Complaint Review: Spirit Airlines - Nationwide

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.