Spirit Airlines Spirit is a terrible airline with nonexistent customer service Detroit, Fort Lauderdale Nationwide
I apologize for the length of this in advance, but it's a long story!
My friend and I were planning to go to Costa Rica through a study abroad program for 6 weeks. We were not flying with the rest of the group, as we didn't know anyone else and the only airport available for the group flight in the midwest was Chicago O'hare.
First of all, you do get a great deal on the fares, but they can afford to do this because they charge you for every little thing. Every checked bag must be paid for, either in advance or at the airport (which costs twice as much). To reserve seats in advance on your flight is anywhere from $5 to $15 dollars per seat per plane. So, as we were taking 2 flights each way, this would have been $20 to $60 dollars, just to reserve seats next to each other.
I attempted to preorder my checked bag, and the website wouldn't let me, I called customer service to find out why, and never really got an answer after over 45 minutes on hold, and then was hung up on. I tried back later and waited an hour and a half on hold before I gave up.
Then, the day of the trip came and the fun really started.
The chart on the spiritair website lists how long before your flight you should get to the airport, depending on the airport and the time. Our flight to Ft. Lauderdale, Fl left at 6:35 am, and the chart said 3 hours, so we got there around 3:15 am just to be safe. We showed up to an empty airport, with about 20 other people waiting for the same flight, only to find out that no one even showed up to begin the bag checking/checking in process until 4:00 am.
So, we waited for an hour, they showed up at about 4:10, and things seemed to go fine. Our plane even started boarding early. We were all seated, the plane engines were turned on, when an announcement came over saying we would need to deplane immediately. We left the plane and watched out the window as 3 police cars showed up, along with K-9 units, and all of the luggage was removed from the plane and taken away. It's about 6:45 at this point. The police and dogs search the plane, and it is 7:30 before we hear anything from the airport staff.
We are told we can go back on the plane, and once seated another announcement comes from the pilot saying 'someone didn't pay for their extra bags, so they needed to be removed.' ??
We expressed concern that we would be late for our connection flight in Ft. Lauderdale to San Jose, as we only had about an hour and 20 minute layover. We were told that all connections were on schedule and we shouldn't worry. During the flight, they offered drinks and snacks, but none of them were complimentary. Even a small cup of water or a soft drink was $3! They also announced that they were only accepting exact change cash, when their website clearly stated that they only accepted cards, which several of the other passengers were obviously counting on.
When we landed, we saw the plane that was supposed to take us to Costa Rica in the gate, and again expressed concern that our plane had already started boarding. We were told that the plane would be held if it needed to be, and they would have been radioed if we needed to be concerned. We stopped at the gate, and they held us there. For 20 minutes. When we finally got off, we ran to the next gate (it was 10:40 and our plane was scheduled to leave at 10:35) only to find out that the plane had just left without us.
The spirit agents were very rude and tried to put us on a flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico! We said no, that won't work, we need to go to San Jose, Costa Rica because that is where our program is. They informed us that the next flight to San Jose was at 10:50pm that night (About 12 hours away). They refused to let us go on earlier flights offered by other airlines, and offered us meal tickets- $7 for lunch and $9 for dinner. We could not leave the H terminal, which contained 2 food places- a deli and a hot dog stand- and there wasn't a single item of food under $7 at either. For lunch, we each had to spend $10 just for a sandwich and drink.
So, here I am sitting in Ft. Lauderdale airport.. been here for 6 1/2 hours now, and still have 6 hours to go. Not only will we not get to meet up with the group (which arrived in Costa Rica 2 hours ago), but we won't be getting in to San Jose until after midnight tonight, which means we can't check into our program site and have to pay to stay in a hotel and find our own transportation.. in a foreign country. Throughout the whole thing, the spirit agents have been nothing but rude to us, and that was only when we could find one. At one point, I walked up and down the terminal (which is not very long) and couldn't find a single spirit agent for about 1/2 hour! Airport security couldn't even find one. The customer service number works on and off, and you only find out if it's an off day after you've been on hold upwards of an hour. Hopefully, we make it to San Jose ok tonight, and make it back at the end of our semester.
Moral of the story: NEVER FLY SPIRIT!
Anonymous
chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Karl
Clovis,New Mexico,
U.S.A.
Nikki is Totally Right!
#6Consumer Suggestion
Sun, July 06, 2008
Airline customer services people at the airport -gate agents, counter agents, etc. have a tremendous flexibility on what they can offer you. This includes tickets on another airline, food chits, free rooms at hotels, etc. They also can deny all these goodies and lots depends on the attitude of the customer. I've heard too many drunken and loud, obnoxious complaints to everyone within hearing about the rotten airline, rotten agents, cancelled flights for no reason, etc etc etc.
In some cases security was called in order to avoid an assault on the gate agent. People who cuss out a gate or counter agent eventually get to Birmingham or wherever they are going but if something goes wrong they sleep on the floor. These people deserve to be treated with compassion and courtesy. If you do then they will go out of their way to help you. I suspect from the tone of some of the complaints against airlines and airline personnel on ROR that the customer attempted to throw his weight around. It rarely works and I've flown hundreds of thousands of miles and have watched many abusive customers. I've rarely, however, seen many abusive airline personnel unless they were backed into a corner.
Karl
Clovis,New Mexico,
U.S.A.
Nikki is Totally Right!
#6Consumer Suggestion
Sun, July 06, 2008
Airline customer services people at the airport -gate agents, counter agents, etc. have a tremendous flexibility on what they can offer you. This includes tickets on another airline, food chits, free rooms at hotels, etc. They also can deny all these goodies and lots depends on the attitude of the customer. I've heard too many drunken and loud, obnoxious complaints to everyone within hearing about the rotten airline, rotten agents, cancelled flights for no reason, etc etc etc.
In some cases security was called in order to avoid an assault on the gate agent. People who cuss out a gate or counter agent eventually get to Birmingham or wherever they are going but if something goes wrong they sleep on the floor. These people deserve to be treated with compassion and courtesy. If you do then they will go out of their way to help you. I suspect from the tone of some of the complaints against airlines and airline personnel on ROR that the customer attempted to throw his weight around. It rarely works and I've flown hundreds of thousands of miles and have watched many abusive customers. I've rarely, however, seen many abusive airline personnel unless they were backed into a corner.
Karl
Clovis,New Mexico,
U.S.A.
Nikki is Totally Right!
#6Consumer Suggestion
Sun, July 06, 2008
Airline customer services people at the airport -gate agents, counter agents, etc. have a tremendous flexibility on what they can offer you. This includes tickets on another airline, food chits, free rooms at hotels, etc. They also can deny all these goodies and lots depends on the attitude of the customer. I've heard too many drunken and loud, obnoxious complaints to everyone within hearing about the rotten airline, rotten agents, cancelled flights for no reason, etc etc etc.
In some cases security was called in order to avoid an assault on the gate agent. People who cuss out a gate or counter agent eventually get to Birmingham or wherever they are going but if something goes wrong they sleep on the floor. These people deserve to be treated with compassion and courtesy. If you do then they will go out of their way to help you. I suspect from the tone of some of the complaints against airlines and airline personnel on ROR that the customer attempted to throw his weight around. It rarely works and I've flown hundreds of thousands of miles and have watched many abusive customers. I've rarely, however, seen many abusive airline personnel unless they were backed into a corner.
Karl
Clovis,New Mexico,
U.S.A.
Customer Service
#6Consumer Suggestion
Sun, July 06, 2008
Back in 1976 after the airlines were deregulated each one could charge anything they wanted to for any trip. The airline with the lowest fare got the business so fares were the criteria for attracting passengers. Not food, not customer service, and not even flights at a certain time (except for business travellers who paid full fare). Fast forward to 2008. Airlines pay a fortune for fuel, flights have been cancelled, certain types of aircraft have been mothballed. American is laying off more than 6,000 employees.
Airlines like Spirit are teetering on the edge of going under like all the rest. Southwest has a locked in price for fuel but that will eventually run out. You cannot expect someone whose job may be terminated tomorrow to present a demeanor of sweetness and light. Anyway -back to your story. Your plane was delayed out of Chicago for some security problem . You will never know why and you missed your connection in FLL. Delays happen all the time each day at various places for various reasons. They could have held the connection since you were obviously en route to FLL but they didn't. FLL is a large airport and there was no need to stay in the H terminal since your flight wasn't leaving till after 10 PM. The lack of customer service on Spirit is well known along with charges for everything. It is several hundred dollars cheaper however than the other airlines to San Jose - all of which require a change someplace.
This is 2008. Airlines are like busses except they are faster. You don't get soft drinks on Greyhound. If you want customer service buy a first class ticket on one of the majors. Your only problem was the delay at Midway and that isn't worth a long, involved complaint.
Nikki
Coconut Creek,Florida,
U.S.A.
While we're on the subject of customer service...
#6Consumer Comment
Mon, June 30, 2008
I highly doubt that the true reason for the police and K-9's to show up were because someone didn't pay for their extra baggage.
Anyway, onto customer service. We should not expect any for a long time from anywhere. Almost no company gives good customer service anymore and I can tell you why.
First, let me explain that I still teach my daughter the old school ways, but many people adhere to the following:
When I was growing up, we were taught by our parents and employers about customer service and work ethic. We were taught about always doing your best and if you work hard, you'll get ahead in life. My generation learned that doesn't really work. The hard workers got screwed anyway, and the cheaters seemed to prosper. So, we have taught our kids to do only what is expected at work, don't do more than you have to and always do whatever you can to get the best deal, even if you have to lie.
As a result, no one goes that extra mile anymore. People have learned not to by their parents and society, friends and co-workers. They have seen their parents be rude and obnoxious to those customer service workers and they have also learned that whether they provide good customer service or not, they still may not have a job tomorrow. Corporations learned all the stories people use to use to swindle them, and they got sick of it too. That's why there's no leeway with anything anymore.
As for those at Spirit, there is no one there at night. Their planes do not run and they do not have enough money to pay for someone to stay nightly. And, the customer service reps may not have a job tomorrow, no matter how they treated you today.
When was the last time any of you treated a customer service rep with respect? My husband, the jolly fellow that he is, always starts out saying hi, maybe telling a little joke, getting the CSR to laugh or smile, etc. Even when we have a problem, we always start out very nice. It really goes a long way.
I am not in customer service anymore. I got tired of the way people treated me. You get what you give.