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Original Comment THE SATIFACTION OF OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS OUR TOP PRIORITY - STATEMENT ON SPIRIT'S CUSTOMER SERVICE REPLY EMAIL <br /> <br /> <br /> Hello,<br /> <br /> <br /> I've spoken to Mel Russel and could not speak to her supervisor Morris Stevens on Tuesday, November 19th regarding a medical emergency with our son, Drake Pearson and the need to cancel our vacation travels. I've attached a letter from his physician stating he is unable to travel and make our trip scheduled for November 21 through November 29, which our return flight home to Denver is with Spirit on November 29. Delta Airlines has already approved the cancellation of our departing flight to Cancun on November 21 because of the medical situation that has occurred and allowing for a medical emergency for a trip refund for our family with no fees or conditions. Also, our condo suite at the Krystal Resort in Cancun has allowed for us to transfer our week paid reservations to any other week during the next year with no additional costs or conditions. It is very difficult for me to accept Mel Russel simply stating over and over again the no refund policy and no exception policies to me over the phone. Where is Spirit's customer support and management team, that there is no exceptions to the policy. I even requested for simply a credit with Spirit for the amount we have already spent for travel that is out of our control due to medical issues. Mel Russel again simply stated the policies to me and sounded like a recording with no personal connection. I'm sending this notification along with the hospital's letter that has been notarized and attaching Delta Airlines cancellation exception for this specific trip to Spirit Headquarters and Corporate Office. With emergencies such as this there are always exceptions and measures to go beyond and above with customer service - Spirit wouldn't even approve for a full expense credit to be used within six months when we reschedule this trip for our family when our son recovers. I asked Spirit to grant us the same value tickets for future travel and was denied. Spirit Airlines and customer service had no compassion or spirit and I'm going to make certain this is out there for their Corporate Office to see and for others on Twitter, Facebook and rother social webpages - what company as large as one such as Spirit doesn't allow for exception to their policies and work for the customer, especially when their company loses nothing. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I'd appreciate if this email is responded too. It maybe possible that Mel Russel doesn't have the authorization to make any exceptions or refund tickets to be used at a different date. Bryan and I booked this trip with Spirit in good faith and judgment that we would be taking our four children to Cancun to celebrate Thanksgiving. With Drake's motorcycle accident this past Sunday, travel is not possible. How does Spirit not make exceptions to exceptional circumstances - tickets to be used at a later date for the same value purchased in good faith?<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Warm regards,<br /> <br /> Donna Covarrubias<br /> <br /> Bryan Curtis<br /> <br /> Drake Pearson<br /> <br /> Brooke Pearson<br /> <br /> Shyanne Curtis<br /> <br /> Sydney Curtis<br /> <br /> <br /> Spirit Airlines is in the midst of what could only be described as a reputation dumpster fire.<br /> Here is the quick back story. A Vietnam war veteran, Jerry Meekins, purchased a ticket on the airline to go to Florida to help his daughter out after a surgical procedure she was having. He purchased the ticket to make the trip. Mr. Meekins has battled esophageal cancer for two years (he is 76 years old). In between the time he purchased the ticket and the actual flight date he was told by his doctors that the cancer was now terminal and that he should not fly. <br /> <br /> As a result, Mr. Meekins asked for a refund of the $197 fare from Spirit Airlines. In order to adhere to an apparently very strict &quot;no refund&quot; policy the airline has said no to the request. Well, what has happened since has created a reputation storm for Spirit that will likely cost them a lot more the $197.<br /> <br /> Mashable reports<br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Boycott Spirit Airlines&quot; Facebook Page, which had about 700 likes earlier in the week, has more than 18,000 likes as of Thursday morning, Fox News reports. The page was initially started in 2010 when the airline announced it would begin charging for checked luggage.<br /> <br /> Much of the backlash on Facebook against Spirit Airlines is coming from current military members and veterans.<br /> <br /> &quot;I believe Spirit Airlines owes a debt to the Veteran and an apology. Being a good corporate citizen seems not to be in their culture. I will not fly them because of this. I am a proud U.S. Navy Veteran,&quot; wrote one Facebook commenter, Robert Twigg.<br /> <br /> Upon visiting the Facebook page (which had over 19,500 Likes when I was there) you can see that this has gone very mainstream. Posts include links to stories by Fox news, Huffington Post, MSNBC. The Fox News report is an interview with the veteran and it's worth the 5 minutes to watch because it's obvious he's not looking for much and that this gotten a life of its own via social media and the online space.<br /> <br /> Now, we realize that these stories get spun hard but that's why they become so powerful. What comes into question is the policy that Spirit Airlines has about no refunds and their response that they get similar request all the time and give no refunds. Similar? Really? This kind of timing and what seems to be a reasonable request from a dying man? It just looks very bad for the airline.<br /> <br /> Imagine this. If they had refunded the $197 what might the outcome have been? Here's my guess. A happy war veteran who goes about his business, tells a few friends and they think it's nice and there is no ripple effect. This is great example of how far bad reviews can travel in a relatively short period of time. Would Spirit have received kudos for doing the right thing if they had just refunded the money? Not likely but that should be fine for them especially in light of the trouble they have now created for themselves.<br /> <br /> This is a prime example of the quandary that many businesses find themselves in the age of the Internet and the desire by many to right the wrongs that ordinary people can suffer at the hands of a company. I really don't think that Spirit intends to come off as cold-hearted. They are just trying to keep from creating a flood of people trying to game them for refunds (that's my guess at least).<br /> <br /> But as Mr. Meekins puts it, he would like to see the company have a review of each case so that the individual merits of the request could be considered rather than falling under a blanket policy. The trouble with that is that while it sounds good is it something the airline could actually do in a reasonable manner? No matter what the business difficulties are though Spirit Airlines has created a very toxic environment for their brand and whatever their concerns are, the average person will not care one bit, no matter how real they are.<br /> <br /> This needs to be a lesson to companies which is unfortunately being learned over and over again despite history to show that such moves can snowball quickly and turn into true disasters rather than just be a small inconvenience to a company. Spirit Airlines' hardline adherence to the spirit of the letter of their corporate law has now created an image that will be hard to shake. And for what? 197 bucks? Wow..

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