Angry Flyers Lounge-Qantas stuffs up an economy Plus upgrade offer

There have been a few calls about this but this is the most succinct account of what seems to have been a Qantas promotion gone wrong:-

G’day,

Being a blunt (as opposed to the pointy) end of the plane traveller, I
was surprised to receive an email from the big Q (an apt acronym)
offering me the chance to upgrade my el cheapo international ticket
using points.

Usually the designated Q class etc tickets are not deemed worth of such
noble aspirations – however many points one may have.

Delighted, I decided to attempt to sample the decadence of premium
economy.

For the best part of two days I tried online – every time seeing a
message that said words to the effect that: the system is experiencing
problems – please try again later.

Finally, I resorted to the telephone.

The icily polite operator informed me that:

1 – It was an online offer and that she saw exactly what I did when she
entered my information,

2 – There was nothing she could do about it, because it was an online
only offer, and, after speaking to her supervisor,

3 – There had been a mistake in making and handling the offer. And that
they had received hundreds of calls about it. And that

4 – There was nothing they could do about it. At all. Because it was an
online only offer. And they were on the telephone. Not online.

Sorry Sir. Please keep trying. Online.

What sort of wonderful communication channel buck-passing paradise do
these people live in?

Do they all work for the same company?

How far do the big Q think they can stretch their customer loyalty
before it snaps?

Yours,

Squeezed. In cattle class.

PS While I was on the telephone to the ice mistress the window of opportunity for the online upgrade opportunity closed.