Less than a week after it was caught demanding a higher airfare from a nurse that broke her journey on a Jetstar flight to look after a dying passenger, the airline is making page one headlines in New Zealand for disgraceful conduct following the Christchurch earthquake.
These two reports are the more puzzling because at the highest executive level Jetstar’s responses to natural disasters like the Queensland floods and cyclone Yasi have been prompt, humane, considerate and manifestly genuine.
What is the cause of this disconnection between front line staff and management in situations like this?
One argument could be that going back to its first days in 2004, Jetstar’s operations were predicated on not touching the Qantas ethos of full service air travel, and the maximisation of additional charges and inflexible booking and check-in processes was hard wired into the Jetstar customer relations culture.
If so it is high time for re-education of the front line. Management has set a high standard of compassion and co-operation in these matters, but the message isn’t getting through.
8 Comments
I am disgusted that anyone, especially as service provider, can be so heartless. Than again, is Jetstar a service provider? I think it’s high time Qantas folded Jetstar and placed all of its operations under the Qantas banner in the hope that Qantas’ long standing record of service, compassion and integrity will show the way after a somewhat bruised and battered few years.
It’s because the ‘Front Line Staff’ are all subcontractors, and they do not have the ability to deviate from the policy until they’re rewritten.
Ken Borough: “”Qantas banner in the hope that Qantas’ long standing record of service, compassion and integrity will show the way…”"
Hell, is there more than one QANTAS airline?
My comment looks ambiguous. What I meant was, I wouldn’t fly QANTAS in a fit.
Venise, Lets say you did and you did, at least there would be a heart start defibrillator on board!
And staff who are trained in how to utilise it !!
Ghastly airline, but our choices are so limited her in Australia. Virgin Blue, who seem to have the most imcompetent IT system ever, Tiger Airlines, who apparently take bookings on flights that may never fly or Jetstar!!! Some choice, unless you want to pay some absurd fare with Qantas!
Its just a pity we don’t have a terrific fast train running up and down the eastern seaboard – that would give these greedy airlines a run for their money.
“Management has set a high standard of compassion and co-operation in these matters, but the message isn’t getting through.”
Spot on…although Ronin8317′s comment explains why. Outsourced, rigid rule-bound contractors are caught between a rock in these situations. I didn’t think the NZ family’s treatment trying to get a refund was as big a deal as all that (tried getting a refund out of any other company lately?), but making the nurse pay for a ticket in Darwin after she’d helped the airline with a sick patient was outrageous. While Jetstar have to utterly keep their costs under control, some of the passenger policies could be loosened a little without them breaking the bank. It starts with management respecting their staff by giving them some common sense latitude, something that was utterly impossible under their last boss.