My first post after reading the forum for many years. This is part a rant but also to ask whether other people have had the same experience.
So, I'd booked a flight to Spain (mel-per-lhr) a few months ago during the double SC offer (booked Business saver). Got an email a few weeks ago saying that the flight time for my return leg had changed. This meant that I'd only have 1hr to transit in LHR (when originally it was a bit over 2 which is still tight).
So I thought I'd try the online chat thing from the Qantas website.
Got connected after a few goes.
Told my story to "Marvin", who after a while advised me if I wanted to move my flight out London as there was no earlier flight out of Spain that day. I checked the BA website and told him that in fact there was a flight out (3 hours earlier) at 7am. Hold on I was told ... sorry came the reply, but there are no seats left in your fare class. I was told there were some seats in full business but then I'd have to upgrade the fare class of my return leg as well ... How much is that going to cost me? was my reply ... a while later ... oh, actually we can't do that as there is no availability to do that for the return leg.
So I then asked if I just booked an economy fare from Spain to London on that earlier flight could I still get on the second leg. ... yes, that was possible.
This whole thing took around 30 min. And left me very frustrated obviously!
A day later I decided to call Qantas.
Told them my story of the flight change. The nice lady on the line told me that there was an earlier flight that day and I could take that. Thanks, that'd be great. All sorted in 2 min.
Was "Marvin" just a one off idiot, or has anyone else had similar issues with the online chat service?
I've found that if you've lucked out and called their Australian call center, they are more helpful than the only chat which is probably some person in Manila with minimal training.
I too have found the SMS service very pleasant. This service has saved me a lot of time in lieu of waiting on hold for a voice agent. Also given the "offline" type of communication it is easier to perform a SMS interaction when you have a busy schedule as you can respond to messages when you are available (in between meetings etc).
Online chat I have always struggled with, a quick call to Qantas and a short hold of around 10 minutes is worth it every time in my opinion
I agree that it’s always best to talk to someone in the call centre but I’ve recently never had the luck to have a “short hold of 10 minutes”!
I have been trying to sort out an issue with reclaiming missing points for 6 weeks now which was not possible to do online. I must have phoned the qantas call centre number about 10 times during this time and every time, without fail, have been told that they are dealing with a “very high call volume”. I’ve tried at various different times of day and always get the same thing. Finally tried their sms call back service and was told that someone would call back in approximately one hour. That then happened three hours later.
I should say I’m merely a bronze frequent flyer but it still amazes me how difficult and time consuming it is to talk to someone at Qantas.
Online chat I have always struggled with, a quick call to Qantas and a short hold of around 10 minutes is worth it every time in my opinion
I agree that it’s always best to talk to someone in the call centre but I’ve recently never had the luck to have a “short hold of 10 minutes”!
I have been trying to sort out an issue with reclaiming missing points for 6 weeks now which was not possible to do online. I must have phoned the qantas call centre number about 10 times during this time and every time, without fail, have been told that they are dealing with a “very high call volume”. I’ve tried at various different times of day and always get the same thing. Finally tried their sms call back service and was told that someone would call back in approximately one hour. That then happened three hours later.
I should say I’m merely a bronze frequent flyer but it still amazes me how difficult and time consuming it is to talk to someone at Qantas.
I agree, the only time there was minimal wait was 7am in the morning. Even calling at 10 at night was a pain.
I used the Qantas chat this morning to upgrade as the booking had the 'Change' button greyed out. I have to say, a great experience. The whole process was 10 minutes. I confirmed the price and credit card details (a separate side window appeared on the chat box). 15 minutes late, flight ticketed. I made the point of asking where 'John' was and he said Hobart. It worked too well to be a chatbot. I could not complain about the chat feature.
The "High Call Volume" message seems to be a permanent feature now on many corporate support lines, not just Qantas, regardless of the real waiting time.
Trying to discourage people from using the high-cost support staff I suppose.
I've had a number of great experiences online needing to change flights on the run, however, IMO if you run into an agent online who takes an unreasonable amount of time responding or can't answer a question reset your session (in a polite way).
While getting ready one morning in HKG enroute to PVG I tested out the chat function. To delay business flight back to MEL by a few days took 1:45 mins.
As mentioned in a number of posts, the Qantas call centre is supported by inexperienced staff which run into business travellers like many here.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on
Qantas online chat vs phone
Ludent
Ludent
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 07 Feb 2019
Total posts 6
Hi All,
djtech
djtech
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 02 Sep 2018
Total posts 375
I've found that if you've lucked out and called their Australian call center, they are more helpful than the only chat which is probably some person in Manila with minimal training.
mrc82
mrc82
Member since 04 May 2014
Total posts 23
I've found recently that the SMS service seems to be better than either phone or online chat.
townaz
townaz
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 31 Jan 2018
Total posts 17
I too have found the SMS service very pleasant. This service has saved me a lot of time in lieu of waiting on hold for a voice agent. Also given the "offline" type of communication it is easier to perform a SMS interaction when you have a busy schedule as you can respond to messages when you are available (in between meetings etc).
patrickk
patrickk
Qantas
Member since 19 Apr 2012
Total posts 737
Also I have been told the online chat is a robot with preprogrammed answers.
JoshHamilt
JoshHamilt
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 07 Jul 2018
Total posts 13
Online chat I have always struggled with, a quick call to Qantas and a short hold of around 10 minutes is worth it every time in my opinion
rwSydney
rwSydney
British Airways - Executive Club
Member since 23 Mar 2018
Total posts 48
I agree that it’s always best to talk to someone in the call centre but I’ve recently never had the luck to have a “short hold of 10 minutes”!
djtech
djtech
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 02 Sep 2018
Total posts 375
I agree, the only time there was minimal wait was 7am in the morning. Even calling at 10 at night was a pain.
dddale
dddale
Member since 06 Dec 2018
Total posts 25
I used the Qantas chat this morning to upgrade as the booking had the 'Change' button greyed out. I have to say, a great experience. The whole process was 10 minutes. I confirmed the price and credit card details (a separate side window appeared on the chat box). 15 minutes late, flight ticketed. I made the point of asking where 'John' was and he said Hobart. It worked too well to be a chatbot. I could not complain about the chat feature.
Ludent
Ludent
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 07 Feb 2019
Total posts 6
I must have just had bad luck with "Marvin" - seemed to stupid to be a bot.
highflyer
highflyer
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 10 Apr 2012
Total posts 186
I seem to get a good response too whenever i use Twitter to private chat QF
avw611
avw611
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 29 Jan 2019
Total posts 14
The "High Call Volume" message seems to be a permanent feature now on many corporate support lines, not just Qantas, regardless of the real waiting time.
Steve.Au
Steve.Au
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 18 Aug 2018
Total posts 2
I've had a number of great experiences online needing to change flights on the run, however, IMO if you run into an agent online who takes an unreasonable amount of time responding or can't answer a question reset your session (in a polite way).