#QantasLuxury – when social media doesn’t work as planned

Qantas – a company who has upset more than it’s fair share of Australians over the past few weeks after grounding their entire fleet on October 29.

So why not start a competition on Twitter? Win some hearts back, perhaps?

They posted this tweet yesterday:
@QantasAirways To enter tell us ‘What is your dream luxury inflight experience? (Be creative!) Answer must include #QantasLuxury.

The prize? “A luxury amenity kit and our famous QF PJs.”

Passengers who were disrupted by the recent Qantas debacle are still heated, and this is plain poor timing – along with a prize that seems more like a poke at the Australian public. Nonsense prizes equal nonsense responses.

@FarmrsMarktsFan #QantasLuxury? 1. Plane takes off/arrives on time; 2. Baggage delivered promptly. This used to be called #QantasService

Social media is a fast-moving medium: #QantasLuxury is one of Australia’s top trending hashtags today. You can’t control what is published by the community in the social media sphere; I wonder how Qantas PR are coping?


@kiwi_kali #QantasLuxury Somewhere in Qantas HQ a middle aged manager is yelling at a Gen Y social media “expert” to make it stop. / LOL

Twitter is often used as a venting board for opinions. Qantas should have seen what was already being posted before launching the competition, then listening and responding to the current (negative) publicity first. Customer service is about listening to your customers before taking action – no matter how large or small the company is.

Considering this competition goes until Thursday, who knows where it will end?