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This is totally unfair. Things like this just happen. Information gets mixed up, rules don't get changed fast enough, beauracracies don't work fast enough. Th

by pj 18y ago

This is totally unfair. Things like this just happen. Information gets mixed up, rules don't get changed fast enough, beauracracies don't work fast enough. This same scenario has happened countless times in the past. This incident was a tragedy for everyone involved. For the pilots and crew, the passengers and all of their friends and family -- many of whom were other spirit employees. Cut them some slack. Running a big company like that and reacting to a plane crash, which -- come on now, it doesn't happen often and look, they got everyone out. Everyone from Spirit /on/ the plane did exactly what they were trained to do perfectly and it saved lives. And now, someone at the front line does what they were trained to do perfectly and you raise a fuss.

dcurtis 18y ago
I would agree with you if this was about any other company. Spirit is widely considered the worst airline in the industry for many reasons. A couple years ago, the CEO accidentally replied all to a customer complaint when he meant to forward it to a customer care manager. All it said was "get this bitchy asshole off my hands." It does not surprise me that a company run by a guy with that philosophy would make such an error.
sokoloff 18y ago
From what I can tell, Spirit hasn't done one thing right in this whole situation for these passengers. Spirit cancelled their original flight, booked them on USAir. USAir is the carrier that employed the pilots and cabin crew that got everyone out, saved lives, etc. Spirit then said "That'll be $90 cancellation fee, please." (Spirit has since gone back on the very last point.) That last point is merely the reversal of a wrong, which doesn't make it worthy of an "Atta boy, Spirit!" IMO.
tptacek 18y ago
This isn't an inefficiency. It's a clear-cut case of a CSR being prevented from accessing their common sense. When someone calls up and says "I just survived a crash on a flight you booked me on", common sense says you don't ask for money. I'm disinclined to cut them slack for this.
HeyLaughingBoy 18y ago
And now, someone at the front line does what they were trained to do perfectly and you raise a fuss That IS the problem. They shouldn't be trained to blindly follow "rules," they should be trained to help customers. That means knowing when the rules shouldn't apply!

by pj 18y ago

dcurtis 18y ago

I would agree with you if this was about any other company. Spirit is widely considered the worst airline in the industry for many reasons. A couple years ago, the CEO accidentally replied all to a customer complaint when he meant to forward it to a customer care manager. All it said was "get this bitchy asshole off my hands." It does not surprise me that a company run by a guy with that philosophy would make such an error.

sokoloff 18y ago

From what I can tell, Spirit hasn't done one thing right in this whole situation for these passengers. Spirit cancelled their original flight, booked them on USAir. USAir is the carrier that employed the pilots and cabin crew that got everyone out, saved lives, etc. Spirit then said "That'll be $90 cancellation fee, please." (Spirit has since gone back on the very last point.) That last point is merely the reversal of a wrong, which doesn't make it worthy of an "Atta boy, Spirit!" IMO.

tptacek 18y ago

This isn't an inefficiency. It's a clear-cut case of a CSR being prevented from accessing their common sense. When someone calls up and says "I just survived a crash on a flight you booked me on", common sense says you don't ask for money. I'm disinclined to cut them slack for this.

HeyLaughingBoy 18y ago

And now, someone at the front line does what they were trained to do perfectly and you raise a fuss That IS the problem. They shouldn't be trained to blindly follow "rules," they should be trained to help customers. That means knowing when the rules shouldn't apply!