That’s the question Donna Passentino and Yaakov Sheinfeld must be asking themselves about Spirit Airlines this morning. How is it possible for an airline with a truly awful reputation for customer service to do the right thing? And it leaves me wondering if their experiences signal some kind of turning point in Miramar.
Spirit, of course, used to be a great little airline until it recast itself as an “ultra” low fare carrier, outsourced its customer service department, and added a slew of creative new fees. Two positive customer experiences won’t even begin to make up for the last five years. But still …
Passentino, who is flying from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., tomorrow had prepaid a $15 checked luggage fee. Then Spirit changed one of its flights, and in the confusion, one of her luggage vouchers had the wrong information.
I inadvertently added another bag going instead of one each way. When I realized my error I checked the Web site for any way to correct the situation. There was no way to correct it.
I then called Spirit Airlines. I spoke with a representative named Olivia, and I told her my problem and she explained that baggage fees were not refundable. I told her that I didn’t want a refund, I just wanted her to switch from two bags going to one bag coming and going.
Olivia said the only thing she could do is give me a $15 credit for my next flight. When I explained to her that there would never, ever be another flight on Spirit she said that she could add a bag going for another $10.
Needless to say, Olivia charged me the fee again.
I suggested Passentino send a brief, polite email to one of the following executives at Spirit, which she did. A representative named Jeremy Schoggins contacted her and fixed the problem, reversing the new charge and changing her voucher.
“I was sure that Spirit was going to brush me off, but he came to the plate and took action,” she says.
Sheinfeld tried to book an advertised $9 promotional flights between New York and Florida. When he phoned the airline, he was told he’d have to pay $39.95 for a one-year membership in Spirit’s fare club.
I explained to the representative that I was only interested in signing up and paying the fee if the promotional fares were available on the dates I was interested in traveling. I was assured that was the case and so I thanked the associate and immediately signed up for the fare club, only to find that there were no return flights for the date I was interested in returning to NY (or two-three days in either direction of that date).
I picked up the phone and called Spirit Airlines back and asked how this was possible. I was told that there were no guaranties as to availability and that the other phone representative must have been mistaken. I said I was disappointed to not get the promotional fare, but understood that a mistake was made and requested a refund of the $39.95 fee paid to join the club, as I only joined on the assurance by the first representative that the promotional flights were available. The representative told me that unfortunately the fee was non-refundable. I pressed the issue further and made no progress. I felt as if some sort of bait and switch was pulled.
Again, I suggested Sheinfeld contact someone at a higher level at Spirit. He did, and he heard back from none other than Schoggins.
Thank you for taking the time contact Spirit Airlines.
We have received your email in our executive inbox and we are more than happy to refund the membership of $39.95 to the fare club.
When you joined the club, the terms and conditions clearly outlined that you would be billed the full year’s membership right away. We apologize for any confusion that may have occurred during this process. As a one time courtesy, we have refunded the fee and cancelled the account at your request.
You can expect to see that refund back on your card within 7-14 business days.
In other words, you have to abide by our terms, but you can’t take us at our word when we say a fare is available. Hmmm.
Spirit may be one of the worst airlines — if not the worst airline — in America. But it’s still possible for its employees to offer the best customer service they can.
I seriously doubt Spirit plans to change its ways any time soon. But it’s nice to know there are people like Schoggins who are trying to do right by passengers.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I am going to be using a credit voucher that I have from Spirit in the next few weeks and I am nervous to use it….
I am in no way defending Spirit as I have seen some of their screw ups first hand,, however, I recently switched a lot of my FLL-BOS flying to them from delta, where I am a medallion as they have had some good sales… Before Yaakov went to book his flights and paid the $40 membership, he could have easily seen the available dates for the sale and could have checked if they were available on the website..
I fly Spirit a lot. They do what they do really good, which is to get you from A to B usually cheaper than anyone else. Twice, they have canceled one of my flight legs. The first time was coming back from Lima, Peru. It was an operational problem. They put me up in a nice Sheraton hotel in Lima.They gave me transportation and 2 meal vouchers. The second time was last week in Ft Lauderdale while coming back from Guatemala on a $24 each way fare. It was weather related. Again, I was given meal vouchers, transportation, and a really nice Marriott Spring Hill Suite Hotel. I never even had to get firm with them. They do not interline. I do not buy checked baggage, pre assigned seats, or drinks on board. I actually like this airline.
ah, but Dan, under the ‘new’ rules we are no longer responsible for ourselves – whenever we screw up, do not pay attention or read the fine print, or simply are clueless, ’someone’ is expected to be there, ;like mommy when we were 4, and take of us and make it all better.
Glad to hear that Spirit may actually follow the terms of its contract. . .
Spirit is extremely good at what they do in my opinion as they are pretty operationally sound.
Where they consistently drop the ball is what I’ll call the “Exceptions” that occur in the airline business like the two instances above.
They are like many companies in that when pushed they do the right thing. It’s just frustrating for the customer to have to push all the time.
i had a good experience with Spirit last year I booked 2 flights from Ft Lauderdale to Tampa then realized i could not make it. I emailed and requested them to cancel and refund at least the taxes paid and understood the airfare itself what non refundable. To my surprise i received a full refund mind the airfare was only 4.00 so perhaps its was easier to just do the full refund
I’ve flown Spirit several times including into CUN as I have a house in MID so I just drive over.
They often leave early when everyone is on board. I like the big front seat, and I gladly pay the extra few bucks for it. I don’t want free cocktails or a curtain to block out the hoi polloi, I just want a decent sized seat. Sometimes I buy a bag and sometimes I don’t.
I’ve never had a problem in a dozen or so flights in the past two years. I think people have unrealistic expectations, they are an airline not a babysitter, or someone to hold their hand. Non-refundable fares are non-refundable, read the terms and conditions before you buy something,
I buy the ticket, show up at the appointed time, get on the aircraft, shut up, sit down and get to my destination. If I want something special I take care of it myself or pay for it. If I change plans I follow the airlines rules.
It was nice of the airline to fix these customer’s mistakes, but really they are under no obligation to do so. After all we are talking ten or fifteen dollars, is it really worth the time and effort to send off letters or sit on hold for a long time. If you do call Spirit try the Spanish line, it is answered much quicker than the line that rings into the PI. Sorry if you are a monoglot.
Their CEO is right, people will choose another airline in a second if they have a lower price.
Hi everyone!
Let me start by introducing myself. I am the Customer Relations Manager of Spirit Airlines. I’ve been with the company for 2 years and 4 months, and managing the CR team for the last year and a half. Recently, I have been tasked with turning our customer perception around – which is why I am appealing to you here.
As I read through the posts on this and several other blogs, I find that this is the first time that I or my staff see the complaint. Prior to posting something negative about our company, I challenge you to reach out to our customer relations group or myself (Heather. Harvey@spiritair.com). You may also reach our consumer relations via our website, Spiritair.com by selecting the ‘Help’ tab at the top right corner of the home screen. In the search box please type contact us and select the ‘question/comment’ tab. We are committed to correcting our mistakes. Your complaints and compliments spur many conversations with upper management.
Our staff is a caring and intelligent group of individuals who see the bigger picture. Help us be a better company by bringing your issue to our attention – if we aren’t aware that there is a problem how are we going to fix it?
You have given us the opportunity to improve our service and we will do our best to do just that.
Please travel with us soon. It is always a privilege to welcome you aboard.
Sincerely,
Heather Harvey
Manager, Corporate Consumer Relations
Spirit Airlines