Contrary to my criticism of Spirit Airlines (which has been at an all-time high for the year of 2010 due to personal, anecdotal experiences), I’m a fairly simple, standard traveler. In fact, I am a member of the Spirit Airlines $9 Fare Club, where I pay $39.95/year to enjoy barely discounted rates, especially after taxes, luggage, seat, and now potentially “interaction,” charges.
I have found that after it is all said-and-done, commercial airlines like American Airlines and Delta Airlines are in some cases cheaper than Spirit. I should also mention that beyond the awful customer service that I consistently receive from Spirit Airlines at both the luggage counter by ticketing agents and at the gate by flight attendants and gate agents, the over-the-phone customer service representatives and their social media liaison, senior manager of customer relations and luggage resolution, Heather Harvey, aren’t any better. My least (and maybe most in terms of entertainment value) favorite thing about companies with a social media presence, is when you reach out as a consumer, and they ignore you for fear of bad press, or out of laziness.
I wonder if Spirit Airlines CEO, Ben Baldanza, has ever traveled his own airline.
Before Spirit Airlines can even consider charging fees for speaking to a ticketing agent in-person, they should first invest some of their savings (they must be saving, right? I mean they charge for every little piece of a reservation from baggage to seating) on customer relations training.
I’m traveling home in September for my grandmother’s unveiling, at which time I am traveling on Spirit Airlines. I figure, I’ll already be in a bad mood because of the sad occasion, so Spirit’s shoddy customer treatment couldn’t possibly upset me any further. Spirit Airlines is to travelers, as the Grinch is to Christmas.