The flying kangaroo is losing its bounce
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The flying kangaroo is losing its bounce
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]
===========================================
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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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
They're about getting fat slags outa the burning wreckage before they catch fire and running like hell behind the brave pilots who are being left behind by the younger and fitter hostesses...
This guy chould be b!tch-slapped at the check-in desk for begging an exit row if he isn't fully fit. What a dead-sh!t.
We could choose to believe that your post was intended to be massively ironic or typical Aussie laconic tongue in cheek humorous, a sentiment that is difficult to convey in text without the appropriate grammar, syntax and smiley,
the alternative interpretation would suggest you should consider another career assisting the unfortunate Ms. Quigley 
The reaction it provoked suggests that the construction of your post makes it difficult to discern either way. 
W
Last edited by Woomera; 20th Jan 2005 at 01:45.
One ball - I know where you are coming from but boy you could have put that more diplomatically. Maybe the guy just needs to stretch his legs to relieve the ache that builds up after a couple of hours.
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Spot on, Anita Quigley!
I too have endured the same type of endless quizzing - however I refused to provide the person with one name only, some of the information, as it may be used to access my banking system.
Yes, banks will generally ask the same, or similar questions for identification purposes.
Likewise, QANTAS wanted to charge me the $25 for the re-issue of a Frequent Flyer card which originally cost zero. My loyalty to QANTAS earns them well over that amount each time I choose to fly with them.
Eimar Moron.
I too have endured the same type of endless quizzing - however I refused to provide the person with one name only, some of the information, as it may be used to access my banking system.
Yes, banks will generally ask the same, or similar questions for identification purposes.
Likewise, QANTAS wanted to charge me the $25 for the re-issue of a Frequent Flyer card which originally cost zero. My loyalty to QANTAS earns them well over that amount each time I choose to fly with them.
Eimar Moron.
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have emailed the author regarding the "exit row for people who are crook" suggesting flying full econ and requesting J upgrade is a better idea for this guy than looking for something he should never be granted.
Hey, if you don't tell 'em, they won't learn nothin'!
Hey, if you don't tell 'em, they won't learn nothin'!
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Onya Mark D..... no one else could be bothered.
Make sure ya tell 'em it came from me.
Did you quote the thread details so she can bask in the glory of the status she and the other badly-educated journo morons are held in around here?
Make sure ya tell 'em it came from me.
Did you quote the thread details so she can bask in the glory of the status she and the other badly-educated journo morons are held in around here?
Last edited by one ball; 19th Jan 2005 at 19:27.
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... with the self-importance or sanctimonious attitude of somebody earning $200,000 a year, rather than their real salary of $40,000.
BY the way, I'd be very interested in knowing what we all think a JOURNALISTS "real" salary should be!!
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Assuming the story is factual, perhaps prior to emailing the journalist and lambasting her for her lack of knowledge of airline seating you might just ask why a QF staffer, who should be aware of all these factors, couldn't simply apply full econ and a J upgrade at the check in to this passenger with crook knees in the first place. Instead, there's another passenger gone - and his friends and relatives as well.
Qantas is developing an image problem lately and like it or not perception is everything. Nothing a good Qantas "b!tch-slap" couldn't fix eh!
"Welcome aboard Qantas. Despite what you think you need, we'll ignore you anyway and tell you what you really need. And you WILL like it because...after all...we're an Australian icon."
Management is targeting the low-end of the market for profits and expansion and meanwhile the staff and associated services don't want anything to do with, or aren't given the resources to deal with anyone further back in the plane than business class. Nice confusing strategy for continued success. Keep up the good work.
Funny how the value of the Frequent Flyer card is inversely proportional to the exchange rate of the points.
Qantas is developing an image problem lately and like it or not perception is everything. Nothing a good Qantas "b!tch-slap" couldn't fix eh!
"Welcome aboard Qantas. Despite what you think you need, we'll ignore you anyway and tell you what you really need. And you WILL like it because...after all...we're an Australian icon."
Management is targeting the low-end of the market for profits and expansion and meanwhile the staff and associated services don't want anything to do with, or aren't given the resources to deal with anyone further back in the plane than business class. Nice confusing strategy for continued success. Keep up the good work.
Funny how the value of the Frequent Flyer card is inversely proportional to the exchange rate of the points.
Last edited by Lodown; 19th Jan 2005 at 22:41.
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Biscuit, what do you mean by undercrewed ?
You can only fit so many crew into an aircraft aisle; from my experience flying QF, its the flow of service that seems to effect the overall product.
On a recent EK flight the flow was seamless and smooth with the same team on the cart each time - it was then that the FA's went to the galley for their break.
Whichever airline is under pressure (VB, J*, QF), employees tend to jump to the defense of their airline, but employees don't have the same eyes to observe the difficulties a company is under - a point made clear by the Ansett crash - and that criticism such as this can and should improve the overall product. Surely this is not dissimilar to a Checker pointing out problems in say an EFATO, you take it on board and try to do better next time round.
You can only fit so many crew into an aircraft aisle; from my experience flying QF, its the flow of service that seems to effect the overall product.
On a recent EK flight the flow was seamless and smooth with the same team on the cart each time - it was then that the FA's went to the galley for their break.
Whichever airline is under pressure (VB, J*, QF), employees tend to jump to the defense of their airline, but employees don't have the same eyes to observe the difficulties a company is under - a point made clear by the Ansett crash - and that criticism such as this can and should improve the overall product. Surely this is not dissimilar to a Checker pointing out problems in say an EFATO, you take it on board and try to do better next time round.
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Biscuit chucker,
You admit yourself then that you are under-crewed and six people serving 300 passengers results in the exact crap service that the journo is complaining about........
It's not the fault of the pax that you guys run every flight on absolute minimum cabin crew, the complaint seems justified to me.
You admit yourself then that you are under-crewed and six people serving 300 passengers results in the exact crap service that the journo is complaining about........
It's not the fault of the pax that you guys run every flight on absolute minimum cabin crew, the complaint seems justified to me.
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rescue 1 - we need 8 crew member to make the service run smoothly. Qantas puts on 6 crew so the whole service becomes disjointed and messy. Customer around R3 get served last and can be waiting up to 1hr to receive something to eat. Problem is they see the people at R2 being served then the crew have to do a 'horseshoe' and go over to L2 doors. They have to wait for crew from doors R5 and R4 to serve the remained of the Right hand side before they get their meal. By which time of course the choices have run out!!
We do have two 'assist' positions who mainly work in J class and then when they are free they come down to work in Y, but if J is full they often don't make it back to economy until the service is almost over.
Its not the crews fault, we are just trying to work with the very limited resources the bean counters have given us.
We do have two 'assist' positions who mainly work in J class and then when they are free they come down to work in Y, but if J is full they often don't make it back to economy until the service is almost over.
Its not the crews fault, we are just trying to work with the very limited resources the bean counters have given us.
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Seriously though she makes a good point about booking fees, the reason Qantas went to online E tickets was because it would save them money. Now they have us all sucked in they want to charge us and then increase the charges.
I SAY HAND BACK ALL YOUR CARDS AND GO BACK TO A CASH SOCIETY AND SCREW THE LOT OF THEM.
First paragraph (now deleted by W) was only a joke please forgive.
If it was only a joke and you seek forgiveness then why leave it there. W
I SAY HAND BACK ALL YOUR CARDS AND GO BACK TO A CASH SOCIETY AND SCREW THE LOT OF THEM.
First paragraph (now deleted by W) was only a joke please forgive.
If it was only a joke and you seek forgiveness then why leave it there. W
Last edited by Woomera; 20th Jan 2005 at 01:48.
Knee reconstruction.
Someone with a KNEE RECONSTRUCTION is not a cripple and does not have a "crook" knee. There is no safety reason for NOT putting them in an exit row. Most football players who have an ACL reconstruction are back playing in months.
The guy wanted to be able to s t r e t c h out. He was 198 cm tall for goodness sake. Sounds like he could probably open the exit door if needed unlike the SIA stick insects who COULD NOT OPEN the exit doors at Taipai. So why are they there? Oh that's right to look good and serve meals.
The guy wanted to be able to s t r e t c h out. He was 198 cm tall for goodness sake. Sounds like he could probably open the exit door if needed unlike the SIA stick insects who COULD NOT OPEN the exit doors at Taipai. So why are they there? Oh that's right to look good and serve meals.
