How often do you check in to a hotel at, say, 1:00 and they say something like, "Well, our check-in time IS 3:00." And don't they always say it condescendingly?
Imagine my surprise this week when I arrived at 11:00am to check-in to the Treasure Island hotel in Las Vegas and found this sign greeting me:
What a pleasure to see a company that believes in rewarding customers even when they don’t have to!
I wonder how you and your readers feel about companies that purposely add friction, hostile procedures and “gotcha” fees as part of their business model?
Not only does Spirit Airlines do all of this every day (tight seat pitch, $75 – $100 for a carry on bag, a charge for everything), purposely long lines, and “surprise” rules imposed on passengers, but their CEO even brags about how “training” and sometimes mistreating customers is part of their SOP. His theory, published in a Wall Street Journal interview: 1) 25% of Americans will book airfare based upon the lowest fare; no matter how bad the customer service is. 2) Spirit has 1.5% of U.S. traffic and expects to double to 3% in a few years. So 3) even if they tick off the remaining 22% of the passengers who hate being mistreated, Spirit will still fill their seats and make large profits on “fees.”
Based upon their profits compared to other airlines, he says, this theory works. (They do make more in profits than any other U.S. airline.)
I generally will only fly on “good” airlines such as JetBlue, Delta and American who go out of their way to be kind to their customers. I have always tried to avoid Spirit like the plague. But, this weekend I had to take a flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Orlando for a 10 – 4 trade show and Spirit had the only flight at 7 AM. It turned out to be an experience from hell. This ended at 7:10 AM with my calling American Express to do a charge back for my $140 fare. (The only charge back or dispute I have ever had with any company.)
It’s a long story, which I would be happy to relate if you wish. Suffice it to say that I strongly suggest that all your readers, who have any sense of self worth, never ever take Spirit Airlines.
I have always run my business with a single credo, which is to do the right thing by my customers and live by the Golden Rule. Having a business like Spirit that runs on a principle of degrading, hassling and punishing its customers goes against what most of us in business feel is the underlying ethical foundation that we live by.
By all rights they should be losing market share. But, this seems to be one of those cases where the good guys (ethical airlines) are coming in last and the bad guy coming in first.
Your thoughts?