B747-437B

Just wondering what your ethnicity might be? That usually makes a huge difference with respect to the treatment you receive from QR staff at DOH in case of IROPS. Arabs and Caucasians are always provided with hotels and other amenities. South Asians, East Asians and Africans are usually told to sleep in the departure lounge. Sad but true.

tokyolyon

I am Arab but I didnt get that easily

luisparis

Is it ? I've transited 4 to 6 times in DOH in J and found it quite nice, at least after I understood I wasn't supposed to drop of the bus at the first stop but only at the premium terminal

As of beeing denied boarding I had a very good experience with the ground staff in BKK, after I got confused with TG timetable to CDG and noticed very very late what time the flight to DOH was leaving. Arrived to the airport about 30mns before departure time, took me a couple of mns to find out which check in row to head to but once there, no sign of any QR flight, just a flight from another middle eastern airline. I was more than a bit nervous when I noticed the QR business class carpets in front of some check in counters. But check in was obviously closed and the flight no even advertised anymore. Thought I'd missed the flight. Yet a few staff members were leaving the area at that time and I adressed them and they did go the extra mile. Made a phone call or two than let me check in and I did catch the flight. Quite nice.

Besides I would also be wary of 45mns connecting time, but wish OP a much nicer returning flight.

Guy Betsy

Try flying in Y and then come back and tell us the same...

IMO and experience, when flying QR, if anything goes wrong, the service tends to be better if you're in Business or First Class. If you're in economy, the service is non-existent even if you're a Gold Privilege card member.

Do not write to Customer Service - they are useless. Write instead to the CEO of the company and highlight this situation. He still thinks his airline is 5 star or whatever.. but not realising what the ground staff is really like in DOH.

I had a flight FRA-DOH-KUL. FRA-DOH was cancelled so we were rerouted on LH. Flight got delayed in DOH (by 6 hours !) so we waited in the Silver Lounge with my 2 other friends who were in economy whilst I and another friend were in C. We 2 could have gone to the Premium lounge but my other 2 friends couldn't access the Silver lounge without me being there otherwise. When we arrived at gate, staff said that we were all no-show on FRA-DOH flight so they gave our seats away on DOH-KUL (even though they knew we were in the lounge)! What? Didn't they see that their own flight was cancelled ???

Oh you want to get back on? You have to go through security and go to check in area! ... it was only after someone noticed that 2 of us were in Business Class that they suddenly became nicer... and offered to go to do the tickets for us!

I never bothered writing the letter to the CEO.. but now as I write this, horrible memories of their incompetent ground staff are coming back...

I think I will write that letter too, and send it by Registered or Courier mail to the CEO, Akbar Al Baker in Doha.

MarkLHR

If you do decide to do that, I'd be interested to know if you get a reply. i did that once and also sent by registered post (also submitted same letter via Privilege Club website). I did get a reply from Customer Service but never knew if that was as a result of my comment via the website or the letter to the CEO. Either way, there was absolutely no acknowledgment that it had come from the CEO's office. The man really lives in the clouds.

PhlyingRPh

I've heard that Mr Al-Baker is known for popping up at the most inopportune moments (for his staff) and firing them on the spot if he notices that something is not quite right. He calls Flight Attendant's on their cell phones and asks them how things are going and seems to be a no-bull$hi7 kind of a guy. I can quite imagine him kicking some poor Qataria's butt over the customer service issues described here.

demue

sorry but in my (limited) exeprience with them you tend to get somewhat decent service on the ground at outstations but once you hit the place where it all should work like a clock (that is DOH for all doubters ) then you are really screwed unless in F or maybe in J as Guy Betsy mentioned. I also heard quite bad J stories and the whole discussion about customer service lapses makes me smile actually.

Honestly in many cases they wouldn't even know what real customer service means and is supposed to look like even if it bit them into the behind 5*? Maybe i the air at some point but not even that any longer I would think. On the ground, in general (there always a few that really try but many that don't) forget about it.

jiminspace

At last! It looks like an appropriate level of indignation is being generated on this board regarding the (mostly) horrific ground staff in Doha. Like other people on this board, I have been collecting stories, names, and experiences for almost two years now. And, no I've never actually sent a letter either; at this point, I wouldn't even know where to start.

QR groundstaff tend to be both poorly-trained AND, for lack of a better word, obstructionist. To call the service "Take it or leave it" would be putting things mildly. Stonewalling would be a more accurate term to describe the reaction of most QR ground staff members if they are pressed to resolve a situation. I've been through the Premium Terminal at least 20 times, and while I have had some positive customer service experiences, most of them have been horrific. The few times I have been in the "regular" terminal I've been in the Gold lounge, and even there the staff embodies a uniquely QR quality that I am at a loss of words to describe.

I think the problems with QR groundstaff are occuring because:
(1) Staff are largely unempowered - so they probably can't really solve your problem anyway: Everything needs to go through at least two, sometimes three, levels of management hierarchy before anything can really be done. Most of the time you will FIRST be told there is no manager on duty. All of this just takes too long, and by the time you get to speak to anyone with any real authority you will be exhausted and harried to the point of madness.
(2) Staff have probably have taken huge amounts of abuse both from their employer and patrons, and the psychological scarring is beginning to show. Staff members, from other Middle Eastern countries aren't just rude, from what I have seen, they can be kind of MEAN. (Then again, they are the ones who have to hear how "Un-Five-Star" the airline is ... all day long ... day in and day out ... probably in Arabic.)
(3) Yes, racism IS rife in this part of the world, it goes largely unchallenged, and it seems to be accepted. To be sure -- if you don't look the part, you are up the creek without a paddle. Seriously.

I fly QR because they get me to work without having to change planes in Dubai. Of my last 40 flights, I've probably sat in Economy 4 times. Yes, business is better. Yes, in-flight, QR is much better than it is on the ground. But what goes up must come down, so sooner or later you are going to have to deal with the ground staff. And that's where the horror show usually begins.
My advice?
Be a white man or a white woman over 6 feet tall, or a Gulf Arab -- chances are the treatment will be better .. but it probably won't solve ALL of your problems ...
OR:
--- Just grin and bear it

--- Don't get upset, it's not worth it and it won't do you any good

--- Confirm and reconfirm your reservations. Telephone staff have to be ASKED to email your itineraries. Insist that they do. Check your boarding pass after you check in to be sure that you have been given the seat you asked for (if available). English comprehension levels on the ground are far worse than you think.

--- Find your own solutions to problems, and suggest those solutions quickly and simply

--- Don't make tight connections through Doha. The Premium Terminal isn't THAT comfortable, so don't plan a long layover because you think you might actually be able to sleep there. The regular terminal looks like a crowded bus terminal and has none of the comforts of the world's finer airports -- NONE. Even in the premium terminal the toilets can be filthy. The same scuff and dirt marks have been on the walls of the Biz Class toilets for over a year.

Hope this helps validate the experience that many of us .. even premium flyers ... are continuing to have

MarkLHR

Great post jiminspace - you hit the nail on the head I think. I will say, though, ground staff at LHR do not fit into the typical QR mould- they are pretty good there.

Rambuster

I can only second this. QR ground staff are absolutely clueless and don't give a toss. I have flown then a couple of times but probably won't book them again.

Great post jiminspace ! One QR lady in the Gold Lounge actually got shouted at by her manager because she was traying to help me! ...I was trying to upgrade a Y ticket with CASH to C: I totally failed. They did not want my money and I could not give it to them !

Guy Betsy

Knowing full well, that that is just not possible, you have caused someone totally helpful to be shouted at!

Honestly, now why would you be doing this at the lounge knowing that this is a ticketing issue...and that you should be contacting the ticket office at your origin and not at point of transit?

sadiqhassan

Now i am getting worried; I have a LHR-DOH-KHI flight booked with a 46 minute connection in Doha. DOH-KHI is 1 x daily. I need to be in LHR that morning (flight departs LHR at 1505) and I need to be in KHI the next NIGHT (flight arrives at 0630.) If I miss my connection, will QR put me on another airline such as EK?

I know my schedule is tight and Im not gonna blow up and go all "QR sucks im never gonna fly it again" on the airline, but I want to minimize any unnecessary hassle.

Thanks,
Cheers

PhlyingRPh

I've made that connection a few times. They always hold the KHI flight until everyone is aboard.

dearbee

you get what you pay for?

i am scheduled to fly from dxb to pvg later this year and a biz class seat with EK goes for almost US$3000. i found a much cheaper alternative with Qatar at about US$1600 but obviously there is no direct flight from dxb. i would have to transfer through doha and the connection time is 1.5hrs. i think even with this larger connect window, i'm still apprehensive of taking this option.

what if the dxb to doh flight is delayed?
what if my bags are lost or delayed while at doh?
dxb's T1 terminal is so crappy compared to the new T3 terminal, and it's a b1tch to go through that long corridor in the basement just to get to the gates.

it's a no brainer for me... i'd gladly spend twice as much to avoid the headache.

Guy Betsy

One hour is more than enough.. but as with any airline - even with EK, delays do happen and that is beyond anyone's control.

If you're flying business class, QR will take care of you. If you're not, then you'll be herded like everyone else .. if the flight is delayed. SAME with EK in my experience.

DOH airport is so small that it is impossible for your bags to get lost in transfer.. it will only get lost if the airline off loads you ...

But like I said, on QR's computer systems it even allows 20 mins transfers, so your 1.5 hours has lots of time !!