I have read all of the posts on that blog.
In reality,my 'grain-of-salt-meter' would put it like this:
20% of posts = competitor input
20% of posts = disgruntled QF staff or ex-staff
20% of posts = bagging for the sake of bagging (as a society,we are now whinging more than the POMS)
So that leaves 40% of posts possibly from actual customers. That is still a serious problem if our customers think that way about us. Joyce really has to do something about it.I work every trip with angry crew (cabin and tech) who really no longer give a toss. Yes we are all responsible for our motivation,but really management need to take some responsibility for crew motivation as well.There are simple things which are low-cost that could increase morale:
- Increased flexibility in rosters
- Better, less expensive and more flexible staff travel (it's only an empty seat) And fairness-why do tech crew get first class travel and not cabin crew
- Opportunities for promotion or moving to other departments (currently non-existent in the cabin crew world)
- Development opportunities (yes we all did the exceptional program-WOW that really changed my life
)
- Managers who REALLY understand what our job is about (not someone recently poached from Coles)
- A bit of compassion for personal circumstances
A great lecturer at a university I once went to said "the principle of managing a customer service environment is if your staff are generally happy, then your customers will be too".
I
fear my manager,if she wants to speak to me then I know I am in trouble-I avoid her like the plague. And the CSSs and CSMs are so focussed on how you wear your badges/hair/makeup,they dont actually see how
well you do your job.They have to fill in a thousand pieces of paper every flight.It really is a poisonous environment to work in.And led by managers that have never even been in the role
By the time I have done a 14hr sector to JNB,been blasted about what and what is not procedure, written up at for not having a oneworld badge or using a waiters cloth I dont really have enough energy for the customers.Sometimes great service makes up for the fact I forgot to put a oneworld badge on,but not at Qantas-they will turn someone happy to deliver great service into 'I dont give a toss' over a f*ckin badge !!!!!
. It really is a micro-focussed cabin crew department, they never see the big picture -do the customers care if you forgot a badge?
I'm not saying management can make every individual happy every day,but it seems no-one is happy anymore,and the customers,therefore the sahreholders,arent either.
There needs to be a massive,total change in the way managers do things.Cos everyone (customers,crew,groundstaff) are miserable at the moment
