MH axes Adelaide call centre

[Johan Z 0]

MALAYSIA Airlines will close its Adelaide call centre before the end of this month, axing 32 jobs.

 

The centre that once handled all Australian and New Zealand calls for the airline.

 

The centre employed more than 60 people at its height but an employee, who did not wish to be named, said staff numbers had dropped since a State Government subsidy ended two years ago.

 

"Since then, every time someone has left, they have never been replaced," he said. "We have about 10 contractors but three months ago they were marched out the door. "We have been told the calls will be cut off (here) on July 27 and everything will just be transferred to Malaysia." The Malaysia Airlines website lists a Malaysian phone number in Kuala Lumpur for all ticketing, baggage and general inquiries.

 

A senior staff member in Adelaide would not talk about the closure but would only say it was "a head office process".

 

Senior regional vice president Ignatius Ong visited the Adelaide office last Thursday but refused to be interviewed and did not respond to questions emailed to his office.

 

The questions asked how much the airline hopes to save and whether the end of a State Government grant was a key factor in closing its Adelaide office.

 

Former Liberal Premier John Olsen proudly announced the opening of the call centre in August 2000 - one of three Malaysian Airline call centres around the world - saying SA had outbid three other states to attract the centre providing "a range of employee incentives" to clinch the deal. Support for the centre continued two years later when incoming Premier Mike Rann said he "would like to see the Adelaide call centre eventually provide reservations and other customer service functions to other countries in North Asia, and North and South America".

 

A State Government spokesman said there was no need for the Government to reconsider its approach because the airline had fulfilled its part of the deal. "Malaysian Airlines did receive government assistance to help the company set up a call centre in SA and the terms of the initial agreement have been fulfilled and Malaysian Airlines has made it's own business decision.

 

"At the same time, Malaysian Airlines showed its faith in the South Australian tourism market in March this year by increasing the number of weekly direct flights to Adelaide from four to six."

 

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/airline-axes-adelaide-call-centre/story-e6frea6u-1226096391587

 

- I only used their Malaysia call centre once and their service was mediocre- the usual Malaysia service, long wait and lack of courtesy. I'm not sure if this action will improve their customer service.

[KK Lee 5]

If U.S. and U.K. companies can outsource their call center to India or Philippines, don’t see why MH can’t route all their calls to call center Malaysia.

[Josh T 0]

 

- I only used their Malaysia call centre once and their service was mediocre- the usual Malaysia service, long wait and lack of courtesy. I'm not sure if this action will improve their customer service.

 

I've called the call centre many times and, although there have been some occasions where there have been delays, I've almost always found the service to be very good. It's a shame that the call centre is closing.

[Johan Z 0]

I called them back in 2005. Haven't called them ever since.

According to the article, they list KL phone number as a contact number, which means if you live in Australia, you have to make an international call for enquiry.

[Josh T 0]

I called them back in 2005. Haven't called them ever since.

According to the article, they list KL phone number as a contact number, which means if you live in Australia, you have to make an international call for enquiry.

Surely they can't expect people to pat international call rates! I reckon the number will just be re-directed to a call centre in Malaysia.

[Mohd Saat 0]

I feel compelled to correct the misunderstanding by JFK and Josh T. Before the misinformation goes any further.

 

The option to call the Malaysian Call Center from anywhere in the world has always been available for many years.

 

For the Australian and NZ Customers, the current local toll free number is still maintained. They can call the same local toll free number but the call will be answered by the Malaysian Call Center agents. This has to some extent been made possible by a significant reduction in the cost of cross border call redirection.

[fendy 2]

their adelaide call centre is useless anyway.

[Josh T 0]

I feel compelled to correct the misunderstanding by JFK and Josh T. Before the misinformation goes any further.

 

The option to call the Malaysian Call Center from anywhere in the world has always been available for many years.

 

For the Australian and NZ Customers, the current local toll free number is still maintained. They can call the same local toll free number but the call will be answered by the Malaysian Call Center agents. This has to some extent been made possible by a significant reduction in the cost of cross border call redirection.

 

Thanks for clarifying!

[Chris Tan 0]

If U.S. and U.K. companies can outsource their call center to India or Philippines, don’t see why MH can’t route all their calls to call center Malaysia.

I'll take SIA for example. They outsource it to India I believe, and it is simply terrible. Booking a flight is a pain and the staff have bad communication skills.

 

It may save the airline money, but if not handled well, the quality will be compromised.

[Kris Kim 0]

Cant you just call MH offices in each respective city? Surely they can help you out, unless MH doesn't have offices in MEL, SYD, ADL & BNE.

[Josh T 0]

Cant you just call MH offices in each respective city? Surely they can help you out, unless MH doesn't have offices in MEL, SYD, ADL & BNE.

I can't comment about the other cities but in Sydney, they closed the office in the city and moved it to the airport. It's more inconvenient, that's for sure.

[BC Tam 2]

I can't comment about the other cities but in Sydney, they closed the office in the city and moved it to the airport. It's more inconvenient, that's for sure.

Sydney also kena ?!

Edited July 20, 2011 by BC Tam

[Josh T 0]

Sydney also kena ?!

There were 2 offices based in the city. One was for ticketing and the other was for other stuff, which I can't really remember now (cargo or something?). It's the ticketing office that's been moved to the airport. It's inconvenient because parking at Sydney airport is heinously expensive and even taking the train there is expensive. The airport line is the most expensive line in the network. A ticket from the city to the airport is AUD15 each way! That's almost MYR50 each way, my friends!!!!

Edited July 20, 2011 by Josh T

[Johan Z 0]

I really hope they won't close their office in ADL.