointment for another day”? Oh dear, not only was she making it impossible for me to make this flight by stringing out the process, (she was carefully examining the screen on the computer, then looking at me above her glasses flashbacks of when I raised my voice above a whisper in the school Library and I got “the look” from the librarian at Primary School) now she was giving me futile business advice.
So what do you do? It seemed like this exciting trip to Adelaide had fallen in a heap, I felt punched in the guts, this opportunity of my life had fallen out beneath me, my passion and love of flying had diminished. I walked outside to sit on the bench and cry… then I spotted a Virgin sign.
That’s our last resort we said, like a mad man I sprinted across the terminal. Fellow passengers must have thought that they had come to a marathon the rate I passed them. I spotted the Service Desk by there was a long queue, a Virgin Australia team member must have read my facial expression and handpicked me out of the line. “Are you okay?” No! I have just missed my flight on Qantas and I need to get to Adelaide by 10.30am, (I could do spaces in between words now due to the puffs and pants and short breaths of air I was taking) “Sure, come with me” I was directed to another member and skipped the queue entirley, she could get me on the 8.30am flight! It was now 8.00am! Wow! Let’s do this, we booked it in, she walked me over to the check in counter introduced me to the gentleman and saw me get checked in, she wished me all the best and left me in the capable hands of the the gentleman at Check in counter who was more than helpful, he checked me in and the baggage check in process was finished at 8.10am, this was 4 minutes later than when Qantas had told me to get lost! He walked me over to oversized baggage and then assisted me with the bags onto the conveyor (Qantas normally point into thin air and say "its over there") and then directed me to the premium entrance to skip the long queue at the security screening area so that I could make the flight comfortably. What a breeze, as a Qantas Platinum Frequent Flyer I never realized how easy flying should be, we were inside the terminal within 2 minutes and a leisurely stroll to the gate after this ordeal with Qantas was like being sent to a relaxation resort.
The flight pushed back at 8.34am and we arrived 5 minutes ahead of schedule.
The Virgin crew on board were brilliant, service was flawless and the plane was clean and didn’t smell stuffy or like jet fuel like I am used to!
They say in every negative is a positive, however this experience is different. Out of one negative came 3 positives. Qantas do not have to put up with a nuisance Platinum Frequent Flyer anymore that on one occasion in my life showed up 2 minutes late. Virgin now have a happy loyal customer! (I will just have to work my way up to Platinum from Red which will not take long) and now Virgin have a free marketer! At future presentations I now have a fresh and vibrant “What not to do” opening story. – there may be another, If Qantas keep treating loyal customers this way they will have a much smaller customer base.
To sum it up, if you want First Class service at a realistic price when you are on the base status level, choose Virgin Australia!
