Wirraway
19th Jan 2005, 14:42
Thurs "Daily Telegraph"
The flying kangaroo is losing its bounce
By ANITA QUIGLEY
January 20, 2005
IF the "spirit of Australia" is all about paying top dollar for poor service then this week's announcement by Qantas that up to 7000 of its jobs are being moved offshore to cut costs and compete with other international airlines may not be such a bad move.
For years I have been threatening never to fly our national airline again. Ordinary cattle-class service at the best of times, overpriced flights, a new 50 per cent hike in telephone booking fees plus little, if any, notice on cancelled flights. As a nervous flier it's only their safety record that keeps luring me back.
But a telephone inquiry to their frequent flyer call centre on Tuesday is the straw that has finally broken the flying kangaroo's back. Why is it that customers have to undergo a security check equivalent to opening an account with the Reserve Bank and yet the person on the other end of the phone is not obliged to even tell you their surname?
You have to provide your account number, PIN, address, home, work and mobile telephone numbers, date of birth, mother's maiden name, blah, blah, blah – the security requests seem endless. Then, when the customer service representative says she cannot solve the problem and you have to ring back later in the day – having already spent the better part of the morning on hold – she won't tell you her last name despite there probably being 10 other "Dorothys" that work there.
Ask to speak with her supervisor (now known as a senior officer) and Dorothy says senior officer Debbie is not there at the moment, but she will e-mail Debbie and tell her to call you because she cannot give you Debbie's surname nor direct number either.
If that wasn't enough to incense me, I was told the reason why I hadn't received frequent flyer points for a couple of flights was because they were probably discounted flights taken during the tsunami disaster. While that turned out not to be case for me and I received my points, I couldn't understand the pettiness of it.
Qantas's net profit for last year was $648 million, yet this week increased its phone booking fee from $10 to $15 and is now worrying about whether a few hundred probably grief-stricken relatives might be trying to claim frequent flyer points on cheap tickets to either Thailand, Indonesia or Sri Lanka to look for missing loved ones.
Chief executive Geoff Dixon justified the announcement of jobs being moved overseas as "we can't sit here and be all-Australian". Well, how about trying not to be so un-Australian.
ON Sunday a friend was just getting into his taxi at Balmain to catch his 11.30am flight to Melbourne when his mobile rang. It was Qantas to say his flight had been cancelled and he was now on the 2.30pm flight – the time he was meant to start work in Melbourne. He was offered a refund but not an earlier flight – "it's the 2.30pm or nothing" was the curt offer. With no other option, all he got was an annoyed boss when he strolled into work almost three hours late.
Another friend had her purse stolen and when she rang Qantas to say she needed a new frequent flyer card, she was told it would cost her $25 to replace it. Her bank and credit cards were replaced free of charge. Where's the incentive to stay loyal?
A 198cm man has, after three knee reconstructions, given up flying with them because he is yet to get an exit seat for the leg room despite the check-in desk being able to verify his height and scarring.
Australians will always have a patriotic bond with Qantas. How can you not when you're over the other side of the world and catch the commercial of the Australian youth choir singing I still call Australia home or board a flight and are greeted with a "g'day" after six months of trekking the wilds of South America? But Qantas has got to stop milking its protected national icon image if it can't deliver it.
Other successful airlines source up to 30 per cent of their products and services offshore, but their staff don't swan around the cabin with the self-importance or sanctimonious attitude of somebody earning $200,000 a year, rather than their real salary of $40,000.
Qantas, send your staff abroad if it means you'll provide us with a service worth singing about. Yes, chief executive Geoff Dixon has an obligation to his Australian shareholders to keep making them money, but he also has an obligation of customer service. Aside from its safety and profit records, Qantas has little, if anything going for it right now.
[email protected]
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The flying kangaroo is losing its bounce
By ANITA QUIGLEY
January 20, 2005
IF the "spirit of Australia" is all about paying top dollar for poor service then this week's announcement by Qantas that up to 7000 of its jobs are being moved offshore to cut costs and compete with other international airlines may not be such a bad move.
For years I have been threatening never to fly our national airline again. Ordinary cattle-class service at the best of times, overpriced flights, a new 50 per cent hike in telephone booking fees plus little, if any, notice on cancelled flights. As a nervous flier it's only their safety record that keeps luring me back.
But a telephone inquiry to their frequent flyer call centre on Tuesday is the straw that has finally broken the flying kangaroo's back. Why is it that customers have to undergo a security check equivalent to opening an account with the Reserve Bank and yet the person on the other end of the phone is not obliged to even tell you their surname?
You have to provide your account number, PIN, address, home, work and mobile telephone numbers, date of birth, mother's maiden name, blah, blah, blah – the security requests seem endless. Then, when the customer service representative says she cannot solve the problem and you have to ring back later in the day – having already spent the better part of the morning on hold – she won't tell you her last name despite there probably being 10 other "Dorothys" that work there.
Ask to speak with her supervisor (now known as a senior officer) and Dorothy says senior officer Debbie is not there at the moment, but she will e-mail Debbie and tell her to call you because she cannot give you Debbie's surname nor direct number either.
If that wasn't enough to incense me, I was told the reason why I hadn't received frequent flyer points for a couple of flights was because they were probably discounted flights taken during the tsunami disaster. While that turned out not to be case for me and I received my points, I couldn't understand the pettiness of it.
Qantas's net profit for last year was $648 million, yet this week increased its phone booking fee from $10 to $15 and is now worrying about whether a few hundred probably grief-stricken relatives might be trying to claim frequent flyer points on cheap tickets to either Thailand, Indonesia or Sri Lanka to look for missing loved ones.
Chief executive Geoff Dixon justified the announcement of jobs being moved overseas as "we can't sit here and be all-Australian". Well, how about trying not to be so un-Australian.
ON Sunday a friend was just getting into his taxi at Balmain to catch his 11.30am flight to Melbourne when his mobile rang. It was Qantas to say his flight had been cancelled and he was now on the 2.30pm flight – the time he was meant to start work in Melbourne. He was offered a refund but not an earlier flight – "it's the 2.30pm or nothing" was the curt offer. With no other option, all he got was an annoyed boss when he strolled into work almost three hours late.
Another friend had her purse stolen and when she rang Qantas to say she needed a new frequent flyer card, she was told it would cost her $25 to replace it. Her bank and credit cards were replaced free of charge. Where's the incentive to stay loyal?
A 198cm man has, after three knee reconstructions, given up flying with them because he is yet to get an exit seat for the leg room despite the check-in desk being able to verify his height and scarring.
Australians will always have a patriotic bond with Qantas. How can you not when you're over the other side of the world and catch the commercial of the Australian youth choir singing I still call Australia home or board a flight and are greeted with a "g'day" after six months of trekking the wilds of South America? But Qantas has got to stop milking its protected national icon image if it can't deliver it.
Other successful airlines source up to 30 per cent of their products and services offshore, but their staff don't swan around the cabin with the self-importance or sanctimonious attitude of somebody earning $200,000 a year, rather than their real salary of $40,000.
Qantas, send your staff abroad if it means you'll provide us with a service worth singing about. Yes, chief executive Geoff Dixon has an obligation to his Australian shareholders to keep making them money, but he also has an obligation of customer service. Aside from its safety and profit records, Qantas has little, if anything going for it right now.
[email protected]
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