When they are good they are very very good and when they are bad...

[Christoo]

Hi Guys,

Had any horror luck lately with Qantas? I did recently and as a WP I would say they only did the very bare minimum of what I would expect.
This was my recent trip:

Qantas on the scheduled 9am MEL to SYD to connect to a 1pm FJ flight toNandi. (2.5hr connection in Sydney is more than enough)
Delayed boarding by 15 minutes then another 15... And another (Don't you love rolling delays?)
I went to see them in the J lounge and at the terminal service desk to tell them I was worried about the connection, they completely fobbed me off wouldn't look at an earlier flight until it was too late.
It got to the point where I knew I wouldn't make the connection and didn't want to take the flight.
I ask them if they can re-book me toNandi direct from Melbourne, "sorry, no" was the response because mybags are on the plane and connections are handles in Sydney and nothing happensuntil my original flight takes off or is cancelled.
So I flew to Sydney landing after the departure time knowing the whole way I would miss my flight.
Went to the transfer in SYD desk and they told me I would have to take the same flight the next day, I told them I had a meeting and wanted the flight from MEL that evening.
They said there was no availability, I had to get my phone out and do a dummy booking on the QF page to show them there were plenty of seats.
At that stage someone very friendly and courteous arrived at the desk from Qantas who had been asked by the WP desk to find me and put me on the flight I originally requested.
Things got better there, they flew me back to Melbourne in J and booked me a day room before my late flight.

Not QF's fault from here, but the new FJ flight out of MEL got delayed 2.5 hrs and I missed my connection to Suva.... So all in all it took me 27 hours to get from MEL to SUV, I could have flown to Europe in that time!

I know there is only so much that can be done, but that service is very reactive and as a frequent flyer I really value some proactive actions to get me on my flight and to my meeting.
Anyone had anything similar?

 

[njba]

It's a sad fact that in getting help from QF too much depends on getting lucky and finding someone helpful and motivated rather than a dour 'computer says No' type. I argue that the service you received from that one QF staff should be the benchmark all customers receive (and certainly the bare minimum for top tier members). I don't understand what in QF's management culture enables and permits such negative, unhelpful staff.

 

[BD1959]

At that stage someone very friendly and courteous arrived at the desk from Qantas who had been asked by the WP desk to find me and put me on the flight I originally requested.
Things got better there, they flew me back to Melbourne in J and booked me a day room before my late flight.

Hi Christoo,

Sorry to hear of your problems - especially frustrating when you just simply knew ... !!
A quick question: why weren't the WP desk able to sort this over the phone?

I've found them incredibly helpful and would certainly have spoken to them immediately the Lounge Desk was unable to help (your timeline is a little unclear as to when you first spoke with the WP desk).

Regards,

BD

 

[j30max]

They said there was no availability, I had to get my phone out and do a dummy booking on the QF page to show them there were plenty of seats.

Seriously? I thought WP and P1's service is more personalised, like a concierge service?

 

[Mattg]

That's pretty poor. With flights between MEL and SYD running every 30 minutes or so during the day, I find it hard to believe that they couldn't have found you another flight to make your original connection in SYD.

 

[Christoo]

Hi Christoo,

Sorry to hear of your problems - especially frustrating when you just simply knew ... !!
A quick question: why weren't the WP desk able to sort this over the phone?

I've found them incredibly helpful and would certainly have spoken to them immediately the Lounge Desk was unable to help (your timeline is a little unclear as to when you first spoke with the WP desk).

Regards,

BD

Perhaps that's my bad, I expected an equal or better service from the desk in the J Lounge.
The priority desk has been very hit and miss for me over the past year.
I also don't think I should have to chase them, what's the point of the desk if it is purely reactive.

 

[Anna]

Anyone had anything similar?

Yes, I have had 2 relatively recent experiences of QF connecting flights with rolling delays affecting the first sector, but J/QF lounge and terminal staff doing nothing proactive to help me and in fact when requested, actively refusing to put me on any earlier, undelayed flight so that I could make the connection. One was in HBA trying to get to ADL via MEL, and one was in CBR trying to get to ADL via SYD.

As a result of my wasted day in the HBA QF lounge I am never going to HBA again unless absolutely necessary! It's just too hard to get home if something goes wrong.

As a WP I don't think QF promises me to be proactive, but their lack of effort when requested to assist was disappointing and frustrating. Watching other flights depart to your destination when your flight is delayed is incredibly annoying.

 

[BD1959]

Perhaps that's my bad, I expected an equal or better service from the desk in the J Lounge.

Regardless, as soon as it was obvious the Lounge couldn't help me, I would have been straight onto the phone - no way would I have even tried the Terminal Service Desk.

The priority desk has been very hit and miss for me over the past year.
I also don't think I should have to chase them, what's the point of the desk if it is purely reactive.

In this instance - with the a sector being a code-share - I think I would have cut the desk a little slack. I *imagine* that if all sectors were on QF metal, QF's systems would be far better at automatically tracking potential issues and that (possibly!) the fact you were flying on FJ ex SYD *could* have masked the problem.

Again, I would have been onto the WP desk in a flash at the first sign of trouble.

Regards,

BD

 

[Anna]

I would have been onto the WP desk in a flash at the first sign of trouble.

Don't they just tell you they can't do anything because the flights are under airport control now and you've already checked in (or similar excuse)? If not I'm definitely trying this next time.

 

[BD1959]

Don't they just tell you they can't do anything because the flights are under airport control now and you've already checked in (or similar excuse)? If not I'm definitely trying this next time.

Never had an issue previously - sometimes proactively calling them when one of my apps has flagged my flight being cancelled. Can't recall precisely whether they've personally resolved or transferred me through to another area.

Regards,

BD

 

[Christoo]

Regardless, as soon as it was obvious the Lounge couldn't help me, I would have been straight onto the phone - no way would I have even tried the Terminal Service Desk.



In this instance - with the a sector being a code-share - I think I would have cut the desk a little slack. I *imagine* that if all sectors were on QF metal, QF's systems would be far better at automatically tracking potential issues and that (possibly!) the fact you were flying on FJ ex SYD *could* have masked the problem.

Again, I would have been onto the WP desk in a flash at the first sign of trouble.

Regards,

BD

Don't they just tell you they can't do anything because the flights are under airport control now and you've already checked in (or similar excuse)? If not I'm definitely trying this next time.

It was my understanding that once you're checked in that you are at the mercy of the airport.
I will try phoning next time.

Anna, I was annoyed by the refusal to help more than anything else.

 

[BD1959]

It was my understanding that once you're checked in that you are at the mercy of the airport.
I will try phoning next time.

Anna, I was annoyed by the refusal to help more than anything else.

Check-in opens 24hrs prior. Airport control happens ... -4hrs??

However, even with a flexible ticket you could swap flights once you arrived at the airport (the check-in booths even offer this if eligible). Airport control restricts you from manually swapping seats etc however I don't think there's anything from certain departments from pulling you from one flight and assigning to another in exceptional circumstances; whether Plat Line can do this themselves or whether they have to contact some IIROPs section, I'm not sure.

The caveat to all this: this is based on my observations and NOT on any specific knowledge of Qantas internal processes!

Regards,

BD