Spirit Air...NEVER AGAIN
In March I sent my son to Florida on Spirit Air. Far as I know there were no problems so I decided to use them for my trip to Florida for the 85th Boulé of my beloved sorority. The flight down was no problem however the flight back is a different story. BTW I'm not back yet and write this from the hotel that I had to pay for myself after my flight was cancelled with less than one hour to boarding time. Below is my letter to their corporate offices.
Spirit Airlines Corporate Office
2800 Executive Way
Miramar, Florida 33025
Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM EST
Phone: (954) 447-7965Fax: (954) 447-7979
July 28, 2006
To Whom It May Concern:
I arrived for my flight at FLL at approximately 12 noon on July 28, 2006 even though my flight was not to leave until 3:00 PM. The flight was reported “On Time” until approximately 2:20 PM when the displays were all changed to cancelled. The employee at the gate had no information to give passengers as to why the flight was suddenly cancelled. The only thing she seemed trained or capable of saying was “If you want to get your luggage, go downstairs. If you want to find another flight, go downstairs. If you want to speak to a supervisor, go downstairs. If you want me to try to put you on another flight, stay here.” Of course it was hell and chaos up there, so I went downstairs to try to get some answers.
I arrived downstairs where several passengers from the cancelled flight had already gathered in addition to the regular crowd of arriving passengers. This of course was more chaos. Many of us were waiting on somewhat of a line, separate from the other passengers who were arriving for their flights, hoping to be serviced. At one point an employee told us that we needed to get on the regular line, this was after we had been standing where we were for more than 30 minutes. This was the same employee that I attempted to ask a very general question to while still upstairs at the gate, such as, “Whose responsibility was it to find another flight when the flight is cancelled?” Her response was, “That was not her flight, everyone has their own flight”.
I decided to attempt to be cooperative in a difficult situation and got on the regular line. When I finally reached the counter and gave the agent “Sandra” my boarding pass for my cancelled flight, she began to explain how I could get a voucher since my ticket was non-refundable. My question being how was that voucher going to get me home? She said she could put me on the first available flight which would be the next morning at 7 am. I asked her if I could be standby on the flight later this evening, she replied that there was already a long standby list with passengers from the cancelled flight. I asked her where the airline would be accommodating me for the night since I am not a Florida resident who could merely return home and try again tomorrow. She then called another employee “Darlene” to explain that since the cancellation was weather related they would not be accommodating me anywhere. Sandra then printed out info for my flight the next day and said “Next” with me still standing there.
I asked her for information or assistance in finding lodging for the night. She said she could not help me and proceeded to ignore me like I was not there. I repeated my question to Darlene who said she could not help me. I stood there until another employee “MarieAnn” passed by and I repeated my question to her, she said she would be right back with a phone number and disappeared inside a door in the rear. When Sandra realized I had not moved and she was having a problem taking the next customer with me standing there she attempted to say something to me. I told her to continue to ignore me like she had been doing, that I was upset beyond coherent speech and ... She and Darlene then threatened to have me removed if I did not move, I replied I was waiting for MarieAnn and would move once I had information or assistance in securing lodging for the night. Darlene then walked a way and Sandra disappeared inside the door in the rear.
MarieAnn then reappeared with a voucher in hand with a phone number to call for discounted hotel assistance. I then went down to the carousel to collect my 2 pieces of luggage which had been checked on the curb and to add insult to injury 1 piece was missing. I might not have been able to get a flight out but luggage evidently managed to travel without me. I guess within the next 5 days I will find out whether or not I will need to file a claim for the missing valuables that were in that bag.
While I understand that Spirit Airlines does not control the weather in my opinion they do control how employees are trained to provide service to their customers. A happy customer is a returning customer which needless to say I will never be. Good customer service during good times is wonderful, but how do employees respond in times of minor emergencies when passengers may be not only upset but also disoriented and in an unfamiliar environment? Why was information and assistance not offered to me by Sandra or Darlene, why was it necessary for me to become nearly irate to receive assistance, were not my 2 civil requests enough? Why do employees not know the proper way to assist passengers during this kind of minor emergency?
God forbid if my 18 year old son had to endure a similar experience in March when he flew on Spirit virtually alone to FLL and back to LGA to meet classmates and faculty for a school related trip. Being on spring break all of the students were flying in from different locations and then back out different locations. Being the only one from NYC he would have been all alone and would not have had the luxury of being able to reach in his wallet to pull out a credit card to pay for his own lodging in another state. Would he have been just left stranded and alone at the airport with no assistance from the airline that cancelled his flight because it was “weather related?” Since when is it okay to treat passengers in such a deplorable fashion?
Over the years I have experienced lost luggage, cancelled and or re-routed flights, missed connections and other inconveniences that sometimes accompany air travel. In each case the airline made sure that I was taken care of, so I know that there are airlines that know how to treat customers. Spirit Airlines however does not seem to be one of them. Surely I would not feel secure flying with your airline ever again or entrusting anyone whom I love to your care.
Sincerely,
Bernardine E. Lowery-Cruté
Spirit Airlines Corporate Office
2800 Executive Way
Miramar, Florida 33025
Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM EST
Phone: (954) 447-7965Fax: (954) 447-7979
July 28, 2006
To Whom It May Concern:
I arrived for my flight at FLL at approximately 12 noon on July 28, 2006 even though my flight was not to leave until 3:00 PM. The flight was reported “On Time” until approximately 2:20 PM when the displays were all changed to cancelled. The employee at the gate had no information to give passengers as to why the flight was suddenly cancelled. The only thing she seemed trained or capable of saying was “If you want to get your luggage, go downstairs. If you want to find another flight, go downstairs. If you want to speak to a supervisor, go downstairs. If you want me to try to put you on another flight, stay here.” Of course it was hell and chaos up there, so I went downstairs to try to get some answers.
I arrived downstairs where several passengers from the cancelled flight had already gathered in addition to the regular crowd of arriving passengers. This of course was more chaos. Many of us were waiting on somewhat of a line, separate from the other passengers who were arriving for their flights, hoping to be serviced. At one point an employee told us that we needed to get on the regular line, this was after we had been standing where we were for more than 30 minutes. This was the same employee that I attempted to ask a very general question to while still upstairs at the gate, such as, “Whose responsibility was it to find another flight when the flight is cancelled?” Her response was, “That was not her flight, everyone has their own flight”.
I decided to attempt to be cooperative in a difficult situation and got on the regular line. When I finally reached the counter and gave the agent “Sandra” my boarding pass for my cancelled flight, she began to explain how I could get a voucher since my ticket was non-refundable. My question being how was that voucher going to get me home? She said she could put me on the first available flight which would be the next morning at 7 am. I asked her if I could be standby on the flight later this evening, she replied that there was already a long standby list with passengers from the cancelled flight. I asked her where the airline would be accommodating me for the night since I am not a Florida resident who could merely return home and try again tomorrow. She then called another employee “Darlene” to explain that since the cancellation was weather related they would not be accommodating me anywhere. Sandra then printed out info for my flight the next day and said “Next” with me still standing there.
I asked her for information or assistance in finding lodging for the night. She said she could not help me and proceeded to ignore me like I was not there. I repeated my question to Darlene who said she could not help me. I stood there until another employee “MarieAnn” passed by and I repeated my question to her, she said she would be right back with a phone number and disappeared inside a door in the rear. When Sandra realized I had not moved and she was having a problem taking the next customer with me standing there she attempted to say something to me. I told her to continue to ignore me like she had been doing, that I was upset beyond coherent speech and ... She and Darlene then threatened to have me removed if I did not move, I replied I was waiting for MarieAnn and would move once I had information or assistance in securing lodging for the night. Darlene then walked a way and Sandra disappeared inside the door in the rear.
MarieAnn then reappeared with a voucher in hand with a phone number to call for discounted hotel assistance. I then went down to the carousel to collect my 2 pieces of luggage which had been checked on the curb and to add insult to injury 1 piece was missing. I might not have been able to get a flight out but luggage evidently managed to travel without me. I guess within the next 5 days I will find out whether or not I will need to file a claim for the missing valuables that were in that bag.
While I understand that Spirit Airlines does not control the weather in my opinion they do control how employees are trained to provide service to their customers. A happy customer is a returning customer which needless to say I will never be. Good customer service during good times is wonderful, but how do employees respond in times of minor emergencies when passengers may be not only upset but also disoriented and in an unfamiliar environment? Why was information and assistance not offered to me by Sandra or Darlene, why was it necessary for me to become nearly irate to receive assistance, were not my 2 civil requests enough? Why do employees not know the proper way to assist passengers during this kind of minor emergency?
God forbid if my 18 year old son had to endure a similar experience in March when he flew on Spirit virtually alone to FLL and back to LGA to meet classmates and faculty for a school related trip. Being on spring break all of the students were flying in from different locations and then back out different locations. Being the only one from NYC he would have been all alone and would not have had the luxury of being able to reach in his wallet to pull out a credit card to pay for his own lodging in another state. Would he have been just left stranded and alone at the airport with no assistance from the airline that cancelled his flight because it was “weather related?” Since when is it okay to treat passengers in such a deplorable fashion?
Over the years I have experienced lost luggage, cancelled and or re-routed flights, missed connections and other inconveniences that sometimes accompany air travel. In each case the airline made sure that I was taken care of, so I know that there are airlines that know how to treat customers. Spirit Airlines however does not seem to be one of them. Surely I would not feel secure flying with your airline ever again or entrusting anyone whom I love to your care.
Sincerely,
Bernardine E. Lowery-Cruté
posted by B-Nice at
8:53 PM
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