Excuse for Not Attending to Call Button on Int'l Flights

[Simon L.]

Maybe I have spent too time flying with Asian carriers over the last few years, but the crew on a recent Qantas international flight really surprised me (I know this may very well be an "isolated case" that doesn't represent the normal service standard on Qantas, but I still think such thing should have never happened on any Qantas flight if Qantas still wants to be considered as a "somewhat top-notch international carrier").

Anyway, I won't go into great details on the actual flight etc., but on this particular flight I pressed the "service call button" at least four times (waited for way over half-hour until finally attended to), and I politely asked the crew: "Excuse me but do you realise it has been over 30 minutes since I first pressed the call button?"

A cool response from the crew: "Sorry sir, but too many inexperienced passengers on these international flights press the call button for the sake of trying it out." So, this gives cabin crew members a good excuse for not attending to call buttons in a timely manner?

I really think the cabin crew has to be retrained in customer services.

Regards.

[Bernie P]

On my recent flight from Doha (Dubai-Syd leg EK412), when I pressed the call button, the Flight Attendant was with me with a couple of minutes and addressed me by my surname! Now THATS service!!!

[Rhys Xanthis]

On my recent flight from Doha (Dubai-Syd leg EK412), when I pressed the call button, the Flight Attendant was with me with a couple of minutes and addressed me by my surname! Now THATS service!!!

I assume you flew in Business class?

[Owen H]

While it is true that a lot of the call button presses are "false alarms" so to speak (kids love pressing them, and people tend to lean on them when they are asleep) that is of course no excuse for it to take that long to attend to you.

If you had an issue with the excuse given, you are always within your rights to ask to speak to the cabin manager, and raise your issue of service, and the response with them, or write to the customer service department and express your concern.

There isn't much Qantas can do unless you let them know about the problem.

[Simon L.]

While it is true that a lot of the call button presses are "false alarms" so to speak (kids love pressing them, and people tend to lean on them when they are asleep) that is of course no excuse for it to take that long to attend to you.

If you had an issue with the excuse given, you are always within your rights to ask to speak to the cabin manager, and raise your issue of service, and the response with them, or write to the customer service department and express your concern.

There isn't much Qantas can do unless you let them know about the problem.

Thanks Owen, I did eventually speak to the cabin service manager and she did make an apology with a small bottle of red "for the poor service I experienced" (as in her own words).

Being someone who works in the same industry, I hate to be complaining about any individual staff, given the CSM's sincere apology and this mindset, I finally decided not to write to Qantas customer services.

However I do think some cabin crew members need to realise that they are actually being paid to provide attentive services to passengers (of course plus other duties as well).

Cheers.

[Owen H]

I'm glad you raised the issue with the crew, and the CSM did what she could to rectify the situation. I'm sure the CSM would have raised the issue with the crewmembers involved, to hopefully prevent it happening again.

That said, I'm not sure what more anyone can do... the manager acknowledged the shortfall and has done what she can to solve it.

Saying that the crew didn't do their job isn't going to achieve much on here... but if you try PpRune Cabin Crew forums I'm sure you'll get a few people going :D

[David Ramsay]

On my recent flight from Doha (Dubai-Syd leg EK412), when I pressed the call button, the Flight Attendant was with me with a couple of minutes and addressed me by my surname! Now THATS service!!!


Now THATS Emirates!!

I flew Emirates for the first time AKL-MEL-AKL a couple of weeks back. I was in an exit row with an FA sitting in the jump seat opposite me on take off and landing. We were chatting on landing and she commented that I hadn't asked her for anything during the flight. "We are here to serve you, sir. You just have to ask ... and the alcohol is free." :)

... and no, Rhys, I wasn't in business class.

[Hugh Jarse]

That reminds me of a yarn told to me by a QF capt friend of mine:

"How do you stop a QF hostie from having an o&^asm?"

"Press the call button, she'll never come" :o

Sorry if it's a little crass, but that was over 10 years ago. At least QF longhaul service is consistent :rolleyes:

[Geoff W]

This is a topic close to my heart.

We have just completed a RTW trip, the bulk of which was in J class.
Carriers in J were Qantas, British Airways, American, Cathay, DragonAir, Japan Airlines and finally Jalways into Brisbane from Tokyo.

I probably should say this was self funded, so I think I can speak from the wallet side.

My previous experiences with QF international have not been so good, this time they were brilliant.

I have to concede, the flight with BA from London to Dubai was pathetic. We had had great service on two other flights with BA.

On the Dubai flight the male cabin attendant did NOTHING but yawn through the whole pre flight safety demonstration video. He was standing at the separation point of Y to J.

It wasn’t a good look.

Airlines have such a hard time trying to attract passenger’s attention during the safety demonstration, without their own staff YAWNING through it all.

I have almost covered another thread here, but I think it’s rude not to pay attention when someone is doing a demonstration, that hopefully I won’t EVER need.

I have heard it many times before also; still believe you need to pay attention for a couple of minutes.

Have also been in a situation that David refers, to where I have been addressed personally in Y.

My experience EK is great on the same route.

I think it comes back to passenger attitude as well, (in NO way am I having a go at you Simon)

We saw MANY grumpy J class passengers on our trip.
“The lounge wasn’t good enough, no specific J boarding area” , hey there were 6 of us! Give me a break.

Some people just can’t enjoy anymore.

Poor service isn’t on either.

Regards,

Geoff

[Greg McDonald]

I'm not a Qantas basher but I have found over the years that their service on international legs especially has got consistently worse. If you're asking for drinks service, the first one normally arrives fairly promptly but it's all downhill from there. I've also had the same experience and actually had to go find a cabin crew member after a considerable time and ask them personally. When I complained about the service I was told that they were so busy they simply couldn't come. This is after I sat for at least 15 minutes watching 3 cabin crew having a great old chat and laugh!!
This has happened on a lot more than one occasion also. Makes you wonder if there's not an unwritten rule out there that although drinks are 'free' good luck actually getting one!!
And before anyone implies it, I've never had more than 3 drinks on any flight so this is not a matter of limiting drinks because of quantity.

[James P]

Last October we took a trip to Honkers in Y class. In Adelaide and at the Melbourne stopover on the way there, we could buy water to drink on the plane before departure, after clearing customs. Following this practice for the homeward leg, we purchased drinking water in the departure lounge. It was confiscated by Australian customs at their check point on the aerobridge, by the door of the aircraft. Trying to get a soft drink or water from flight attendants on the 9 hour flight home was nigh-on impossible. I eventually went to the galley and asked for water and was given about 100mls in a disposable cup. I stood there, drank it, and asked for a re-fill. You would have thought I was asking for liquid gold. Arrived home feeling very dehyrated. I understand the Australian government's liquids rule, but I wish we had been told the implementation was different when leaving a foreign port to come to Australia. I also think if you can't bring water on with you, the airline has an obligation to keep you hydrated. We only ever saw the flight attendants during a meal service/drinks service. Apart from that they hid in the galley.

[Bernie P]

Now THATS Emirates!!

I flew Emirates for the first time AKL-MEL-AKL a couple of weeks back. I was in an exit row with an FA sitting in the jump seat opposite me on take off and landing. We were chatting on landing and she commented that I hadn't asked her for anything during the flight. "We are here to serve you, sir. You just have to ask ... and the alcohol is free." :)

... and no, Rhys, I wasn't in business class.

And no, I was not in Business either! About 2-3 secs after I pressed it, I saw him duck in under the stairs going up to First. He then came out and straight to me. So I assumed that he quickly checked the onboard seat alarm, checked the log (PC?) and gave me the service he thought I needed!

Nothing but praise for EK. Oh, and I filled out the Customer Satisfaction about my delay leaving Doha and missing my onward flight, I got 20,000 points for my troubles!

[Rhys Xanthis]

Well then thats very impressive!

But I would laugh on a full flight and someone swapped seats...haha:p

In all seriousness, that has impressed me. I must press the call button Qatar Airways and see what response I get!

[Guy W]

Last October we took a trip to Honkers in Y class. In Adelaide and at the Melbourne stopover on the way there, we could buy water to drink on the plane before departure, after clearing customs. Following this practice for the homeward leg, we purchased drinking water in the departure lounge. It was confiscated by Australian customs at their check point on the aerobridge, by the door of the aircraft. Trying to get a soft drink or water from flight attendants on the 9 hour flight home was nigh-on impossible. I eventually went to the galley and asked for water and was given about 100mls in a disposable cup. I stood there, drank it, and asked for a re-fill. You would have thought I was asking for liquid gold. Arrived home feeling very dehyrated. I understand the Australian government's liquids rule, but I wish we had been told the implementation was different when leaving a foreign port to come to Australia. I also think if you can't bring water on with you, the airline has an obligation to keep you hydrated. We only ever saw the flight attendants during a meal service/drinks service. Apart from that they hid in the galley.

Well... at least you got a cup of water. On my recent trip from Honker (again!) to Sydney, during sleeping time I asked a walk-pass FA for a glass of water. He told me to take my empty water bottle to the tap outside the toilets to fill it up myself and disappeared in the galley forever. :eek:

[Andrew P]

my opinion is any one who presses the call button to get a drink etc. is lazy bugger

get off of your **** and walk to the galley, the exercise will do you good

Banjo

[David Knudsen]

my opinion is any one who presses the call button to get a drink etc. is lazy bugger

get off of your **** and walk to the galley, the exercise will do you good

Banjo

I'd be interested to know what the F/A's on the board think about that - I don't think I've ever actually pressed the call button, but on a recent flight to Melbourne I went up to the galley and asked for a coke, and they asked me to sit down and someone would be with me shortly - of course that never happened, but I got the feeling that they didn't like taking requests at the galley.

[Simon L.]

my opinion is any one who presses the call button to get a drink etc. is lazy bugger

get off of your **** and walk to the galley, the exercise will do you good

Banjo

Nope, I am not lazy bugger, but I tend not to bother the passenger(s) next to me (especially when I don't get an aisle seat), this is particularly true when the passenger(s) is/are sleeping.

Cheers.

[Simon L.]

Many thanks to those participated in the discussions.

Just to clarify that I am not bashing or anti-Qantas, but simply to express my personal experience and opinions about one particular aspect/case of Qantas inflight services.

Thanks anyway.

[Jack B]

I think I read on an FA forum that Qantas FA's are only doing the absolute minimum because of their work conditions-sort of a protest?

I might be wrong, but I believe Qantas has pretty bad conditions for Flight Attendants

[Annette Logan]

Never had a problem with any airlines I have flown really but I will have to see what happens on my next international flight in June with Qantas.

I have always had pretty good service but I don't call for service too much really I guess. I do know one time I think Jon got up with Chloe and got her a water from the galley and they didn't mind either way.

I did find on our last Qantas flight that they were offering water or orange juice throughout the night anyway without having to ask for it. FA's were just going up and down the isle with a tray full of water and juice seeing if anyone wanted one every so often and this was on a flight from LA to Brisbane.

Annette

[D Chan]

Being someone who works in the same industry, I hate to be complaining about any individual staff, given the CSM's sincere apology and this mindset, I finally decided not to write to Qantas customer services.

Simon,

I have witnessed on many occasions that people press the wrong button and made the flight attendant come only to be turned back. However I agree 100% with you that the excuse you received is a poor one and frankly highlights the poor attitude of some of the crew. I think you still should complain because frankly they won't learn or 'get it' until they are told how bad this is. I hope you have recorded the name. The CSMs are usually quite experienced and may or may not have the opportunity given the flight attendant. I would write to complain about the F/A and commend the CSM. The CSM deserves it, so does the F/A.

Think of it this way - you will be doing the airline, and other passengers a big favour!

Having said that when crew fly to mainland chinese destinations and india for example, the situation gets quite bad.

my opinion is any one who presses the call button to get a drink etc. is lazy bugger

get off of your **** and walk to the galley, the exercise will do you good

Banjo

exercise will do you good with DVT, but it's socialising with the F/A that will do you better

[Jack B]

whats so bad about india/china flights?? i've heard that QF crew hate those flights but i have no idea why? I hear they hate JNB too?

[D Chan]

whats so bad about india/china flights?? i've heard that QF crew hate those flights but i have no idea why? I hear they hate JNB too?

It's not only QF crew that hates them but I know CX crew dreads them as well. They are picky (biggest complainers / whingers), they think they are the only people onboard (despite being in Y), will use the call button for the smallest issues, they think cabin crew are slaves, they don't listen to cabin crew instructions e.g. seatbelt sign and they would still get out of their seats, smoking in lavs, sitting on floors, yelling at cabin crew, just to name a few. In short they do things that normal people won't ever do.

I was told a story about a mainland chinese pax when they asked a CX crew whether they could keep the Y meal tray and all the cutleries etc. I don't think anyone on this board would do such a thing (unless they collect these items as collectibles - which these pax were not).:rolleyes:

It's sad to associate specific nationalities with on-board behaviours, but any well-seasoned crew will tell you the same thing and that these are typically the worst pax to have onboard.

[Steve Crook]

I was flying from MEL-SYD on a Qantas 767 in January. Whoever designed the seats used on those planes must surely be high on flight attendants' hate lists!! The control panel (including the call button) is on the upper surface of the arm rest and, hence, are very prone to being accidentally activated by a passenger - ususally without them even being aware of it. On that short flight I noticed this happened in seats ahead of mine on at least 3 occasions. Each time a flight attendant arrived at the seat promptly and was very reassuring to the passenger involved that it was not a bother to them (and this is on a short flight that involved a full meal service etc). It must drive them NUTS when they know that this is going to be a common occurrence every time they work one of those aircraft. Top points to the crew on my flight.

[Rhys Xanthis]

Even on the domestic (unsure about intl) A332's its very easy to press those buttons.

On a flight last weekend from Mel-Per, Dad was in the seat next to me and continuously pressed the control panel for my seat by accident.

Quite irritating!

[Philip Argy]

On a flight last weekend from Mel-Per, Dad was in the seat next to me and continuously pressed the control panel for my seat by accident.

Quite irritating!

Better make sure he never goes up front as co-pilot! :)

[Simon L.]

Thanks for all your comments.

I know most QF staff are hard-working and I also have friends working as QF cabin crew members so I know how they feel, especially when they're working on some long-haul international flights, that's why I try to be respectful to anyone, but particularly those working in aviation sector as much as possible.

However, perhaps due to some previous tasks that I did with an airline and airport operator, whenever frontline staff, especially those deal with passengers and prospective customers directly, don't deliver the appropriate services and show their professionalism, I do get frustrated so maybe I should lower my expectation from now on.

Anyway, thanks for everyone's contribution and enjoy your Easter break!