I'm actually determined to be open minded when I get to Australia about this. I know that most crews are well motivated and good people but also, at times morale in a company gets pushed to rock bottom as the work force are squeezed for various reasons. Given that strike action has recently affected QF I guess all is not well there so I don't suppose morale is that good which is why I expect poor service as well as previous experience.
I fly far enough, often enough to know that crews have relatively little control over things that can make a flight pleasant or not like the quality of food, seating allocation and so on but by being friendly (after all, most Aussies are exceptionally friendly!) and cheerful and responding in a pleasant manner they can make a huge difference to perception of the service and their company.
I had never flown QF before the times I referred to so I had no preconceived ideas and I think I was open minded but my experiences were not good and five bad sectors is a lot one after the other. I would add that I found the ground staff helpful and friendly on all occasions. My issue really was with the attitude and manner of the cabin crew, the like of which I had never encountered before anywhere.