Qatar Airways Privilege Club - Are Qatar Airways listening about their poor customer service

I know we all write to customer services about some of our bad experiences, but nothing seems to be sticking between their ears. The amount of bad reviews they are now getting cannot be good for their business, just look at these sites alone. http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews91035.html
http://www.mouthshut.com/product-reviews/Qatar-Airways-reviews-925013182 Even skytrax who have always restricted what reviews are published are also struggling to protect Qatar Airways anymore.

In my business it is always a kick in the teeth when you lose a client, but in Qatar Airways case they work on the premise that there is always another new punter just around the corner. In my view the only wake up call for Qatar Airways will be the loss of their 5 star status and if it happens they will only have themselves to blame.

I know Alex and Lisette Smith work their socks off to solve our problems, but if your owners are not listening what is the point of papering over the ever growing cracks that are appearing in their organization at the moment. In conclusion Qatar need to cut through the dead wood now and get back to the way they were just a few years ago.

Well, on some websites, people may only go to complain, not write positive things... this is the nature of reviews perhaps. Skytrax seems to have a more balanced set of reviews... though I could be wrong. Either way, reviews for Etihad, for example, are much worse than for Qatar on Skytrax...

Hi there.
We are, indeed, listening. One of the jobs of The Qatar Airways Community is to get feedback from social media like Flyertalk, to gain insights on how we may improve our services.

Whether your feedback is positive or not, it is very important to us that we hear your views. We take many actionable insights directly to the responsible departments, so that we may retain our 5-star status for many years to come.

As you can imagine, even the best companies occasionally have a bad day. We do our best to avoid such days at Qatar Airways.

So, please keep letting us know what we could do better, as we strive to build and maintain the best airline product in the industry.

All the best.
Michael @ The Qatar Airways Community

Qatar has always been a big question mark for me.

I personally think they have done an excellent job for all the trips I've taken and I fly at the rear of the cabin but the seat pitch and seat width are always a welcome compared to so many airlines in the world. Food is great, service on board's always been with a smile. Staff at the Singapore office always providing a smile and some good advice (like paying for Oryx lounge access) but the ground and customer service (email) can be a nightmare.

No one in Doha airport seems keen on helping you make your connections. Emailed customer service to ask if they could provide a cake for a colleague flying on her birthday and received an email saying it is not our policy.

So long as the hardware remains as the leadership in the industry, and the software continuously improves, prices remain competitive, I think they have a chance of being a great airline!

Looking forward to a day flying J on Qatar and seeing if there's real difference.

Reviews, reviews, reviews. I sometimes wonder if most people actually read their own reviews and believe them.

My take is that there are too many self centered people who have nothing better to do than complain about anything and everything. It's all about me, me, and also me.

I have flown all over the world on many airlines, in fact on most airlines. I'm pushing 72 and will shortly be taking a flight from Orlando R/T to Bangkok. I have truly never encountered most of the instances aboard airlines, or at airports, that are our favorite complainer's hunting ground. Take Delta as an example. Have flown them for years in all types of aircraft from regional jets to the biggest that they fly and all over the world. I do not believe that I can recall one instance where I have experienced any situation that would get me so incensed that I would have to rant on a forum. My only complaint, with airlines in general, is the lack of really decent seating comfort in economy class. I wish all of the airlines would realize that their economy class customers keep their airline in business. Business and First Class, which are normally filled with upgrades from economy or airline staff, does not justify their existence IMO. Give all economy seating at least 34 inch pitch and you make most of your customers happy. Of course, not the chronic complainers. That is my one and only beef with the airlines in general.

Maybe it's because I spent years in the US Navy in such lovely spots as Vietnam and spent additional time in Iraq and Kuwait, that I don't find much to complain about. I guess I'm just glad that I have all of my limbs still attached and still have both eyes to see with.

Thats why I fly on Yorkshire Airlines. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VLYpKGVBUg

For sure people do complain for things they have to right to, but if QR want to state they are a 5 Star airline should it not be so for all? It is very nice for Premium customers but for Elite member Economy its not 5 Star. EK treat their Gold card holders much better. More miles accrual and equal lounge as Business passengers. These things make a difference to me.
There are recent cases of not good service. I lost my Gold card in February... OK my bad, but I still don't have a replacement (thats 3 months!) and dealing with non QR lounges in European Airports is not so easy. They hear all the BS from illegitimate people but I am legit and get treated like dirt.
The website does not work so well. Tried to book and upgrade all week. Would not work. Is it me? Maybe, but I have no problem upgrading on other carrier's websites. Its a little frustrating and I hope QR Customer Service is listening.

Many are either hub captive or choose QR solely on the price. I don't think that any of the gulf carriers are known for their excellence in customer service. Luckily I haven't had a need to give feedback on my QR flight, but trying to get CASA (Customer Affairs & Service Audit) at EK to fix few things is rather complicated.

This very true. With the last middle east carrier I had trouble with, I wrote an e-mail directly to the CEO. Got his e-mail address through backdoor channels.

Going through regular channels got me no where. :rolleyes:

To be fair SQ is also semi useless on the ground, as their staff are not empowered to fix things. But at least something gets done. Fantastic in the air though...