First time poster - and you complain.

The place doesn't look like a dump to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D99z2F8ePc

Given the fact that the lounge looks great and the fact that Qatar was ranked the best airling in the world, 2012, by Skytrax... I'd say you're full of it.

http://www.worldairlineawards.com/

Well, it appears that you had a seat, if the lounge was a dump you were not obliged to stay there, and, most important, the plane landed safely.

What was the problem, champagne 2 degrees too warm, staff not obsequious, you didn't get your way??

Mark

Right, if you didn't have to stand and your plane didn't crash then you don't have any reason to complain.

Online checkin didn't work. Indifferent customer service - in what way?

What other various issues?

Tell us exactly what the problems were. And what do you want customer service to do at this point?

Why is it that everybody automatically jumps down the throat of a poster who has a complaint about an airline?

Haven't we all had complaints of one kind or another at some point in time when we travel?

I'm really disappointed that the normally nice and helpful people on Fodor's turn so mean when someone has a complaint. You all act like the poster did something wrong and the airline owes them nothing.

The OP asked if anyone has had similar problems with Qatar Airlines and how it was handled.

You don't have to respond if you have nothing HELPFUL to add.

ccfccf, I suggest you try the Qatar Airways forum at flyertalk.com. You might find some input about QR CR there.

bettyk - I sure do agree with you; I guess the expectation is to be content with zero CUSTOMER SERVICE. It's a shame most flyers expect nothing more than a safe landing; we sure have set our sights low over the years.

bettyk & catcrazyaf: What exactly did the OP say . . . nothing really.

Not a single concrete example of anything. Only that 'Customer Service' was terrible. okaaaaay . . . what was so bad? (I know from personal experience ehe lounge isn't a 'dump')

So if they have a honest beef, WHAT is it?

And, if ccfccf had posted something as nebulous as this on Flyertalk, she'dstill be pulling arrows out of her backside . . .

'Rastaguytoday' - if I receive bad customer service then I have every right to complain. Unfortunately, in this day and age really good customer service is hard to find and the way complaints are dealt with is appalling. What airlines market is often completely different to the reality. As for the youtube clip attached, this was certainly not the Qatar Business Class lounge that we were sent to at Terminal 3!

'cdnyl' - My business class airfare pays for the Business Class Lounge and as such Qatar Airways should meet the high standards it professes to have. If Qatar Airways professes to be a world class airline then it needs to meet the standards of a world class airline in all respects.

'mrwunrfl' - If you were a seasoned traveller then you wouldn't be making the comments that you are currently making. You obviously don't have any expectations. By the way, when I enter my booking reference or ticket number in the on-line check-in system, I expect it to work. It never did for any of my bookings so I have every right to complain about this. By the way, when I called Qatar in Germany and also spoke to the Qatar Airport staff at Changi and Charles De Gaulle they all said the same thing to me - the on-line check-in system never opens on time and customers are always complaining about problems checking in. When I advise the stewards on board my flight that I have a lethal allergy to prawns, lobsters, crab, etc. and the first thing they give me is a crab croquette then I have reason to complain. When I am sent to a business class lounge that is appalling then I have every reason to complain. When I try to contact Qatar's Singapore office time and time again and they never answer the phone, then I have every reason to complain.

'Kathie' - Thank you for rising above the plebs and seeing reason. I am new to Forums so it is quite a shock to read how rude and obnoxious people are being. I can only assume that people act this way because they are ignorant and they think they can say whatever they like because they are anonymous. Everything that goes around, comes around so let's hope.

'catcrazyaf' - I agree with you wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, this lack of expectations has permeated every level of our society.

ccfccf, we have seen many first-time, one-time, posts by people who come here to blast an airline, travel agent, or tour guide with vague oomplaints and then they go away. You have returned, so welcome to fodors.

Obviously you didn't get it that my "no reason to complain" comment was sarcasm directed at the other replies. No airline is going to live up to (or down to) its reputation every time.

I asked about your issues because I will be flying QR in a few months and I want to know what issues I might have, and so I asked what yours were, so thanks for explaining. I will lower my expectations for the online check-in and I won't expect an immediate pick-up if I have to call QR in Delhi or Dubai. My expectations for the business class lounge in Delhi are not high, so I don't have to lower them.

I do believe in complaining. They forgot your instruction about the shellfish. You complained and I assume they replaced the meal with something that wouldn't kill you and likely they apologized for the error. That could be the end of it, but I can see that the benefit of complaining about it further might be that they give you advice on how to better avoid that from happening in the future. For example, they might advise you that you should select your meal preference in advance of travel, or that you should contact their medical officer in advance of travel to advise them of your medical condition.

ccfccf - complain to the airline.

As janisj says, your complaint said nothing. Just a complaint. Do you have the correct phone number? You can also comlain on their website. However, you need to be more specific than <<and various other issues in relation to their terrible and indifferent customer service approach>>

I viewed the video of the lounge at Changi - and it looked pretty nice to me. Actually, in all the times I've been to Changi, I've never seen a dump anywhere. Knowing Singapore, it's probably against the law.

@the OP - you come here and insult longtime, very experienced traveler posters, when you seem to WANT help but gave no details. If this is how you conduct your business no wonder Qatar won't answer your phone call. ANYONE who's every complained about customer service knows that the best way to get a response is t list your issues and then articulately say what you want the company to do about it.
If you had done ANY online checking on Qatar, you would see on the first google page that MANY people complain about the online checkin process. Not to excuse it but it seems they don;t care how it works.
The food on the plane is another issue. If you'd articulated that complaint initially I might have has some sympathy as i too have a sever allergy and the airlines I fly have been VERY helpful when I fly in C class.
But instead you chose to come on with a very general rant which is why no one wanted to assist you. If you'd spent your posting time saying what the problems were you likely would have had a much better response.
And the main point remains - what do you want the airline to do now? It's not like you were stranded, or didn't get where you were going - what do you expect from them now? I doubt they will refund your airfare

mztery - OMG! I thought you've quibbled with every post I've ever made on any forum.

As far as the other respondents go, they ARE respectable.

@rastaguy - I find that your posts have been much more informative
and helpful of late so no need to quibble. And whether I like you or not you are certainly an experienced poster.

mztery - thanks.

Maybe because we're west coast folks.

I have flown with Qatar business and first and found their customer service to be absolutely fabulous. Their lounges in Doha are fabulous. Not been to the Singapore one. Was the Singapore lounge an actual Qatar one or was it a generic one that Qatar shared. I just googled it and think that Qatar uses a generic lounge at Singapore.

Maybe it was just one of those "bad days" for the company. Maybe you can give them another shot on one of your future travels in order for them to turn the tables for you. But if the experience was really not that promising, maybe you can look forward on doing business with other airlines.

The lady has legitimate reason to complain, she clearly says customer service was very bad, its pretty ridiculous that some people think that its enough just to land safe, and thats all we should expect from an airline, we do pay for our tickets and its not cheap, so to expect for some customer service when it is needed is not asking for so much, so instead of insulting her,you can offer some advice, or not say anything at all, remember you do not need to comment on everything, and this is not a forum, to let all anger issues out,, thats another forum

Qatar service sucks, "Zero Star Service"
I submitted refund request online 10 days ago, no reply yet. Contacted Melbourne office, they said I have to contact Qatar main office directly, gave me some email address. No any replies to multiple emails! I start to worry as the flight date is approaching, don't want to pay 'no show'!
Ok, called Melbourne office again, they gave me the phone number for Qatar main office 974 44203015 (in Qatar obviously!).
Ok, called this number, cost me $120 just for the call because of half hour hold! :mad: Will see what happens now :confused:
Every time I call Melbourne office, I have to wait for half hour on hold, listening to "world number one airline" and "five star airline" B.S. which just makes me sick now about Qatar, doubt will ever fly Qatar again.

My wife flies Qatar too and always has problems.
Last flight (14 Dec 2012) she arrived to the transfer desk in Doha on time, but her luggage was already unloaded, just in case she might be late!
The transfer was between two Qatar flights, the first flight arrived on time!
What the hell? What kind of service is it?

I wonder how much time Qatar Airways spend on this site instead of handling customer complaints. When I tried to call them to complain they put the phone down on me. When I sent two emails to complain they dont respond. When I flew with them they kept me waiting on a plane for 5 hours with no water, food or air conditioning. When they lost my luggage and I complained - no reply. I have no idea why they have won an award - I fly with Easyjet every two weeks and never have any issues. In fact they are brilliant. A budget airline compared to Qatar Airways and looking brilliant - hmmm I wonder who is buying the awards for Qatar Airways.

Belated observation, but what is it with ‘multi’ posters like ‘Rastaguytoday’ that often leads them to ridicule the contributions and views of less experienced members such as ‘ccfccf’? Slow personal learning curve perhaps? If I stick my finger down the waste disposal unit (once) I immediately consider myself sufficiently experienced to warn others not to duplicate the experience. How many fingers do you still have ‘Rastaguytoday’? And good on you ‘bettyk’ (August 13, 2012) for sticking up for ‘ccfccf’ … what point input from people like ‘RoosterGuy’? To paraphrase his own comments, I’d guess he’s ‘full of it’ (plus some).

My wife and I travel reasonably regularly and I rarely find myself moved to waste time penning ‘put-downs’. A warning of a personal poor travel experience, maybe. Take it or leave it. Read them all. Form an opinion of your own.

I can’t help wondering where these ‘multi-posters’ get the time to post AND travel. I see ten, twenty, thirty thousand plus posters on some sites. Real, vastly experienced travellers? Or maybe just lonely ‘would love to travel’ some day fantasizers sitting endlessly in a dim room with their only friend the keyboard, forever roaming the travel forums in the hope their ‘vast (imagined?) experience’ will amaze someone out there in the real world. I generally don’t give their ‘listen to my vastly experienced head’ opinions much more than a cursory glance.

Yes, this is my first Foder’s post and yes, I did join just to comment. And, based on a single, four x 6 hour legs experience, I wouldn’t let my dog (and I don’t even have one) travel on Qatar Airways.

Here are a few examples of the very poor customer service:

I bought a ticket that I needed to move one day further. I have been trying to make this change for 10 days now, please see a list of the problems:

1. "Manage my booking" - does not really allow you to manage your booking. Any half decent airline in the world allows you to make the changes online - NOT QATAR
2. I answered on top of the e-mails sent to me (none of the with "do not rely") and had no message of failure sent back and also no answer
3. There are no easy to find e-mails on the website to get in touch with customer services - I had to get this one from wiki.answers - I finally sent an e-mail complaining, got a "we will get back to you in 48 hours" - That was 5 days ago and still nothing.
4. I finally called up the office in the Philippines and find out that if I make a change I have to go to the airport to make payment.- what is the point of online booking if I have to go all the way to the airport for a US$100 fee.
5. Philippines customer service tells me that maybe Singapore office can take payment on the phone. So I call them up - Only to get stuck on waiting lines of over 10 minutes (on a international call) while all agents are "busy".
6. I finally manage to talk to the Singapore office. And they manage to "change my reservation" - but guess what, I still have to go to the airport to make the payment for the change - in a maximum of 3 days. (I work! and I am not even in the country)

After this same complaint to the person in the phone from Singapore, she sends me a form I have to fill in and send back so my payment can be done and I can avoid going to the airport - Of course with this I have to fill in a form, copy my credit card, copy my passport and send it all in.

For real! What is the difficult of setting up your website so you can make changes online.

On the other hand, with Singapore airlines, they allow me to make any changes online or even on their app - Worth the money!