USA call center is worthless
Oct 12, 2020, 11:00 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,333
USA call center is worthless
I was trying to make an award booking online, but I kept getting an error message. I called the USA number, where the person answering the phone told me to call back tomorrow because of the holiday (Columbus Day, a holiday most people in the USA do not even get off of work for). This brings up a few questions: first of all, why was she even answering the phone at all if she was not able to do anything? And second, why was I not transferred to the int'l office outside of the USA if the USA office was closed? In the past, calls made to the USA number outside of normal business hours were just routed to Korea, which usually had English speakers available to take calls. I was not aware that international airlines completely shut down for minor regional holidays. Basically, this means that there is no way to make or modify a booking outside of USA business hours, which is completely absurd for an airline that is not even based in North America (especially since their worthless website does not work half the time). Oh well, enough of my rant. I just hope one of the two remaining tickets for the flight I planned to book will still be available in 24 hours, so I can burn up what is left of my OZ miles before this airline finally officially folds or becomes the Ryanair of NE Asia.
Oct 12, 2020, 11:30 am
#2
Join Date: May 2007
Location: YVR
Programs: OZ*G
Posts: 149
I was trying to make an award booking online, but I kept getting an error message. I called the USA number, where the person answering the phone told me to call back tomorrow because of the holiday (Columbus Day, a holiday most people in the USA do not even get off of work for). This brings up a few questions: first of all, why was she even answering the phone at all if she was not able to do anything? And second, why was I not transferred to the int'l office outside of the USA if the USA office was closed? In the past, calls made to the USA number outside of normal business hours were just routed to Korea, which usually had English speakers available to take calls. I was not aware that international airlines completely shut down for minor regional holidays. Basically, this means that there is no way to make or modify a booking outside of USA business hours, which is completely absurd for an airline that is not even based in North America (especially since their worthless website does not work half the time). Oh well, enough of my rant. I just hope one of the two remaining tickets for the flight I planned to book will still be available in 24 hours, so I can burn up what is left of my OZ miles before this airline finally officially folds or becomes the Ryanair of NE Asia.
Not sure when you called but i think the Korean call centre isn't 24 hours either
Oct 13, 2020, 12:25 pm
#3
Join Date: May 2012
Location: BOS, YYZ, HKG, TPE
Programs: OZ Diamond, DL Gold, QF Gold, HH Diamond, Bonvoy Titanium, WoH Explorist, Shangri-la Jade
Posts: 304
Likely the agent that answered is the Asiana Reservations, which is open on holidays. However for Asiana mileage awards, you would also need the Asiana Club office to be open, which they are not open on weekends and holidays. The Asiana Club office also has limited hours, 08:30~12:00, 13:00~17:30 PST.
Even for the Korea Reservations and Asiana Club, they are not 24 hours. They are 07:00 ~ 22:00 KST (with Asiana Club likely ending at 18:00, along with Ticketing)
There's a segregation of responsibilities, the Reservations agent creates the booking, however they would need to transfer you to a Club agent to process mileage payment and ticketing.
They may have turned off the rerouting to avoid their call centres from being flooded with reduced staffing levels given the current COVID situation.
Even for the Korea Reservations and Asiana Club, they are not 24 hours. They are 07:00 ~ 22:00 KST (with Asiana Club likely ending at 18:00, along with Ticketing)
There's a segregation of responsibilities, the Reservations agent creates the booking, however they would need to transfer you to a Club agent to process mileage payment and ticketing.
They may have turned off the rerouting to avoid their call centres from being flooded with reduced staffing levels given the current COVID situation.
Oct 13, 2020, 1:15 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,333
I was finally able to make the booking today on the one remaining ticket with the USA office, after being transferred to the wrong line and spending 15 minutes on hold. I had to beg and plead just to avoid the $20 phone booking fee, which is a bit absurd since one cannot even make a *A award booking via the USA website (the Korean website was the one that gave me the error). I really do hope that OZ can get a deal together which allows them to survive and stay in the *A, but every time I have ever had to deal with their customer service, I am reminded why many customers have chosen to take their business elsewhere. I know the times are tough, but that is all the more reason to address the problems that can be fixed right now, like having a functioning website and useful phone agents.